anchors aweigh

i've been feeling a little under the weather these last few days, and my sleep cycle is all screwed up. i cooked a pot of potato soup last night around 10pm and collapsed in front of the tv afterwards.

while rooted on the couch i stumbled across a gene kelly movie on TCM that i'd never seen before: "anchors aweigh". i guess i'd always put this one off, thinking it would some sort of trifle compared to "an american in paris" or "singing in the rain"... but i have to say i enjoyed "anchors aweigh" far more than either of those films. (and more than any of his films!)

maybe it was just the cold medication or delirium from lack of sleep or something.

the film kept me up until 2:30am (i told you my schedule was all screwed up) but my attention didn't waver for a moment. to be honest, while i really like "an american in paris" and "singing in the rain" their extended, fucked-up ballet sequences turn me off. they're just too weird for me. (i know, i know... they were "ahead of their time.") "anchors aweigh" didn't have one of those quarter-hour ballets... instead it had him dancing in a dream/storytime sequence with a cartoon mouse. and somehow it worked.

my favorite things about "anchors aweigh":

* gene kelly's ass. oh my god, it's beautiful.
* the way he practically makes love to a telephone. (4.1MB mpg file)
* the whole dancing-with-a-cartoon-character thing. cool!
* lots of classical music. (but don't let that scare you off...!)
* he somehow manages to make a totally sissy navy uniform look sexy.
* oh yeah... frank sinatra.