''Kiss Me Kate'' is a 1953 American

musical Musical is the adjective of music. Musical may also refer to: * Musical theatre, a performance art that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance * Musical film Musical film is a film genre in which songs by the Character (arts), charac ...

romantic comedy Romantic comedy (also known as romcom or rom-com) is a sub-genre of comedy and Romance novel, romance fiction, focusing on lighthearted, humorous plot lines centered on romantic ideas, such as how true love is able to surmount all obstacles. Ro ...

film directed by

George Sidney George Sidney (October 4, 1916May 5, 2002) was an American film director and producer who worked primarily at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. His work includes cult classics '' Bye Bye Birdie'' (1963) and '' Viva Las Vegas'' (1964). With an extensive back ...

from a screenplay by Dorothy Kingsley, based on the 1948 Broadway musical ''

Kiss Me, Kate ''Kiss Me, Kate'' is a musical with music and lyrics by Cole Porter and a book by Bella and Samuel Spewack. The story involves the production of a musical version of William Shakespeare's ''The Taming of the Shrew'' and the conflict on and off- ...

'' by Bella and Samuel Spewack. The film stars

Kathryn Grayson Kathryn Grayson (born Zelma Kathryn Elisabeth Hedrick; February 9, 1922 – February 17, 2010) was an American actress and coloratura soprano. From the age of 12, Grayson trained as an opera singer. She was under contract to Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer ...

Howard Keel Harold Clifford Keel (April 13, 1919November 7, 2004), professionally Howard Keel, was an American actor and singer known for his rich bass-baritone singing voice. He starred in a number of MGM musicals in the 1950s, including ''Show Boat'' (195 ...

Ann Miller Ann Miller (born Johnnie Lucille Collier; April 12, 1923 – January 22, 2004) was an American actress and dancer. She is best remembered for her work in the classical Hollywood cinema musical film, musicals of the 1940s and 1950s. Her early fi ...

James Whitmore James Allen Whitmore Jr. (October 1, 1921 – February 6, 2009) was an American actor. He received numerous accolades, including a Golden Globe Award, a Grammy Award, a Primetime Emmy Award, a Theatre World Award, and a Tony Award, plus two Ac ...

, and

Kurt Kasznar Kurt Kasznar (born Kurt Servischer; August 13, 1913 – August 6, 1979) was an Austrian-American stage, film and television actor who played roles on Broadway, appearing in the original Broadway productions of '' Waiting for Godot'', ''The ...

, with

Keenan Wynn Francis Xavier Aloysius James Jeremiah Keenan Wynn (July 27, 1916 – October 14, 1986) was an American character actor. His expressive face was his wikt:stock-in-trade, stock-in-trade; though he rarely carried the leading actor, lead role, h ...

and Bobby Van. Inspired by

William Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 23 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

's play ''

The Taming of the Shrew ''The Taming of the Shrew'' is a comedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1590 and 1592. The play begins with a framing device, often referred to as the induction, in which a mischievous nobleman tricks a drunke ...

'', it tells the tale of formerly married

musical theater Musical theatre is a form of theatrical performance that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance. The story and emotional content of a musical – humor, pathos, love, anger – are communicated through words, music, moveme ...

actors Fred Graham and Lilli Vanessi, brought together to star opposite one another in the roles of

Petruchio Petruchio ( ; an anglicisation of the Italian name Petruccio, ) is the male protagonist in Shakespeare's '' The Taming of the Shrew'' (c. 1590–1594). Plot In the play, Petruchio comes to the town of Padua in the hopes of marrying a wealthy ...

and

Katherine Katherine (), also spelled Catherine and Catherina, other variations, is a feminine given name. The name and its variants are popular in countries where large Christian populations exist, because of its associations with one of the earliest Ch ...

in a Broadway musical version of Shakespeare's play. Already on poor terms, the two leads skirmish from the start. Their relationship eventually breaks into 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. Kingsley's screenplay was nominated for a

Writers Guild of America The Writers Guild of America (WGA) is the name of two American labor unions representing writers in film, television, radio, and online media: * The Writers Guild of America, East (WGAE) is headquartered in New York City and is affiliated wit ...

