All Ashore (1953) User Reviews

A Costello With Two Abbotts

[bkoganbing · 5/10 · 23 September 2008]

All Ashore is this light musical from Columbia Pictures that I think was made to give Catalina Island tourism a big push. I wouldn't be surprised if Harry Cohn didn't have some business interests there.

The male leads were two guys on the downward slope of their careers, Dick Haymes and Ray McDonald, and Mickey Rooney who was trying to transition to adult star and shed his Andy Hardy image. The female leads are Barbara Bates, Jody Laurence, and in her final film Peggy Ryan.

The sailors on leave musical is something that has been done and redone into several incarnations. Off the top of my head I can think of such films as Follow the Fleet, Hit the Deck, Anchors Aweigh, and On the Town, all of which are better than All Ashore. Then again these musicals had scores written by such folks as Vincent Youmans, Irving Berlin, Jule Styne, Sammy Cahn, and Leonard Bernstein. The score here by Fred Karger and Robert Wells is singularly unmemorable.

The performers all have done better material themselves. Mickey Rooney had a role written for him that made him like Lou Costello constantly being taken advantage of by a pair of Abbotts in McDonald and Haymes. What was great for Costello doesn't quite work for the Mick.

All Ashore is all right, but hardly a nautical treasure.

Iceberg dead ahead!

[mark.waltz · 2/10 · 28 December 2010]

That's a more appropriate theme to this disastrous sailor-on-leave themed musical, an "On the Town" rip-off that suffers from unlikable characters, a rather seedy set-up, and musical numbers that rank from wretched to unintentionally laughable. Mickey Rooney plays a very gullible sailor who is suckered by two fellow sailors (Dick Haymes and Ray McDonald) into "lending" them money for their week long leave in L.A. The threesome are slipped a mickey (not the Rooney kind) and rolled while waiting for a boat to Catalina. Haymes and MacDonald arrange passage on the ship by volunteering Mickey to work selling snacks. Once they get on the island, Mickey is constantly used, left behind and treated like remnants on a pooper scooper. But when Mickey, feeling dejected after being treated so badly, goes out on his own, the friends find a microscopic conscience and begin a search for him. They are like the bullies on a playground who sit there with nothing to do when their favorite targets are missing.

While colorful and pretty to look at, "All Ashore" is a real disappointment. While it's nice to see Rooney in a role where he isn't over-acting or playing the ham, it would be nice to see his character have some backbone and tell his two non-pals to jump in the ocean. Haymes and MacDonald manipulate the suckered Rooney into doing their every bidding and they never seem to realize the evil of what they're doing. That makes for unlikable leading characters, and even if Rooney's character is sweet, he's far too passive to be believable as someone who has been out at sea for as long as the script makes it appear he has been. The scene in the bar where the boys get rolled is extremely unpleasant and destroys any light-heartedness the film attempts to restore. Musical numbers like "If You Were an Eskimo" are among the worst in a 50's musical. Peggy Ryan, Barbara Bates and Jody Lawrance are passable love interests for the threesome but they are no Betty Garrett, Vera-Ellen and Ann Miller, the three lovelies of the outstanding "On the Town". Even with new songs and some new plot developments not in the original Broadway musical, "On the Town" ranks as an Admiral. "All Ashore" simply deserves to swab the deck.

Maybe the third time would have been the charm

[lzf0 · 26 September 2008]

This is the second Columbia service comedy produced by the combined efforts of Richard Quine, Blake Edwards and Mickey Rooney. In their first service comedy, "Sound Off", Rooney is his familiar cocky self, but is somewhat restrained. This time around, Rooney is made the patsy, having Dick Haymes and Ray McDonald as his con artist buddies. Sailor films featuring three sailors became the rage with the success on "On the Town", both on Broadway and on the screen. But there is no point in having three sailors here. The only difference between the Haymes and McDonald characters is that Haymes is a singer (his dancing is laughable) and McDonald is a dancer (who can carry a melody). Their characters have no depth or likability. Rooney's character is sympathetic and well written, but it's not for Rooney. He's out of his element. Usually, Rooney is the confident con man who has to defeat the obstacles. This would have been better played by Danny Kaye, Red Skelton, Donald O'Connor or even Arnold Stang. As always, Rooney handles the physical comedy beautifully, and he is permitted to overact. Quine's direction of Rooney is an improvement over "Sound Off". The writing by Qunie and Edwards is also an improvement, with broader situations. Fred Karger's songs are pleasant and an improvement over the songs in "Sound Off". However, the script and the direction kill off a great pay-off gag to end the film. I saw it coming, Quine hints at it, but then softens the finish. Had they continued to work together, the Quine-Edwards-Rooney team might have come up with some comic winners. They all have the skills and their two films have much potential. The first film misses the mark, but this one has much more going for it, with the exception of Rooney's characterization.

Two jerks and a patsy.

[planktonrules · 3/10 · 27 April 2021]

Blake edwards--cowriter. Musical.

Too much singing/dancin--none that memorable rooney's character is a putz--they went too far.

A bt like A&C but more cruel and unfunny.

