Anchors Aweigh (1945)

A+++++

ANCHORS AWEIGH [1945] [Blu-ray] See-worthy Sailors Kelly and Sinatra In A Singing, Dancing, Romancing Classic!Given free rein in choreographing ‘Anchors Aweigh,’ Gene Kelly was eager to do the unexpected. But what? "How about doing a dance with a cartoon?" collaborator and friend Stanley Donen asked. How about it indeed. Gene Kelly's live-action fancy footwork with animated Jerry (of Tom and Jerry) remains a milestone of movie fantasy. Frank Sinatra and Kathryn Grayson also head line this wartime tale of two sailors on leave in Hollywood. Frank Sinatra's "I Fall in Love Too Easily," the exuberant Gene Kelly/Frank Sinatra "We Hate to Leave" and other highlights helped ‘Anchors Aweigh’ weigh in with an Academy Award® for Best Scoring of a Musical Picture, plus four more Oscar® nominations, including Best Picture and Actor for Gene Kelly.FILM FACT: It won the Academy Award® for Best Music, Scoring of a Musical Picture, which was received by the musical director Georgie Stoll. ‘Anchors Aweigh’ was also Nominated for Best Actor in a Leading Role (Gene Kelly), Best Cinematography, Color (Robert Planck and Charles P. Boyle), Best Music, Song for Jule Styne (music) and Sammy Cahn (lyrics) for "I Fall in Love Too Easily") and Best Picture. Although the contributions of one of the first black composers and pianists in the M-G-M music department, Calvin Jackson, went uncredited, this was not uncommon even for white studio musicians.Cast: Gene Kelly, Frank Sinatra, Henry O'Neill, José Iturbi, Kathryn Grayson, Dean Stockwell, Pamela Britton, Rags Ragland, Billy Gilbert, Carlos Ramírez, Edgar Kennedy, Grady Sutton, Leon Ames, Grady Sutton and Sara Berner (Jerry Mouse)Director: George SidneyProducer: Joe PasternakScreenplay: Isobel Lennart and Natalie Marcin (story)Composers: Georgie Stoll (musical direction), Axel Stordahl (orchestrations) and Calvin Jackson (incidental music)Cinematography: Charles P. BoyleVideo Resolution: 1080p [Technicolor]Aspect Ratio: 1.37:1Audio: English: 1.0 DTS-HD Master Audio Mono, French: 1.0 Dolby Digital Mono, Spanish [Castilian]: 1.0 Dolby Digital Mono and Spanish [Latin]: 1.0 Dolby Digital MonoSubtitles: English SDH, French, Spanish [Castilian] and Spanish [Latin]Running Time: 140 minutesRegion: Region A/1Number of discs: 1Studio: Warner Home VideoAndrew’s Blu-ray Review: Anchors Aweigh [1945], is quintessential a Forties song and dance extravaganza about two sailors on leave in Hollywood, remains the penultimate example of the M-G-M confectionery machine at its peak. The seamless team chemistry of Gene Kelly and Frank Sinatra proved so sensational that the duo would be paired in two subsequent (and legendary) Metro-Godwyn-Mayer releases, ‘Take Me Out to the Ballgame’ [1949] and, most notably, ‘On the Town’ [1949]. Their reel camaraderie paralleled their real lifetime friendship, an enthusiasm evident in every frame they share together. For Frank Sinatra, a devout movie buff, co-starring at M-G-M was a dream come true and this picture, showing him as a girl-shy gob in love, firmly cemented him as a member of the studio's more-stars-than-there-are-in-Heaven club. Importantly, it was the singer's first appearance in Technicolor. Aside from the spectacular Technicolor (whose radiant bright hues turned Southern California into a kaleidoscopic paradise), ‘Anchors Aweigh’ was expertly helmed by George Sidney, beginning his feature film tenure after apprenticing in the studio's shorts department. Sinatra, never one to forget a key player in his career, heartily approved when George Sidney directed ‘Pal Joey’ in 1957.This mammoth brilliant Hollywood musical is about the story of two sailors on leave in Hollywood. Brash Joseph Brady [Gene Kelly] has promised his shy pal Clarence Doolittle [Frank Sinatra] that he will introduce Clarence to all the glamorous movie starlets whom he allegedly knows so well. Also involved in the plot machinations is runaway orphan Donald Martin [Dean Stockwell]. Of course Gene Kelly was no slouch either nor was female lead Kathryn Grayson or the cute little urchin playing her kid brother, Dean Stockwell. Gene Kelly's imaginative dances, resulting in the masterful live action/animation set piece, wherein the star cuts a veritable rug with M-G-M's cartoon luminary Jerry the Mouse, is probably the most famous sequence in the picture, which is everyone’s favourite part of the film.Actually, the only actress whom Joseph meets is bit player Susan Abbott [Kathryn Grayson]. He arranges for the golden-throated Susan to be auditioned by musician José Iturbi, but when she seems to want to return the favour romantically, Brady tries to foist the girl off on Clarence. But Clarence only has eyes for a fellow Brooklynite [Pamela Britton].Indeed, the Jerry the Mouse/Gene Kelly dance is a unique novelty but it is probably the magnificent Jule Styne/Sammy Cahn songs including "What Makes the Sunset" and "I Begged Her" that the film's legions of fans take closest to heart. A top favourite is "I Fall in Love Too Easily," as sung by a lonely Frank Sinatra in the empty Hollywood Bowl, the ballad, in its elegant simplicity, remains one of the films musical's greatest moments.Miss Kathryn Grayson sings several numbers really beautifully, be it said from the semi-classic "Jalousie" to "All Of a Sudden My Heart Sings." And Frank Sinatra does rather nicely and we'd be the first to say so if he did not by such slightly sticky numbers as "I Fall in Love Too Easily" and "What Makes the Sunset?"Featuring Gene Kelly dancing with such partners as a cartoon mouse (courtesy of M-G-M's house animators Joseph Barbera and William Hanna), ‘Anchors Aweigh’ was a huge hit in 1945, assuring audiences of hopefully future Gene Kelly/Frank Sinatra teaming ups? Indeed, for a