KISS ME KATE

Kiss Me Kate
MGM, 1953, Color, 110 minutes, ****
Released November, 1953

Musical adaptation of William Shakespeare's "Taming of the Shrew" plays like a play within a play in Shakespearean tradition. Highly entertaining musical-comedy with wonderful performances by the entire cast, a witty script, wonderful staging and music. Probably Cole Porter's best-ever song score. All numbers are great, but the real standouts in my mind are "Tom, Dick or Harry," "I Hate Men," "Where Is the Life That Late I Led" and "Brush Up Your Shakespeare" (beautifully performed by Keenan Wynn and James Whitmore).
Produced by: Jack Cummings
Directed by: George Sidney
Assistant Director: George Rhein
Screen Play by: Dorothy Kingsley
Based upon the Play Produced on the Stage by
Lemuel Ayers and Arnold Saint Subber
Play by Samuel and Bella Spewack
Music and Lyrics by: Cole Porter
Musical Direction: André Previn and Saul Chaplin
Orchestrations: Conrad Salinger and Skip Martin
Vocal Supervision: Robert Tucker
Choreography by: Hermes Pan
Art Directors: Cedric Gibbons and Urie McCleary
Set Decorations: Edwin B. Willis, Richard Pefferle
Costumes Designed by: Walter Plunkett
Hair Styles by: Sydney Guilaroff
Make-Up Created by: William Tuttle
Recording Supervisor: Douglas Shearer
Director of Photography by: Charles Rosher
Special Effects: Warren Newcombe
Photographed in Ansco Color, Print by Technicolor
Color Consultant: Alvord Eiseman
Film Editor: Ralph E. Winters

Awards: Academy Award nomination for Best Score - Musical (André Previn and Saul Chaplin)

Cast: Kathryn Grayson [Lilli Vanessi / Katherine], Howard Keel [Fred Graham / Petruchio], Ann Miller [Lois Lane / Bianca], Tommy Rall [Bill Calhoun / Lucentio], Bobby Van [Gremio], Keenan Wynn [Lippy], James Whitmore [Slug], Kurt Kasznar [Baptista], Bob Fosse [Hortensio], Ron Randell [Cole Porter], Willard Parker [Tex Callaway], Dave O'Brien [Ralph], Claud Allister [Paul], Anne Codee [Suzanne], Carol Haney, Jeanne Coyne [Specialty Dancers], Hermes Pan [Specialty Sailor Dance], Ted Eckelberry [Nathaniel], Mitchell Lewis [Stage Doorman]

Musical Program: [0:05] So in Love (sung by Kathryn Grayson and Howard Keel); [0:10] Too Darn Hot (sung and danced by Ann Miller); [0:19] Why Can't You Behave (sung by Ann Miller, danced by Tommy Rall and Ann Miller); [0:28] Wunderbar (sung and danced by Kathryn Grayson and Howard Keel); [0:35] So in Love (repriseed by Kathryn Grayson); [0:38] We Open in Venice (sung and danced by Kathryn Grayson, Howard Keel, Ann Miller and Tommy Rall); [0:42] Tom, Dick or Harry (sung and danced by Ann Miller, Tommy Rall, Bob Fosse and Bobby Van); [0:47] I've Come to Wive It Wealthily in Padua (sung by Howard Keel and Chorus); [0:51] I Hate Men (sung by Kathryn Grayson); [0:57] Were Thine That Special Face (sung by Howard Keel); [1:14] I've Come to Wive It Wealthily in Padua (reprised by Howard Keel); [1:20] Where Is the Life That Late I Led (sung by Howard Keel); [1:31] Always True to You in My Fashion (sung by Ann Miller with Tommy Rall); [1:37] Brush Up Your Shakespeare (sung and danced by James Whitmore and Keenan Wynn); [1:42] From This Moment On (sung by Ann Miller, Tommy Rall, Bobby Van and Bob Fosse; danced by Ann Miller and Tommy Rall, Bob Fosse and Carol Haney, Bobby Van and Jeanne Coyne); [1:49] Kiss Me Kate (sung by Kathryn Grayson, Howard Keel and Chorus)