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Anchors Aweigh is not a favourite of mine by all means, but I do enjoy it. It is overlong, the story is somewhat slight and the dialogue is unexceptional. Despite its failings, it is enjoyable. The production values are pleasing to the eye, while the score and songs are very pleasant and the choreography sprightly. The direction is good enough, while the pace while slightly mannered I had little problem with, as there are certain delights that stop the film from being dull. The cast, dancing and singing are excellent. Gene Kelly is always likable and here is no exception, while Frank Sinatra delights with his beautiful voice and and Kathryn Grayson is graceful and beautiful. The real delight though is the film's most famous sequence and no surprise really, the sequence when Kelly dances with Jerry of Tom and Jerry fame is as clever as it is memorable. So overall, not exceptional by all means, but there is much to enjoy still. 7/10 Bethany Cox

Released some months before the end of the war, "Anchors Aweigh" is one of Gene Kelly's major musical triumphs of the forties…

Under the direction of George Sidney, it had the benefits of a pleasant score, and—best of all—the services of Gene Kelly in his first true starring role at MGM… The year before, in Columbia's "Cover Girl," he had revealed an innovative approach to dance on the screen, a light but agreeable singing voice, and considerable charm In "Anchors Aweigh," although he was billed under Frank Sinatra and Kathryn Grayson, he was laying the solid groundwork for his most revealing years at MGM…

The film's story, a kind of dry run for "On the Town" four years later, follows sailors Kelly and Sinatra on shore leave, spend their holiday in Hollywood, where they become involved in the affairs of an aspiring singer (Grayson) and her little nephew (Dean Stockwell).

Grayson, it appears, has her heart set on an audition with conductor-pianist Jose Iturbi… She gets the audition, of course; Kelly gets Grayson after some misunderstandings; and Sinatra, has forgotten to be shy, and has lost his heart to a girl from Brooklyn (Pamela Britton).

The plot is conventional for the period but, regrettably, it now seems barely tolerable… But there is Gene Kelly, who dominates the movie with his agreeable personality… Perhaps he grins too much, but when is permitted to dance, the film finally lifts off the ground…

"I Begged Her," his early song and dance with Sinatra, is amusing and slightly absurd, in which he imagines himself as a bandit chieftain in a Spanish courtyard, courting maiden Grayson with a flamboyant flamenco dance and some athletic leaps… He also does a charming Mexican dance with little Sharon McManus in the square of a Mexican settlement in Los Angeles…

The highlight of the movie, however, is Kelly's famous dance with the cartoon character Jerry the Mouse (of "Tom and Jerry" fame). Delightful and innovative, it skillfully combines live action and animation in its tale of a sad mouse king who refuses to allow music in his kingdom until Kelly, a sailor in the "Pomeranian Navy," wearing a striped shirt and a beret, shows him how to dance… "Look at me, I'm dancin'!" says the gleeful mouse king...

I love these old musicals where they seemed to throw in everyone under contract with the studio. I love the classical music, with Iturbi's very old school highly arched fingers doing amazing things on the keyboard while he also conducted. I love bringing in the next generation of performers. I love the silliness. I love Gene Kelly giving the studio insurance agents palpitations in the bandit scene and calling Kathryn Grayson "Aunt Susie." I love the whole wonderful mishmash. There's something for everyone and if it runs long, well, you can pick which musical number to miss for your bathroom break. :) I wish all the songs were credited at the end but that wasn't the custom then. This has one of my two favorite on screen renditions of the Hungarian Rhapsody. The other was done by Bugs Bunny being bedeviled by a mouse. These musicals are time capsules of great talents, fashions, musical tastes, and movie techniques. I've seen this many times and I hope to see it many more.

What surprises me here is how good Sinatra is. He's certainly playing against his later cock-sure image. No king of the walk here. Instead his Clarence (note the name) is likable but chock-full of self-doubt. And he's very good at being shy, retiring, and charming in a boyish way. It's a Sinatra as I've never seen him. On the other hand, there's the boldly self-assured Joe (Kelly) who dominates, as the two sailors try to get a big-time audition for the winsome Susan (Grayson). Somehow, however, they can't reach big-time impresario Jose Iturbi. But they and we have a good time trying.

Along the way, Kelly gets his legendary dance with cartoon mouse Jerry of Tom & Jerry, looking like it came right out of the Land of Oz. Then too, I like his really charming number with the little Mexican girl (McManus). Overall, however, it's the elaborate sets, glossy Technicolor, and sparkling personalities that shine. Frankly, I thought the musical selections were entertaining but nothing memorable. Also the storyline meanders a bit too much, particularly near the end. Note too how classical numbers are worked into the selections, quite typical for that time. I guess producers wanted to broaden the musical appeal, and lend a touch of 'class'.

All in all, the movie's MGM at it's glossy best. And though a bit overlong, the results still fit the classic bill, along with the perfect pairing of the two male leads.

Famous for the scene where Gene Kelly dances a duet with Jerry Mouse, this zippy musical is also the one where Kathryn Grayson trills 'Jealousy', and Frank Sinatra sings in the arena of a thousand pianos ('I Fall in Love Too Easily'). Grayson is a young mother who wants more than anything else to be in the movies. Her little boy (Dean Stockwell, who would turn up much later in TV's Quantum Leap) wants to join the US forces, and so he meets sailors Kelly and Sinatra heading out for a bit of leave. There are some echoes of 'On the Town' in this movie, but not enough to spoil the mix.