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ANCHORS AWEIGH – Jule Styne, Sammy Cahn, Georgie Stoll
GREATEST SCORES OF THE TWENTIETH CENTURY
Original Review by Craig Lysy
Gene Kelly caught the eye of Hollywood studios who were impressed by his athletic American style of dancing, as well as his talent as a choreographer. Seeking to capitalize on his talent, MGM studios offered him a contract. This led them to task him to choreograph, dance and star in the studio’s next planned musical – “Anchors Aweigh”. The film was yet another one of MGM Studios penchant for musicals. It would be the first of three “Buddy” films, which teamed Gene Kelly with Frank Sinatra. Production was assigned to Joe Pasternak with a budget of $2.6 million, Natalie Marcin was hired to write the story, with Isobel Lennart writing the screenplay, and George Sidney was tasked with directing. For the cast, Frank Sinatra would star as Clarence “Brooklyn” Doolittle, Gene Kelly as Joe Brady and Kathryn Grayson as Susan Abbott. Read more…
Remembering Jule Styne, 1905-1994
Composer and songwriter Jule Styne died at Mount Sinai Medical Center in New York City ten years ago today, on September 20, 1994, at the age of 88, following a heart attack after several weeks of ill health.
One of the towering figures of the American musical theatre, Styne composed the music for Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, Bells Are Ringing, Gypsy and Funny Girl, while his extensive Hollywood career produced songs including “It’s Magic,” “I Fall in Love Too Easily” and the Academy Award-winning “Three Coins in the Fountain.”
Julius Kerwin Stein was born in London’s East End on December 31, 1905, into a Jewish family of Ukrainian ancestry. His family emigrated to Chicago in 1912, where his exceptional talent at the piano quickly became apparent. A child prodigy, he performed with major symphony orchestras while still young, but eventually abandoned ambitions for a classical concert career and immersed himself instead in Chicago’s jazz and popular-music scene.
By the 1930s Styne was working as a pianist, bandleader and vocal coach. He eventually moved to Hollywood, where he coached performers including Shirley Temple and Alice Faye before establishing himself as a songwriter. His most important early partnership was with lyricist Sammy Cahn. Together they wrote dozens of songs for films and popular singers, including “I’ll Walk Alone,” “It’s Been a Long, Long Time,” “The Things We Did Last Summer,” “Time After Time,” “Guess I’ll Hang My Tears Out to Dry” and the seasonal standard “Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!” Read more…
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