Kiss Me, Kate (film)
Encyclopedia
Kiss Me Kate is the 1953 MGM film adaptation of the Broadway musical of the same name
.
Inspired by The Taming of the Shrew
, it tells the tale of musical theater actors, Fred Graham and Lilli Vanessi, who were once married and are now performing opposite each other in the roles of Petruchio
and Katherine in a Broadway
-bound musical version of William Shakespeare
's play.
Already on poor terms, the pair begin an all-out emotional war mid-performance that threatens the production's success. The only thing keeping the show together are threats from a pair of gangsters, who have come to collect a gambling debt from the show's Lucentio, Bill Calhoun. In classic musical comedy fashion, slapstick madness ensues before everything is resolved.
Dorothy Kingsley
's screenplay
, which was nominated for a Writers Guild of America
Award, was adapted from the musical's book by Samuel and Bella Spewack
. The songs were by Cole Porter
, with musical underscoring by Saul Chaplin
and Andre Previn
, who were nominated for an Academy Award. Hermes Pan
choreographed the dance routines.
The movie was filmed in 3-D
using the most advanced methods of that technique then available. Devotees of the stereoscopic 3-D medium usually cite this film as one of the best examples of a Hollywood release in polarized 3D.
) and Lilli Vanessi (Kathryn Grayson
) meeting at Fred's apartment to hear the score for the Cole Porter
(Ron Randell
) musical version of "The Taming of the Shrew
". Lois Lane (Ann Miller
), who is to play Bianca, arrives and sings "Too Darn Hot". Lilli almost decides against performing in the show, as she fears it might interfere with her honeymoon; she is to be married again. But when she overhears Cole and Fred promising Lois the part, she decides to play Katherine after all.
Lois' boyfriend, Bill Calhoun (Tommy Rall
), is playing Lucentio in the ("Shrew") musical but in between rehearsals, he leads a gambling lifestyle, which results in him owing a local gangster $2,000, but he has signed the IOU
in Fred's name. Lois laments Bill's bad-boy lifestyle ("Why Can't You Behave?"), but Bill's winsome charm soon wins her over, and she forgives him. Meanwhile, after a fiery confrontation during rehearsals, Fred (who is also directing the show) and Lilli get together in Lilli's dressing room, and reminisce about happier times, singing "Wunderbar" from a show they did together. Fred later sends flowers to Lois but his butler gets confused and gives them to Lilli instead. Lilli is overcome by this romantic gesture and falls back in love with Fred, ("So In Love (Reprise)").
The show gets underway, with Fred, Lilli, Lois and Bill dressed as a group of traveling entertainers, ("We Open In Venice"). The main body of the play is their enactment of Shakespeare's, "The Taming of The Shrew"- the script is largely the same as Shakespeare's, but interspersed with Cole Porter's songs. In the play, Bianca, the younger daughter of Baptista, a Paduan merchant, wishes to marry, but her father will not allow it until his elder daughter, Katherine, is married. Bianca has three suitors – Gremio, Hortensio and Lucentio – and each of them try to persuade her to choose him as her husband. She is prepared to marry anyone, ("...any Tom, Dick or Harry...").
Lucentio's friend Petruchio arrives in Padua, seeking a wife, ("I've Come To Wive It Wealthily In Padua"), and when he hears of Katherine, he resolves to woo her. Katherine, however, hates the idea of getting married, ("I Hate Men"). Petruchio serenades Katherine ("Were Thine That Special Face"). Lilli is so moved by Fred's heartfelt delivery of the song, that she can't resist reading the card that came with the flowers, having placed it next to her heart. She sees that it is addressed to Lois, and attacks Fred mercilessly on stage, ad-libbing verbal abuse. As the curtain comes down, Fred has had enough, and spanks Lilli.
Lilli resolves to leave the theatre with her fiancé, Tex Calloway (Willard Parker); she phones him and tells him to pick her up, preferably with an ambulance. Meanwhile, Lippy and Slug, a pair of gang enforcers, arrive to collect Bill's IOU from Fred. Fred decides to accept the IOU and convinces Lippy and Slug that he needs them to help keep Lilli from leaving so that the show will be successful enough for Fred to afford the debt. Lois, in the meantime, learns that Fred has taken responsibility for the IOU and she comes to thank him, but each time she begins to thank him for not being angry about Bill forging his name, Fred kisses her passionately to prevent Lippy and Slug from learning about his deception. Lilli and Bill both walk in on this little scene and become furious.