popular entertainment, ‘Anchors Aweigh’ is hard to beat.Blu-ray Video Quality – Warner Home Video has gone back to the drawing board for a brand new 1080p image harvest on this much beloved catalogue title. The results are mostly pleasing. ‘Anchors Aweigh’ appears in an aspect ratio of 1.37:1 on this Blu-ray Disc. For its age, I think Warner Bros. have done a sterling work in producing this 1080p encoded image. Sharpness usually came across well. A little softness entered into some shots, mainly during interiors, but those instances didn’t create notable distractions and the majority of the film displayed very positively in my opinion. The Technicolor elements offered nice vibrate colours throughout the film. Blacks seemed dark and tight, and low-light shots offered good clarity and I felt very pleased with the image.Blu-ray Audio Quality – The film's original mono track has been encoded as 1.0 DTS-HD Master Audio Mono. The source is in great shape for the era, and the musical numbers and vocal performances have remarkably good presence, even the big numbers featuring a huge military band or a dozen pianos. The dynamic range is somewhat limited, but the highs aren't harsh and the lows aren't too harsh. Both dialogue and lyrics are clearly rendered, including the cartoon voices. The only slightly negative aspect of this audio is at certain times you get a lot of hiss background noise, mainly when some of the songs are sung, but despite this, Warner Bros. have done a very good job.Blu-ray Special Features and Extras:Vintage Feature: Hanna & Barbera on the Making of 'The Worry Song' [from M-G-M: ‘When the Lion Roars’] [1992] [480i] [4:3] [2:08] This very short feature tells us about the famous musical number where Gene Kelly dances seamlessly with the animated Jerry Mouse (voiced by Sara Berner) which the sequence was supervised by Joseph Barbera and William Hanna. The animation was entirely done by veterans Kenneth Muse, Ray Patterson and Ed Barge. We also hear that originally, the Producer Joe Pasternak with Gene Kelly wanted to use Mickey Mouse for this segment, but Walt Disney said, “Let me get this straight, you want Mickey Mouse to be in an M-G-M picture” and Joe and Gene said “yes,” and Walt Disney said, “Mickey Mouse will never be used in an M-G-M picture” and that is how Jerry the mouse appears with Gene Kelly. But we also how the concept of the dance routine comes about as we get to hear Joseph Barbera and William Hanna [Directors/M-G-M Cartoon] explain in great detail how it was all planned and eventually filmed, I tell you it all sounded a very complicated intricate process for the time, whereas today it would all be done with CGI and computers.Vintage Feature: Football Thrills of 1944 [1945 M-G-M B/W Short] [1945] [480i] [4:3] [8:28] Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer presents A Pete Smith Speciality that is narrated and produced by a Smith named Pete. What you get to view is highlights of American Football in 1944. The teams competing we get to view are Tulsa vs. Georgia Tech; Ohio State vs. Indiana; Dartmouth vs. Penn; Notre Dame vs. Pitt; Notre Dame vs. Army; Ohio State vs. Great Lakes Training Station; Navy vs. Duke; Notre Dame vs. Illinois; Navy vs. Georgia State; Army vs. Duke; Navy vs. North Carolina Pre-Flight and Army vs. Navy. This has got to be the most boring extra I have ever seen in a very long time and if you are not at all a sports fan like me, then give this a wide berth, as you will not be at a loss not viewing it.Vintage Cartoon: Jerky Turkey [1945 M-G-M Short] [1945] [480i] [4:3] [7:30] The Pilgrims land at Plymouth Rock and found a colony. A very large number of Pilgrims (some of them caricatures of Avery's animation crew) can be seen standing in line... for their cigarette rations. A Pilgrim goes hunting for a turkey for Thanksgiving dinner. The turkey outsmarts the pilgrim many times and eventually the two make up and decide to eat at "Joe's restaurant" which is being advertised by a bear, at the end the bear has eaten the two and reveals that he is Joe and the two complain inside the bear's stomach. Many of the gags revolve around life on the home front in the United States during WWII, rationing and the black market. The turkey is a caricature of the comedian Jimmy Durante. ‘Jerky Turkey’ animated theatrical short, directed by Tex Avery. The story for this cartoon was written by Heck Allen, the music by Scott Bradley, and the animation was done by Preston Blair, Ed Love and Ray Abrams.Before you get to view this Tex Avery Cartoon, you get a notice from Warner Bros. informing us that the cartoon you get to view is a product of its time. It depicts some ethnic and racial prejudices that were common place in American society. These depictions were wrong then and are wrong today. While the following does not represent Warner Bros.’ view of today’s society, this cartoon is being presented as it was originally created , because to do otherwise would be the same as claiming these prejudices never existed.Theatrical Trailer [1945] [480i] [4:3] [2:28] This is a very nice original trailer for ‘Anchors Aweigh’.Finally, ‘Anchors Aweigh’ is a very solid musical fare. The production numbers are very zingy; the songs are extremely listenable; the Technicolor treatment outstanding. ‘Anchors Aweigh’ is by far for me personally one of the best examples of the Hollywood musical that I really love and especially with its significant innovative use of spectacular animation and live action footage for 1945. If you are a fan of this film then I can assure you that you will not be disappointed and if you have never seen this film before, then you are in for a real treat. Highly Recommended!Andrew C. Miller – Your Ultimate No.1 Film AficionadoLe Cinema ParadisoUnited Kingdom

