User Reviews

And it's apparent in the number of items thrown at the screen in this Technicolor musical based on the stage hit, from MGM and director George Sidney. Formerly married stage stars Fred Graham (Howard Keel) and Lilli Vanessi (Kathryn Grayson) agree to star in the new musical from Cole Porter (Ron Randell), a variation on Shakespeare's The Taming of the Shrew. Fred hopes to win back Lilli, while Fred's "protege", showgirl Lois Lane (Ann Miller), who also has a part in the show, drives Lilli to distraction. This complicated romantic dynamic plays on multiple levels as they struggle to get through the opening night show and its various obstacles.

I liked this rather complex production, with fun performances and excellent dance scenes. Ann Miller has the best dance sequences, although I also liked the amateurish number with Keenan Wynn and James Whitmore as two hoods singing and dancing. I enjoyed seeing Bob Fosse in an acting role. The movie was Oscar nominated for Best Score (Andre Previn & Saul Chaplin).

Cole Porter's classic musical version of "The Taming of the Shrew" done as a film with MGM's best production values. Unfortunately, this also means Kathryn Grayson, whose performance as Kate is merely passable. But Howard Keel lives up to his star billing and delivers dynamite vocals and witty characterizations, as well as bringing the film much needed believability (he's the only one up there that seems like he actually COULD be playing Shakespeare). Ann Miller steals more than her share of the thunder as the show's ingenue (she'd been playing them for 20 years now). She does a lot of tough dancing with Fosse, Van and Co., leaving the heavy vocals for the others. Keenan Wynn is one of the gangsters who end up actors for a day, and he's living it up (on stage, the gangsters are usually the audience's favorite characters) Great songs, good show. Features the interpolated Porter tune "From this Moment On" -- the film's only improvement over the stage version.

This was the last of the six movies that Kathryn Grayson made with Howard Keel, her favorite costar. And it's the last movie she would make for MGM (she'd make one more movie, for Paramount three years later, which is best left a forgotten footnote in film history). Not only are the Cole Porter songs in "Kate" great, but the dancing from one of my favorites of all time, Ann Miller, is also quite exceptional. And like always, the chemistry is there between Grayson and Keel. By this point, MGM musicals were on the downside slope of the bell curve, but this one was still well worth the effort. A solid 7/10.

KISS ME KATE is quite easily one of the two most famous musical 'adaptations' of Shakespeare for the stage and screen (the other being WEST SIDE STORY). Focusing on a theatre company putting up a musical version of 'The Taming of The Shrew', the film traces the main relationship between director/leading man Fred Graham (Howard Keel) and his ex-wife/leading lady Lilli Vanessi (Kathryn Grayson) as they respectively portray the Shakespearean roles of Petruchio and Katherine (the Shrew to be tamed, of course!). Throw in a deliciously naughty second lead actress Lois Lane (Ann Miller) and her gambling-addict beau Bill Calhoun (Tommy Rall), as well as a couple of gangsters (played brilliantly by Keenan Wynn and James Whitmore) mistakenly chasing after Fred 'sweetie' for Bill's latest debt, and opening night proves to be quite a big event, both onstage and off. Can the feuding Fred and Lilli, still in love with each other despite Fred's ego and Lilli's fiance, get their act together before the curtain goes down on the play?

I have to say that I thoroughly enjoyed this film... yes, even having already seen the London stage version of the musical earlier this year. There are, of course, personal reasons that bias me towards the film and to perhaps set out watching it with every intention of liking it (which surely helps!). First of all, I have no qualms in admitting I'm probably the biggest Ann Miller fan there is, and there's no doubting also that KISS ME KATE is possibly the best showcase of her talents and beauty there is. Secondly, I've been listening to the film soundtrack on constant repeat for months now, influenced by an interest kindled by the musical and discovering Miller. It helps that I can sing along to most of the songs and know the lyrics--no struggling to figure out what Grayson is singing in her operatic voice, and no attempting to acclimatise to new tunes. I already know the Cole Porter music, from lyrics to tune to score, and love it. So yes, perhaps I *was* predisposed to loving this film--how could I *not*, particularly with Miller dancing and singing my favourite songs in the film?

