La Haute Société

Plush MGM musical remake of "The Philadelphia Story" (with a switch in locale to Newport, Rhode island) looks great but falls flat--and is miscast to boot! Grace Kelly stars as a society beauty and divorcée who is planning to remarry but gets mixed up again with ex-husband and neighbor Bing Crosby, who is in the middle of organizing a jazz festival (!). Meanwhile, tabloid reporter Frank Sinatra and photographer Celeste Holm arrive to cover the impending nuptials--and to get the scoop on Kelly's misbehaving father. A by-the-numbers fantasy-version of romantic interplay, one requiring principals who match up well and sparkle with chemistry. Unfortunately, Crosby and Kelly are more like brother and sister, while journalist Sinatra gives an aw shucks-styled, loner performance (his eventual love-match with Holm is yet another mistake). The good-natured Cole Porter songs are jovial, but director Charles Walters seems afraid to deviate from the story's stage origins, presenting this whole thing as if it were a play. The action is so encumbered, one spends much of the running time admiring the sets; elsewhere, the starchy wisecracks have been preconceived to tickle theater audiences in need of a guffaw and a yawn. Two Oscar nominations, both in the music department: Porter for Best Original Song, "True Love", and Johnny Green and Saul Chaplin for Best Scoring of a Musical.

This second rendition of the exuberant play by John Barry, while inferior to Cukor's 1940 version, remains a delightful farce on the upper class thanks to the witty, sparkling script from the play by John Barry.

The cast is commendable albeit not spectacular given , showcasing the drollery of the script. Grace Kelly (in her last complete screen performance) surprises us with her comedic talents helped along by the script; Crosby slips into the comfortable role of the guy-next-door that is all too familiar with his screen person. Sinatra (showing some of his age) sings adequately, but seems a little distant and lacks the edge, danger and sexiness of his 1940 counterpart.

I might only add that the 3 principals seemed to lack that spark which validated their freewheeling around L.A singing songs about making love. On screen I did not feel they were as youthful and vibrant as seen in some of their earlier films.

The direction by Charles Walters - an accomplished director of film musicals including Gigi, Ziegfeld Follies, and Annie get your Gun - supports the cast very well with various long shots of the mansion and sunny California. He is splendidly able to infuse the house with it's sparkling jewels and ornaments with a sense of grandeur, merriment and delight so that it fully inhabits the characters and their kingdom.

The scene-stealer each time is Louis Armstrong and his band. While his interludes are not his best pieces to showcase, the music is pleasant, dreamy and fun. What else would you expect from this rollicking comedy? And how can you not love Armstrong? He was so adorable!

It was interesting to note the audience's reaction to this film. Musicals are one of my favourite genres - I love them for the swooning and swinging numbers - however the audience did not appreciate it so much. There were even groans and boos (which I found disrespectful - you must know it's a musical!) when Sinatra and Kelly burst into dreamy love duets. I have to admit though that the transition of the songs in the film was not altogether seamless (even choppy at times). At times it seemed like a selling point for the producers to capitalise on the musical craze sweeping the country during that period in Hollywood (See Kelly and Sinatra sing!); add name dropping, and songs & lyrics that misrepresent Cole Porter's skill and wit as a composer.

This is a fun film however deeply overshadowed by the original 1940 version and lacking Cuckor's razor-sharp screwball slapstick. The pace is also slower however it probably compensates for delighting us with the elegant sets and musical interludes.

I was also fortunate to see this film with audience and definitely relished hearing the viewers chortle along to the absurd story and zany characters. It was impossible not to join in the belly-laughs in this dreamy ride.

MGM was pretty lucky to secure the talents of Bing Crosby, Frank Sinatra, Grace Kelly, Celeste Holm, and Louis Armstrong to get involved in this great musical adaption of The Philadelphia Story.

Cole Porter contributed a great original score for this film with songs very specifically written to suit the talents of High Society's players. I do wish Celeste Holm had been given more to do than just the duet with Frank Sinatra, Who Wants To Be a Millionaire. On Broadway Celeste Holm was a musical star with Oklahoma and Bloomer Girl to her credit, but MGM didn't want to recognize that.

For this film, the story is reset from Philadelphia to Newport, Rhode Island to bring in the famous Jazz Festival. Philip Barry's social commentary is toned down and a very partisan Greek Chorus is added in the person of Mr. Louis "Satchmo" Armstrong. Satchmo tells you right up front who he's pulling for to win Grace Kelly and he helps musically along the way.

Satch and Bing have that classic Now You Has Jazz duet, so successful was it that they did an album together a few years later. Bing Crosby during his life was crazy about jazz musicians and there was no one he liked better than Louis Armstrong. No one on the planet could resist that man's joy for living.

Grace Kelly got a chance to bat 1000 in the recording industry. She was no singer as she would have freely admitted, but Cole Porter wrote True Love specifically to accommodate her limited range and when she does the last two bars of True Love with Der Bingle she got a million selling record for her one and only platter. As for Bing he got his 20th Gold record and the only one not with Decca records.

True Love was nominated for Best Song at the Oscars but lost to Doris Day's Que Sera Sera which boomed all over the charts in 1956. It was sadly Cole Porter's last opportunity to win an Oscar for one of his movie songs.

Frank Sinatra got a couple of good ballads in You're Sensational and Mind If I Make Love to You, but what he's best remembered for is that classic Well Did You Evah duet with Bing. Today's fans can't possibly appreciate the screen meeting of the two best and best known singers for the previous generations. A musical summit conference.

