Gene Kelly movies." "Anchors Aweigh" became one of the most successful films of 1945 and Kelly was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actor. In "Ziegfeld Follies" (1946)—which was produced in 1944 but not released until 1946—Kelly collaborated with Fred Astaire, for whom he had the greatest admiration, in the famous "The Babbitt and the Bromide" challenge dance routine. After Kelly returned to Hollywood in 1946, MGM had nothing planned and used him in a routine, black-and-white movie: "Living in a Big Way". The film was considered so weak that the studio asked Kelly to design and insert a series of
Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers his retirement. Due to their success as a partnership, Garland and Astaire were due to reunite for "The Barkleys of Broadway", but Garland was forced to drop out and Rogers took her place. The film, released in 1949, reunited Astaire and Rogers for their only movie for MGM and their only color film. During production, Astaire received an honorary Academy Award, which was presented to him by Rogers. This film was greeted with joy by critics, who were thrilled to see the partnership together once again. It was a success, earning a worldwide total of $5,421,000 on an estimated budget