Film

Living in a Big Way

Name: Living in a Big Way
Genre: Comedy, Music
Released: 1947
Cast: Gene Kelly, Marie McDonald, Charles Winninger, Phyllis Thaxter, Spring Byington

Screwball comedy
Light-hearted

A 1947 musical comedy about a returning WWII pilot and his bride navigating marriage, class, and what home even means after war. Gene Kelly sings, dances, and charms through domestic chaos with an earnestness that feels both joyful and oddly touching—a film that enjoys itself without cynicism, made for audiences who liked their comedies bright and their song-and-dance numbers generous.

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The Egg and I1947

Claudette Colbert and Fred MacMurray navigate newlywed chaos on a chicken farm with the same post-war optimism. Sharp, funny, and surprisingly warm about the real work of making a marriage stick.

But Turns on domestic squabbles that feel dated; the screwball energy can tip into repetition if you're not already charmed by the leads.

It Happened on Fifth Avenue1947

Released the same year, same spirit: a soldier returns home to find his mansion occupied by squatters, and instead of fury there's warmth and comedy. Genuinely kind without being saccharine.

But The plot meanders. If you need tight structure, this will frustrate you—it's more interested in character moments than dramatic momentum.

State of the Union1948

Spencer Tracy and Katharine Hepburn as a married couple arguing about politics and principle. Smarter than most post-war comedies, with real stakes beneath the banter and a genuine respect for both leads.

But The political material feels earnest in a way that can come across as preachy if you're watching for pure entertainment.

Not sure tonight? Get a pick in a minute, starting from Living in a Big Way

The wildcard

Something you would not have found on your own.

Singin' in the Rain1952

Both are post-war Hollywood musicals built around Gene Kelly's body and charm, but Singin' in the Rain takes the form and pushes it toward art. Watching both shows you how much Kelly's craft deepened in five years.

The obvious Kelly comparison, yes—but it's here because it's the film where everything Kelly learned is perfected. If you felt something watching him move, this is the argument for why it matters. Effortless mastery.

But Everyone worships it, which can create a resentment before you even start. The Donald O'Connor subplot, great as it is, can feel like it's showing off.

Good News1947

June Allyson and Peter Lawford in a college musical about football and romance. Pure MGM charm, infectious energy, and June Allyson's likeability is genuinely hard to resist.

But Paper-thin plot; exists almost entirely to hang musical numbers on. If you need actual stakes or character depth, you'll be bored.

Down to Earth1947

Rita Hayworth as Terpsichore, the muse of dance, sent to Earth to fix a terrible musical. It's surreal, gorgeous, and Rita Hayworth gets to dance. That should be enough.

But The frame story about the musical being made is genuinely tedious, and it goes on too long. The best sequences feel trapped in filler.

The Pirate1948

Gene Kelly again, this time with Judy Garland, in a Vincente Minnelli swashbuckle that's visually strange and tonally bold. Kelly gets to do acrobatic comedy that feels genuinely inventive.

But Wildly uneven. Some sequences soar; others lag. The film seems uncertain whether it wants to be a parody or a straight adventure, and the tonal whiplash can be exhausting.

Easter Parade1948

Fred Astaire and Judy Garland dancing through New York in the 1910s. A comfort watch—beautifully made, endlessly charming, and both leads are operating at peak form.

But Slight and predictable. The plot has been made a hundred times and it doesn't try to surprise you. Fine if you want to sink into something familiar; tedious if you need novelty.

Till the Clouds Roll By1946

Essentially a Jerome Kern revue with a biography wrapped around it. Van Heflin is pleasant enough, but you're really here to watch Astaire, Garland, and Sinatra perform. Those moments are transcendent.

But The biographical material is weak and intrusive, constantly pulling focus from the numbers. By the twentieth musical interruption, pacing becomes a real problem.

Make Mine Music1946

A Disney package film of animated musical shorts, featuring opera, swing, and surreal comedy. Shorter than a feature, variable in quality, but the best sequences are wonderfully strange and creative.

But It's a grab bag, so you're locked into everything whether you like it or not. Some segments are precious or dated in ways that won't land.

A Matter of Life and Death1946

Both are serious about the interior lives of returning soldiers trying to figure out what home means after war, but they speak in completely different registers—one is an American comedy musical, one is a philosophical British fantasy. Same moral weight, opposite temperatures.

A British pilot crashes and meets Death itself; the film asks whether he should live or die. Filmed in Technicolor so vivid it seems impossible, with a whimsy that never betrays the real questions underneath about duty, love, and what we owe the world.

But It's visually baroque and the philosophy is unironic. If you're allergic to sincerity or you need your films to feel contemporary, this will feel like theater.

Cover Girl1944

An earlier Kelly musical that uses dance differently than Living in a Big Way does—more experimental, less bound to plot—but both films believe that a body moving through space and time is enough to make you feel something real. Watch both and you see how Kelly changed the possibilities for what a musical number could be.

Rita Hayworth and Gene Kelly dancing through a backstage romance in New York. The choreography is inventive, even audacious—Kelly dancing with his own reflection, or through a surreal city street. It's before Singin' in the Rain and you can feel the form being reinvented.

But The plot really is gossamer. Hayworth looks stunning and dances beautifully, but Kelly is allowed to be more interesting, which makes the movie feel lopsided if you're hoping for a genuine romance.