Still, I firmly believe that there's a lot more to recommend KISS ME KATE than the ravings of a fangirl. Cole Porter really outdoes himself here with a toe-tappingly catchy score: even songs like 'I've Come To Wive It Wealthily In Padua' and 'We Open In Venice' have the same sparkling lyrics, the same ability to catch the ear as the better-known 'Wunderbar' and 'From This Moment On'. Then there's the jazz-influenced 'Too Darn Hot' and the sweet ballad 'Why Can't You Behave?'. I honestly believe that Porter's score for KISS ME KATE is better than the one he wrote for HIGH SOCIETY, because he makes fine use of reprisals and bridges. Take for example Rall singing a short reprisal of Miller's 'Why Can't You Behave?' back to her before she replies with a wonderful segue into 'Always True To You In My Fashion'--the reprisal marks the couple and the relationship and works wonderfully well.

Of course, it helps also that the cast for KISS ME KATE is really most impressive. Keel, with his big big voice and untrained natural talent, fills the screen (and his tights!) with his masculine presence. He struts, swaggers, and yet shows his vulnerable side believably enough to make us *like* his character, ego or no ego. Grayson, so much weaker against Gene Kelly and Frank Sinatra in ANCHORS AWEIGH a decade earlier, really comes into her own here--she's excellent as Lilli, swooning at the right moments, strident during the rest, and actually bites out 'I Hate Men' with conviction... you certainly wouldn't imagine it possible of the actress who gave us the rather simpering Aunt Susie in the aforementioned Kelly/Sinatra film! I'm also partial to Tommy Rall, whose soaring athletic ability just crackles off the screen. It's such a thrill to see Miller get matched with someone who can dance circles around most everyone else alongside her. They make the cutest couple in their two numbers together, with the energetic, exuberant dance to 'Why Can't You Behave?' definitely making one of my favourite film dance routines of all time.

This film is, of course, Miller's shining moment--a shame, considering she's still only second lead and yet really steals the film with her dancing and singing. I can understand why other reviewers don't like that the song 'Too Darn Hot' became a solo for her, but what works on the stage, quite frankly, won't have made it in the film. (Even in the musical I thought the song a rather inauspicious and irrelevant start to the second act.) Miller's 'Too Darn Hot' fandance tap is precisely what the title suggests, and the charm she always radiates in all her small roles sizzles through her sexy fringed costume and black lace fan as she dances all over the furniture. One of my favourite songs is also the *unbelievably* catchy 'Tom, Dick & Harry', and the version in the film is great fun.

The directing by George Sidney is solid, making the best of the choreography. Any apparently odd choices would have to be explained by the fact that the film was originally filmed in 3-D--imagine Miller's gloves and necklace flying into your lap, or the objects on the tavern table crashing off the screen when Grayson sweeps them off (while despising men, of course!). I really wish I could have the chance to see this film the way it was meant to be seen, in 3-D. Unfortunately, there's no way to get that effect on VHS and probably not DVD either.

Even so, KISS ME KATE is bright, splashy, flashy and colourful. It's breathtakingly happy eye-candy and drags only at a few moments when non-Shakespearean dialogue gets in the way. Considering the cleverness of its concept (it's a film about the staging of a musical version of the Shakespearean play), the film has little to no artistic pretension--in this way, it's a quintessential MGM musical... set, geared, intended to *entertain*. And entertain it does. With the vocal talents of Keel and Grayson, the incredible tapping of Miller and the soaring of Rall, all accompanied by an irresistible Porter score, let's hope this one makes it to DVD; it's definitely a keeper!

