Movie. Kiss Me, Kate, 1953. (BIx: 2)
Filmed for 3-D glasses, as one can easily observe; however, the technique had just gone out of fashion when the movie hit the theatres.
Divorced Howard Keel and Kathryn Grayson have a Taming of the Shrew like interaction. The story, a play-within-a-play, is actually based on the Shakespeare comedy. The play-in-play becomes entwined with the “real life” of the outer story; thus the cleverness.
What really makes it is the soundtrack by Cole Porter, who was at the peak of his powers. Indeed, some numbers are worked in for no reason other than the beauty of the song, like “So in Love” starting at 4:30. You will either (like I) like or hate “I hate men” (51:00); the hurled cannisters right in rhythm was a genius touch.
Not just the songs, however. The dance routines carry half the weight. My favorite: the opening of the play-in-play, “A troop of strolling players are we” at 37:00; a close second is the wooing of Bianca (Ann Miller) by the three lads, at 41:30 (note the three eternal factors of female fantasy: money, love, or social status, personified in the three suitors). Tommy Rall as the ne’er-do-well “Bill” doing his goofy, cut-up dance techniques, in “why can’t you behave” (19:00) is enjoyable.
The three-and-a-half minute three-couple revue near the end (1:41:30) is breath-taking and will stick with you a long time.
The dances are done to wailing dance band– we’re not left with Porter’s sad keyboard plinkin’ here.
I give it a Butler index, with the caveat that you use your “skip forward” key to edit out the tiresome bits. The subplot with the gangsters, for example, goes too far, above all when they do their soft-shoe routine. It is the “highlights” that will never wear out; some parts are already worn out the very first time.
This movie is a contender (with My Fair Lady) for the #2 greatest American musical. Finally, My Fair Lady may edge it out for heart; but there are several categories in which Kiss Me Kate would out-score.
The DVD includes a “music only” option so that you can listen to the sound track over dinner.
I enjoyed “Kiss me, Kate” tremendously and would place it in the top five musicals. I don’t know if I would rank it above “The Wizard of Oz” or “Singin’ in the Rain” though. It comes down to one’s taste in music and dance, I suppose. I’m glad we agree about the top two. Their greatness transcends music style and hits on more primal themes.
Comment by MRB — November 7, 2006 @ 4:10 pm
For my money, the only really great song in Wizard is “Somewhere over the Rainbow.” Cute, but not great, is “We represent the Lollypop Guild.” In my mind, the greatness of Wizard of Oz is not so much the song and dance as the archetypal characters and their associated lines:
Ignore that man behind the curtain.
Todo, I don’t think we’re in Kansas anymore.
I’m not a bad man; just a very bad wizard.
They only have one thing you don’t: a diploma.
and so forth.
Comment by Tim H — November 11, 2006 @ 4:08 pm
A huge miss in my review (I see on watching this for maybe the tenth time) is the waltz Wunderbar (27:00).
Comment by Tim H — November 19, 2006 @ 12:14 am