HOME ENTERTAINMENT : Laser ‘Gene Kelly’ Tribute: Song, Dance Man at His Best

The real lure of “The Gene Kelly Collection” (MGM/UA, $125) lies on sides seven and eight of this tribute to the gotta-sing-gotta-dance man: a dozen of his unique musical numbers collected for great viewing in one place along with a handful of outtakes never seen before.

The four-disc set also includes three of Kelly’s most engaging film turns: “On the Town,” “Brigadoon” and “It’s Always Fair Weather.”

But no one could blame you for zipping right to the Dances, including some of Kelly’s most inventive and original numbers. Among them: “Let Me Call You Sweetheart” (also known as “The Mop Dance”) from 1943’s “Thousands Cheer,” the first solo routine choreographed and staged by Kelly. There’s also “Fido and Me” from 1947’s “Living in a Big Way,” in which Kelly shares the stage with Pooch, who’s an able-enough dance partner but possibly not as charming as a mesmerizing, larger-than-life, absolutely still statue.

Of the two numbers from 1945’s “Anchors Aweigh,” nothing tops “The Worry Song.” This excerpt, in which Kelly dances with Jerry (the mouse of “Tom & Jerry”), is a marvel of a mix of live action and animation, decades before “Who Framed Roger Rabbit.” Stop the action at any point to see how dead-on the number’s execution is, down to the shadows following Kelly’s and Jerry’s dancing forms. It’s an absolute high-energy, inventive delight, sure to chase away any frowns.

Other favorites include the innovative black-and-white “Construction Dance” from “Living in a Big Way,” which preserves old-fashioned nursery rhymes and games that may well disappear in this era of CD-ROM and video adventures. The sequence includes some of the athletic Kelly’s never-before-tried stunts that still make you hold your breath.

Of course, the collection ends with Kelly’s signature dance, the splashing, stomping and frolicking “Singin’ in the Rain.”

Other bonuses include outtakes from “Brigadoon,” “It’s Always Fair Weather” and, for some reason, “Take Me Out to the Ballgame,” along with stills from the three featured films and an audio track that includes various takes of songs/dances for all three films. All of these have been remixed for stereo for this edition.

The three films in this collection came out of Kelly’s association with MGM and the great musicals that came from producer Arthur Freed in the late ‘40s and early ‘50s.

“On the Town,” based on the Broadway hit with music by Leonard Bernstein, was directed by Kelly and Stanley Donen, who shot the opening number, “New York, New York,” on location in three days--over studio protests. Everything else, lyricists-screenwriters Betty Comden and Adolph Green recall in supplementary interviews on the disc, was shot on the MGM lot.

The 1954 adaptation of the romantic Broadway musical “Brigadoon” features Kelly with the lovely Cyd Charisse. The ethereal fable includes the lyrical dance numbers “Heather on the Hill” and “Almost Like Being in Love.”

“It’s Always Fair Weather,” a 1955 Comden and Green musical written directly for the screen, reunites Kelly with Charisse. This time around, Kelly’s a soldier (not a sailor as in “On the Town”), and three war buddies reunite to find they have little in common. This musical was conceived for the wide screen and this letter-boxed version captures all of the clever uses of the wide screen, including the “Blue Danube” song and Kelly’s spectacular dance on roller skates.

Like other well-done MGM laser collections, this set also includes excellent liner notes that offer a fact-filled picture of Kelly’s career, including films not part of this release but available on other MGM laser discs. Chapter stops are also informative and detailed, a welcome companion to the visual treat.

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Other Recent Releases of Note: Classic films: A Columbia TriStar double bill pairs “Cat Ballou” and “The Villain.” The Western spoof double bill reminds you why Lee Marvin won an Oscar for his double role as a drunken gunman and a desperado with a notable artificial nose in the ’65 “Ballou.” Jane Fonda, Nat King Cole and Dwayne Hickman co-star. “The Villain,” a 1979 attempt at satirizing Wild West films, features Kirk Douglas, Ann-Margret and Arnold Schwarzenegger.

A more traditional Western double bill from MGM/UA pairs “Duel at Diablo” with “Hour of the Gun.” “Diablo” (1966), directed by Ralph Nelson, features James Garner, Sidney Poitier and Dennis Weaver. The 1967 “Hour of the Gun” picks up at the OK Corral where the other gunfight left off. “Gun” also features Garner, this time with Jason Robards and Jon Voight.

Warner Bros. offers the original director’s cut of the classic “The Wild Bunch,” the 1969 Sam Peckinpah-directed film starring William Holden, Ben Johnson, Robert Ryan and Strother Martin. Restoration of previously deleted scenes in their original wide-screen format show why the film retains a legendary status. Follow it up with Pekinpah’s 1972 now-classic “The Getaway” (Warner Bros.) with Steve McQueen and Ali MacGraw.

Fans of special-effects wizard Ray Harryhausen will find plenty to transfix on in two Columbia TriStar releases, both of which include interviews with Harryhausen: the 1961 “Mysterious Island,” based on Jules Verne’s sequel to “20,000 Leagues Under the Sea” and featuring Gary Merrill, and 1956’s powerful “Earth vs. the Flying Saucers” with Hugh Marlowe. Stop-action viewing on Harryhausen work never lets you down.