Kiss Me, Kate was first released at the time that the movie screens were exploading into large formats to get people away from their T.V. sets and back into the theaters, and 3-D films came out of hiding and the only musical film to be shot in the 3-D format was Kiss Me, Kate, and stereophonic sound, to me, was better in those days than it is today, but the film gave everyone in it the chance to do their finest work, but it's a shame that they will not release a 3-D Version of this film on Home Video. The distributors would make a fortune!

Everyone knows the plot of Kiss Me, Kate, so there's no sense in going into that. Kathryn Grayson, Hollywood's finest singer of all time replaced Patricia Morrison who played Lilli on Broadway, and Howard Keel replaced Alfred Drake who played Fred Graham on Broadway, and Ann Miller replaced Lisa Kirk who played Lois on Broadway, and it's not too well known but Lisa Kirk dubbed Everything's Coming Up Roses for Rosalind Russell in the movie version of Gypsy!

Tommy Rall who replaced Harold Lang in the Broadway version, to me, was never given a fair chance in Hollywood. An excellent singer and versatile dancer, but still he shines in his work in Kiss Me, Kate and for his work in Seven Brides for Seven Brothers as the brother Frank who got upset when he was called by his real name.

This movie is a good example as to why Broadway stars are not necessarily good for repeating their Broadway roles on the screen. The cast in this movie is excellent in their acting, singing and dancing and I can not picture the Broadway cast repeating their roles in the movie version. To me, it just wouldn't work!

Casting Ann Miller in the role of Lois Lane was a good break for Ann Miller since she was always given roles in past movies that showed her off as a gal who had an overly-obnoxious appetite for the opposite sex. This film gave her a chance to display her full range of talent which had in the past been overlooked, but what can a person say about her number Too Darn Hot that burned up the screen and made Lilli [Kathryn Grayson] furious with her co-star Fred-er-rick Gray-ham [Howard Keel] to the point that she called him a louse of stage in front of the cast in the play! She couldn't call him what Patricia Morrison called Alfred Drake in the Broadway play because in those days the Hayes Office wouldn't allow Kathryn Grayson to call Howard Keel a ba****d!

Keenyn Wynn and James Whitmore played the comical gangsters that were to collect a marker from Howard Keel which was really signed by Tommy Rall and when they do their number Brush Up Your Shakespeare, it's hilarious. Not because Wynn can't sing and dance, he can, but because James Whitmore gave it all he could, but faked the number beautifully, and Whitmore had the good sense never to perform in a musical ever again, but together they were excellent in their comedic performance as the gangsters in the film.

So, you guys who distribute this movie - give us guys and gals a break and release this in the original wide-screen 3-D version with stereophonic sound and let everyone see why:

KISS ME KATE - IS "STILL" GREAT!

A married couple (Howard Keel , Kathryn Grayson being a real surprise here) can't separate their real lives from their stage roles , while threatening them a duo (James Withmore , Keenan Wynn) of low comic mobster types as ever brushed up on their Shakespeare . This diverting musical comedy results to be a screen adaptation of Shakespare's Taming of the Shrew based on Cole Porter's Broadway show . The famed stage hit.. now a big colorful musical in 3D !!! A Great Big M-G-M Musical in COLOR! Hollywood's First Important Big MUSICAL in Perfected 3-D .On the Vast Panoramic Screen With Stereophonic Sound...Color Too! Broadway's Long-Run Musical Smash Hit - Now on the Screen...All the Spicy Splendor!.MGM presents Hollywood's first important BIG MUSICAL in 3-D on our Panoramic Screen with MIRACLOUS STEREOPHONIC SOUND! COLOR, too! .Bigger, Better Blushin-er than the famed Broadway Smash Hit

