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.
“The Pirate” (1948): A circus performer (Kelly) pretends to be the pirate a smitten woman (Judy Garland) wants to meet. “Take Me Out to the Ball Game” (1949): Kelly and Frank Sinatra (directed here by Busby Berkeley) do spirited harmonizing as professional baseball players who also happen to be vaudeville performers.
“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. “It’s Always Fair Weather” (1955): A reunion of several soldiers, one played by Kelly (also co-directing with Stanley Donen once more), sparks this comedy-drama fueled by musical numbers. “Invitation to the Dance” (1956):
Kelly wrote, co-directed and co-starred in this unique experiment, telling several stories with no spoken dialogue ... only with dance. “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).