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.

Anchors Aweigh (1945)In some ways this movie is so innovative and fresh, it's hard to fault. The mixed animation and Technicolor in one scene, the sheer variety of dances, the two great songs (amidst some ordinary ones), and some great dancing all make this a great movie.In parts. There is a lot of filler—a lot, and at times it almost kills the movie. But then, suddenly, it takes a formal twist (more than a twist of plot) and is suddenly terrific. The plot? Formula, and not really the point. What matters is the song and dance (of course) and the leading actors: Gene Kelly (wonderful) and Frank Sinatra (a great singer and at this young age a mediocre actor). But it's great to see both, on any level, and to see both together. And to see the real cartoon characters Tom and Jerry act with the mere actors.The Technicolor is great, and there are scenes of MGM back in those glory days that are almost worth it alone (brief as they are). Look for "I Fall in Love Too Easily" as a highlight. But let's be honest, the plot is a mishmash of mini- events, the leading actress Kathryn Grayson (with a harsh soprano voice) is an old-fashioned taste more famous for other movies, and the insertion of pseudo- classical music strikes us in the 21st Century as interesting and unconvincing.I suppose this might amount to what makes the movie a great period movie. But be prepared to like it in spurts. But some of those spurts are really wonderful.

Anchors Aweigh is the first film of the Frank Sinatra-Gene Kelly trilogy, tapping into classic Hollywood musicals odd fascination with sailors. It wouldn't be the last time Kelly or Sinatra would play a sailor and what an underrated comedic duo they are. Gene Kelly is loveably egocentric, constantly lying about his exploits with dames and rubbing the fact that he got leave in his comrades' faces so much that he sings a musical number about it; the interactions he shares with Sinatra are priceless. Reportedly Kelly was known in real life for being a control freak and getting his own way, so I wonder how much of his personality is reflective in his performance. Frank Sinatra is largely the opposite of Kelly, girl shy and completely gawky, a stark contrast to what he later became; he sure toughened up over time. Anchors Aweigh can around the beginning of new era of film musicals, at a time when the genre became almost exclusively one filmed in colour and when the distinctive style of the MGM musical took off, separating them from the likes of the Astaire & Rodgers musicals of the past. Unlike Fred Astaire, Gene Kelly was off the people, usually playing commoners on screen. Fred Astaire did play a sailor in Follow the Fleet but no doubt Gene Kelly suits it better.Perhaps the film's best highlight is Gene Kelly dancing with Jerry of Tom & Jerry fame. It might not be as technically advanced or as smoothly animated as later live action/animation hybrids but it's one of the most awe inspiring. They animators even make note to include Jerry's reflection in the floor. The studio originally wanted Disney to allow them use of Mickey Mouse for the number, which seems very hard to believe. The inclusion of some very Disney looking animated creatures, including two which look suspiciously like Bambi and Thumper, suggests the studio was serious about including Mickey.The other unique aspect of Anchors Aweigh is the documentary like look at MGM studios in 1945 during one portion in the film. A peak at the dream factory itself, with people in costume, props everywhere and what look like studio workers in suits going about their business. It's unabashed self promotion but hey, it's one entertaining commercial. This use of on location filming including the scenes as the Hollywood Bowl show shades of what was come several years later in On the Town. I do wish they though could have shown some more of 1945 Hollywood but the sets present in Anchors Aweigh are something to marvel at. Even with the odd background which is clearly two painted backdrops placed side by side with a dividing line clearly visible, the sets create a cartoon like Technicolor world that you wish real life could look like; just look at that set of the Spanish part of town; such artificial beauty. The only downside to Anchors Aweigh which prevents it from being a greater film is the run time and much of this is largely due to the amount of which is spent in the house of Kathryn Grayson's character; I really started to get sick of the sight of it, especially since the movie takes place in Hollywood and there are places so much more interesting they could be. The characters keep returning to the house several times throughout the movie, which wouldn't be such a problem if it wasn't for the large chunk of time that was spent there when they first arrived at it; by far the most frustrating aspect of the film. Thankfully the good outweighs the bad and the good isn't just good, it's amazingly good. There's really no dud musical number present, they're all so very, very beautiful.

A jolly musical featuring a great double act in the pairing of Frank Sinatra and Gene Kelly, who don't share quite as many song-and-dance numbers as you'd expect. ANCHORS AWEIGH charts the boisterous misadventures of a pair of sailors (Kelly and Sinatra) on three-day shore leave and the trouble that seems to follow them around.The sole problem with this movie is that it's overlong and, as is so often the case, it gets bogged down in an unnecessary romance around the halfway mark. It needed a little more music, a little more oomph, to make it truly great. Still, there's plenty to enjoy here, not least a wonderful performance from an agile and exuberant Gene Kelly, who outdoes Sinatra at every turn.The highlights of the movie are a couple of fantasy sequences. In one of them, a Spanish-themed interlude, we see Kelly serenading love interest Kathryn Grayson. However, it's the other moment, in which he enters an animated world and dances with Jerry from the TOM AND JERRY cartoons, which is the real highlight and a moment of pure brilliance. I always thought this kind of live action and animation mixing didn't occur until the days of WHO FRAMED ROGER RABBIT? but it looks like I was wrong; this dance is the icing on a slightly stodgy, but very tasty, cake.