Kiss Me Kate (1953)

User Rating:

7.3/10   

Director:

George Sidney

Writers:

Dorothy Kingsley (screenplay)
Sam Spewack (play) ...

Release Date:

26 November 1953 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Musical | Romance

Tagline:

THE FAMED STAGE HIT...NOW A BIG COLORFUL MUSICAL!

Plot:

Fred and Lilly are a divorced pair of actors who are brought together by Cole Porter who has written a musical version of The Taming of the Shrew...

Plot Keywords:

Opening Night | William Shakespeare | Kiss | Gambling | Gambling Debt

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar. Another 1 nomination

Cast

Kathryn Grayson	...	Lilli Vanessi 'Katharina'
Howard Keel	...	Fred Graham 'Petruchio'
Ann Miller	...	Lois Lane 'Bianca'
Keenan Wynn	...	Lippy
Bobby Van	...	'Gremio'
Tommy Rall	...	Bill Calhoun 'Lucentio'
James Whitmore	...	Slug
Kurt Kasznar	...	'Baptista'
Bob Fosse	...	'Hortensio'
Ron Randell	...	Cole Porter
Willard Parker	...	Tex Callaway
Dave O'Brien	...	Ralph
Claud Allister	...	Paul
Ann Codee	...	Suzanne
Carol Haney	...	Specialty Dancer

Runtime:

109 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Anscocolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.75 : 1

Sound Mix:

Stereo (Western Electric Sound System) | Mono

Certification:

Canada:PG (Ontario) | Canada:G (video rating) | Australia:G | Finland:S | Sweden:Btl | USA:Approved (PCA #16600)

Company:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Trivia:

For the famous spanking scene, Kathryn Grayson and costume designer Helen Rose played a joke on Howard Keel -- Rose put a wooden board under Grayson's costume.

Goofs:

Boom mic visible: Boom mic shadows very visible in scenes backstage during the performance of the show.

Quotes:

Bianca: [after Fred Graham kisses her to shut her up] I was just saying "Thank you"!
Slug: I'd like to see how she says "You're welcome".

Movie Connections:

Featured in "Broadway: The American Musical: Oh, What a Beautiful Mornin': 1943-1960 (#1.4)" (2004)

Soundtrack:

Where Is the Life That Late I Led?

Charming in 3D

I am lucky to have seen a beautiful print of "Kiss Me Kate" shown in 3D at the Stanford Theater in Palo Alto in June of 2000. It was shown in dual-projector format which resulted in a clear, bright picture. The 3D was accomplished with gray polarized glasses rather than the blue/red ones, so there was no weird chromatic aberration. It was spectacular. The dance numbers were a riot of talent, color, and depth!

Tell your local art-house theater that you promise to pack the house if they will put on a 3D festival, especially if the 3D print of "Kate" is the centerpiece, and they can do the dual-projection. Sad that "Kate" was never released in its true 3D glory. "Kate" was directed and shot with an image for each of your eyes -- seeing the flat version is like seeing only half the movie!