''Anchors Aweigh'' is a 1945 American live-action/animated

musical Musical is the adjective of music. Musical may also refer to: * Musical theatre, a performance art that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance * Musical film Musical film is a film genre in which songs by the characters are interwo ...

fantasy Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction involving magical elements, typically set in a fictional universe and sometimes inspired by mythology and folklore. Its roots are in oral traditions, which then became fantasy literature and d ...

comedy film A comedy film is a category of film which emphasizes humor. These films are designed to make the audience laugh through amusement. Films in this style traditionally have a happy ending ( black comedy being an exception). Comedy is one of the o ...

directed by

George Sidney George Sidney (October 4, 1916May 5, 2002) was an American film director and producer who worked primarily at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. His work includes cult classics '' Bye Bye Birdie'' (1963) and ''Viva Las Vegas'' (1964). With an extensive backgr ...

, starring

Frank Sinatra Francis Albert Sinatra (; December 12, 1915 – May 14, 1998) was an American singer and actor. Nicknamed the " Chairman of the Board" and later called "Ol' Blue Eyes", Sinatra was one of the most popular entertainers of the 1940s, 1950s, and ...

, Kathryn Grayson, and

Gene Kelly Eugene Curran Kelly (August 23, 1912 – February 2, 1996) was an American actor, dancer, singer, filmmaker, and choreographer. He was known for his energetic and athletic dancing style and sought to create a new form of American dance accessibl ...

, with songs by

Jule Styne Jule Styne (; born Julius Kerwin Stein; December 31, 1905 – September 20, 1994) was an English-American songwriter and composer best known for a series of Broadway musicals, including several famous frequently-revived shows that also becam ...

and

Sammy Cahn Samuel Cohen (June 18, 1913 – January 15, 1993), known professionally as Sammy Cahn, was an American lyricist, songwriter, and musician. He is best known for his romantic lyrics to films and Broadway songs, as well as stand-alone songs premi ...

. In the film, two sailors go on a four-day shore leave in

Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywoo ...

, meet a young boy and his aunt, an aspiring young singer, and the sailors try to help her get an audition at

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc., also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures and abbreviated as MGM, is an American film, television production, distribution and media company owned by amazon (company), Amazon through MGM Holdings, founded o ...

. In addition to a live-action Kelly dancing with

Jerry Mouse Gerald Jinx "Jerry" Mouse is a fictional character and one of the two titular characters in Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer's series of ''Tom and Jerry'' theatrical animated short films and other animated media, usually acting as the protagonist opposite his ...

, the cartoon mouse of the ''

Tom and Jerry ''Tom and Jerry'' is an American animated media franchise and series of comedy short films created in 1940 by William Hanna and Joseph Barbera. Best known for its 161 theatrical short films by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, the series centers on the ...

'' series, the film also features

José Iturbi José Iturbi Báguena (28 November 189528 June 1980) was a Spanish conductor, pianist and harpsichordist. He appeared in several Hollywood films of the 1940s, notably playing himself in the musicals ''Thousands Cheer'' (1943), ''Music for Mill ...

Pamela Britton Pamela Britton (born Armilda Jane Owens, March 19, 1923 – June 17, 1974) was an American actress, best known for appearing as Lorelei Brown in the television series '' My Favorite Martian'' (1963–1966) and for her female lead in the film n ...

Dean Stockwell Robert Dean Stockwell (March 5, 1936 – November 7, 2021) was an American actor with a career spanning seven decades. As a child actor under contract to Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, he first came to the public's attention in films including ''Anchors A ...

, and Sharon McManus.

Tom Cat Thomas Jasper "Tom" Cat Sr. is a fictional character and one of the two titular main protagonists (the other being Jerry Mouse) in Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer's series of ''Tom and Jerry'' theatrical animated short films. Created by William Hanna and J ...

has a brief cameo appearance as a servant of Jerry Mouse, the lonesome king. The film received mixed reviews but it became a financial success.

Plot

Gunner's Mate Second Class Joe Brady and

Seaman First Class Seaman is a military rank used in many navies around the world. It is considered a junior enlisted rank and, depending on the navy, it may be a single rank on its own or a name shared by several similarly junior ranks. In the Commonwealth, it ...

