Musical Monday: Kismet (1955)

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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:
Kismet (1955) – Musical #50

Studio:
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer

Director:
Vincente Minnelli

Starring:
Howard Keel, Ann Blyth, Dolores Gray, Vic Damone, Monty Woolley, Sebastian Cabot, Jay C. Flippen, Mike Mazurki, Jack Elam, Ted de Corsia, Barrie Chase (uncredited), Jamie Farr (uncredited), Aaron Spelling (uncredited), Bernie Hamilton (uncredited), Patricia Dunn (uncredited), Wonci Lui (uncredited), Reiko Sato (uncredited)

Plot:
In a case of mistaken identity, a poet (Keel) is confused with a notorious beggar, who has put curses on people. Through a series of events, the Poet makes his way into the palace, as the Wazir (Cabot) is convinced he has actual powers. The Poet’s daughter, Marsinah (Blyth), disapproves of him working for the Wazir. Marsinah catches the eye of the Caliph (Damone), who immediately falls in love with her, but she doesn’t know his true identity, believing he’s a gardener.

Trivia:
• One of many film versions of the story KISMET that are based on a 1911 play, including a 1944 version starring Ronald Coleman and Marlene Dietrich. This film is based on a 1953 stage musical of the story, which won the Tony Award for best musical in 1954.
• Monty Woolley’s final feature film.
• The Hollywood Reporter originally reported that Enzio Pinza and Cyd Charisse were considered for the film.

Highlights:
• Jack Cole choreography
• Colorful cinematography

Notable Songs:
• “Not Since Nineveh” performed by Dolores Gray
• “Baubles, Bangles And Beads” performed by Ann Blyth
• “Strange in Paradise” performed by Ann Blyth and Vic Damone

My review:
Actress Ann Blyth, who passed away on June 24, 2026, at age 98, was a great talent. She could play hard boiled women in noir, like MILDRED PIERCE or THUNDER ON THE HILL, or sweet characters in films like OUR VERY OWN or KATIE DID IT. But Blyth is also underrated for her beautiful, operatic singing voice, which was underutilized throughout much of her film career.

When Blyth finally was offered opportunities in big budget musicals, the stories fell flat, despite being Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Technicolor extravaganzas. She was in MGM remakes, like ROSE MARIE (1954) and THE STUDENT PRINCE (1954), but the studio was unable to capture the magic of the original films.

Even worse, when she was cast as the title character of the Warner Bros. biopic, THE HELEN MORGAN STORY (1957), Blyth’s singing voice was dubbed – I’m still furious about this nearly 70 years later.

Probably the best movie musical Blyth was cast in was this week’s Musical Monday, KISMET (1955), which unfortunately isn’t saying much, because KISMET is sort of a stinker.

It’s visually stunning and loaded with talent – from Blyth to Howard Keel to Dolores Gray to Vic Damone. But sadly, the story is silly and the songs are forgettable.

The story is so convoluted, that I’m not sure I can accurately rehash everything that happens in this tale of mistaken identity.

I hadn’t watched KISMET (1955) since 2004 or 2005, back when I was deep in discovering new-to-me musicals. At that time, I didn’t enjoy this musical. However, going into my KISMET revisit, I remembered other musicals I didn’t initially care for but enjoyed with a rewatch, such as BRIGADOON (1954). I wanted to give it a chance, especially with the passing of Ann Blyth.

Unfortunately, the opinion of teenage Jessica still stands. KISMET (1955) colorful and visually stunning, but the story stinks, the majority of the songs aren’t memorable (except for “Strangers in Paradise”), and there isn’t enough Ann Blyth. She only gets two songs!

I feel like it’s a good example of a film filled with fabulous singing talents, especially Howard Keel and Ann Blyth, and you think “Is this really the vehicle selected for them?” The problem is that the movie musical genre was already on the decline. Particularly at MGM, SEVEN BRIDES FOR SEVEN BROTHERS (1954) was released with huge success, and then everything that followed showed the decline of the genre.

I want to be clear though: the whole cast is fabulous and are not the reason why I dislike this film. Ann Blyth is stunning and performs her two songs beautifully, “Baubles, Bangles And Beads” and “Strangers in Paradise.” I just wish we saw much more of her in this film.

Dolores Gray is always great fun and a musical powerhouse. Though her Hollywood film career was brief, it’s always a treat to see her perform.

Howard Keel does particularly well in this film. Aside from his magnificent, booming baritone singing voice, he also plays the silly character of the Poet quite well – especially because the character is supposed to be much older than Keel was at the time.

Vic Damone is also pleasant enough and performs the most famous song, “Stranger in Paradise,” beautifully, but for the most part, he’s performing in a thankless role.

In his memoir, Keel praised the leading cast, and particular said Blyth was amazing in her role and sang the score beautifully.

There is some odd casting in this film though. Jay C. Flippen? Mike Mazurki?! I’m also sad that this was Monty Woolley’s final film.

Howard Keel wrote in his memoir that he was excited to make this film, because he loved the stage version of the show and he thought it had a wonderful score. However, he said that the film was “doomed from the start.”

Acknowledging that the original Broadway show won a Tony for Best Musical, most of the songs in this film also stink. “Gesticulate” was particularly bad, though excellently performed and visually it’s quite a number. Keel said he practiced four hours a day on the number with choreographer Jack Cole. There’s a reason “Strangers in Paradise” is the only well-known song from this film – because the rest aren’t memorable.

I’m curious about the stage version of the show, because by all accounts, it’s wonderful and the film didn’t capture its magic.

New York Times critic Bosley Crowther even agrees that visually, KISMET is stunning, but pay no attention to the story. He wrote:
“For opulence gleams in gorgeous colors and bulges the CinemaScope screen in this version of the musical comedy “Kismet” which was in town a couple of years ago. Oriental palaces and costumes, swarming bazaars, tall minarets, peacocks and long-tailed white roosters, harem houris and pomegranate trees—everything dreamed of in the Baghdad of story books and theatre displays is bundled somewhere in this luxuriance.”

But when delving into the story:
“If you’ll just sit and look at the handsome pictures and listen to the lovely music, you’ll be okay … But if you are looking for drama or tension or a spiraling romance or even a sort of bangled roughhouse, which is what it was on the stage, you will not get it in this “Kismet” because Charles Lederer’s and Luther Davis’ script has been staged by director Vincente Minnelli as though it were the marching orders for the Macy parade.”

Crowther politely says that the film moves at a “ponderous” pace. I flat out feel this 1 hour and 53 minute feels long. I even had to take a break an hour in and do something else.

But I want to be very clear again: None of my beef with this musical has anything to do with the wonderful actors. They are all fabulous. The Jack Cole dance numbers are also great, especially those performed by the three Princesses of Abubu.

The story just isn’t great. I’ve used “stinks” several times in this review, because it’s the best descriptor I can think of. I wanted to like KISMET (1955), and I’m sad this revisit didn’t hold the same positive result that other films have. I guess it wasn’t kismet after all.

But like Bosley Crowther said, hey, at least it’s very colorful!

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