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Anchors Aweigh

Anchors Aweigh

List Price: $24.98
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Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Great Taste of 1945 Entertainment
Review: Imagine it's 1945, you're Louie B. Mayer, and you get an idea for a film. For the highbrow crowd, you have Jose Iturbi playing classical music concertos on the piano and operetta songs from Kathryn Grayson. Throw in some inventive dance numbers for Gene Kelly, and take that up-and-comer Sinatra and have him get the teenie boppers to swoon with songs such as "I Fall in Love Too Easily." Amazingly, what happens is you get a nearly two-and-a-half-hour piece of entertainment that keeps on flowing and grabs your attention every bit of the way. The plot involves two sailors on leave, who get mixed up with a Hollywood hopeful after her little nephew (a very young Dean Stockwell) suddenly becomes their responsibility.

It all breezes along, as director George Sidney miraculously keeps your attention moving along, as Kelly and Sinatra keep trying to get Grayson a screen test with Iturbi. Along the way, some of the most memorable scenes in MGM film history will pop across your screen, including the very famous production number where Kelly dances with Jerry of "Tom and Jerry."

This film winds up being a very fulfilling evening of entertainment that's sure to please film buffs both young and old. They don't make them like this anymore, but this movie makes you wish they still did. Watch it, go back to 1945, and enjoy yourself.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Wonderful - it's got Gene Kelly in it!!!!!!!!!!!
Review: is that it is WAY TOO LONG!!!! Chop off about 30 minutes, and you have a perfectly lovely movie. As it is, it really is only a two and-a-half star film.

To this day, filmmakers have not learned this lesson. Less is more, short and sweet, brevity is the soul of wit, etc., etc., etc.

"On the Town," another musical with Kelly and Sinatra made a few years after this one, is MUCH shorter, and because of that, and ONLY because of that, it is quite better.

Just love that young, skinny Sinatra!

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: One of my absolute favorite films
Review: Just sheer joy. Gene looking very, very, VERY good, and dancing very, very, VERY well! They didn't come much better looking or more talented than Gene Kelly, especially in this film. Frank (that voice...ah, that VOICE!) skinny and sincere, playing a shy sailor without any experience with women...who said this boy wasn't an actor?!. In other words, Frank and Gene doing what they do best in brilliant Technicolor. Great music, wonderful sets, terrific comedy, and a groundbreaking dance (the first on film, I believe) between a live action and animated character (Gene and Jerry Mouse in the delightful "Worry Song"). Kathryn Grayson, a great beauty with a stunning operatic voice, perfectly complements the nautical duo. I've heard the criticism that the film runs too long...personally, I wish it had been a little longer! A great movie and a lot of fun.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Classic musical!
Review: Sinatra, Grayson, and Kelly all show off their amazing talents in this movie. Many scenes are enjoyable for children, such as Kelly doing the waltz with a little girl and also dancing with Jerry mouse! Kelly taught Sinatra to dance for this movie. In fact, Sinatra is amazingly good. Grayson's voice is beautiful, and Jose Iturbi spices up the movie with his piano skills. Definitely something you'll want to see.....

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Overall Good!
Review: The reason I saw this movie is because Gene Kelly was in it. Overall I don't think this was his greatest movie but its good. Bascially the movie is about two sailors on leave in Hollywood. Sinatra is a shy character who follows his worldly friend Kelly. Anyway they run into a girl named Susie (Kathryn Grayson) who is trying to make it big as a singer. Anyway as it turns out they promise her an auditon with José Iturbi. Overall this movie is ok but I have seen better musicals. Personally the music is great! The best songs are "I Fall in Love too Easily" and "All of a Sudden My Heart Sings." My favorite part in the movie was the whole Gene Kelly and Jerry dance part. Overall I think this movie is worth a watch. So I suggest you see this one!

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Gene heaven
Review: The story itself is nothing but a mere little piece of froth, but I loved it anyway. It was really a lot of fun to watch, but you may wish to take that with a grain of salt: I say that about anything with Gene Kelly in it. In this film he plays a bit of a bad boy - a cocky "seawolf" who is stuck with the shy Frank Sinatra on a three day navy pass in L.A. The two of them really did have a good comic chemistry together. This film has all of the fun cheerfulness inherent in Kelly musicals, and as I recall is the first one in which he was allowed free rein to choreograph as he chose. As a result, we're blessed with the famous Jerry Mouse dance and the wonderfully charming Mexican Hat dance where Kelly does his usual wonderful thing by seamlessly integrating the scenery and the objects at hand into his dancing. I am less fond of the fantasy Zorro sequence, but Kelly's dancing is superb anyway. He is always a joy to watch, even when he's not dancing. In fact, his acting in this film was noteworthy enough to earn an Oscar nod; I've not yet seen Ray Milland's performance in The Lost Weekend but I rather wish Kelly had gotten the Oscar for this performance.