This enchanting , lavish musical stars Howard Keel dancing magnificently through wonderful scenarios , though filming mostly in in the MGM studios with no outdoors . The movie is a heady mixture of Cole Porter music , breathtaking dances and light entertainment . One of the Greatest of All Great MGM Musicals bursts from the screen loosely based on the original William Shakespeare's Taming of the Shrew , rendered by Cole Porter , scripter Dorothy Kingsley and well directed by George Sidney , by way of some nice interpretations by Howard Keel who has never been more virile and Kathryn Grayson who never gutsier , both of whom performing a married pair , whose off-stage and on-stage lives mingle . They are really brilliant with the help of talented MGM hoofers as Tommy Rall, , Bobby Van , Bob Fosse and Anne Mille dances a storm in the ¨Tom , Dick or Harry¨ number . Special mention for Keenan Wynn and James Withmore as two likeable gangsters giving a priceless rendition of ¨Brush up your Shakespeare¨. All of them create an almost perfect show .

It displays a colorful and luxurious cinematography in picturesque Technicolor and 3D Cinemascope . Marvellous scenarios, worth artificial-looking production design that only emphasised its stagebound origins . The motion picture was compellingly directed by George Sidney. Sidney was a good Hollywood filmmaker , becoming MGM's most successful director in the 1940's . George was an expert in big budget musicals , but also handled rollicking swashbucklers like The three musketeers (1948) that he formerly made in similar style and this Scaramouche (1952) . Some of his biggest hits were movie versions of successful Broadway plays , like Annie get your gun (1950) and Magnolia (1951) . After leaving MGM in 1955, Sidney went over to Columbia under a seven-year contract and had one more major hit with Pal Joey (1957), made under the banner of his own production company and after directing other successes . Kiss Me Kate (1953) rating : Better than average . It is a very good film thanks to fabulous scenarios , luxury interiors , glamorous gowns and being lavishly financed by MGM .

This is my favorite musical, not for the dancing alone, but it is the best. The dancers, not just Ann Miller and Rall, but Bob Fosse, Bobby Van, and Carol Haney!! What more could any dance fan want? There is always something new to see, no matter how many times you have watched it. The lyrics are magnificent, tricky and intriguing. When Howard Keel, dressed in those gorgeous tights, sings about all the women he has known, he's a knockout. Grayson is not my favorite actress, but she can sing, and she and Keel make a wonderful pair. I will admit that the music is great, but folks, catch the dancing!! The final dance number with the six dancers is superb, but how can you watch all six at once? You have to watch it several times, particularly the pair of Carol Haney and Bob Fosse.

Cole Porter's stage classic becomes a generally successful movie, even though its theatrical roots are too strong for adaptation and the direction often strains too hard for (3-D) effect. (Originally intended as a 3-D release, it was released 'flat' - and is usually shown in this format in re-release.). Luckily the dancing is given equal prominence as the singing and the result - particularly in the ensemble numbers ("Tom, Dick & Harry" and "From This Moment On") - is fabulous. Special mention should be made of the adroit musical direction by Andre Previn and Saul Chaplin - the MGM musical sound at its most brilliant.

Though some would now argue for A Chorus Line, I believe that Kiss Me Kate is the greatest of backstage musical stories. That's because when Cole Porter took a collaborator, he took the best, the Poet that keeps 'em ravin', the Bard of Stratford-on-Avon.

When Porter was approached to collaborate with Samuel and Bella Spewack about doing a show based on Shakespeare's Taming of the Shrew, he had hit a dry spell creatively. He had not had a decent Broadway hit in several years and according to the George Eells biography of him, was pretty tense throughout the gestation period. He also did not have the best of relations with the Spewacks. It was all forgotten when Kiss Me Kate had the biggest Broadway run of any of his show, 1077 performances and probably yielded more hit songs for him than any other production. It missed getting the Tony Award for Best Musical by another show that opened that season, South Pacific.

Most of that score remained intact for the MGM musical. One additional one from Porter's succeeding Broadway musical, Out of this World was added as a number for Tommy Rall, Bob Fosse, and Bobby Van, From This Moment On. Howard Keel and Kathryn Grayson as the leads sing the classic Porter hits, So In Love and Wunderbar with gusto and feeling.