This film is good. It has dancing and cool stuff in it.

Anchors Away is a dynamic film to watch throughout because of the interconnection of movie scenes and the music to paint an image of what is happening throughout a major love story. Gene Kelly features as a very self-confident navy sailor named Joseph Brady who is determined to enjoy his four days in Hollywood, California while also enjoying romantic companionship. Brady unexpectedly becomes sort of a mentor to Clarence Doolittle (Frank Sinatra) who wants help with finding love as well. Both men unexpectedly cross paths with a woman named Susan Abbott (Kathryn Grayson) after they are forced by the police to bring her nephew to her house. Eventually, what is supposed to be four days of leisure for both men turns into something different when Joseph influences Clarence to create an imaginative story to Susan that they could help get her a meeting with pianist/conductor Jose Iturbi.

Having been really disappointed with LA LA Land, I thought I'd try a "classic" Hollywood musical. And this film fit the bill!Unfortunately, none of it was actually filmed on location on Hollywood streets, although there is some amazing Technicolor footage at the Hollywood bowl, and perhaps an exterior of the real MGM (now Sony Pictures) studio in Culver City.I enjoyed the musical numbers, in particular the one on (fake) Olvera Street, and the 15+ piano concerto at the Bowl.Also, the film was rather amusing (something seriously missing from LA LA) - although I wouldn't call it a comedy, it had plenty of real laughs.The plot was less interesting than it's described, but if 70-year old films appeal to you, you will probably enjoy this one!

What can I say, Gene Kelly never disappoints.

Fun movie to watch with my wife. Wish they would go back to making quality movies like this.

Classic entertainment. Great cinematography, great music and great choreography. A fine movie in every respect. I believe that Gene Kelly was one of the finest entertainers ever. He and Sinatra shine together.