Dunham16 A major Hollywood musical with some of its finest talent among them Kathryn Grayson Frank Sinatra and in supporting roles Ben Blue and Grady Suttonat their best it is beautifully filmed and staged yet lacks period charm. Many of the early world war nostalgia scenes simply do not ring true for those who grew up in and still remember this era. Some of the hairbrained schemes are screwball comedy which usually ends with an unexpected ending this one easily predictable. Everything in the shot is top forties Hollywood yet once one gets on to the next shot the point is lost, the magic is not there and my DVD after the first reading was stored in the trash bin not my DVD collection.

weezeralfalfa Two sailors (Gene Kelly as 'sea wolf' and Frank Sinatra as 'Brooklyn') get a 4 day leave to find some women in Hollywood, and discover gorgeous Kathryn Grayson(as Aunt Susie) in an unusual introduction. First, Sinatra and later Kelly try to romance her, with some success. Meanwhile, they get mixed up with Kathryn's small nephew(Donald), who is determined to join the navy right away. Later, they try, but fail, in obtaining a singing audition for Kathryn with famous pianist and orchestra conductor Jose Iturbi.Kelly usually includes some humor in his characterizations, and he sure brings a good dose to this film, along with occasional inputs from Sinatra. Kelly and Sinatra do one dance together early in the film. Reportedly, it took 6 weeks of practice and many takes for Sinatra to measure up to Kelly's standards. This was the first of many films in which Kelly was allowed to be the chief overall choreographer, not just of his performances. This film includes a solo ballet by Kelly, in which, in a dream-like state, he takes on the role of a dashing Zoro-like gymnast, then a dancing matador, to impress Kathryn. A solo ballet would become a standard feature of most of his future musicals, expressing his fear of losing a new love or his happiness in finding a new love or both.Kelly had great rapport with kids, which is shown in his relationship with Kathryn's nephew, and with a Latino street girl he frolics with. Another example or two is seen in the later "American in Paris". Kelly also took the lead in pioneering the the interaction of actors and animal animations. Here, he teaches MGM's Jerry the mouse, king of the regional animals. to dance and sing, and convinces him to revoke his decree forbidding such within his animal kingdom. Sinatra sings several well spaced ballads ,along with several duets with Kelly. Kathryn contributed the occasional solo in her distinctive operatic voice, which many people find irritating. Jose Iturbi periodically was the central figure an a piano number or as an orchestral conductor. This film partly served as a promo for the navy, which was still battling the Japanese navy. The film began and ended with a rendition of "Anchors Away"Sinatra would be reteamed with Kelly for 2 more buddy films: "Take Me Out to the Ballgame", and "On the Town". In the latter film, they again were a couple of sailors on leave, along with a third buddy, looking for women and sightseeing in NYC. It too is an especially fun musical comedy and was also shot in color. Sinatra would star in 2 more films with Kathryn: the B&W "It Happened in Brooklyn" and the Technicolor "The Kissing Bandit". The latter was the least favorite film role in the careers of both, although I don't find it as bad as many others do. The former has a plot much like that in the present film, with Sinatra's character again going for Kathryn, then again realizing that she outclassed him, again settling for a Brooklyn waitress. In that film, Kelly's roles in the present film were split among several performers, each personifying one of his attributes: dancing, singing, comedy, or charm with the ladies.The only major criticism I have of the present film is that Sinatra's characterization as being naïve with women, among other things, is clearly overdone, although it adds to the comedy.

chenxiaomao Full of fun love comedy story, combined with the right song and dance makes more than two hours of film joy. The middle section of the song and dance show Jean Kelly and the reality of the most impressive and the pool side of the dance with the little girl is perfect. Two people together to sing and dance good passages. Separate part of a bit long, but the movie feature is a long time, why even Hungarian Rhapsody to complete again. When I remember this is the first time to see a real person and the role of the animation show, then feel very fresh. Three happy sailors and three warm, silly girls, this is the most fun I have ever seen. The film also set off the victory of World War ii.

mark.waltz While Broadway was singing "New York, New York" with Leonard Berntein's hit musical "On the Town", MGM paid tribute to itself with this story of two sailors finding romance in tinsel town rather than the Big Apple. Of course, the same two stars, Gene Kelly and Frank Sinatra, would do tribute to Manhattan just four years later with equal success, even if in retrospective, that movie musical is a shell of its Broadway self. In the case of "Anchor's Aweigh", shy Sinatra is looking for a girlfriend, assisted by outgoing Kelly, and they both find love with classic aria singer Kathryn Grayson and the more gregarious Pamela Britton. Grayson is hoping for a screen test with orchestra leader Jose Iturbi to work both at Carnagie Hall and to appear in an MGM musical, so this gives the boys of the story an entrance to the Culver City lot where dreams are made.The story is slightly overlong, but simple, and it is presented in the most beautiful and lavish light, typical MGM gloss with high-end production values and an animation sequence that is today considered one of the classic moments of world cinema, let alone the American movie musical. That segment has Gene Kelly in a kingdom ruled by Jerry the Mouse, an unhappy monach who has forbidden singing and dancing because he believes he can't do it himself. Gene bounces Jerry off his ample muscles and they do some moves which are straight out of the much later break dancing. As seen in lush Technicolor, this segment is out of this world and a shear delight.The beautiful Kathryn Grayson sings a lovely rendition of "Jealosy", and while her acting would improve in time, it is her singing here that you will remember. Sinatra introduced the standard "I Fall in Love Too Easily", and gets to do a duet ("I Begged Her") with Gene on a naval base, showing his dancing chops in this, his first MGM musical. A highlight of the film which hasn't gotten its due is a rendition of "The Mexican Hat Dance" where Gene performs with an adorable little girl, Sharon McManus (obviously not Mexican) in what appears to be set on Olivera Street in downtown L.A. The Freed unit, the leader in MGM musicals, ironically, didn't produce this one; Joseph Pasternak, who produced a series of Deanna Durbin musicals at Universal and later most of Grayson and Jane Powell's operatic films, was responsible, with George Sidney as director. To say they don't make em' like this anymore is a true understatement.