Kiss Me Kate is one of the most difficult of musicals to act because you have to be good enough to act two roles simultaneously. The players have to be able to keep their backstage personas as they are speaking the lines from The Taming of the Shrew and have to do that convincingly also. Which is why I consider Kiss Me Kate one of the greatest of the Arthur Freed musicals.

The backstage story is nothing new. Howard Keel and Kathryn Grayson were once married to each other and are still So In Love, but she doesn't realize it. Keel has cast her in this musical adaption he's also directing of The Taming of the Shrew. Their story is worked rather nicely into the opening night of the production. Also the story of flirtatious Ann Miller and Tommy Rall who's incurred a gambling debt to some gangsters also gets worked into opening night. Rall signs Keel's name to an IOU and Keel who thinks fast on his feet uses that bit of deception to his own advantage.

Which brings me to those two lovable torpedoes, Keenan Wynn and James Whitmore, who get into the play and later get to sing one of Cole Porter's best satirical numbers and a personal favorite of mine, Brush Up Your Shakespeare. It's their own ode to their theatrical experience and also advice to the lovelorn that if you want to win the mate of your choice, learn the classics so you can wow them with rhetoric. Wynn and Whitmore are priceless. I also remember years ago Orson Welles was the guest star on a Dean Martin show and Welles and Dino did a pretty hilarious version of this song.

Of course it being a Cole Porter show, the more risqué lines of the lyrics are censored somewhat. Check both the original Broadway cast album and the album MGM did from the film and see what I mean.

I do so love this show and this film. It was originally done in 3-D and ought to be seen that way in a theater if possible.

This movie is quite the best musical of the 50's, with more plot and excellent sideplay and bits. Of these bits, my favorites are Howard Keel's rendition of "Where Is the Life that Late I Led", and Keenan Wynn and James Whitmore's clever presentation of "Brush Up Your Shakespeare". Either one could stand alone, but when added to the dancing of Ann Miller, Bob Fosse, Bobby Van and Carol Chaney, you have a real winner. Very clever and upbeat. Kathryn Grayson was never a favorite of mine, but she is acceptable as Lily, and her number "I Hate Men" is a real winner. You know, this movie has so many excellent songs that it is very hard to pick just a few. "Always True to You, Darling, in my Fashion", "Tom, Dick and Harry"--Cole Porter was at the top of his form for this movie.

MGM always knew how to put on a good show when it came to musicals and KISS ME KATE is no exception. But oddly enough, there's a certain staginess to all of the numbers despite the fact that the screen is able to expand on a Broadway musical. Of course, this could be because most of the musical numbers take place on a stage--but no, it's more than that. The whole concept of the movie makes it look like a stage-bound play with music.

And this is true even though it was lensed in 3-D--although not released everywhere in that version. But what counts are the stunning dance routines by Bob Fosse executed so well by ANN MILLER and all the other dancers. And, of course, the singing duo of KATHRYN GRAYSON (at her most animated) and HOWARD KEEL (at his lustiest) in the broad comic central roles based on Shakespeare's "Taming of the Shrew". Grayson really gets into character as the shrewish Kate and Keel steals most of the film with his broadly overplayed version of a cocky and arrogant lover.

If musicals are not your thing, you can forget this one. It's full of some of Cole Porter's best songs ("Always True To You In My Fashion", "From This Moment On") and some throwaway numbers have their charm too ("Brush Up Your Shakespeare"), a nimble song-and-dance number offered by KEENAN WYNN and JAMES WHITMORE.

Summing up: ANN MILLER, KATHRYN GRAYSON and most of all, HOWARD KEEL, make it well worth watching.

This bowlderised version of Kiss Me Kate lacks lustre, though its sanitised lyrics and dialogue apparently did well enough for 1953 audiences.

Howard Keel is blustering as always, singing in a his semi-operatic style that does not suit the material. The dialogue is declaimed, not acted - although I do grant that that was the stereotype of Shakespearean acting at the time. And even Kate lacks fire/

The candy coloured costuming and set does the film no favours, either.