Clarence Doolittle are USN sailors who have a four-day leave in Hollywood. Joe has his heart set on spending time with his girl (the never seen) Lola. Clarence, the shy choir boy turned sailor, asks Joe to teach him how to get girls. Donald, a little boy who wants to join the navy, is found wandering around the boulevard by a cop, who takes him to the police station. Clarence and Joe end up being picked up by the cops to help convince Donald to go home. After the two sailors wait at home and entertain Donald, Donald's Aunt Susie arrives. Clarence is smitten with her from the beginning. Susan goes on to tell them that she has been trying to find work in music, and longs to perform with José Iturbi. Trying to make Susan impressed with Clarence, Joe tells her that Clarence is a personal friend of Iturbi, and that he has arranged an audition for Susan with him. That night, they go out to a cafe (on an MGM recreation of

Olvera Street Olvera Street (also ''Calle Olvera'' or ''Placita Olvera'', originally Calle de los Vignes, Vine Street, and Wine Street) is a historic street in downtown Los Angeles, and a part of El Pueblo de Los Angeles Historic Monument, the area immediatel ...

) where Clarence meets a girl from Brooklyn, and they hit it off. The next day, Joe visits Donald's school, and tells the kids the story of how he got his medal, and how he brought happiness to a young lonesome king (played by Jerry the Mouse in an animated sequence), and joy to the forest animals of the kingdom. Meanwhile, Clarence has been trying to get into Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios to find Iturbi with no luck. After many failed attempts to speak to Iturbi (including a rehearsal at the Hollywood Bowl), all hope is lost for Joe and Clarence, who want to come clean with Susan and tell her there was no audition. On Clarence and Joe's last day of leave, Susan runs into Iturbi In the studio commissary who has no idea of the audition. Susan begins to call Joe, whom by now she has fallen in love with, to yell at him. Iturbi stops her and agrees to get her a screen test, which turns out to be very successful. The movie ends as Iturbi conducts the choir in singing "Anchors Aweigh", while Joe and Susan, and Clarence and the "Girl from Brooklyn," kiss.

Cast

Songs

Songs by

and

except where noted: * "Main Title" – MGM Studio and Orchestra * "

Anchors Aweigh "Anchors Aweigh" is the fight song of the United States Naval Academy and unofficial march song of the United States Navy. It was composed in 1906 by Charles A. Zimmermann with lyrics by Alfred Hart Miles. When he composed "Anchors Aweigh", Zim ...

" (Zimmerman, Miles) – MGM Studio and Orchestra and Jose Iturbi * "We Hate to Leave" – Gene Kelly & Frank Sinatra * " Brahms' Lullaby" – Frank Sinatra (sung to Donald to come back again with Joe) * "I Begged Her" – Gene Kelly & Frank Sinatra * "

If You Knew Susie "If You Knew Susie" is the title of a popular song written by Buddy DeSylva and Joseph Meyer. It was published by Shapiro, Bernstein & Co. in 1925. In the largely comic song, a man sings that he knows a certain woman named Susie to be much wilde ...

" (DeSylva, Meyer) – Frank Sinatra & Gene Kelly * "

Jealousy Jealousy generally refers to the thoughts or feelings of insecurity, fear, and concern over a relative lack of possessions or safety. Jealousy can consist of one or more emotions such as anger, resentment, inadequacy, helplessness or disgus ...

" (Jacob Gade) – Kathryn Grayson * "What Makes the Sunset" – Frank Sinatra * "(All of a Sudden) My Heart Sings" (from the French song "Ma Mie" by Henri Laurent Herpin; English lyric by

Harold Rome Harold Jacob "Hecky" Rome (May 27, 1908 – October 26, 1993) was an American composer, lyricist, and writer for musical theater. Biography Rome was born in Hartford, Connecticut and graduated from Hartford Public High School. Originally, he c ...

