(1953)
4
Lucia Bozzola
Adapted with MGM panache, the screen version of Cole Porter's hit Broadway musical shares all the wit and brightness of the original's showbiz interpretation of Shakespeare's The Taming of the Shrew, and it added a brief yet pivotal moment in movie musical history. With its score of such Porter classics as "Brush Up Your Shakespeare," "Too Darn Hot," and "So in Love" performed by a top-drawer MGM cast including Howard Keel, Kathryn Grayson, Ann Miller, and Keenan Wynn, Kiss Me Kate was already a can't-miss proposition. In addition, a Porter song lifted from another show became a vital debut for a new choreographer. Among the three short pas de deux in "From This Moment On," young dancer Bob Fosse's self-composed moves with Carol Haney introduced Fosse's innovative, sinuous dance style to movies, preparing the way for his future screen work in The Pajama Game (1957), Sweet Charity (1969), and Cabaret (1972). Although it was shot in 3-D, Kiss Me Kate was released flat, as the technological fad had petered out. It has since been re-released in the original 3-D, taking full advantage of Keel's and Grayson's raucous fights and Miller's seductive scarf.
Kiss Me Kate on AllMovie
Kiss Me Kate (1953)
