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's solo and partnered dances many years, Fred Astaire was plagued by interviewers who wished to know who his favorite dance partner was. Ever the gentleman, Astaire would reply either "Bing Crosby" or "Gene Kelly". The closest he may have come to identifying a possible favorite was in "Interview" magazine in June 1973 where he said: "Barrie Chase is the best partner - she's the latest partner that I've had, and believe me, that girl has got it - that girl can dance." Although Astaire was the primary choreographer of all his dance routines, he welcomed the input of collaborators. This is particularly true in