In order to keep Lilli from leaving the show, Slug and Lippy appear on stage, disguised as Petruchio's servants, keeping an eye on Lilli. They have no acting ability, but still manage to amuse the audience. There is much less singing from this point onwards in the musical. In the play, Petruchio sets about "taming the shrew", by refusing to let Katherine eat, or sleep in a comfortable bed. Petruchio, however, is unhappy with his new married life, and reminisces about his days of philandering, and his many previous girlfriends, ("Where Is The Life That Late I Led?").
At Lilli's request via the phone earlier in the evening, Tex arrives with an ambulance, and Lilli finally escapes her tormentors and the pair prepare to leave. But Fred befriends Tex in the hopes of delaying their departure. Tex is recognized by Lois, with whom he once went on a date. Although Tex claims she has mistaken him for someone else, Bill is angered by Lois' behavior. Lois admits that though she loves Bill, she cannot resist the advances of other men ("Always True To You In My Fashion"). It turns out her morals are even looser than Bill's.
Fred's (Bill's) gambling debt is resolved by the untimely death of Mr. Hogan, Slug and Lippy's boss. Lilli succeeds in leaving the theatre, saying a surprisingly civil farewell to Fred. Fred thinks that she belongs in the theatre, and tries in vain to stop her from leaving. After her departure, Fred is dejected, but Slug and Lippy manage to cheer him up, ("Brush Up Your Shakespeare").
The last part of the play begins with Bianca finally getting married to Lucentio. Gremio and Hortensio are put out, but two other girls appear and each of the three couples has their own dance sequence in the next song, ("From This Moment On"). At the finale, the show is halted when Lilli's understudy, Jeanie, who is mentioned several times in the musical but never appears, goes missing. Suddenly, Lilli appears on stage and recites Katherine's speech about how women should surrender to their husbands, ("I'm Ashamed That Women Are So Simple"). Fred is bowled over, and the show reaches its triumphant finale ("Kiss Me Kate") giving the impression that Fred and Lilli will once again get together permanently.
The opening scene in Fred's apartment is added, it does provide more of the background to Lilli and Fred's troubled relationship.
Nearly all of Porter's rather risqué lyrics had to be "cleaned up" to avoid the wrath of the censors, thus dulling much of the comedy and making the results rather bland. "Brush Up Your Shakespeare", the most suggestive song in the score, was cut in half to avoid its sexist lyrics. The song "Too Darn Hot" was also sanitized, and changed from a number performed by several African-American singers at the start of Act 2 (where it does not really fit in with the plot) to a tap routine for Ann Miller in the opening scene. (They then say ironically that it would not fit in the show.)
"So in Love" is sung as a duet by Fred and Lilli in the opening scene, in the stage version they sing it individually at later stages. Lilli's new fiance is a Texas cattle baron, in the stage version he is an east coast government official. The song "From This Moment On" came from the Cole Porter Musical, "Out of This World". The song "Another Op'nin', Another Show" was used as an instrumental in the "Why Can't You Behave" dance number.
Some of these changes may seem surprising to present sensibilities e.g. in "Too Darn Hot" the line "according to the Kinsey Report" becomes "according to the latest report". In the stage version the word "bastard" is used a handful of times, but this is deleted in the film, replaced with e.g. "you louse". However they did retain the scene where Fred spanks Lilli, which some might now consider controversial.
Kiss Me, Kate
Kiss Me, Kate is a musical with music and lyrics by Cole Porter. It is structured as a play within a play, where the interior play is a musical version of William Shakespeare's The Taming of the Shrew. The original production starred Alfred Drake, Patricia Morison, Lisa Kirk and Harold Lang.Kiss...
.