Watch him (ooh, ladies, you won't be able to keep from rewinding or pressing the back button on your DVD player) when he's on the phone with Lola. Watch him and Frank with the impossibly cute Dean Stockwell. (Frank does sing some awfully pretty songs and does some neat acting, by the way - I shouldn't give Gene all the credit.) Watch Gene during the "If You Knew Susie" scene; he had me laughing out loud with the calm, cool way he fakes Susie's nerdy date out. Watch how he acts like he's been in the house a thousand times; he knows right where to go for the cigarettes and chocolates and he stretches out on her sofa as though it were his own. The shocked expressions on Bertram's face are priceless, as is the song that brings them on: it might seem hokey but I like rhymes such as "conclusion" and "Susian" or "conclusie" and "Susie."

When you're not watching Gene or Frank you're sort of stuck with Kathryn Grayson. She was sweet at first, but after a while the sweetness got a little cloying. (And nobody should ever wear a dress like that sunflower monstrosity she was wearing - I don't care how great of a figure she had, it was awful.) And call me an uncultured clod if you must, but I just don't like her style of singing.

The DVD itself looks great; it's crisp and clean and the colors are brilliant. There are a few moments where the image doubles or shadows suddenly, but these are short-lived and far and few between. There are special features including a brief discussion of the famous Jerry Mouse dance from Hanna & Barbera as well as a few trailers. It could have done with a few more chapters; one of the best things about the Singin' in the Rain DVD is that they were very liberal with them, which allows for easy maneuvering when you want to jump from one spot to the next. They were less liberal here but at least all of the chapters start at logical places. This one is going on my wish list.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: This is fantastic!!
Review: This is my favourite Kelly/Sinatra collaboration. It's so funny especially the Suzy song and the bit where Gene Kelly dances with Jerry mouse. I watched it with a friend who'd never seen any of the actors in action and she loved it. It's great coz it appeals to all age groups and you really care what happens to the characters.I always watch it when I need cheering up and it never fails to work!!Jose Iturbi is also really good in it, buy it!

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: A great musical!
Review: This is one of my favorite MGM musicals! I wouldn't give it 5 stars because that's reserved for the top-notch (such as On the Town)... however, Anchors Aweigh features Kelly and Sinatra in what you might call rehearsal for it.

Kathryn Grayson is also charming here. The music is good (perhaps not so integrated with the plot), the story is very funny and captivating... and Kelly and Sinatra are a joy (aren't they always?)

Really, how COULD you go wrong? Nobody diss this movie. It's damned enjoyable.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Very Long, But Kelly And Jerry Mouse Are Great
Review: This is supposed to be one of the musicals from MGM's golden age, and it has some good stuff to offer. The pairing of Frank Sinatra (who has top billing) with Gene Kelly works just fine. They're two Navy guys with a four-day leave in Los Angeles. They meet a cute 9-year-old runaway (Dean Stockwell) who wants to join the Navy, then they meet the kid's aunt (Kathryn Grayson) and they both fall for her...and off we go. Sinatra is given several ballads, and one, "I Fall in Love Too Easily," is first rate. Sinatra plays a naive kid named Clarence. It's easy to see why he lasted as long as he did. He has a lot of charm and is a great singer. There's a nice semi-swinging number called "I Begged Her" that Kelly sings. And there's the whole reason for seeing the movie nowadays, the extended dance sequence Kelly does with Jerry Mouse in "The Worry Song." It combines cartoons and live action in a funny, complex dance that must have been enormously complicated to do.

But the movie also is badly dated. Grayson has about as much charm, warmth and spontaneity as an ice cube. Every time she sings her semi-classic arias the movie comes to a halt. Sinatra singing Brahm's Lullaby to Stockwell is almost as awkward. And the movie is so long...2 hours and 20 minutes...there are times you just want it to end. Repeat viewing really requires using the fast-forward button.

I'm no great fan of Gene Kelly. His aggressive Irish charm and sewn on grin leave me cold. I think he was a first-rate dancer but not the choreographer he wanted to be. In this movie, his athleticism works well with his partner, the mouse. On balance, I think this is a movie to own if you like older movie musicals and are something of a completist. And having the "The Worry Song" for many will be a good enough reason to own.

The DVD movie is in great shape. The colors are vibrant and everything is crisp and clear.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Musical Buffs This Is For You
Review: This movie first introduced me to Frank Sinatra and I have been a fan of his voice ever since. Sinatra is fun to see as Gene Kelly's shy, bookish, best buddy. Sinatra has some swoony numbers. Kelly is fabulous in his always perfect dance sequinces. None better than his dancing with Jerry the Mouse of Tom & Jerry fame (WOW!!). This movie first paired Sinatra & Kelly. Sinatra dances for the first time (Kelly taught him. Now that's a must see for Sinatra fans! Alot of people say that the one low note is Miss Grayson's singing. Her style is not my favorite but she has got a talented voice with some amazing high notes. All in all it's a wonderful comical movie I could watch again and again


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