Here’s every movie that Gene Kelley and Frank Sinatra starred in together, ranked from worst to best. The Golden Age of Hollywood spawned many an iconic onscreen pairing. Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers dazzled with their dance routines in Top Hat and Swing Time, Bob Hope and Bing Crosby made audiences laugh with their series of Road To… movies, and husband-and-wife duo Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall smoldered both on and off camera in noirs like The Big Sleep and Key Largo.
Gene Kelly and Frank Sinatra were another iconic duo brought together during the Golden Age of Hollywood, although they only starred in three films together. The pair met when they were signed with MGM and cast in the 1945 musical comedy Anchors Aweigh, which kickstarted a fruitful (yet short-lived) partnership and a lifelong friendship. Onscreen their strengths complemented each other’s weaknesses perfectly, with Gene Kelly’s extraordinary dancing skills making up for the somewhat rhythmically challenged Sinatra’s lack of moves, while Sinatra’s dulcet crooning making up for the notes Kelly couldn’t quite hit.
The pair were set to collaborate a fourth time with the 1964 musical comedy Robin And The 7 Hoods which Frank Sinatra produced and starred in alongside Rat Pack pals Dean Martin and Sammy David Jr. Kelly was set to co-produce the movie but reportedly left the production due to disagreements with Sinatra, albeit on amicable . Nevertheless, the dynamic duo remained friends and gave the world three musical movies to enjoy – but which Gene Kelly and Frank Sinatra film ranks as the best?
Take Me Out To The Ball Game
Released in early 1949, Take Me Out To The Ball Game was Gene Kelly and Frank Sinatra’s second collaboration. The turn-of-the-century set movie stars Kelly and Sinatra as a pair of baseball players who moonlight as vaudeville performers during the off-season (which explains why they’re prone to bursting into song) and find their dynamic thrown off-kilter by the arrival of their new team owner, who turns out to be a woman (played by Esther Williams) who they both fall in love with. While it’s an enjoyable musical comedy, Take Me Out To The Ball Game is Kelly and Sinatra’s weakest film thanks to a flimsy plot and not-so-great pacing.
Anchors Aweigh
Directed by George Sidney in 1945, Anchors Aweigh was the film that brought Gene Kelly and Tom and Jerry fame), and its two stars have great chemistry but it's not their best movie.
On The Town
Filmed shortly after production on Frank Sinatra’s best collaboration.