Award. The songs were by

Cole Porter Cole Albert Porter (June 9, 1891 – October 15, 1964) was an American composer and songwriter. Many of his songs became Standard (music), standards noted for their witty, urbane lyrics, and many of his scores found success on Broadway the ...

, with musical underscoring by

Saul Chaplin Saul Chaplin (February 19, 1912 – November 15, 1997) 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. In film, he won ...

and

André Previn André George Previn (; born Andreas Ludwig Priwin; April 6, 1929 – February 28, 2019) was a German-American pianist, composer, and conductor. His career had three major genres: Hollywood films, jazz, and classical music. In each he achieved ...

, who were nominated for an

Oscar Oscar, OSCAR, or The Oscar may refer to: People and fictional and mythical characters * Oscar (given name), including lists of people and fictional characters named Oscar, Óscar or Oskar * Oscar (footballer, born 1954), Brazilian footballer ...

Hermes Pan Hermes Pan (born Hermes Joseph Panagiotopoulos, December 10, 1909 – September 19, 1990) was an American dancer and choreographer, principally remembered as Fred Astaire's choreographic collaborator on the famous 1930s musical film, movie musica ...

choreographed Choreography is the art of designing sequences of movements of physical bodies (or their depictions) in which motion or form or both are specified. ''Choreography'' may also refer to the design itself. A choreographer creates choreographies thr ...

most of the dance routines. The film was shot in 3-D, using the most advanced technology 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

Fred Graham and Lilli Vanessi, a divorced couple, meet at Fred's New York apartment to hear

perform the score for ''Kiss Me Kate'', his musical version of ''

'', to be directed by Fred. Cole Porter plays the song "So In Love" to both Fred and Lilli, who love the song, despite the fact that Lilli distances herself from Fred. Lois Lane arrives to audition for the Bianca role (" Too Darn Hot"). Lilli declines the lead role of "Katherine", opposite Fred as the male lead Petruchio, since she is leaving to marry a rich Texas rancher. She changes her mind when Cole and Fred manipulate her by offering Lois the lead role instead. Lois' boyfriend, Bill Calhoun, is playing Lucentio in the show. He leads a gambling lifestyle, which results in him owing a local gangster $2,000, but he signs the

IOU An IOU (Abbreviation, abbreviated from the phrase "I owe you") 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 th ...

in Fred's name. Lois laments his bad-boy lifestyle (" Why Can't You Behave?"). After a fiery confrontation during rehearsals, Fred and Lilli get together in her dressing room and reminisce about happier times ("Wunderbar"). Fred later sends flowers and a card to Lois, but his butler mistakenly gives them to Lilli. Lilli is overcome by this romantic gesture and fails to read the card (" So In Love (Reprise)"). The play opens, with Fred, Lilli, Lois and Bill performing an opening number ("We Open in Venice"). In the play, Bianca, the younger daughter of Baptista, 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 win her over. She is prepared to marry anyone ("...any Tom, Dick or Harry..."). Petruchio arrives, seeking a wife ("I've Come to Wive It Wealthily in Padua"), and when he hears of Katherine, he resolves to woo her. Katherine hates the idea of getting married ("I Hate Men"). When Petruchio serenades Katherine ("Were Thine That Special Face"), Lilli finally reads the card from the flowers. She sees that it is addressed to Lois, and attacks Fred/Petruchio on stage, ad-libbing verbal abuse. As the curtain comes down, Fred spanks Lilli/Kate. Backstage, Lilli phones her fiancé, Tex, to come and immediately pick her up. Lippy and Slug, a pair of thugs, arrive to collect from Fred. Fred asks them to keep Lilli from leaving the show so it will be successful enough for Fred to pay the debt. Lois has learned 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 to prevent Lippy and Slug from learning about his deception. Lilli and Bill walk in on the scene and become furious. In order to keep Lilli from leaving, Slug and Lippy appear on stage, disguised as Petruchio's servants. They have no acting ability, but still manage to amuse the audience. Petruchio sets about "taming the shrew", but later reminisces about his days of philandering ("Where Is the Life That Late I Led?"). During the play's intermission, when Tex arrives to rescue Lilli from the theatre, he is recognized by Lois, an old flame. When Bill is angered by Lois' behavior, she admits that though she loves Bill, she cannot resist the advances of other men (" Always True to You in My Fashion"). The gambling debt is cancelled by the untimely death of Slug and Lippy's boss, so they stop interfering with Lilli's mid-performance departure from the theatre. Fred tells her that she truly belongs in theatre, and also reveals his true feelings for her. She departs, leaving a dejected Fred to be cheered up by Slug and Lippy ("Brush Up Your Shakespeare"). Bianca marries Lucentio. The rejected suitors, Gremio and Hortensio, meet two new girls (" From This Moment On"). At the finale, the show is temporarily halted when Lilli's understudy goes missing. Suddenly, Lilli reappears on stage, delivering Kate's speech about how women should surrender to their husbands ("I'm Ashamed That Women Are So Simple"). Fred is bowled over, and the play reaches its triumphant finale ("Kiss Me Kate"), with Fred and Lilli back together as a real couple.

