Anchors Aweigh [G]

When sailors Joe Brady and Clarence Doolittle are granted shore relieve for four days, it’s fun times ahead. Joe plans to spend his days in Hollywood with his lovely lady Lola, Clarence unfortunately has nothing to do and decides to follow Joe and guilt-trip him into finding him a girl. Fortune inadvertently smiles on the lads when they are roped into escorting a small boy home after he runs away to join the navy and Clarence takes a shine to the boy’s Auntie Susie: a beautiful and hopeful singer doing extra work in the movies. Joe hatches a plan as to get Susan to go on a date with Clarence by telling her the white lie that Clarence is a friend of Jose Iturbo and he’s gotten her an audition for him. The charade soon becomes complicated as Joe is roped into keeping certain promises and he soon finds himself falling for Susie. 

And the Great Musicals Collection delivers another one. I bought this movie without ever having seen it, which I would never normally do. It was Gene Kelly and Frank Sinatra, it was on sale, and I thought ‘why not?’ Why not indeed, and I’m glad that I did add this to the collection. Anchors Aweigh displays energetic dance routines, beautiful love songs, comedy, and comedic suspense. It’s a great little movie that stands the test of time. 

When sailors Joe Brady and Clarence Doolittle are granted shore relieve for four days, it’s fun times ahead. Joe plans to spend his days in Hollywood with his lovely lady Lola, Clarence unfortunately has nothing to do and decides to follow Joe and guilt-trip him into finding him a girl. Fortune inadvertently smiles on the lads when they are roped into escorting a small boy home after he runs away to join the navy and Clarence takes a shine to the boy’s Auntie Susie: a beautiful and hopeful singer doing extra work in the movies. Joe hatches a plan as to get Susan to go on a date with Clarence by telling her the white lie that Clarence is a friend of Jose Iturbo and he’s gotten her an audition for him. The charade soon becomes complicated as Joe is roped into keeping certain promises and he soon finds himself falling for Susie. 

I’d developed a bit of a thing for Frank Sinatra after On the Town and now in this flick… oh he could be my man any day. Frank’s charm is not so much in his performance as the shy, infantile, and virginal Clarence, more in his bewitching vocal charm as he sings “I Fall In Love Too Easily”. I WAS SWOONING! He was sooo beautiful. 

Gene Kelly is Joe and, as is expected in any of these Golden Age pictures, he provides the movie with panache and incredible dance sequences, including one where he dances with cartoon Jerry from Tom and Jerry! I haven’t done my research, but could this be the first film where cartoon animation and live actors collaborated with one another on screen? I’d always thought that Mary Poppins was the first flick to combine the two and seeing that that was made in 1964 and this was made in 1945… Gene Kelly, aside from providing memorable dance sequences also brings the film its sense of manliness, emotional drama, and comedy. You gotta love Gene Kelly! 

Starring Kathryn Grayson, Jose Iturbi, Dean Stockwell, Pamela Britton, Rags Ragland, and Billy Gilbert, Anchors Aweigh is a classic little Golden Age musical filled with singing, dancing, romance, drama, comedy, and an awkward little love triangle. I really loved this flick.