Anchors Aweigh premiered in New York City on 19 July 1945.
Very loosely based on Natalie Marcin's 1943 short story, "You Can't Fool a Marine," Anchors Aweigh was a hit at the box office and was nominated for 5 Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Actor (Gene Kelly), Best Cinematography - Color (Charles Boyle and Robert Planck), and Best Song ("I Fall in Love Too Easily" by Sammy Cahn and Jule Styne, sung by Frank Sinatra). It received an Oscar for Best Score (Georgie Stoll).
The film is now best remembered for the sequence where Gene Kelly "dances" with Jerry (the mouse from Tom and Jerry). Walt Disney was initially approached about providing Mickey Mouse for the sequence, but Disney was in substantial debt at the time and decided to focus on their own projects. Kelly went personally to Hanna and Barbera's office and convinced them to provide the animation.