) – Kathryn Grayson * "The Donkey Serenade" – Jose Iturbi * "The King Who Couldn't Sing and Dance" – Gene Kelly * "The Worry Song" (

Ralph Freed Ralph Freed (1 May 1907, Vancouver - February 13, 1973) was a Canadian born American lyricist and television producer. Early Life Born May 1, 1907 to Max Freed and Rosie (Rosza) Grossman who met in Charleston, SC. Ralph married Grace H. Berchma ...

Sammy Fain Sammy Fain (born Samuel E. Feinberg; June 17, 1902 – December 6, 1989) was an American composer of popular music. In the 1920s and early 1930s, he contributed numerous songs that form part of The Great American Songbook, and to Broadway theatre ...

) – Gene Kelly & Sara Berner (as Jerry Mouse from the cartoons "Tom and Jerry") * "The Charm of You" – Frank Sinatra (featuring a rare appearance of Guitarist Benito Mayorga with the orchestra) * " Las Chiapanecas" – Gene Kelly & Sharon McManus * " Liszt's Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2" – Jose Iturbi * " I Fall in Love Too Easily" – Frank Sinatra * " La cumparsita" (

Gerardo Matos Rodríguez Gerardo Hernán Matos Rodríguez (March 28, 1897 – April 25, 1948), also known as Becho, was a Uruguayan musician, composer and journalist. Becho was not attributed to this Uruguayan musician. The term Becho is given to another Uruguayan violin ...

) – Gene Kelly * "Waltz Serenade" (Tchaikovsky) – Kathryn Grayson * " Anchors Aweigh (Reprise)" – Dean Stockwell * " Anchors Aweigh (Reprise 2)" – MGM Studio and Orchestra Chorus (THE END)

Production

The film was written by Natalie Marcin (story) and Isobel Lennart (screenplay) and directed by

. It was the first of three buddy pictures teaming the cocky dancing Kelly with the (against type) shy singing Sinatra, followed by ''

Take Me Out To The Ball Game "Take Me Out to the Ball Game" is a 1908 Tin Pan Alley song by Jack Norworth and Albert Von Tilzer which has become the unofficial anthem of North American baseball, although neither of its authors had attended a game prior to writing the song ...

'' and '' On the Town'', both in 1949. The production tried to mix some of the more successful story elements and set-pieces from earlier MGM musical hits, such as ''

Meet Me in St. Louis ''Meet Me in St. Louis'' is a 1944 American Christmas film, Christmas musical film made by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. Divided into a series of seasonal vignettes, starting with Summer 1903, it relates the story of a year in the life of the Smith famil ...

'' (1944). Anchors Aweigh promo

The movie is remembered for the musical number in which Gene Kelly dances seamlessly with the animated

(voiced by

Sara Berner Sara Berner (born Lillian Ann Herdan; January 12, 1912 – December 19, 1969) was an American actress. Known for her expertise in dialect and characterization, she began her career as a performer in vaudeville before becoming a voice actress for r ...

appears briefly as a butler in the sequence supervised by

William Hanna William Denby Hanna (July 14, 1910 – March 22, 2001) was an American animator and cartoonist who was the creator of ''Tom and Jerry'' as well as the voice actor for the two title characters. Alongside Joseph Barbera, he also founded the anim ...

and

Joseph Barbera Joseph Roland Barbera ( ; ; March 24, 1911 – December 18, 2006) was an American animator, director, producer, storyboard artist, and cartoon artist who co-founded the animation studio and production company Hanna-Barbera. Born to Italian ...

. The animation was entirely undertaken by Kenneth Muse, Ray Patterson and

Ed Barge Edward John Barge (August 29, 1910 – September 29, 1991) was an American animator. Barge was born to Alfred Edward and Margaret G. Barge in San Jose, California. In 1916, the family moved to Bakersfield, where his father was employed by t ...

