It’s no secret that the Hollywood Comet loves musicals.
In 2010, I revealed I had seen 400 movie musicals over the course of eight years. Now that number is over 600. To celebrate and share this musical love, here is my weekly feature about musicals.

This week’s musical:
Kiss Me Kate (1953) – Musical #19

Studio:
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer

Director:
George Sidney

Starring:
Kathryn Grayson, Howard Keel, Ann Miller, Tommy Rall, Keenan Wynn, James Whitmore, Bob Fosse, Tommy Rall, Kurt Kasznar, Ron Randell, Willard Parker, Ann Codee, Carol Haney, Jeanne Coyne, Hermes Pan (uncredited)

Plot:
Cole Porter (Randell) has written a musical version of Williams Shakespeare’s play, “Kiss Me Kate.” Fred Graham (Keel) feels the show is perfect for him and his ex-wife, Lilli Vanessi (Grayson). Though Lilli outwardly hates Fred, she can’t turn down a good role, and Fred and Lilli play Petruchio and Kathrine in the show. One of Fred’s girlfriends, Lois (Miller) is cast as Kathrine’s younger sister, Bianca. On opening night as the show is being performed, issues occur backstage. Gangsters (Wynn, Whitmore) show up to collect a gambling debt of Lois’s boyfriend and co-star, Bill (Rall); Lilli and Fred battle, and Lilli’s fiancé (Parker) arrives.

Trivia:
• A musical version of “Kiss Me Kate,” which is based on the Broadway musical of the same name, which took the stage in 1948.
• Filmed in both 3D and 2D. The two were tested—with 3D being sent to some exhibitors and 2D to others. The 3D out grossed the 2D prints, but exhibitors could pick which version they wanted to show. For example, Radio City Music Hall decided to show the 2D version.
• Kathryn Grayson’s last project under contract at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer.
• The song “Another Op’nin’, Another Show” was in the original Broadway show but cut from the film. The song “From this Moment On” was not in the original show but was from the 1953 Cole Porter stage musical, “Out of this World.”
• Laurence Olivier and Danny Kaye were considered for the male lead.

Highlights:
• The “Too Darn Hot” number
• Ann Miller and Tommy Rall dancing together in “Why Can’t You Behave”
• Keenan Wynn and James Whitmore as hoods
• Dances choreographed by Hermes Pan

Notable Songs:
• “It’s Too Darn Hot” performed by Ann Miller
• “Why Can’t You Behave” performed by Ann Miller and Tommy Rall

My review:
After seeing “West Side Story” when I was 14 years old, I sought out every musical I could see. I was so excited to discover each musical film, pressing play with high hopes. Maybe those hopes soared too high, so I was sometimes left disappointed.

“Kiss Me Kate” is one of those films that left me disappointed. So for 20 years, I didn’t watch this film again until this weekend. With other revisits, watching with low expectations have paved the way for an enjoyable experiences.

Well … I warmed to some parts of the film, but others I disliked it as much as I did as a teen.

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer’s production of “Kiss Me Kate” (1953) is an adaptation of a Broadway musical of the same name. This is a backstage musical story, revolving around the opening night of a musical version of “The Taming of the Shrew” — the stage musical is called “Kiss Me Kate” in the story. The leads are ex-husband and wife, but also perfect talents for the play. While opening night is occurring, drama of the cast members happens backstage, including jealousy, gambling debts and the leading lady preparing to walk out in the middle of opening night.

The film seemingly has the full formula to be a great time:
• An excellent cast touting MGM top stars like Kathryn Grayson, Howard Keel, Ann Miller and Tommy Rall.
• Vibrant color
• Dances choreographed by Hermes Pan (and Bob Fosse choreographing one portion)

But portions of this film fall flat. I’ll start with the positives. The film starts out promising to be a great time when Lilli (Grayson) enters the apartment of her ex-husband, Fred (Keel). I laughed out loud as Grayson is singing near the table and looks over at old photos of she and her ex-husband, but really they are recreations of Howard Keel’s other promo photos from “Seven Brides for Seven Brides” and “Annie Get Your Gun.” I’m not sure if this was meant to be a joke, but it felt like an little nudge and wink to MGM musical lovers all these years later.

And then the best part of the film occurs during this moment too: Ann Miller bursts in tap dancing to “Too Darn Hot.” The song and dance are exciting and also humorous, while Miller takes off items of clothing and Grayson catches them mid-air.

I also love the numbers with Ann Miller and Tommy Rall, such as “Why Can’t You Behave.” In my opinion, Rall is an incredibly underrated dancer and demonstrates his dancing excellence in this film.

James Whitmore and Keenan Wynn are also quite funny in this as a pair of gangsters visiting to collect a gambling debt.

But then, sadly, as the on-stage play focuses more on the characters of Katherine and Petruchio (played by Grayson and Keel as Lilli and Fred), the film starts to sour for me.

I’m guessing that the real life characters of Lilli and Fred are supposed to run parallel to their on-stage characters. While I generally enjoy the films of Kathryn Grayson and Howard Keel, the way their characters are written makes their characters incredibly unlikeable.

I lost count, but I think Grayson yells “You louse” four or five times. There’s a good bit of shouting from both Keel and Grayson throughout the film and neither one has the opportunity to sing songs that are very good.

Like with most stage musicals, the secondary characters are the ones that are the most interesting. I found myself missing Ann Miller and Tommy Rall whenever they weren’t on screen. However, I did notice something interesting about the characters Lois and Bill played by this pair. Lois and Bill seem almost like a carbon copy of Ado Annie and Will Parker from “Oklahoma,” down to singing a song about behaving or being faithful. “Always True to You in My Fashion” from “Kiss Me Kate” has the same sentiment “All Er Nuthin’” from “Oklahoma.” Notably, “Oklahoma” was on stage in 1943 and “Kiss Me Kate” in 1948.

Interestingly, “Kiss Me Kate” was originally filmed in 3D, which you can spot when the characters throw items at the screen. The only reason I’d revisit this film again is to see it on the big screen in this original 3D format.

Otherwise, I am sorry that this revisit didn’t fully change my mind. I tried and again, wanted to love it. But unfortunately, I didn’t.

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