If you want to see the musical sparkle, see a live production or check out the 2003 DVD of a live performance.

Total delight from start to finish, this witty, musical version of The Taming of the Shrew. This show within a show is bright and splashy and boasts terrific performances, songs, dancing, and costumes. Howard Keel plays the egotistic Fred Graham who us mounting this new musical with ex-wife Lilli Vanessi (Kathryn Grayson) as his leading lady. The battling couple mirrors the battling couple in the play. All very clever.

As good as Grayson and Keel as however, Ann Miller totally steals the show as Lois Lane, the brassy chorus girl Fred has given a part (the younger sister) in the play. Miller is fantastic as she sings and dances her way through some great numbers: It's Too Darn Hot, From This Moment On, Always True to You, and Tom, Dick or Harry. Her opening number of Too Darn Hot is astounding as she swirls and taps around Cole Porter's living room and across his table tops. The skin tight tassled red outfit is probably the sexiest outfit Miller ever wore and she looks great. She was always denied the starring roles in MGM musicals which is a shame. MGM preferred the more demure types like Grayson or Judy Garland, Jane Powell, Debbie Reynolds for starring roles and Miller always got stuck playing the flashy friend or other woman.

Also good in this great musical are Keenan Wynn and James Whitmore as the thugs who get to sing Brush Up Your Shakespeare. Bob Fosse, Bobby Van, and Tommy Rall are the three dancers. Carol Haney and Jeanne Coyne show up for the From This Moment On number with Miller and the Boys. Ann Codee is the maid, Claud Allister is the butler, Willard Parker is Tex, Dave O'Brien is the stage manager, Kurt Kaznar is the stage father, and Ron Randell plays Cole Porter.

Originally done in 3-D, Kiss Me Kate is shock full of great songs and some of the best lyrics ever heard. For those of us growing up in the 50s, most of the songs from this musical are familiar hits, including Wunderbar, From This Moment On, Always True to You, and So In Love.

Kiss Me Kate is a textbook musical that works on all levels. Keel and Grayson were never better, Miller is outstanding, Whitmore and Wynn are fun, and Tommy Rall gets a couple of dance numbers (Why Can't You Behave) that prove him to be one of the best dancers of his generation. The short dance solo with Fosse and Haney also presages much of Fosse's later groundbreaking choreography.

Not a false step in this film, which ranks as one of the great musicals.

The director and actor Fred Graham (Howard Keel) and the composer Cole Porter (Ron Randell) invite the talented but spoiled actress Lilli Vanessi (Kathryn Grayson) to perform Katherine in his musical version of "The Taming of the Shrew", where Fred has the lead role of Petruchio. Fred and Lili are divorced and he has also invited his affair, the promiscuous Lois Lane (Ann Miller), to perform Bianca.

While they are preparing for the opening night, Lois' boyfriend Bill Calhoun (Tommy Rall), who performs Lucentio in the play, tells to Lois that he lost a large amount gambling and he signed a bill (promissory note) using the name of Fred. Out of the blue, two gangsters come to the backstage to collect the debt from Fred.

Meanwhile Fred and Lilli have the same behavior in real life of Katherine and Petruchio on the stage. In the intermission, Lilli tells that she will leave the play; however, Fred lures the gangsters to keep Lilli acting.

"Kiss me Kate" is a delightful musical, with a version of "The Taming of the Shrew". The story of a divorced couple that argues all the time and are brought together to perform Petruchio and Katherine of William Shakespeare and have the same behavior in real life is very entertaining and funny.

Despite the restored image, unfortunately Warner released a shameful DVD in Brazil, without subtitles in the musical numbers (I checked and the subtitles are available only in Japanese)in a total disrespect to the Brazilian viewers. Shame on you, Warner! My vote is eight.

