Themes: Discovering One's Heritage, Fathers and Sons
Main Cast: Frank Sinatra, Kathryn Grayson, J. Carrol Naish, Mildred Natwick, Mikhail Rasumny
Release Year: 1948
Country: US
Run Time: 102 minutes
Plot
In this period musical, Ricardo (Frank Sinatra) is the son of a Mexican innkeeper who has come to California to take over a hotel owned by his family after the death of his father. Ricardo makes the startling discovery that his father was best known as a "kissing bandit," a dashing thief who aptitude for crime was matched by his gift for romancing the ladies. When tax collectors from Spain begin to overrun his homeland, Ricardo decides to follow in his father's footsteps, liberating the taxmen's ill-gotten gains and winning the heart of Teresa (Kathryn Grayson), the governor's daughter. Also starring J. Carrol Naish, Billy Gilbert and Mildred Natwick, The Kissing Bandit also features the fancy footwork of Ann Miller, Ricardo Montalban, and Cyd Charisse, who appear as specialty dancers in the production numbers. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
Review
One only has to think about the concept -- Frank Sinatra in a period musical as an innkeeper-cum-desperado in Old California -- to quickly realize that The Kissing Bandit was doomed to failure. It's tempting but ultimately unfair to blame Bandit's extremely poor quality on Sinatra; but while the crooner does indeed deserve to shoulder his fair share of the blame, it's equally true that even with a more appropriately cast star, the best Bandit could have hoped for would have been mediocrity. After all, there's only so much that can be done with this kind of plot, especially when the writers don't seem to know whether they're writing it straight or spoofy. A stronger directorial hand would undoubtedly have helped, but Laslo Benedek's work here is strictly routine. Sinatra sounds good when he's singing, of course, but his performance here is otherwise dreadful. Kathryn Grayson comes across better, although her own dramatic work is really only adequate. The songs are pleasant, with "Love is Where You Find It" actually quite engaging. The film's undeniable high spots are two dance-oriented numbers, one with the lovely Sono Osato and the other the exciting "Dance of Fury" with Ann Miller, Cyd Charisse and Ricardo Montalban. There's also the usual handsome MGM production values -- quite nice, but not enough to offset the flaws. ~ Craig Butler, All Movie Guide
Randall Duell - Art Director, Cedric Gibbons - Art Director, Stanley Donen - Choreography, Walter Plunkett - Costume Designer, Marvin Stuart - First Assistant Director, Laslo Benedek - Director, Adrienne Fazan - Editor, Earl K. Brent - Composer (Music Score), Nacio Herb Brown - Composer (Music Score), Edward Heyman - Composer (Music Score), Andre Previn - Composer (Music Score), George Stoll - Composer (Music Score), Scott Bradley - Composer (Music Score), Albert Sendrey - Composer (Music Score), George Stoll - Musical Direction/Supervision, Earl K. Brent - Songwriter, Nacio Herb Brown - Songwriter, Edward Heyman - Songwriter, Jack Dawn - Makeup, Robert Surtees - Cinematographer, Joe Pasternak - Producer, Jack D. Moore - Set Designer, Edwin B. Willis - Set Designer, Arnold A. Gillespie - Special Effects, Isobel Lennart - Screen Story, John Briard Harding - Screen Story, Isobel Lennart - Screenwriter, Albert Sendrey - Screenwriter, John Briard Harding - Screenwriter
