In Anchors Aweigh Gene Kelly seems to replace the Sinatra I characteristically know and love as the womanizing source of machismo leaving Frank in a position of a strange femininity drowned by innocence and self-doubt. If your first impression of Frank Sinatra came from Saturday Night Live sketches and reading The Way You Wear your Hat you were probably just as shocked as I was by seeing a scrawny shy version of Sinatra who knows nothing about how to woo women. Of course once you get past this image, musically it’s the same old Frank and in a weird way there are instances where his facial expressions seem to go out of character as far as his image goes. Gene Kelly not only acted in Anchors Aweigh but also designed the film’s dance sequences, which is no surprise if you are at all familiar with Singin’ in the Rain, which Kelly provided the choreography and co-directed. Like Sinatra, Gene Kelly was also a symbol of masculinity at the time yet in Anchor’s Aweigh it isn’t hard to look like Hercules when Sinatra is playing a character that acts like a more charming version of Boo Radley. As hard as it is to imagine Frank Sinatra as Clarence Doolittle the character actually fits very well into the songs he sings noting his versatility. Unlike Gene Kelly, Sinatra sings somewhat deeper songs that balance out the typically cheery tunes performed by Kelly and his character’s coy nature throughout the film only adds to that distinction. Thankfully another, more bizarre, difference between Gene Kelly and Frank Sinatra here is the act of dancing with a cartoon mouse in what has got to be the most out of place part in the whole movie. All in all despite the character’s differences in the film the actors seem to have a great chemistry with each other and it shows during the musical numbers and stage presence.
Until next time, Anchors Aweigh people!
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