Anchors Aweigh (film)

Infobox Film | name =Anchors Aweigh


caption =original movie poster
director = George Sidney
producer = Joe Pasternak
writer = Natalie Marcin (story)
Isobel Lennart
starring =Frank Sinatra
Kathryn Grayson
Gene Kelly
music =
cinematography =
editing = Adrienne Fazan
distributor = MGM
released = July 14, 1945 (U.S. release)
runtime = 143 min
language = English
budget =
imdb_id = 0037514

"Anchors Aweigh" is a 1945 musical comedy film, directed by George Sidney in which two sailors go on a four-day shore leave in Hollywood, accompanied by music and song, meet an aspiring young singer and try to help her get an audition at MGM. It stars Frank Sinatra, Gene Kelly, Kathryn Grayson, José Iturbi and Dean Stockwell.

About the film

The movie was written by Natalie Marcin and Isobel Lennart and directed by George Sidney.

It won the Academy Award for Best Music, Scoring of a Musical Picture. In 2001, Kevin Spacey purchased this Oscar statuette at a Butterfield & Butterfield auction and returned it to the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. "Anchors Aweigh" was also nominated for Best Actor in a Leading Role (Gene Kelly), Best Cinematography, Color (Robert Planck, Charles P. Boyle), Best Music, Song (for Jule Styne (music) and Sammy Cahn (lyrics) for "I Fall in Love Too Easily") and Best Picture.

The movie is famous for a musical number where Gene Kelly dances with Jerry Mouse (voiced by Sara Berner). Kelly is live action while Jerry is animated. Tom Cat appears briefly in the sequence as a butler. Originally, the producers wanted to use Mickey Mouse for this segment. Walt Disney agreed, but Roy Disney cut the deal. According to Bob Thomas' book on Roy Disney, the studio was in debt after World War II and they were focusing on trying to get their own films out on time. According to Roy, they had no business making cartoons for other people. [Bob Thomas. "Building a Company: Roy O. Disney and the Creation of an Entertainment Empire."]

The film offers rare glimpses of the MGM studio, including the Thalberg Building, the backlot, the commissary, and one of the soundstages, as well as an on-screen performance by the studio orchestra. There is also a memorable scene at the Hollywood Bowl, where Sinatra sings "I Fall in Love Too Easily", after Iturbi and a group of young pianists have performed a spectacular arrangement of Franz Liszt's "Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2". In the audition scene with Iturbi, Grayson sings a special arrangement for soprano and orchestra of the waltz from Peter Tchaikovsky's "Serenade for Strings". Many of the memorable scenes in this film were later featured in the "That's Entertainment!" tributes to MGM.

In popular culture

* Paula Abdul was inspired by the scene of Kelly dancing with Jerry to create the video for her song "Opposites Attract", where she dances with an animated cat.
* In the "Family Guy" episode "Road to Rupert", the character Stewie Griffin dances with Kelly in an attempt to rent an helicopter. To do so, the animators edited Jerry Mouse and replaced him with Stewie, although Jerry's reflection is clearly seen below Stewie.

Awards and nominations

* Winner: Academy Award, Original Music Score
* Nominated: Academy Award, Best Picture
* Nominated: Academy Award, Best Actor, Gene Kelly
* Nominated: Academy Award, Best Cinematography (Color)
* Nominated: Best Song, I Fall In Love Too Easily (Words and Music by Sammy Cahn and Jule Styne, Sung by Frank Sinatra)

References

External links

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