. Originally, the producers wanted to use

Mickey Mouse Mickey Mouse is an animated cartoon Character (arts), character co-created in 1928 by Walt Disney and Ub Iwerks. The longtime mascot of The Walt Disney Company, Mickey is an Anthropomorphism, anthropomorphic mouse who typically wears red sho ...

for this segment. Some sources claim

Walt Disney Walter Elias Disney (; December 5, 1901December 15, 1966) was an American animator, film producer and entrepreneur. A pioneer of the American animation industry, he introduced several developments in the production of cartoons. As a film p ...

initially agreed to loan out Mickey, but

Roy Disney Roy Disney may refer to: * Roy O. Disney (1893–1971), partner and elder brother of Walt Disney * Roy E. Disney Roy Edward Disney KCSG (January 10, 1930 – December 16, 2009) was an American businessman. He was the longtime senior executive ...

rejected the deal. According to Bob Thomas's book on Roy Disney, the studio was in debt after

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

and they were focusing on trying to release their own films out on time. According to Roy, they had no business making cartoons for other people. After Disney turned the offer down, Kelly went to Fred Quimby, the head of MGM's cartoon studio. Quimby was also not interested, but Kelly persisted, reportedly showing up at Hanna and Barbera's office to press the case. The dance sequence required meticulous storyboarding; after Kelly's dance was filmed, the animators used

rotoscoping Rotoscoping is an animation technique that animators use to trace over motion picture footage, frame by frame, to produce realistic action. Originally, animators projected photographed live-action movie images onto a glass panel and traced o ...

to painstakingly match the animated character's movement to Kelly's, even down to their shadows cast on the polished dance floor. The film offers rare color glimpses of the wartime MGM studio, including the Thalberg Building, the frontgate, the backlot, the commissary, and one of the scoring stages, as well as an on-screen performance by real members of the MGM studio orchestra. During the soundstage scenes the operation of MGM’s latest camera mounted on a heavy

boom Boom may refer to: Objects * Boom (containment), a temporary floating barrier used to contain an oil spill * Boom (navigational barrier), an obstacle used to control or block marine navigation * Boom (sailing), a sailboat part * Boom (windsurfin ...

is extensively demonstrated, including a side-bolted cutout

viewfinder In photography, a viewfinder is what the photographer looks through to compose, and, in many cases, to focus the picture. Most viewfinders are separate, and suffer parallax, while the single-lens reflex camera lets the viewfinder use the main ...

for the cinematographer to line up the shots and the

operators Operator may refer to: Mathematics * A symbol indicating a mathematical operation * Logical operator or logical connective in mathematical logic * Operator (mathematics), mapping that acts on elements of a space to produce elements of another sp ...

deftly swiveling the pan controls or pulling the focus. There is also a memorable exterior scene at the

Hollywood Bowl The Hollywood Bowl is an amphitheatre in the Hollywood Hills neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. It was named one of the 10 best live music venues in America by ''Rolling Stone'' magazine in 2018. The Hollywood Bowl is known for its distin ...

, where Sinatra sings "I Fall in Love Too Easily", after Iturbi and a group of young pianists have performed an arrangement of

Franz Liszt Franz Liszt, in modern usage ''Liszt Ferenc'' . Liszt's Hungarian passport spelled his given name as "Ferencz". An orthographic reform of the Hungarian language in 1922 (which was 36 years after Liszt's death) changed the letter "cz" to simpl ...

's ''

Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2 Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2 in C-sharp minor, S.244/2, is the second in a set of 19 Hungarian Rhapsodies by composer Franz Liszt, and is by far the most famous of the set. In both the original piano solo form and in the orchestrated version this ...

''. In the audition scene with Iturbi, Grayson sings a special arrangement by

Earl Brent Earl Karl Brent (June 21, 1914 in St. Louis, Missouri – July 8, 1977 in Hollywood, California)Earl K. Brent
Disc ...

for

coloratura soprano A coloratura soprano is a type of operatic soprano voice that specializes in music that is distinguished by agile runs, leaps and trills. The term '' coloratura'' refers to the elaborate ornamentation of a melody, which is a typical component o ...

and orchestra of the waltz from

Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky , group=n ( ; 7 May 1840 – 6 November 1893) was a Russian composer of the Romantic period. He was the first Russian composer whose music would make a lasting impression internationally. He wrote some of the most popu ...

