Amour et swing

Back in 1944 movie critics weren't given special screenings in order to review soon to be released films, but had to wait for a movie's regular opening to write their reviews. According to the host of American Movie Classics, when "Higher and Higher" first opened, film critics were unable to review Frank Sinatra's performance because the screams of adulation from the overwhelmingly young female audience drowned out all sound.

The first time I ever saw/heard Frank Sinatra was in the late 1960s and I couldn't understand why the women of my mother's generation made such a fuss about Mr. Sinatra. But after seeing this sensual and romantic crooner in "Higher and Higher" I can easily grasp why thousands of young women slept in the streets in order to be the first on line to see the young and appealing Mr. Sinatra.

While a far cry from a "great musical classic" HIGHER AND HIGHER does have its moments. Most of them are provided by the young Frank Sinatra. As part of the Frnak Sinatra DVD collections, this flimsy musical showcases him well. I kind of liked Sinatra as the youngish, cute and innocent characters he played in this first films and up to FROM HERE TO ETERNITY. That's when he lost the "boyishness" and became a mature actor, which he handled with ease. HIGHER AND HIGHER has a cute plot that's really kind of a fairy tale, but fun. The supporting cast is really good and makes up for the plot line and contrivences. Michelle Morgan is well cast as the scullery maid turned debutante for plot purposes. Never cared for Jack Haley, but everyone else was fun. Look for a young Barbara Hale and Mel Torme. Most of the songs are well done and Sinatra could do no wrong in any of his numbers. My favorite I COULDN'T SLEEP A WINK LAST NIGHT. For some light fun and breezy entertainment, I recommend HIGHER AND HIGHER.

This is one of my all-time favorites. Great music and some funny bits. I laugh every time at Millie, the maid pretending to be a débutante, holding her dainty hankie while chatting, and mindlessly polishing furniture with it as she chats. I just never can get past her French accent never being a problem as they try to pass her off as the boss's daughter.

Seeing a teenage Mel Torme and the very young Frank Sinatra singing is such a treat. My mom saw Frank Sinatra at a theater about the same time this movie came out. She said they couldn't clear the "bobby-soxers" out between movies (in those days you didn't have to leave between showings). This movie shows you how attractive and appealing the young Frank was and allows you to appreciate his early talent as well. And Victor Borge gets in a bit of his routine in, which is a bonus.

This is a fun movie with a sweet, simple storyline. Very enjoyable.

Cyrus Drake is a rich businessman who has had his staff of servants for many years – a situation that is put a risk when bad investments bankrupt him and threaten to put his loyal staff on the street. To bring money back into the family again, the servants plan to marry off the youngest maid, Millie to a rich man. The staff all pick their roles to establish the ruse, while Millie starts being taught how to be a well educated debutante. However their plans are endangered when singer Frank Sinatra moves in next door and Millie tries to hide her affection for fellow servant Michael.

Billed as a Frank Sinatra film now, really this is a standard romance of the time, which features Frank in a small role as himself in order to get the teenage crowd in the doors (and they say cynical marketing at teens is a recent thing!). Ignoring this role the film is very much an ordinary piece of entertainment that was very much of the period – a piece of fluff with a convoluted plot, musical numbers, misunderstandings and true love finding a way by the end. In this regard it is OK but quite average, with no real laughs, no significantly moving moments and nothing that really stands out. The script allows for enough to go on to keep the interest but it is all pretty thin and gradually slips into nothingness with only frequent and lively musical numbers serving to keep boredom at bay. The silly twist towards the end is a good example of how lazy the scriptwriters were – basing their happy ending on the thinnest of plot devices.

The cast are mostly OK – a mix of romantic parts and fast-talking characters. Sinatra didn't do that well playing himself and he looked uncomfortable – like he had been forcibly inserted into the film and felt unwelcome. He got better with time but here he is pretty wooden. Morgan is likable as Millie and Haley enjoys himself with the sort of character that usually plays the sidekick as opposed to his lead role here. Support from Errol, Wickes and an early role from a beautiful Hale (best known as Della Street to my generation) are all good value and help the material appear more interesting and lively than it actually is.

Overall this is very much of its period and it is an average at that. Sinatra may not actually add much on screen but his name made it a bigger film than it could have been and ensures that it gets repeated on television quite often when others have been forgotten. As afternoon television filler it does the job but it is a wholly unremarkable film even with the presence of Sinatra and I imagine that, without his involvement that it would have long since been forgotten.

When the household staff of a wealthy family find out that their employers have gone broke, they concoct a dubious scheme: have new maid Millie (Michele Morgan) pretend to be the daughter of the rich family long enough to wed a wealthy suitor and get her hands on his money, after which she'll pay the other servants handsomely. Butler Michael (Jack Haley) manages the scheme despite having feelings for Millie himself, while next door neighbor Frank Sinatra (Frank Sinatra) keeps popping over to hit on Millie, as well as sing a few tunes.

The story is minor, and the humor thin, but it was fun seeing so many later major stars in early roles. Mel Torme looks like he's about 13 years old, Barbara Hale is youthful yet still mature, and Victor Borge is a long way from the goofball that I used to see on PBS so often in the 70's and 80's. The real draw is Sinatra, of course, playing a version of himself. He sings several songs, but doesn't have much acting to do. He's very thin and looks like he's wearing a suit 3 sizes too big. One of his songs earned an Oscar nomination for Best Song ("I Couldn't Sleep a Wink Last Night"), as did the film's score by C. Bakaleinikoff.