Cast

Cast notes: * Lilli's understudy, Jeanie, is mentioned several times, but never appears. * In the 1948 stage musical, Lilli's fiancé is the aging Senator Harrison Howell. This character was cut from the film and replaced by Tex Calloway.

Production

Musical numbers

# " So in Love" – Lilli and Fred # " Too Darn Hot" – Lois # " Why Can't You Behave?" – Lois # "Kiss Me, Kate" – MGM Studio and Orchestra Chorus # "Wunderbar" – Lilli and Fred # "So in Love (Reprise)" – Lilli # "We Open in Venice" – Lilli, Fred, Lois, Bill # " Tom, Dick or Harry" – 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 # " Always True to You in My Fashion" – Lois and Bill # "Brush Up Your Shakespeare" – Slug and Lippy # " From This Moment On" – Lois, Bill, Hortensio, Gremio # "Finale" – Fred and Chorus Song notes: *The song " Another Op'nin', Another Show" was cut and survives in the film only as an instrumental, with the chorus melody being heard several times. Cole Porter opposed it being cut, so the melody was inserted into "Why Can't You Behave?" as a dance sequence, and it is also used as incidental music in several places. *"From this Moment On" was not in the original Broadway production but was originally from another Cole Porter Broadway show, '' Out of This World'' (1950). Bob Fosse choreographed his featured solo in this number, danced with Carol Haney. The song was subsequently added to the stage production in the 1999 revival as a backstage duet between Lilli and Harrison Howell, her love interest in the stage play. The song "Too Darn Hot", the song is sung by Lois instead of three African American males. Also, the line about the "Kinsey Report" was too controversial, and had to be changed to the "Latest Report".

Release

''Kiss Me Kate'' was previewed on October 15, 1953, in four locations: two in 3-D with stereophonic sound (in Columbus, Ohio, and at the Victory Theatre in

Evansville, Indiana Evansville is a city in Vanderburgh County, Indiana, United States, and its county seat. With a population of 118,414 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is Indiana's List of cities in Indiana, third-most populous city after India ...

) and two in 2-D ( Loew's theaters in

Rochester, New York Rochester is a city in and the county seat, seat of government of Monroe County, New York, United States. It is the List of municipalities in New York, fourth-most populous city and 10th most-populated municipality in New York, with a populati ...

, and Houston, Texas). Additional previews took place later in October in

Dayton, Ohio Dayton () is a city in Montgomery County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of cities in Ohio, sixth-most populous city in Ohio, with a population of 137,644 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. The Dayton metro ...

(2-D), and at the

Majestic Theatre Majestic Theatre or Majestic Theater may refer to: Australia * Majestic Theatre, Adelaide, former name of a theatre in King William Street, Adelaide, built 1916, now demolished *Majestic Theatre, Launceston, a former cinema in Tasmania designed by ...

in Dallas, Texas (3-D). Grosses from the 3-D version were 40% higher. Despite the results,

Radio City Music Hall Radio City Music Hall (also known as Radio City) is an entertainment venue and Theater (structure), theater at 1260 Sixth Avenue (Manhattan), Avenue of the Americas, within Rockefeller Center, in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York C ...

decided not to screen it in 3-D when it opened November 5, 1953, in New York City. Although ''Kiss Me Kate'' is often referred to as the first 3-D musical, '' Those Redheads from Seattle'', also a 3-D musical, was released by

Paramount Pictures Paramount Pictures Corporation, commonly known as Paramount Pictures or simply Paramount, is an American film production company, production and Distribution (marketing), distribution company and the flagship namesake subsidiary of Paramount ...

on October 16, 1953.