Inspired by The Taming of the Shrew
The Taming of the Shrew
The Taming of the Shrew is a comedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1590 and 1591.The play begins with a framing device, often referred to as the Induction, in which a mischievous nobleman tricks a drunken tinker named Sly into believing he is actually a nobleman himself...
, it tells the tale of musical theater actors, Fred Graham and Lilli Vanessi, who were once married and are now performing opposite each other in the roles of Petruchio
Petruchio
Petruchio is the male romantic lead in Shakespeare's The Taming of the Shrew . Petruchio is a fortune seeker who enters into a marriage with a strong-willed young woman named Kate and then proceeds to "tame" her temperamental spirit...
and Katherine in a Broadway
Broadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
-bound musical version of William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare was an English poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon"...
's play.
Already on poor terms, the pair begin an all-out emotional war mid-performance that threatens the production's success. The only thing keeping the show together are threats from a pair of gangsters, who have come to collect a gambling debt from the show's Lucentio, Bill Calhoun. In classic musical comedy fashion, slapstick madness ensues before everything is resolved.
Dorothy Kingsley
Dorothy Kingsley
Dorothy Kingsley was an American screenwriter, who worked extensively in film, radio and television.-Biography:...
's screenplay
Screenplay
A screenplay or script is a written work that is made especially for a film or television program. Screenplays can be original works or adaptations from existing pieces of writing. In them, the movement, actions, expression, and dialogues of the characters are also narrated...
, which was nominated for a Writers Guild of America
Writers Guild of America
The Writers Guild of America is a generic term referring to the joint efforts of two different US labor unions:* The Writers Guild of America, East , representing TV and film writers East of the Mississippi....
Award, was adapted from the musical's book by Samuel and Bella Spewack
Samuel and Bella Spewack
Samuel and Bella Spewack were a husband-and-wife writing team.Samuel, who also directed many of their plays, was born in the Ukraine...
. The songs were by Cole Porter
Cole Porter
Cole Albert Porter was an American composer and songwriter. Born to a wealthy family in Indiana, he defied the wishes of his domineering grandfather and took up music as a profession. Classically trained, he was drawn towards musical theatre...
, with musical underscoring by Saul Chaplin
Saul Chaplin
Saul Chaplin was an American composer and musical director.He was born Saul Kaplan in Brooklyn, New York.He had worked on stage, screen and television since the days of Tin Pan Alley...
and Andre Previn
André Previn
André George Previn, KBE is an American pianist, conductor, and composer. He is considered one of the most versatile musicians in the world, and is the winner of four Academy Awards for his film work and ten Grammy Awards for his recordings. -Early Life:Previn was born in...
, who were nominated for an Academy Award. Hermes Pan
Hermes Pan (choreographer)
Hermes Pan was an American dancer and choreographer, principally celebrated as Fred Astaire's choreographic collaborator on the famous 1930s movie musicals starring Astaire and Ginger Rogers.-Early life:...
choreographed the dance routines.
The movie was filmed in 3-D
3-D film
A 3-D film or S3D film is a motion picture that enhances the illusion of depth perception...
using the most advanced methods of that technique then available. Devotees of the stereoscopic 3-D medium usually cite this film as one of the best examples of a Hollywood release in polarized 3D.
Plot
The show opens with Fred Graham (Howard KeelHoward Keel
Harold Clifford Keel , known professionally as Howard Keel, was an American actor and singer. He starred in many film musicals of the 1950s...
) and Lilli Vanessi (Kathryn Grayson
Kathryn Grayson
Kathryn Grayson was an American actress and operatic soprano singer.From the age of twelve, Grayson trained as an opera singer. She was under contract to MGM by the early 1940s, soon establishing a career principally through her work in musicals...
) meeting at Fred's apartment to hear the score for the Cole Porter
Cole Porter
Cole Albert Porter was an American composer and songwriter. Born to a wealthy family in Indiana, he defied the wishes of his domineering grandfather and took up music as a profession. Classically trained, he was drawn towards musical theatre...
(Ron Randell
Ron Randell
Ronald Egan "Ron" Randell was an Australian-born American film and stage actor.-Biography:Randell was born in Sydney. He started his career as a stage and radio performer in his teens. He soon established himself as a leading male juvenile for radio, acting for 2KY Players, George Edwards, BAP...
