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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 Sammy Cahn, 1913-1993
Lyricist and songwriter Sammy Cahn died in Los Angeles ten years ago today, on January 15, 1993, at the age of 79.
One of the most successful writers of popular songs in Hollywood history, Cahn supplied lyrics for hundreds of recordings, Broadway shows and motion pictures, and enjoyed especially fruitful partnerships with composers Jule Styne and Jimmy Van Heusen. He received an extraordinary 26 Academy Award nominations for Best Original Song, winning four times, and wrote many of the songs most closely associated with Frank Sinatra.
Cahn was born Samuel Cohen on New York’s Lower East Side on June 18, 1913, the son of Jewish immigrants from Eastern Europe. He studied violin as a child and initially dreamed of playing professionally, but discovered a greater talent for writing lyrics. After leaving school he teamed with Saul Chaplin, beginning a partnership that flourished during the 1930s in Tin Pan Alley.
Cahn and Chaplin’s early successes included “Rhythm Is Our Business,” “Until the Real Thing Comes Along” and the English lyrics for the Yiddish song “Bei Mir Bist Du Schoen,” which became an enormous hit for the Andrews Sisters. By the early 1940s Cahn had moved increasingly into Hollywood and formed a new partnership with composer Jule Styne. Read more…
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