Kiss Me, Kate

For those aged among us who might have seen Alfred Drake on stage this preserved Hallmark Hall Of Fame tape is a real treat. It is a filmed record of Drake in on of his most acclaimed starring roles, that of Fred Graham in Cole Porter's Kiss Me Kate.

Doubly important it is a filmed record of Drake's Broadway leading lady in her career role as Graham's estranged wife Lilli Vanessi. Before she did Kiss Me Kate on Broadway, Patricia Morison did a lot of potboiler B films with no clue to the talent she possessed. She must have and we can be grateful that we have a filmed record of her as well.

Some of the numbers Cole Porter wrote have been eliminated, but the plot which mixes the bacstage drama with a musical comedy performance of The Taming Of The Shrerw in a real treat. In a couple of spots the dialog is updated to reflect the Eisenhower as opposed to the Truman years.

Kiss Me Kate given its source is a real challenge for players. In the case of Alfred Drake he had a classical theater background as well as a great musical comedy voice which made him the perfect lead.

Arthur Freed at MGM did a grand job with the film of Kiss Me Kate. But we are so lucky to have this filmed record of the two original leads.