) musical version of "The Taming of the Shrew
The Taming of the Shrew
The Taming of the Shrew is a comedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1590 and 1591.The play begins with a framing device, often referred to as the Induction, in which a mischievous nobleman tricks a drunken tinker named Sly into believing he is actually a nobleman himself...
". Lois Lane (Ann Miller
Ann Miller
Johnnie Lucille Collier, better known as Ann Miller was an American singer, dancer and actress.-Early life:...
), who is to play Bianca, arrives and sings "Too Darn Hot". Lilli almost decides against performing in the show, as she fears it might interfere with her honeymoon; she is to be married again. But when she overhears Cole and Fred promising Lois the part, she decides to play Katherine after all.
Lois' boyfriend, Bill Calhoun (Tommy Rall
Tommy Rall
Thomas Edward "Tommy" Rall is an American ballet dancer, tap dancer and acrobatic dancer who was a prominent featured player in 1950s musical comedies...
), is playing Lucentio in the ("Shrew") musical but in between rehearsals, he leads a gambling lifestyle, which results in him owing a local gangster $2,000, but he has signed the IOU
IOU (debt)
An IOU is usually an informal document acknowledging debt. An IOU differs from a promissory note in that an IOU is not a negotiable instrument and does not specify repayment terms such as the time of repayment. IOUs usually specify the debtor, the amount owed, and sometimes the creditor...
in Fred's name. Lois laments Bill's bad-boy lifestyle ("Why Can't You Behave?"), but Bill's winsome charm soon wins her over, and she forgives him. Meanwhile, after a fiery confrontation during rehearsals, Fred (who is also directing the show) and Lilli get together in Lilli's dressing room, and reminisce about happier times, singing "Wunderbar" from a show they did together. Fred later sends flowers to Lois but his butler gets confused and gives them to Lilli instead. Lilli is overcome by this romantic gesture and falls back in love with Fred, ("So In Love (Reprise)").
The show gets underway, with Fred, Lilli, Lois and Bill dressed as a group of traveling entertainers, ("We Open In Venice"). The main body of the play is their enactment of Shakespeare's, "The Taming of The Shrew"- the script is largely the same as Shakespeare's, but interspersed with Cole Porter's songs. In the play, Bianca, the younger daughter of Baptista, a Paduan merchant, wishes to marry, but her father will not allow it until his elder daughter, Katherine, is married. Bianca has three suitors – Gremio, Hortensio and Lucentio – and each of them try to persuade her to choose him as her husband. She is prepared to marry anyone, ("...any Tom, Dick or Harry...").
Lucentio's friend Petruchio arrives in Padua, seeking a wife, ("I've Come To Wive It Wealthily In Padua"), and when he hears of Katherine, he resolves to woo her. Katherine, however, hates the idea of getting married, ("I Hate Men"). Petruchio serenades Katherine ("Were Thine That Special Face"). Lilli is so moved by Fred's heartfelt delivery of the song, that she can't resist reading the card that came with the flowers, having placed it next to her heart. She sees that it is addressed to Lois, and attacks Fred mercilessly on stage, ad-libbing verbal abuse. As the curtain comes down, Fred has had enough, and spanks Lilli.
Lilli resolves to leave the theatre with her fiancé, Tex Calloway (Willard Parker); she phones him and tells him to pick her up, preferably with an ambulance. Meanwhile, Lippy and Slug, a pair of gang enforcers, arrive to collect Bill's IOU from Fred. Fred decides to accept the IOU and convinces Lippy and Slug that he needs them to help keep Lilli from leaving so that the show will be successful enough for Fred to afford the debt. Lois, in the meantime, learns that Fred has taken responsibility for the IOU and she comes to thank him, but each time she begins to thank him for not being angry about Bill forging his name, Fred kisses her passionately to prevent Lippy and Slug from learning about his deception. Lilli and Bill both walk in on this little scene and become furious.