Reception

Box office

In its opening at Radio City Music Hall, ''Kiss Me Kate'' grossed a below-par $130,000 for the week, although this was blamed on a snowstorm at the weekend. According to MGM records, the film earned

theatrical rental A box office or ticket office is a place where tickets are sold to the public for admission to an event. Patrons may perform the transaction at a countertop, through a hole in a wall or window, or at a wicket. By extension, the term is frequ ...

s of $2,011,000 in the United States and Canada and $1,106,000 elsewhere, for a worldwide total of $3,117,000. Gross profit was $1,136,000,Sheldon Hall, ''Epics, Spectacles, and Blockbusters: A Hollywood History'' Wayne State University Press, 2010 p 147 but high production costs led to a net loss of $544,000.

Critical response

The film had a mostly positive reception.

Bosley Crowther Francis Bosley Crowther Jr. (July 13, 1905 – March 7, 1981) was an American journalist, writer, and film critic for ''The New York Times'' for 27 years. His work helped shape the careers of many actors, directors and screenwriters, though some ...

of ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' called ''Kiss Me Kate'' "one of the year's more magnificent musical films ... a beautifully staged, adroitly acted and really superbly sung affair—better, indeed, if one may say so, than the same frolic was on the stage." '' Variety'' opened its positive review by stating: "Metro's reputation for turning out top calibre musical pictures is further enhanced with ''Kiss Me Kate''. It's Shakespeare's ''Taming of the Shrew'' done over in eminently satisfying fashion via a collaboration of superior song, dance and comedy talents." ''

Harrison's Reports ''Harrison's Reports'' was a New York City–based motion picture trade journal published weekly from 1919 to 1962. The typical issue was four letter-size pages sent to subscribers under a second-class mail permit. Its founder, editor and publish ...

'' called it "a lively and highly entertaining blend of comedy, music, dancing and romance."

John McCarten John McCarten (September 10, 1911, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania – September 25, 1974, New York City) was an American writer who contributed about 1,000 pieces for ''The New Yorker'', serving as the magazine's film critic from 1945 to 1960 and B ...

of ''

The New Yorker ''The New Yorker'' is an American magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. It was founded on February 21, 1925, by Harold Ross and his wife Jane Grant, a reporter for ''The New York T ...

'' was more dismissive, writing that it "does have some engaging tunes, but the book of the original has been so thoroughly laundered that little of the comedy, which ran to fairly bawdy stuff, remains, and Kathryn Grayson and Howard Keel, as a bickering theatrical pair compelled to play opposite each other in Shakespeare, are lacking in vital juices." Richard L. Coe of ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...

'' disliked the changes made to the stage version such as the reduction of "Another Op'nin" and "I Am Ashamed That Women Are So Simple," calling the film "a grand musical with lots of pleasures to recommend it. But if you're familiar with what they had to work with, you'll not be enthusiastic, a form of criticism with which not all agree, but in this case I don't see how it's to be avoided." ''

The Monthly Film Bulletin The ''Monthly Film Bulletin'' was a periodical of the British Film Institute published monthly from February 1934 until April 1991, when it merged with '' Sight & Sound''. It reviewed all films on release in the United Kingdom, including those wi ...

'' wrote, "The execution generally—sets, costumes, dance numbers, the Cole Porter songs—is pleasing, but the direction lacks flair and the film seems somewhat over-long."

References

External links

* * * {{Authority control 1953 films 1953 3D films 1953 musical comedy films 1953 romantic comedy films 1950s American films 1950s English-language films 1950s romantic musical films American 3D films American films based on plays American musical comedy films American romantic comedy films American romantic musical films English-language musical comedy films English-language romantic comedy films English-language romantic musical films Films about musical theatre Films based on musicals Films based on The Taming of the Shrew Films directed by George Sidney Films scored by André Previn Films scored by Saul Chaplin Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer films