Anchors Aweigh (1945)

Two sailors, one naive, the other experienced in the ways of the world, on liberty in Los Angeles, is the setting for this movie musical.

Director:

George Sidney

Writers:

Isobel Lennart (screen play), Natalie Marcin (suggested by a story by)

Stars:

Frank Sinatra, Kathryn Grayson, Gene Kelly

Won 1 Oscar. Another 4 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Frank Sinatra	...	Clarence Doolittle
Kathryn Grayson	...	Susan Abbott
Gene Kelly	...	Joseph Brady
José Iturbi	...	José Iturbi
Dean Stockwell	...	Donald Martin
Pamela Britton	...	Girl from Brooklyn
Rags Ragland	...	Police Sergeant (as 'Rags' Ragland)
Billy Gilbert	...	Cafe Manager
Henry O'Neill	...	Admiral Hammond
Carlos Ramírez	...	Carlos (as Carlos Ramirez)
Edgar Kennedy	...	Police Captain
Grady Sutton	...	Bertram Kraler
Leon Ames	...	Admiral's Aide
Sharon McManus	...	Little Girl Beggar
James Flavin	...	Radio Cop

Storyline

Two sailors, one naive, the other experienced in the ways of the world, on liberty in Los Angeles, is the setting for this movie musical.

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Plot Keywords:

sailor | cartoon mouse | buddy movie | piano playing | talking animal | 

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Taglines:

On waves of song, laughter and romance!

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Genres:

Comedy | Fantasy | Music | Musical | Romance | War

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Certificate:

Passed

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English Spanish

Release Date:

August 1945 (USA)

Also Known As:

Leven anclas

Filming Locations:

Hollywood Bowl - 2301 N. Highland Avenue, Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM), Loew's

Technical Specs

Runtime:

140 min 140 min (DVD)

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Sound System)

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Legend has it that this film saw the birth of a longstanding resentment between Frank Sinatra and Gene Kelly as Sinatra took umbrage at the way Kelly dominated so many of their numbers together. (At this point, Sinatra had failed to make much of a mark as a film actor and saw this as his big break, something that was ultimately denied him by Kelly's dynamic performance.) Although the two would go on to make two more films together, Sinatra never forgot being upstaged on Anchors Aweigh (1945) and would get his revenge many years later when he denied Kelly a role in Robin and the 7 Hoods (1964).

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Goofs

At the beginning of the fantasy sequence Gene Kelly falls into a tunnel. When he gets up there is considerable dirt on his white trousers. A few seconds later, when he leaves the tunnel, his trousers are clean again.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Admiral Hammond: On behalf of your commanding officer I'm sure I can tell Mr. Jose Iturbi that the officers and crew of ship are grateful to him for coming here, to lead our naval bands in this ceremony.
José Iturbi: Along with every other civilian, it is I who am grateful to you, and to all the men in the United States navy.

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Connections

Edited into American Masters: Gene Kelly: Anatomy of a Dancer (2002)

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Soundtracks

La Cumparsita
(1937) (uncredited)
Music by Gerardo Matos Rodríguez
Danced by Gene Kelly

User Reviews

This Movie Is Full Of Life

Overall this is a delightful, light-hearted, romantic, musical comedy. I suppose a small case could be made for the movie being to long. But I'm not sure what you would cut out. The singing that Kelly and Sinatra do? No. The fabulous dancing that Kelly does? No. The time the movie takes to develop the story line and develop the relationships of the characters? No (that seems to be a common complaint many times that more recent movies don't develop the characters).

Some comment that Iturbi didn't bring much to the movie but this gives us a chance to see and hear a great talent from the 1040s. So what if he wasn't an actor? He was an important part of the movie as the basic plot was to get Grayson an audition with him.

Originally Katherine Grayson wanted to be an opera star. Louis B. Mayer brought her to MGM for a screen test that included an aria. During her audition in the movie there is a shot of the MGM brass nodding and smiling. You can just imagine it was like that when she had made her real screen test years before.

This movie is so full of life it is hard to hit all of the highlights. Great use was made of color and lighting throughout the movie. You can see why Frank Sinatra became the star he did. A nice counter-point in the movie is how Sinatra (a ladies man even then) played the role of wanting to just find a date while on leave. You'll feel good after seeing this movie. 7/10