In order to keep Lilli from leaving the show, Slug and Lippy appear on stage, disguised as Petruchio's servants, keeping an eye on Lilli. They have no acting ability, but still manage to amuse the audience. There is much less singing from this point onwards in the musical. In the play, Petruchio sets about "taming the shrew", by refusing to let Katherine eat, or sleep in a comfortable bed. Petruchio, however, is unhappy with his new married life, and reminisces about his days of philandering, and his many previous girlfriends, ("Where Is The Life That Late I Led?").
At Lilli's request via the phone earlier in the evening, Tex arrives with an ambulance, and Lilli finally escapes her tormentors and the pair prepare to leave. But Fred befriends Tex in the hopes of delaying their departure. Tex is recognized by Lois, with whom he once went on a date. Although Tex claims she has mistaken him for someone else, Bill is angered by Lois' behavior. Lois admits that though she loves Bill, she cannot resist the advances of other men ("Always True To You In My Fashion"). It turns out her morals are even looser than Bill's.
Fred's (Bill's) gambling debt is resolved by the untimely death of Mr. Hogan, Slug and Lippy's boss. Lilli succeeds in leaving the theatre, saying a surprisingly civil farewell to Fred. Fred thinks that she belongs in the theatre, and tries in vain to stop her from leaving. After her departure, Fred is dejected, but Slug and Lippy manage to cheer him up, ("Brush Up Your Shakespeare").
The last part of the play begins with Bianca finally getting married to Lucentio. Gremio and Hortensio are put out, but two other girls appear and each of the three couples has their own dance sequence in the next song, ("From This Moment On"). At the finale, the show is halted when Lilli's understudy, Jeanie, who is mentioned several times in the musical but never appears, goes missing. Suddenly, Lilli appears on stage and recites Katherine's speech about how women should surrender to their husbands, ("I'm Ashamed That Women Are So Simple"). Fred is bowled over, and the show reaches its triumphant finale ("Kiss Me Kate") giving the impression that Fred and Lilli will once again get together permanently.
Cast
- Kathryn GraysonKathryn GraysonKathryn Grayson was an American actress and operatic soprano singer.From the age of twelve, Grayson trained as an opera singer. She was under contract to MGM by the early 1940s, soon establishing a career principally through her work in musicals...
as Lilli Vanessi / 'Katherina (Kate)' - Howard KeelHoward KeelHarold Clifford Keel , known professionally as Howard Keel, was an American actor and singer. He starred in many film musicals of the 1950s...
as Fred Graham / 'Petruchio' - Ann MillerAnn MillerJohnnie Lucille Collier, better known as Ann Miller was an American singer, dancer and actress.-Early life:...
as Lois Lane / 'Bianca' - Tommy RallTommy RallThomas Edward "Tommy" Rall is an American ballet dancer, tap dancer and acrobatic dancer who was a prominent featured player in 1950s musical comedies...
as Bill Calhoun / 'Lucentio' - Keenan WynnKeenan WynnKeenan Wynn was an American character actor. His bristling mustache and expressive face were his stock in trade, and though he rarely had a lead role, he got prominent billing in most of his film and TV parts....
as Lippy - James WhitmoreJames WhitmoreJames Allen Whitmore, Jr. was an American film and stage actor.-Early life:Born in White Plains, New York, to Florence Belle and James Allen Whitmore, Sr., a park commission official, Whitmore attended Amherst Central High School in Snyder, New York, before graduating from The Choate School in...
as Slug - Bobby Van as 'Gremio'
- Kurt KasznarKurt Kasznar-Early life:Kasznar was born in Vienna, Austria as Kurt Servischer. His father left when Kurt was very young, his mother married a Hungarian restaurateur named Ferdinand Kasznar, and Kurt assumed his surname. He emigrated to the United States in the mid-1930s for The Eternal Road in which he...
as 'Baptista' - Bob FosseBob FosseRobert Louis “Bob” Fosse was an American actor, dancer, musical theater choreographer, director, screenwriter, film editor and film director. He won an unprecedented eight Tony Awards for choreography, as well as one for direction...
as 'Hortensio' - Ron RandellRon RandellRonald Egan "Ron" Randell was an Australian-born American film and stage actor.-Biography:Randell was born in Sydney. He started his career as a stage and radio performer in his teens. He soon established himself as a leading male juvenile for radio, acting for 2KY Players, George Edwards, BAP...
