BEST GENE KELLY MOVIES
“Anchors Aweigh” (1945): Kelly’s legendary dance routine with animated mouse Jerry is a definite highlight of this sailors-on-leave romp also starring Frank Sinatra and Kathryn Grayson.
“The Three Musketeers” (1948): Kelly plays D’artagnan, alongside much of the MGM contract-player roster at the time, in this musical take on the legendary adventure tale.
“On the Town” (1949): Kelly (who also co-directed here, with Stanley Donen) and Sinatra are sailors again, this time on leave in New York (along with Jules Munshin), in this famously tuneful classic with a score by Leonard Bernstein, Betty Comden and Adolph Green.
“Summer Stock” (1950): A theatrical company uses the barn of a farmer (Judy Garland) who eventually falls for the troupe’s director (Kelly).
“An American in Paris” (1951): Widely acclaimed as one of the best musicals ever made, this masterpiece boasts an iconic climactic sequence that’s a dancing tour de force for Kelly.
“Singin’ in the Rain” (1952): Teaming him up with Debbie Reynolds and Donald O’connor, another of the screen’s top musicals casts Kelly as a movie star making the transition from the silent era to “talkies” — and needing a singer to help him with that switch. Kelly also co-directed again with Stanley Donen, the late filmmaker whose 100th birthday will be marked by Turner Classic Movies in a tribute including this film on Saturday, April 13.
“Brigadoon” (1954): Kelly and Van Johnson star in the famed musical as Americans visiting Scotland and finding a magical village there. The streaming series “Schmigadoon!” owes a lot to this.
“Marjorie Morningstar” (1958): Kelly made a notable turn toward drama as a Catskills resort social director who becomes involved with the younger title character (played by Natalie Wood).
“Inherit the Wind” (1960): A famous trial over the teaching of Darwin’s theory of evolution inspired the stage play that director Stanley Kramer turned into this excellent film, with Kelly in a sterling cast that also includes Spencer Tracy and Fredric March as the opposing attorneys.
“The Cheyenne Social Club” (1970): A very solid directing effort by Kelly, this unusual Western casts James Stewart as a cowboy who inherits a brothel ... with real-life friend Henry Fonda as his frontier pal.
“Xanadu” (1980): In his final feature-film role, Kelly plays one of the people significantly inspired by a muse (Olivia Newton-john).