Title (Brazil): "Dá-me um Beijo" ("Give me a Kiss")

Of all the M-G-M Broadway-to-film adaptations, this has always been one of the most highly praised. Overall,it is admirably faithful to the show----very little is cut (in comparison to say,the 1951 "Show Boat"),no new songs by other composers are added,and the original dialogue is largely retained. In fact,this could have been an excellent film rather than a very good one if Metro had seen it as a musical which requires special handling and not simply a property they could subject to a typical M-G-M treatment and let their contract stars loose on.

First of all,lest I be misunderstood,let me stress at the beginning that the SINGING VOICES of Keel,Grayson,and even Miller are perfect for the film,so there's no quarrel there---except that in the show,"Too Darn Hot" is always sung by a black pop or jazz singer whose role is practically a cameo (in a literal "whitewashing",the role is played here by a white man; no,I am not an African-American,so I don't have any personal reason for this complaint),and had he been available at the time,Sammy Davis,Jr. would have been perfect for a role like this. But I guess they felt Ann Miller had to have a big number at the beginning of the film (the song is usually performed near the end of Act I). The main trouble stems from the fact that in the original stage version,Alfred Drake and Patricia Morison,as famed for acting as for singing,not only had beautiful singing voices but gave excellent comic performances. Grayson and Keel are no more than adequate as actors,and pitiful when you consider that part of the time they are performing Shakespeare. Alfred Drake,on the other hand,played many Shakespearean roles onstage. In addition,Grayson and Keel have been misdirected by George Sidney,or perhaps M-G-M,to "dumb down" their roles and play them as broad slapstick rather than sophisticated comedy. (No,I am not old enough to have seen the 1948 stage version,but all of what I have said is obvious merely by listening to the way the songs are performed on the 1948 album and then seeing the movie.In addition,the new costumes the four leads wear in the number "We Open In Venice" look downright silly.

Unfortunately,this film has another strike against it,perhaps an unavoidable one. Many of the original lyrics are sexually suggestive in that tastefully naughty,yet absolutely unmistakable way that Cole Porter had,and every one of these lines has been "cleaned up" because of the era's censorship demands--and thereby weakened---by M-G-M. It isn't a fondness for dirty jokes that makes me say this,it's just an appreciation for the fact that Cole Porter is very often funniest when he's being slyly suggestive.

This film is still worth watching,for the music and for the excellent,hilarious performances of Keenan Wynn and James Whitmore as gangsters.

Seriously, Kiss Me Kate is a truly splendid movie. My only complaint is that there are one or two slow scenes in the middle half. People might say it just lacks the energy and pizazz of a musical like Singin' In the Rain, maybe so. Singin' In the Rain is one of those wonderful, energetic and irresistible films. But Kiss Me Kate sparkles in a truly delightful and somewhat unique way, not only in the production values but in its performances, music and choreography.

The film looks absolutely fabulous. The cinematography is fluid, the sets colourful and the costumes lavish. Director George Sidney is right at home here, and makes splendid use of his stars by using cleverly disguised long takes. The music and songs by Cole Porter is outstanding, from a musical AND choreographic point of view Too Darn Hot and Brush Up Your Shakespeare have always stood out for me. The plot reads of a musical version of Taming of the Shrew, and is very effective.

The choreography is energetic and never pedestrian. And the performances are wonderful. I can never get enough of Howard Keel, he just has a charming screen persona and a beautiful singing voice. Here, as Fred he has rarely been better. As Lisa, Kathryn Grayson looks stunning and acts "difficult" perfectly. Comic gangsters James Whitmore and Keenan Wynn are also great in the saucy waltz Brush Up Your Shakespeare, but with Too Darn Hot it is Ann Miller who steals the show. All in all, splendid. 9/10 Bethany Cox

I found it hard to pay attention to Kiss Me Kate. I don't know why. I like musicals and I enjoy The Taming of the Shrew, but I found this combination to be slightly tepid and my mind kept drifting. The songs aren't very memorable, but I was impressed with the dance numbers. Also, the story dragged a little and felt repetitive in parts. Still, I don't regret watching it. It was entertaining enough.