as Cole Porter - Michael DuganMichael DuganGeneral Michael J. Dugan was briefly the Chief of Staff of the United States Air Force for 79 days in 1990 until he was dismissed by United States Secretary of Defense Dick Cheney after telling reporters that the U.S. military planned to target Saddam Hussein, his family, and even his mistress in...
as Stretcher bearer - Carol HaneyCarol HaneyCarol Haney was an American dancer and actress. After assisting Gene Kelly in choreographing films, Haney won a Tony Award for her role in The Pajama Game...
as Specialty dancer - Jeanne CoyneJeanne CoyneJeanne Coyne was an acclaimed Broadway dancer, choreographer and actress.With Carol Haney , she formed a formidable team of choreographers for the directors Stanley Donen and Gene Kelly, both of whom, coincidentally, she married.She was married to Stanley Donen , and secondly to Gene Kelly with...
as Specialty dancer
Comparison with stage version
The film does not differ very much from the stage version, but there are some significant changes.The opening scene in Fred's apartment is added, it does provide more of the background to Lilli and Fred's troubled relationship.
Nearly all of Porter's rather risqué lyrics had to be "cleaned up" to avoid the wrath of the censors, thus dulling much of the comedy and making the results rather bland. "Brush Up Your Shakespeare", the most suggestive song in the score, was cut in half to avoid its sexist lyrics. The song "Too Darn Hot" was also sanitized, and changed from a number performed by several African-American singers at the start of Act 2 (where it does not really fit in with the plot) to a tap routine for Ann Miller in the opening scene. (They then say ironically that it would not fit in the show.)
"So in Love" is sung as a duet by Fred and Lilli in the opening scene, in the stage version they sing it individually at later stages. Lilli's new fiance is a Texas cattle baron, in the stage version he is an east coast government official. The song "From This Moment On" came from the Cole Porter Musical, "Out of This World". The song "Another Op'nin', Another Show" was used as an instrumental in the "Why Can't You Behave" dance number.
Some of these changes may seem surprising to present sensibilities e.g. in "Too Darn Hot" the line "according to the Kinsey Report" becomes "according to the latest report". In the stage version the word "bastard" is used a handful of times, but this is deleted in the film, replaced with e.g. "you louse". However they did retain the scene where Fred spanks Lilli, which some might now consider controversial.
Musical numbers
- So in LoveSo in Love"So in Love" is a popular song, written by Cole Porter, from his musical Kiss Me, Kate, based on Shakespeare's Taming of the Shrew. It was sung in the show by Patricia Morison, reprised by Alfred Drake and further popularized by Patti Page in 1949.The Page recording was issued by Mercury Records...
- Lilli and Fred - Too Darn HotToo Darn Hot"Too Darn Hot" is a popular song written by Cole Porter for his musical Kiss Me, Kate . In the stage version, it is sung at the start of Act 2, and in the 1948 original Broadway production, it was sung by Lorenzo Fuller and Eddie Sledge and Fred Davis...
- Lois - Why Can't You Behave - Lois
- Kiss Me, Kate - MGM Studio and Orchestra Chorus
- Wunderbar - Lilli and Fred
- So in Love (Reprise) - Lilli (with tears of crying soft)
- We Open in Venice - Lilli, Fred, Lois, Bill
- Tom, Dick or HarryTom, Dick or Harry (song)Tom, Dick or Harry is a show tune from the Cole Porter musical, Kiss Me, Kate, introduced on Broadway on December 30, 1948 by Lisa Kirk ; Harold Lang ; Edwin Clay ; and Charles Wood...
- Lois, Gremio, Bill, Hortensio - I've Come to Wive it Wealthily in Padua - Fred
- I Hate Men - Lilli
- Were Thine That Special Face - Fred
- Finale Act One (Kiss Me, Kate) - Chorus
- Where Is the Life That Late I Led - Fred
- Brush Up Your Shakespeare - Slug and Lippy
- From This Moment On - Lois, Bill, Hortensio, Gremio
- Finale - Fred and Chorus