Motion Picture Herald (Jul-Sep 1956)

FEATURE REVIEW High Society MGM— Cole Porter Musical (Color by Technicolor) ‘‘High Society” follows what has become a prosperous trend in musicals: the setting to song of a play that was told as a straight comedy or drama in its original form. This picture's source is Philip Barry’s “The Philadelphia Story,” which was a huge comedy success on Broadway and then equally successful as a film in 1940. In its pristine state, as those with long memories will remember, it was a great personal triumph for Katharine Hepburn, for whose highly individualized talent it had been carefully made-to-order by the playwright. Thin in substance, it was given theatrical force and wit by the star’s virtuoso acting. This time around it may lack Hepburn, but it has been recharged with a large battery of potential assets for exhibitors to exploit. The greater part of the box office voltage is likely to emanate from the cast, which is headed by Bing Crosby, Grace Kelly and Frank Sinatra — all well-proved attractions individually. Collectively they should constitute a bombshell, and their supporting cast will surely help in setting it off. For it includes such popular and able personalities as Celeste Holm, John Lund, the late Louis Calhern (in his last performance) and Sidney Blackmer. As an extra bonus, the incomparable Louis Armstrong is also on hand with his band to make some of the music sound even better than might be expected. As for the picture’s score, it has plenty of facets to sell, too — the foremost being that it is by Cole Porter and is the first one that he has written expressly for the screen in 11 years. In it, furthermore, there are at least three or four songs which should soon be blasting from juke boxes all over the land. Add to these assets photography in VistaVision and color by Technicolor and the exploitative material for this Sol C. Siegel production is all in array. In adapting the story to be told with melodious interludes, which are fitted for the most part naturally into the proceedings, John Patrick has changed the locale from Philadelphia to Newport and brought the time up to the present. Otherwise the plot is essentially the same and again concerns the coming to emotional maturity of a vain and self-centered society girl. This growth is manifested in her decision to reject her fiance — a priggish, self-made fellow — and remarry her former husband — wealthy, ne’er-do-well (and sometime song-writer, in this version) . Helping the heroine to reach this momentous decision is an assortment of odd “characters”: a male magazine reporter and a female news photographer sent to cover the lavish wedding which has a change in bridegrooms; the bride’s impudent kid sister, her philandering father, her long-suffering mother and a flighty uncle who is something of a black sheep. Some of the incidents in which these people are involved — and some of the lines they are given to speak — are still delightfully amusing while a few appear to have suffered somewhat from repetition over the years. Fortunately, before tedium has a chance to set in — a musical interruption comes along to give the show new and exciting life. By far its most exhilarating moments (in this observer’s opinion) are provided by Crosby and Armstrong in a bouncy, riotous duet called “Now You Has Jazz.” There is plenty of infectious vitality, too, in “Well, Did You Evah?” in which Crosby and Sinatra join voices and then do some impromptu “dancing.” The lyrics get even more Porterish — and tricky — in “You’re Sensational,” which Sinatra sings to Miss Kelly (and refers to her at one point as “my fair frigidaire”) . Charles Walters has staged the musical numbers in a pleasantly casual way. Vocally, Miss Kelly is not given much chance, limited to a brief duet with Crosby (in a flashback) and humming a few bars at the wedding eve party. On the other hand, she shines brightly enough in the acting department. Seen at a “sneak” preview at Loew’s Lexington in New York. Reviewer’s Rating: Excellent. — Richard Gertner. Release date, August, 1956. Running time, 107 minutes. PCA No. 18065. General audience classification. C. K. Dexter-Haden Bing Crosby Tracy Lord Grace Kelly Mike Connor Frank Sinatra Liz Imbrie . Celeste Holm George Kittredge John Lund Louis Calhern, Sidney Blackmer, Louis Armstrong, Margalo Gillmore, Lydia Reed, Gordon Richards, Richard Garrick Cinerama Set For Features Upon liquidation of its current $295,000 debt, Cinerama Productions, Inc., plans to engage in production and distribution of feature length pictures under the supervision of Louis B. Mayer, board chairman; Theodore R. Kupferman, vice-president, and Irving N. Margolin, treasurer. The firm expects to wipe out its indebtedness “early next year” according to a spokesman and will commence production activities possibly in May. Mr. Kupferman, who expressed himself as most optimistic about the future of Cinerama Productions, has revealed that the product which the company plans to produce and distribute will be made in the Cinerama process, backstopped possibly by CinemaScope or VistaVision versions. Mr. Margolin pointed out that once the company’s debts are wiped out, it is possible that a general expansion program will be inaugurated in order to prepare for the entry into production and distribution. According to present indications, the firm’s initial producing venture will be the life of William Boyd, “Hopalong” Cassidy. Mr. Kupferman said that under the current agreement with Stanley Warner Corp., the company which holds all the rights to the Cinerama process, his organization can enter production “at any time.” He added that while Cinerama Productions would produce and distribute its own product, the Cinerama films would be “naturally presented in Stanley Warner houses equipped for the process.” HIGH TALENT for MGM’s "High Society." This is the renowned cast, excepting one, Bing Crosby. Watching Grace Kelly and John Lund in the dance are Margalo Gillmore, Sidney Blackmer, Celeste Holm and Frank Sinatra. Louis Armstrong is in it, too. 24 MOTION PICTURE HERALD, JULY 21, 1956