This 'play without a play' follows the travails of two bickering, formerly married, thespians as they play the leads in a new musical version of Shakespeare's 'The Taming of the Shrew'. Baritone Howard Keel and coloratura soprano Kathryn Grayson are in great voice in this colourful confection although the best song (IMO) in the film comes from the unlikely duo of Keenan Wynn (Lippy) and James Whitmore (Slug), who warble the witty and amusing 'Brush up on your Shakespeare'. There is some excellent, energetic dancing, especially by Tommy Rall, Bobby Van and Bob Fosse, who play Bianca's three suitors in the 'play' (Rall also plays Bill, the scheming boyfriend of Bianca's 'real life' counterpart Lois Lane). The film is fun but not an 'A-lister' like 'Seven Brides for Seven Brothers' (1954), which also starred Keel and Rall.

With Kiss Me Kate, the play-within-a play concept, in which the "real world" story parallels that of the inner play, works very well onstage. The tremendous success of the play bears this out. As for the film adaptation, they try to add another layer - that of the production of Kiss Me Kate itself. This makes a bit of a mess of it. The real Kiss Me Kate did not have and actor playing Cole Porter, etc. Generally speaking, the film doesn't succeed. Between Ann Miller and Bob Fosse, the dance numbers are really what it is all about. What should have been the heart of the thing seems like it's patched in piecemeal. It lacks the smoothly integrated feel of the stage show - something that makes the parallels between Kate and Kathryn, and Fred and Petruchio much more natural. Plus there is a something a bit off when a musical number is completed, they take a couple of beats, then do an encore (something that was added to the Broadway production in response to the live audience). Having played in the orchestra for a truly excellent production of the musical, I was hoping that the movie version would have the same magic, but it didn't. My advice is that viewers don't go in with high expectations regarding the story but that rather they check out Ann Miller's stellar performance in the dance numbers.

I'll be honest--up until about halfway through this one, I wasn't all that impressed. It wasn't bad--just not all that good. However, the film started to gel and got much better as it progressed--and overall is an excellent musical. So, stick with it--it's worth the wait.

I assumed (incorrectly) that this was just a musical version of Shakespeare's "Taming of the Shrew". However, and here's the weird twist, it's a film about a Broadway production of "Taming of the Shrew" and there are some parallels between the off-stage antics and the play. Not surprisingly, this was originally a Broadway play--a very, very successful one.

It starts off with Howard Keel meeting with Cole Porter to discuss the play--only, in an odd twist, it's an actor playing Porter and why they didn't have Porter play himself is beyond me. They talk about having Keel's ex-wife (Katherine Grayson) co-star with him in the play--but she hates him. So, using another lady (Ann Miller), they manipulate her into taking the role. But not so fast--Grayson's character hates Keel's so much that she's constantly threatening to walk off--even in the middle of the show.

What helped me to like the film (most of which consists of their opening night) is the addition of a goofy subplot involving gambling debts and a couple of mobsters (Keenan Wynn and James Whitmore). They are great--quite funny and their terrible singing and dancing was the best part of the film (I REALLY liked their song "Brush Up Your Shakespeare"--the lyrics are great). Overall, a clever film that had few brilliant tunes but enough going for it to keep you happy. Well worth your time--even if some of Tommy Rall's lip syncing was really off.

I watch it to see Bob Fosse and hear, so in love.

The costumes and makeup are garish, the acting is goofy.

The Broadway musical on which this film is based may display oodles of charm, but if so, the film adaptation captures none of it.

Kathryn Grayson and Howard Keel prove once again that they were singers first and actors second, and exhibit less than compelling screen presence. It wouldn't matter if they created fireworks together, because they would be overwhelmed anyway by the film's ghastly, unwieldy production design, whose sole purpose is to showcase the film's fancy 3-D technology, which of course means absolutely nothing now watching it on DVD.

Grade: D