Synopsis

SYNOPSIS:

Includes the three Kelly/Sinatra collaborations: Anchors Aweigh (1945), Take Me Out To the Ball Game (1949) and On the Town (1949).
Special features include When The Lion Roars documentary; interview with animators William Hanna and Joseph Barbera on Anchors Aweigh, and Take Me Out To The Ball Game outtake songs.

Synopses:

Anchors Aweigh
They're sailors on leave, and they’re on the town. But in this case the town is Hollywood, where Joe (Kelly) and Clarence (Sinatra) have come for a few days of relaxation and romance. Kathryn Grayson is everybody’s object of affection, songs include “I Fall in Love too Easily,” “If You Knew Susie” and “Brahms’ Lullaby,” and Kelly memorably does a dance routine with an animated Jerry Mouse, of Tom and Jerry fame.  Under the direction of George Sidney (Pal Joey, Viva Las Vegas), the first Kelly/Sinatra collaboration picked up five Oscar nominations, including Best Picture, winning for Best Scoring of a Musical Picture.

Take Me Out To the Ball Game
The legendary Busby Berkeley stepped in to direct the second Kelly/Sinatra film, in which two vaudevillians-turned-baseball players fall for the team’s new owner, Esther Williams. Betty Garrett is also on hand to provide an additional love interest.  This was the last film directed by Berkeley; the next time out, Kelly and Stanley Donen, who staged the musical numbers here, would co-direct.

On the Town
Three sailors have 24 hours in New York, New York—which is, they tell us right off the bat, “a wonderful town.” Gabey, Chip and Ozzie—meaning Kelly, Sinatra and Jules Munshin—set out to see the whole town, naturally encountering their share of ladies along the way. Kelly and Donen shot the celebrated opening number on the Brooklyn Bridge, a first, and created a classic movie musical in spite of the fact that producer Arthur Freed threw out most of the original Leonard Bernstein score, much to Sinatra’s dismay.

Cast & Crew

On the Town
Directed by Stanley Donen, Gene Kelly
Produced by Arthur Freed, Roger Edens
Written by Betty Comden, Adolph Green
Cast: Gene Kelly, Frank Sinatra, Betty Garrett, Ann Miller, Jules Munshin, Vera-Ellen, Alice Pearce
Cinematography: Harold Rosson
Editing: Ralph E. Winters
Released by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer

Take Me Out to the Ball Game
Directed by Busby Berkeley
Produced by Arthur Freed
Written by Harry Tugend and George Wells (screenplay), Gene Kelly and Stanley Donen (story), Harry Crane
Cast: Frank Sinatra, Gene Kelly, Esther Williams, Betty Garrett, Edward Arnold, Jules Munshin
Cinematography: George Folsey
Editing: Blanche Sewell
Released by MGM

Anchors Aweigh
Directed by George Sidney
Produced by Joe Pasternak
Written by Natalie Marcin (story), Isobel Lennart
Cast: Frank Sinatra, Kathryn Grayson, Gene Kelly
Cinematography: Charles P, Boyle, Robert H. Planck
Editing: Adrienne Fazan
Music: Calvin Jackson, George E. Stoll
Released by MGM

Description

Frank Sinatra once described Gene Kelly as “one of the reasons I became a star,” and here are the films where that star-making took place. Together, Sinatra and Kelly sang and danced their way to boxoffice gold three times, with Take Me Out to the Ball Game, On the Town and Anchors Aweigh. Along the way, whether singing on location or dancing with cartoon animals, they created several milestone sequences in the history of the Hollywood musical.