Themes: Scandals and Cover-Ups, Love Triangles, Otherwise Engaged
Main Cast: Bing Crosby, Grace Kelly, Frank Sinatra, Celeste Holm, John Lund
Release Year: 1956
Country: US
Run Time: 107 minutes
Plot
High Society is a glossy Technicolor-and-VistaVision musical remake of Philip Barry's The Philadelphia Story (1940), decked out with million-watt star power and a Cole Porter score. Set amongst the rich and famous in Newport, RI, the story revolves around the wedding plans of socialite Tracy Lord (Grace Kelly). Tracy is all set to marry stuffy George Kittridge (John Lund), while magazine writer Mike Connor (Frank Sinatra) and photographer Liz Imbrie (Celeste Holm) intend to cover the ceremony. Meanwhile, Tracy's ex-husband C.K. Dexter-Haven (Bing Crosby) also comes calling, ostensibly to the attend the annual Newport Jazz Festival, but actually for the purpose of winning Tracy back. In the course of events, Mike falls in love with Tracy, and she with him. The Jazz Festival subplot allows scriptwriter John Patrick to bring Louis Armstrong into the proceedings, much to the delight of anyone who cares anything about music. The Cole Porter tunes include the Crosby-Sinatra duet "Well, Did You Evah?," the Crosby-Armstrong teaming "Now You Has Jazz," the Kelly-Crosby romantic ballad "True Love," and the Sinatra solo "You're Sensational." Though it lacks the satiric edge of the Philip Barry original (Barry, incidentally, is not given any screen credit), High Society succeeds on its own lighthearted terms. The film represents Grace Kelly's final acting assignment before her real-life wedding to Prince Rainier of Monaco. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Review
Charles Walters' generally soporific musical version of George Cukor's classic Philadelphia Story (1940) is enlivened by Louis Armstrong and the musical camaraderie of stars Frank Sinatra and Bing Crosby. The second film based on Philip Barry's enormously successful comedy of manners, it centers on the aristocratic Tracy Lord (Grace Kelly) and her imminent second marriage. The final film of Kelly's career is a distinctly leaden affair in which the boredom of the participants seems palpable. Crosby, who appears old enough to be Kelly's grandfather, seems to bond better with Sinatra's tough-guy reporter than with the woman who he supposedly still loves. The more satiric aspects of Barry's witty dialogue seems to have been sanded away; perhaps not much of a loss, since Celeste Holm's society reporter is the only one of the principals who seems capable of handling it. Nevertheless, Sinatra and Crosby shift into another gear for the Cole Porter numbers, and Crosby's joy in working with the legendary Satch is evident on "Now You Has Jazz." ~ Michael Costello, All Movie Guide
The successful jazz musician C.K. Dexter Haven (Bing Crosby) is divorced from wealthy Newport, Rhode Island socialite Tracy Samantha Lord (Grace Kelly), but remains in love with her. She, however, is about to get married to a bland gentleman of good standing, George Kittredge (John Lund).
Spy Magazine, in possession of embarrassing information about Tracy's father, is permitted to send a reporter (Frank Sinatra) and a photographer (Celeste Holm) to cover the nuptials. Tracy begins an elaborate charade as a private means of revenge, pretending that her Uncle Willy (Louis Calhern) is her father (Sidney Blackmer) and vice versa.
The reporter, Mike Connor, falls in love with Tracy. She must choose between three very different men in a course of self-discovery.
High Society marked the final acting role for Grace Kelly before she became Princess of Monaco, released three months after her marriage to Prince Rainier III. Sinatra was 40 and Crosby 53 while playing the love interests of Kelly, who was only 26 during the filming. She was actually the second consideration for the part of Tracy Lord, the original choice, Elizabeth Taylor, being unable to commit.
High Society would mark the first on-screen pairing of Sinatra and Crosby, two of the most popular entertainers of the 1940s and 1950s. They would work together again in the Sinatra-produced Robin and the 7 Hoods in 1964. This was the second time that Crosby and Kelly acted together, the first being The Country Girl (for which Kelly won an Academy Award) in 1954.
A long playing record of the soundtrack songs was released the same year (see High Society (1956 album)), and was a major success in both America and Great Britain. It has been said that one of the main reasons star Frank Sinatra was drawn to the film was a duet with his boyhood idol Bing Crosby on Well, Did You Evah!, a song added at the last minute when it was noted that the two singers didn't have a duet to perform in the film. Culturally, the song Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? has gained new significance as the source of the title of the popular gameshow.
Critical reception and box office
Opening on July 17th, 1956, High Society garnered good reviews despite often being compared as a lesser offering to the film on which it was based, The Philadelphia Story.Variety noted: "Fortified with a strong Cole Porter score, film is a pleasant romp for cast toppers Bing Crosby, Grace Kelly and Frank Sinatra. Their impact is almost equally consistent. Although Sinatra has the top pop tune opportunities, the crooner makes his specialties stand up and out on showmanship and delivery, and Kelly impresses as a femme lead."
At the North American box office, High Society was a glowing success. One of the 10 highest grossing films of 1956, a gross of over $13 million would recoup $5.8 million in rentals.
More than forty years after the original movie was released, it was adapted for the stage as a Broadway musical with several Porter songs from other sources added to the score. The Broadway production opened on April 27, 1998 at the St. James Theatre, where it ran for 144 performances.