's '' Serenade for Strings''. And Iturbi conducts the

United States Navy Band The United States Navy Band, based at the Washington Navy Yard in Washington, D.C., has served as the official musical organization of the U.S. Navy since 1925. The U.S. Navy Band serves the ceremonial needs at the seat of government, performi ...

for a patriotic rendition of the title tune. Some of the scenes in this film were later featured in the ''

That's Entertainment! ''That's Entertainment!'' is a 1974 American compilation film released by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer to celebrate the studio's 50th anniversary. The success of the retrospective prompted a 1976 sequel, the related 1985 film ''That's Dancing!'', and a ...

'' (1974) tributes to MGM.

Reception

Bosley Crowther Francis Bosley Crowther Jr. (July 13, 1905 – March 7, 1981) was an American journalist, writer, and film critic for ''The New York Times'' for 27 years. His work helped shape the careers of many actors, directors and screenwriters, though his ...

of ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' wrote: "Another humdinger of a musical has been produced by Joe Pasternak for Metro ... for a popular entertainment, 'Anchors Aweigh' is hard to beat." ''

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

'' called the film "solid musical fare for all situations. The production numbers are zingy; the songs are extremely listenable; the color treatment outstanding." ''

Harrison's Reports ''Harrison's Reports'' was a New York City-based motion picture trade journal published weekly from 1919 to 1962. The typical issue was four letter-size pages sent to subscribers under a second-class mail permit. Its founder, editor and publisher ...

'' wrote: "Very good mass entertainment. Photographed in Technicolor, the production is extremely lavish, has good comedy, a romance, tuneful songs, and effective dancing. The story is thin, but it has some human interest, and there are so many humorous situations that one is kept laughing most of the way." ''

Film Daily ''The Film Daily'' was a daily publication that existed from 1918 to 1970 in the United States. It was the first daily newspaper published solely for the film industry. It covered the latest trade news, film reviews, financial updates, informatio ...

'' wrote: "Everything that could possibly be crammed into a musical is in evidence in this production ... It is hard to think of an M-G-M musical excelling it. There is no reason why the film should not gain recognition as one of the year's best of its type." According to MGM records the film earned $4,498,000 in the US and Canada and $2,977,000 elsewhere, resulting in a profit of $2,123,000.

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wan ...

gives a score of 57% based on 14 reviews.

Awards and honors

* Winner: Academy Award, Original Music Score, Georgie Stoll * Nominated: Academy Award, Best Picture * Nominated: Academy Award, Best Actor, Gene Kelly * Nominated: Academy Award, Best Cinematography (Color) * Nominated: Academy Award, Best Song, "I Fall In Love Too Easily" (Words and Music by Sammy Cahn and Jule Styne, Sung by Frank Sinatra) ;Award notes: * The contributions to the score of one of the first black composers and pianists in the MGM music department, Calvin Jackson, went uncredited.Clora Bryant & Steven Isoardi (1999), ''Central Avenue Sounds: Jazz in Los Angeles,'' University of California Press, p. 68. This was not uncommon even for white studio musicians. * In 2001,

Kevin Spacey Kevin Spacey Fowler (born July 26, 1959) is an American actor. He began his career as a stage actor during the 1980s, obtaining supporting roles before gaining a leading man status in film and television. Spacey has received various accolade ...

purchased George Stoll's Oscar statuette at a

Butterfield & Butterfield Bonhams and Butterfield was a large American auction house, founded in 1865 by William Butterfield in San Francisco. It was purchased in 1999 from Bernard Osher by online auctioneer eBay for $260 million. In 2002, it was acquired from eBay by B ...

estate auction and returned it to the

Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS, often pronounced ; also known as simply the Academy or the Motion Picture Academy) is a professional honorary organization with the stated goal of advancing the arts and sciences of motion ...

References

Notes Further reading *

External links

* * * * {{Authority control 1945 films 1945 musical comedy films American musical comedy films American films with live action and animation American romantic musical films Tom and Jerry films Films directed by George Sidney Films produced by Joe Pasternak Films scored by Georgie Stoll Films set in Los Angeles Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer films Films about classical music and musicians Films that won the Best Original Score Academy Award Films about the United States Navy 1940s American animated films 1940s romantic musical films Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer cartoon studio films 1940s English-language films