The movie was written by Natalie Marcin and Isobel Lennart and directed by George Sidney.
It won the Academy Award for Best Music, Scoring of a Musical Picture. In 2001, Kevin Spacey purchased this Oscar statuette at a Butterfield's auction and returned it to the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Anchors Aweigh was also nominated for Best Actor in a Leading Role (Gene Kelly), Best Cinematography, Color, Best Music, Song (for Jule Styne (music) and Sammy Cahn (lyrics) for I Fall in Love Too Easily), and Best Picture.
The movie is famous for an extended sequence where Gene Kelly dances with Jerry the Mouse. Kelly is live action while Jerry is animated. Originally, the producers wanted to use Mickey Mouse for this section, but Walt Disney refused to allow his character to be used in an MGM film.