- 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 byGeorge 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 starsFrank Sinatra ,Gene Kelly ,Kathryn Grayson ,José Iturbi andDean Stockwell .About the film
The movie was written by
Natalie Marcin andIsobel Lennart and directed byGeorge Sidney .It won the Academy Award for Best Music, Scoring of a Musical Picture. In 2001,
Kevin Spacey purchased this Oscar statuette at aButterfield & Butterfield auction and returned it to theAcademy 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 (forJule Styne (music) andSammy 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 bySara Berner ). Kelly is live action while Jerry is animated.Tom Cat appears briefly in the sequence as a butler. Originally, the producers wanted to useMickey Mouse for this segment.Walt Disney agreed, butRoy Disney cut the deal. According toBob Thomas ' book on Roy Disney, the studio was in debt afterWorld 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 ofFranz Liszt 's "Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2 ". In the audition scene with Iturbi, Grayson sings a special arrangement for soprano and orchestra of the waltz fromPeter 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 characterStewie 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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