Amazon.com video review:
Three of Frank Sinatra's best musicals are bundled together in
one boxed set. Anchors Aweigh teams Sinatra with Gene Kelly in a
musical about sailors on leave who get into all kinds of adventures
(including Kelly dancing with Jerry the mouse of Tom & Jerry fame). On
the Town is a variation on the same theme, but a much better movie;
again, Sinatra and Kelly are teamed as sailors on leave (with Jules
Munshin) for a day in New York. This time, however, they have music and
lyrics by Leonard Bernstein, Betty Comden, and Adolph Green, New York
locations, and direction by Kelly and Stanley Donen. High Society is the
Cole Porter
musical based on The Philadelphia Story that teams Sinatra with Grace
Kelly and Bing Crosby; one of the greats.
--Marshall Fine
Amazon.com Essentials:
MGM's bold idea to remake George Cukor's Oscar-winning
upperclass romantic farce, The Philadelphia
Story, into a star-studded, Technicolor musical with Cole
Porter tunes somehow works splendidly and remains an underrated
gem. Even the plot and character names--and some bits of dialogue--all
remain the same as the original. Crooning Bing Crosby replaces Cary
Grant as the wealthy ex-husband trying to win back his
soon-to-be-remarried ex-wife, spoiled ice queen Tracy Lord (Grace
Kelly, stunning and aloof in her last film role, originated in the
earlier comedy by Katherine Hepburn). Unlike Grant, however, Crosby
has jazz great Louis Armstrong, playing himself, in his corner for
quixotic persuasion. Frank Sinatra (cocky in James Stewart's former
role) and Celeste Holm add support as the nosy reporters covering, and
subsequently complicating, the upcoming wedding. Sure, High
Society lacks the original's witty satire, sarcasm, and character
complexity; but it's assuredly paced and wonderfully acted, and
contains enough romantic chemistry to keep the plot engaging. And then
there's the music. Unlike the grandiose production numbers of many
'40s and '50s musicals, High Society's musical sequences are
considerably low-key and intimate, focusing on Porter's lyrical
content, and the style in which it's delivered by the charismatic
performers. Armstrong kicks the film off in telling style: he sings
the title track, a calypso tune outlining the plot like a Greek
chorus, not as an elaborately choreographed song-and-dance number, but
instead stuffed claustrophobically in the back of a limousine with his
jazz band. Other musical standouts include Sinatra and Crosby
playfully tossing barbs during "Well, Did You Evah?"; Crosby and
Armstrong teaming up for an energetic clash of styles in "Now You Has
Jazz"; the two soaring, archetypal ballads by the leads--Crosby's "I
Love You, Samantha" and Sinatra's superior "You're Sensational"; and,
finally, the satirical Sinatra/Holm duet, "Who Wants to Be a
Millionaire?," the closest High Society ever comes to social or
class commentary. --Dave McCoy
