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.
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.