Self-involved actor Fred Graham (Howard Keel) conspires to get his shrill ex-wife Lilli Vanessi (Kathryn Grayson) to take the lead in a new musical version of The Taming of the Shrew. He also casts his new girlfriend, tap dancer Lois Lane (Ann Miller). On opening night, Fred runs into trouble when two gangsters, Lippy (Keenan Wynn) and Slug (James Whitmore) appear to force him to make good on a gambling IOU that was really signed by Lois’s true boyfriend, dancer Bill Calhoun (Tommy Rall). When Fred’s behavior causes Lilli to quit in the middle of the performance, Fred uses the gangsters to force the show to go on.
While I grew up hearing the music of Kiss Me Kate, I have never seen a stage production and have only seen this version on the screen. So I can’t say how closely the film resembles the Broadway show, though I’m willing to bet that the latter didn’t start with an imitation Cole Porter helping to dupe Lilli into joining his latest show. No matter.
Kiss Me Kate is an old fashioned movie musical: light, fluffy, filled with “hummable” songs, and loads of fun. It is unusual in that those songs are all first rate, the stars are spectacular, and the choreography is the work of Hermes Pan with an exciting addition by a young Bob Fosse. The story is a variant of The Taming of the Shrew, twice, as the characters go through similar hoops to their onstage personas. But it is really just a frame to hang Cole Porter’s songs. All are memorable. Many, like I’ve Come to Wive It Wealthily in Padua and Too Darn Hot have comedic elements, while others, such as Tom, Dick, or Harry, I Hate Men, And Brush up Your Shakespeare, are completely for laughs. But Porter tosses in a few, like So in Love, that allow Keel and Grayson to stretch their luxurious voices. There simply are no voices like this in modern musicals, and they are the worse for it.
While all of the cast, with the exception of Whitmore, are talented singers, Keel and Grayson are the masters. But neither can dance. Enter Ann Miller, Tommy Rall, and the incomparable Bob Fosse, who takes a turn on the floor along with his choreographer duties. Miller has never been better. She also must have had an extra six inches of leg surgically attached as no one has limbs that long naturally. Tapping is not my favorite form of dance, but she makes it sizzle in Too Darn Hot. Rall looks good in the group scenes, but his solo, while impressive, is the weakest part of the film. He bounds about, leaping on a trampoline and teetering on the edge of a building. Sure it’s hard to do, but it isn’t that interesting to watch. He even swings on a rope toward the camera to fulfill his 3-D requirement. (Yes, Kiss Me Kate was filmed in 3-D, which boggles the mind. It was only shown that way in a few theaters when initially released, and except to explain the weird rope swing and a few scarf tosses, there’s no reason to ever dwell on that again). Fosse’s jazz number (backed by the other dancers) for From This Moment On almost steals the show. It’s innovative and fun, and feels like the greatest dancer in the world got really high and then just went nuts on stage.
Fast paced, lacking attitude and pomposity, and showcasing an array of impressive talent, Kiss Me Kate is what a musical should be.