Anchors Aweigh. On the Town. Hit the Deck. Hollywood has always known what to do with sailors on leave: give ’em some pretty girls and some great songs and watch the fans line up to enlist. Hit the Deck hits all the right notes as three sailors (Tony Martin, Vic Damone, Russ Tamblyn) and three cuties (Jane Powell, Debbie Reynolds, Ann Miller) flirt, squabble, run afoul of shore patrol and of course, fall in love to a hit parade of Vincent Youmans tunes. Highlights include Miller’s polishing the floor as The Lady from the Bayou, Martin’s romantic mastery of More Than You Know and the stage-filling rouser Hallelujah. Music, romance, fun: don’t miss the boat!

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Video Quality

Warner Archive brought Hit the Deck to Blu-Ray with a great 1080p master transfer in 2.55:1 when it was released in 2014 remastered from its CinemaScope origins. Even when ramping up its Blu-Ray output in the early days, Warner Archive always put a lot of care into preserving and exhibiting Cinemascope properties. The film is essentially pristine with no obvious instances of damage or dirt detected here. Compression artifacts, banding, and other such issues similarly do not arise as an issue in this transfer. The film shines when it comes to colors within the costumes and production design that beam off the screen. Highlights are steady during the runtime and black levels are typically deep and stable. The transfer reveals a world of detail and clarity. The natural film grain has been preserved which allows the picture to capture every nuance of the background. Warner Archive was in top form even a decade ago.

Audio Quality

The Blu-Ray comes with a DTS-HD 5.1 Master Audio track that delivers everything you want in a musical. Music is the lifeblood of this feature, and the numbers hold up with flawless fidelity even in the higher registers. Normal dialogue likewise comes through clearly with no elements drowning out the exchanges. Everything remains in harmony alongside the music. The more kinetic moments are handled well and give the track more personality. There is no egregious age-related wear and tear to the track such as hissing, dropouts, or popping. Warner Archive has provided a disc that delivers what is needed. Optional English (SDH) subtitles are included for the feature film.

Special Features

Trailer (4:14)

Song Selection

Final Thoughts

Hit the Deck is not the strongest musical outing from the Golden Age, but it still holds up as a fun time at the movies. The narrative is a bit flimsy as it attempts to connect all the big musical numbers, but the production value is so high that you do not hold it against the film. The women of the film bring the charisma this so desperately needs opposite men who are somewhat homogenous. This one is more for the deep-cut crowd rather than newcomers to the genre, but it entertains all the same. Warner Archive has released a Blu-Ray featuring a strong A/V presentation but not much in the way of special features. Recommended

Hit the Deck can be purchased directly through MovieZyng or various other online retailers.

Note: Images presented in this review are not reflective of the image quality of the Blu-Ray.

Disclaimer: Warner Archive has supplied a copy of this disc free of charge for review purposes. All opinions in this review are the honest reactions of the author.