Official Synopsis:
The Crooner. The Hoofer. Their Legendary Films.

On The Town -
The Bronx is up and the Battery's down, but no one can be down after seeing this ebullient tale of sailors on leave in Manhattan. Sinatra, Kelly and Jules Munchin are the gobs, Ann Miller, Vera-Ellen and Betty Garrett are the gals.

Take Me Out To The Ball Game -
Second baseman Sinatra and shortstop Kelly are in there pitching - pitching woo! Esther Williams and Betty Garrett costar in a tale of baseball and that other American pastime.

Anchors Aweigh -
I Fall In Love Too Easily, Frank croons. And we fall in love with the charms of two sailors at liberty in Tinseltown. Includes a milestone of musical fantasy: Kelly's dance with cartoon mouse Jerry!

  
Our Take:
While I’ve never had an overt love of musicals, I can appreciate the better ones in the genre. As part of Warner’s new Frank Sinatra Celebration, I had occasion to reflect on the three films in the Frank Sinatra and Gene Kelly Collection, and what I found is that this is a pretty solid group of films, even though there’s only three in the set.

The high point in the set is Anchors Aweigh, which is a top-notch musical that’s most famous for the dancing duet between Gene Kelly and Jerry the mouse from the Tom & Jerry cartoons. That sequence still holds up for my money; the technological wizardry may not be CGI-fueled, but it’s a great dance number and the interaction between man and mouse is still impressive.

For me, though, I have a soft spot for Anchors Aweigh, with its bright and fantastic opening sequence that sees three sailors (a recurring them for Sinatra and Kelly, apparently, as two out of the three films in the set feature them as seamen) touring almost the entirety of New York in one musical number. Both films are very enjoyable and superior to Take Me Out to the Ball Game, although that movie holds its own as an enjoyable diversion.

This is one of the sets in the new Warner Sinatra releases that actually includes extra features. Here’s what’s included:

* Deleted Musical Numbers – Two deleted songs from Take Me Out: "Baby Doll" and "Boys and Girls Like You and Me," with text production notes.

* Interview with Animators William Hanna and Joseph Barbera – An archival interview with the animators talking about the Kelly/Jerry sequence.

* Cast and Crew Listings.

* Theatrical Trailers.

While some of the other Sinatra collections may boast more films or more defining roles (such as The Golden Years set including The Man With The Golden Arm), The Frank Sinatra and Gene Kelly Collection offers up some really entertaining films, along with a few decent bonus features. For my money, if you’re going to invest in the other Sinatra collections, it would be a shame to miss this one.

Overall Picture:
Movies (average): B+
DVD set: B

- Mike Spring

Editor