I did NOT like "All Ashore" though I noticed a lot of reviews were glowing. For me, I just couldn't stand the characters and the music wasn't especially memorable.

The story is about three sailors on shore leave. Pretty soon, you realize that two of them are complete jerks and spend most of the movie taking advantage of their patsy friend (Mickey Rooney). Again and again, they treat him like dirt, take his money, take his watch and treat him like he's only allowed to be there for what they can get out of him...and yet they say they are his friends. I noticed one reviewer thought it reminded them of two Abbotts and one Costello...which is pretty accurate...except Abbott & Costello's comedies were comedies and you knew it was all in fun. I didn't feel this way about "All Ashore"...as it felt more like an abusive relationship. I know I am not in the majority here.

When you combine this with a few songs too many (none of which were memorable), and it's a film I really had difficulty enjoying. Apart from pretty Technicolor and locations such as Catalina Island, I really had a hard time enjoying the picture and really just wanted to see Rooney's character sock his 'friends' in the nose. Not a pleasant viewing experience because the writers didn't balance the relationships with love or even appreciation. Having his friends REALLY care about their friend would have done a lot to improve the film....but I felt that had kidney transplants been possible back in 1953, they would have sold BOTH of the guys kidneys to finance their shore leave.

surprisingly tuneful

[donby · 8/10 · 1 June 2001]

This 50's musical is not on video and so is very hard to find. You'll have to search the schedules of AMC or TCM to try to locate it. Starring mellow, unassuming Dick Haymes, this film is surprisingly tuneful (original music by Morris Stoloff). Okay, the story is the hardly-original story of 3 gobs on leave, but you get the beautiful backdrop of Catalina, rather than over-used New York. Blake Edwards has a writing credit.

All Ashore is wonderful

[[e-mail] · 10/10 · 1 August 2005]

When I was a kid in bombed out London in the '50's I went to the local picture house to get away from the wreckage of not only the bomb-sites, but also my rowing drunken parents. This movie got me away - double. Loved the three guys, especially a scene in a bar where one of the sailors dances with a girl. It was magic. Also Micky Rooney sitting on a swing and singing a song. He was lonely and feeling a mug. That's just the way I felt at that time. Not a mug, I was 12 and no kid is a mug. You got to be 21 - at least. But I was loney and I associated with these 3 guys. Since, I have danced and known beautiful girls. I would like to find this film again. Yet it has never been played on TV. Perhaps it is lost, crumbled in some archive and never to be returned to our life again. Pity. Great little musical.

fast-moving little gem

[jeffhanna3 · 8/10 · 19 October 2008]

As someone else wrote, this film is surprisingly tuneful. LOTS of musical numbers, and almost every one is catchy and hummable. The only negative in the film is a tedious dream sequence of dueling knights. Fortunately, it only lasts five minutes. Interesting to see Barbara Bates, looking much more beautiful than in her famous appearance at the end of "All About Eve."

The Technicolor photography is gorgeous, and the Catalina locations are fun to see. All the people in the many crowd scenes, such as one at a big dance hall, are extremely good-looking and well-dressed. Dick Haymes had one of the all-time great voices, and there is a jazzy dance number by a surprisingly sexy Peggy Ryan (who doesn't play a sexy part in the rest of the picture), and her partner Ray McDonald, that is absolutely dynamite. Peggy was one hell of a dancer.

For those who appreciate lighthearted musicals of the early 50's, highly recommended.

Who Are We To Say! Love Peggy Ryan & Ray McDonald!

[vilenciaproductions · 10/10 · 8 December 2020]

All Ashore! Love Peggy Ryan & Ray McDonald! What a fantastic dance team! The Best! I could cut out their scenes and watch them dance over and over again! I bought a 16mm print of this picture a few years ago, because they were in it! The other thing I loved about this picture is when Dick Haymes sings to Jody Lawrance "Who Are We To Say" what a beautiful ballad! I grew up in the 1960's and 70's listening to big band 78rpm records so I am a little bias because while my contemporaries all listened to the rock 'n roll trash like The Beatles and Led Zeppelin, I only loved classical and jazz! To this day I think popular recorded music after 1960 all sucks! Back to the flick! OKAY Mickey Rooney is a very annoying human! He was talented for sure, but he was a right wing wack job who thought Bill Clinton was a Marxist? Give me a break Mick he signed NAFTA and GATT along with Rooney's Republican buddies which helped to destroy the American work force! Barbara Bates was a doll! Too bad she had to go and knock herself off! Jody Lawrance was another cute chick who also died too young! And who don't love Jean Willes, loved her in the Three Stooges shorts! The dream sequence "I Lay Down My Arms" was stupid, but boy oh boy didn't Barbara Bates look hot! Some of the music was dumb! But I have forgiven Columbia Pictures! Oh yea the scenes of Catalina! WOW! When adults ruled the world, not a bunch of dumb teenage idiots! So because I hate the world now, and all of the crummy trash for movies since the 1970's, I give this picture ten stars, who cares if it's not that good, it's way better than pictures now! Oh, I think I left my Covid-19 mask down stairs! Damn it!