Silk Stockings (1957)

User Rating:

6.9/10   

Director:

Rouben Mamoulian

Writers:

Melchior Lengyel (book)
George S. Kaufman (play) ...

Release Date:

18 July 1957 (USA)

Genre:

Musical | Comedy | Romance

Tagline:

BIG BOUNCY BEAUTIFUL! (original print ad - all caps)

Plot:

A musical remake of Ninotchka: After three bumbling Soviet agents fail in their mission to retrieve a straying Soviet composer from Paris...

Plot Keywords:

Beautiful Woman | Dance | Cheesecake | Cinemascope | Dancer

Awards:

Nominated for 2 Golden Globes. Another 2 wins & 1 nomination

Cast

Fred Astaire	...	Steve Canfield
Cyd Charisse	...	Ninotchka Yoschenko
Janis Paige	...	Peggy Dayton
Peter Lorre	...	Brankov, Commisar
George Tobias	...	Vassili Markovitch, Commisar of Art
Jules Munshin	...	Bibinski, Commisar
Joseph Buloff	...	Ivanov, Commisar
Wim Sonneveld	...	Peter Ilyitch Boroff

Runtime:

117 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Metrocolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Perspecta Stereo (Westrex Recording System)

Certification:

UK:U | South Korea:12 | Finland:S | Australia:G

Company:

Arthur Freed Production

Trivia:

After this film, Fred Astaire effectively retired from musicals, preferring to concentrate on non-musical roles, though he would produce several musical specials for TV in the next few years. Astaire wouldn't make another musical until 1968.

Goofs:

Continuity: It becomes fairly obvious during the "Fated to be Mated" duet between Fred Astaire and Cyd Charisse that Charisse is wearing a skirt one moment and culottes (or flared shorts) the next. The bottom half of her costume changes on each cut of the dance when they are doing deep knee bends, and this is where the culottes show. For the upright spins and lifts, the skirt shows. The dance was obviously performed twice and edited into one sequence.

Quotes:

Brankov, Commisar: Be casual. Don't fighten him. Smile.
Bibinski, Commisar: I haven't smiled in 30 years.

Movie Connections:

References Neptune's Daughter (1949)

Soundtrack:

Fated to Be Mated

Silk Stockings DVD has some fun extras

As "Silk Stockings" reaches the half-century mark, it is now so dated that it can be enjoyed either as a period piece, as a look at popular attitudes toward the Cold War, as a rather silly but enjoyable setting for the odd couple of Cyd Charisse and Fred Astaire, or as a chance to see character actors like Jules Munchin and Peter Lorre. You know it's an old movie when Technicolor and stereophonic sound are being touted as the new big things!

Whether you like the main movie or not, the DVD extras have their own charm. The Special Features section includes a short film with Cyd Charisse as narrator, made about 2003, in which she talks about Cole Porter, Fred Astaire, and how the film came to be. Another short b/w film from the thirties is called "Paree, Paree". This one stars a very young Bob Hope, and features Cole Porter songs from the musical "20 Million Frenchmen".

Another musical treat is the "Poet and Peasant Overture", written by Franz von Suppe, played by the full studio orchestra. Both the 'Paree' film and this overture will tease you with musical strains familiar to those of us who grew up with old cartoons, so be warned! Listening to this music may induce animation flashback.