NEAR MINT - UNSEALED - ONLY 1 AVAILABLE

After the success of 1949's "On The Town" and 1952's "Singin' In The Rain," M-G-M producer Arthur Freed hired scenarists Betty Comden and Adolph Green to not only script a new all-original film musical, but to also write lyrics for new songs by the 25-year-old Andre Previn. A sort of thematic follow-up to "On The Town," the new film was to be called "It's Always Fair Weather."

Starring Gene Kelly, Cyd Charisse, Dan Dailey, Michael Kidd, and Dolores Grey, the film is the story of three army buddies who reunite after ten years, only to discover how much they've grown apart. Conceived during the demise of the studio system, Weather was unique for its complex character development and relatively dark undertones. And while audiences were surely perplexed at how a musical starring Kelly and Charisse could avoid pairing the two in a dance sequence, it was perhaps the film's jaundiced view of the post-war dream that relegated it to the less-than-lucrative category of critical favorite. (It earned two Oscar nominations for Best Original Screenplay and Best Scoring Of A Musical.)

Even if "Weather" was too progressive to rake in big box office, it was still notable for some dazzling song and dance. Set in the good ol' days right after the war, "The Binge" finds the three soldiers in a drunken stupor, unleashing a brilliantly brazen tap dance with trash can lids strapped to their feet. Then there's "I Like Myself," a career-defining moment for Gene Kelly reminiscent of his "Singin' In The Rain" number. Here Kelly captures the unbridled joy of the earlier classic, this time on roller skates!

This Turner/Rhino Handmade title represents the first stereo recording of Weather to be remastered from the original 3-track magnetic stereo masters. Previous issues were either monaural or transferred from a video master's soundtrack. With a total of 32 tracks, this special edition includes many unreleased underscore pieces orchestrated by Conrad Salinger, as well as several demos featuring vocals by Betty Comden and Adolph Green and piano by Andre Previn.

1. MAIN TITLE
2. MARCH, MARCH
3. MEDLEY: LETTER/DRINKING MONTAGE/THE BINGE
4. TIME FOR PARTING
5. TEN YEAR MONTAGE
6. THE BLUE DANUBE (I SHOULDN'T HAVE COME)
7. AFTER BLUE DANUBE
8. GENE'S FOLLY
9. MUSIC IS BETTER THAN WORDS
10. STILLMAN'S GYM
11. BABY YOU KNOCK ME OUT
12. SITUATION-WISE
13. MIKE'S DREAM PLACE
14. TIME FOR PARTING/ONCE UPON A TIME
15. I THOUGHT THEY'D NEVER LEAVE (outtake)
16. LOVE IS NOTHING BUT A RACKET (outtake)
17. TWENTY-FIVE CENT ANALYSIS
18. SITUATION-WISE
19. I LIKE MYSELF
20. MADELINE'S COMMERCIAL (KLENZRITE)
21. THANKS A LOT, BUT NO THANKS
22. TIME FOR PARTING-TV GIRLS
23. TIME FOR PARTING (FINALE)
24. END CAST (outtake)
25. THE BINGE (Alternate Version)
26. JACK AND THE SPACE GIANTS (Demo)
27. ONCE UPON A TIME
28. LOVE IS NOTHIN' BUT A RACKET
29. MUSIC IS BETTER THAN WORDS (Alternate Version)
30. THE BLUE DANUBE
31. I THOUGHT THEY'D NEVER LEAVE
32. THANKS A LOT, BUT NO THANKS

Cooked up by Betty Comden and Adolph Green, "It's Always Fair Weather" could well have been titled "On the Town Ten Years Later." Like 1949's "On the Town" (also a Comden/Green collaboration), this MGM musical follows the exploits of three servicemen buddies, played by Gene Kelly, Dan Dailey and Michael Kidd. The difference here is that the threesome has just been discharged from service. The boys agree to get together again exactly ten years after their parting. Flash-forward to 1955: Kelly, who'd dreamed of being a show biz entrepreneur, is a small-time boxing promoter, heavily in debt to the Mob; Dailey has abandoned his plans of becoming an artist in favor of a stuffy, grey-flannel existence as an ad executive; and Kidd, who'd aspired to being a master chef, is running a modest diner. On behalf of TV-personality Dolores Gray, network-staffer Cyd Charisse contrives to reunite the three men on a "This is Your Life" style TV special, but all three are hostile to the notion. Also stars Jay C. Flippen and Madge Blake (who appeared in the "Bewitched" TV episode "The Witches Are Out" telecast on October 29, 1964.) 1955