High Society's tone is a lot lighter than the Philadelphia Story. The cast in terms of acting ability are not in the same league as Grant, Stewart, Hepburn, and Hussey. But folks it is a musical. I doubt those stars could have carried off the Cole Porter score.

You can't miss with a cast like this, in either film for that matter.

High Society is a terrific film. If you are the type of movie fan who doesn't comprehend the ENTERTAIN part of entertainment and is eager and willing to flaunt that ignorance in film reviews, you will hate it. But if you don't mind it when movies may not end up with deep psychological messages or everybody dead or doomed to a life of misery, you'll agree.

I'm the first to admit that this musical may not be DRAMATICALLY up to standard with The Philadelpia Story, but what musical could be, or should be, for that matter. The cast, however, is another thing entirely. As you probably know, the first cast was nearly incomparable. Suave and tremendously charming Cary Grant, the magnificent Katherine Hepburn, and, of course, Jimmy, who won an Oscar for his work and is never less than adorable.

NEARLY incomparable.But if anyone can do it, it's gotta be Bing,Satchmo,Gracie,and the Voice. I find it hard to believe anyone in the world could possibly contest that, but since there are such unlikely specimens out there, I'd better explain.

If there's a more magnificent marriage than that of Frank Sinatra and a Cole Porter masterpiece, I'd like to hear about it. But even perfection can be improved, when you add Bing Crosby, a witty little tune,and some hilarious ad libs, all courtesy of a few too many drinks.That makes up heaven, which can also go under the heading of '' Well, Did you Evah,'' without a doubt the best song ,and scene, in this film. But never fear, there are other gems as well.

Grace Kelly is terrific in High Society. The not quite yet Princess of Monaco is not only breathtakingly beautiful, but adorable as well. Her drunken warbling of ''You're Sensational,'' as her stiffly embarrassed fiancé drags her through a crowd of very proper guests is hilarious, and I can never keep from laughing during the scene when she meets Mike Connor and Liz Embrie, also known as Frank Sinatra and Celeste Holm.

Louis Armstrong doesn't have much to do in the picture, but what he does do is great. He introduces the film with a cute calypso number, sings a marvelous duet with Bing, and the way he say's,'' End of song, beginin' of the storyyy,'' is enough to make him unforgettable.

Bing, of course, can NEVER be anything but magnificent. He remains an American icon, and all his talent, charm, and timeless quality are well displayed.He makes his easy-going way through some magical songs,too, including, two marvelous duets with his singing co-stars, and, of course, that little #1 record he did with Grace.

Personally, I like Celeste Holm even more in High Society than I liked Ruth Hussey,who played the Liz Embrie role in Philadelphia Story.She's funny, charming,works well with Sinatra, sings a hilarious duet with The Voice, and has a beautiful smile. ( Not that the last thing mentioned matters, but it helps.)

And now-the best for last. I have been a Sinatra adorer for years, so I'm more than a little biased, but I absolutely love Mr.Sinatra in this movie. His singing is flawless and incomparable, ( especially in ''You're Sensational,'') his charm and charisma even more evident than the considerable amount displayed by Mr.Crosby, and he's pure style and ring-a-ding ding.( Those blue eyes ain't bad either!)

Oh, one complaint I've found about High Society is that it's outdated and it aged badly. I am 14 years old, so, if there WERE any reason to believe that, I'd be one of the first to know it. It is NOT outdated, has NOT aged badly, and it's one of the most entertaining and simply fun movies I've ever seen. And that is, as Satchmo says, the...'' End of storyyy!!''

"If my wonderful, beautiful, marvelous virtue is still intact, it's no thanks to me, I assure you."

High Society is an irreverent, star-studded, music infused lite-romance set amongst the idle rich of Newport, Rhode Island. Quite funny and rarely serious for long, High Society revolves around wealthy and gorgeous Samantha Lord (Grace Kelly), and the three men competing for her affection as her wedding day draws near. 

Bing Crosby stars as her ex-husband, John Lund as her current fiancé, and Frank Sinatra as a visiting reporter come to cover her wedding for a gossip rag. Most of the entertainment from the film comes from Sam bouncing around between the three men, as she goes from a frosty goddess to a warm, fun woman truly ready to marry. I'm sure her behavior in the movie seemed a bit risqué at the time, but it's all ultimately innocent in the end. And of course by the finale, (almost) everyone is happy. 

There are quite a few songs sprinkled throughout the movie, with Crosby, Sinatra, Kelly, and Celeste Holm all getting a chance to belt out a tune or two. Louis Armstrong serves as something of an on-screen narrator, and also plays occasionally with his band. The songs are pleasant, with more than one or two likely to have you humming along.  

Grace Kelly fans will be quite pleased with this, as she rarely looked more stunningly beautiful and gets to show off both her comedic skills and singing talents. She's quite funny, here, and carries a large share of the comedic burden as the movie goes on. Her chemistry with all the other leads is solid, and she carries off Samantha's mini- transformation quite well. Basically, if you weren't a fan of hers before seeing this, I'd be pretty amazed if you weren't smitten with her by the time the credits roll. This was her last role before leaving Hollywood for Monaco, and she definitely went out on a high note (pun not intended).

High Society is a charming, fun movie that should appeal to fans of classic films, musicals, or any of the cast. It's hard not to smile as you watch it, but why would you want to avoid it, anyway?