Those of you who know me know that the musical is one of my favorite film genres. I bought the obscure film The French Line sight unseen because I'd heard one cute song from it, and once I watched Guys and Dolls twice in a week. I don't know why it took me so long to finally watch the film version of Kismet, but I only saw it for the first time a few months ago. Howard Keel, in the lead role as a glib poet able to talk-or sing-his way out of any predicament, is really incredible. He performs the show-stopping number "Gesticulate" as only he could: stylized, over-the-top but still accessible, and with charm but without conceit. He carries the movie, outclassing his costars by head and shoulders, but since he's in so much of the film, it doesn't really matter that the scenes he's not in drag a little. The romantic leads, Ann Blyth and Vic Damone, aren't particularly interesting, and they don't sparkle with chemistry the way Howard Keel and Dolores Gray do. If your favorite songs in Kismet are the ballads "Stranger in Paradise" and "This Is My Beloved," you'll be severely disappointed in this movie. If you don't really care about two young kids in love and prefer more upbeat tunes, you'll be fine.Don't laugh, but my favorite song in the show was Dolores Gray's dazzling number "Not Since Nineveh". The reason this musical isn't watched or performed anymore is because you just can't give rousing applause to a song that starts with the line "Baghdad! Don't under-estimate Baghad!" However, if you're able to put foreign affairs aside-which is essential if you're going to sit down and watch Kismet-Dolores's song is fantastic. She's beautiful and has a stunning figure, clad in inventive costumes by Tony Duquette, and she has a very nice alto voice that sells a song beautifully. Between her and Howard, it's easy to forget anyone else is even in the movie!For musical aficionados, you should probably check out Kismet if you haven't already. You'll hear some beautiful singing-not by Vic Damone, though-and watch some incredible dancing by Reiko Sato, Patricia Dunn, and Wonci Lui. Plus, the story is very fast-paced, clever, and entertaining, a feature not always included in a musical comedy. Even without the songs, it would still be an interesting movie.

This film, a remake with music of the 1944 Kismet, looks sumptuous and boasts a fine cast, including Howard Keel, Ann Blyth, Vic Damone, and Doleres Gray (who didn't make enough films although the ones she did are great).Using themes from Borodin, classic songs such as 'This is My Beloved', 'Stranger in Paradise', 'Olive Tree', and others sound beautiful, and benefit from strong singers presenting them.The story of 'Kismet' is simple - a beggar named Hajj (or is he?) has magical powers to foresee the future and influence events (or does he?) and finds himself in the court of the Caliph. In the meantime the Caliph, weary of his harem, finds true love in the person of a mysterious young woman, name unknown. And the wife of the Wazir is just looking for a good time! Potent tosh, as most musicals were, 'Kismet' is not one of MGM's best ... by 1955 the genre was beginning to slow down and lose steam, and properties like this did not have the money or time they deserved lavished on them. But the songs and performances help this film achieve a respectability and level of involvement others made at the time may not have.

The late, great, conductor Sir Thomas Beecham always demanded of a piece of music that it has melody. This work fully meets that demand in using the enchanting melodies of Alexander Borodin in its songs. This listener was both moved and entertained by them and their memorable lyrics. Examples such as "Baubles, Bangles and Beads" and "Stranger in Paradise" are amongst the songs which have become "classics".Add to this the the visual feast of the wonderful sets and costumes. Colour films of the fifties were just that, colourful! Many think that the colours are "over the top" but this viewer found them enchanting to the eye and sadly missing from some of today's films where they might be appropriate. Actors Howard Keel and Ann Blyth and ever skillful direction by Vincente Minelli make this another MGM Musical success. I recommend this movie without reservation. Enjoy!

In the 1950's, my late father was a businessman who traveled to New York and took in Broadway shows whenever he could. One night, he went to the box office at the Ziegfield Theatre and managed to land himself a great seat for a hit musical. What happened that night would become a legend in my family. Dad fell in love with "Kismet" and for the rest of his life he would torture us by telling the story of the production and playing the original cast album (and the recording of the subsequent Lincoln Center revival) over and over and over and over...As an adult now, I can appreciate this work. My father was deeply disappointed by this film version and now having seen it I can understand why. As the book of this musical is pure cotton candy fluff, the key to success with any production of this material is how the music is arranged and presented. The singers should be classically trained and the individual playing Hajj needs to be a strong actor with an ability to truly interpret the lyrics.After having seen Keel in "Kiss Me Kate", I had high hopes before my viewing of this film that he would be able to pull it off. Unfortunately, he only proved that Alfred Drake owns this role in the same way that Richard Kiley will always be "The Man of LaMancha" and Yul Brynner the "King". Keel's portrayal of the character is at best second rate.Part of his problem (and indeed the problem of other performers in the film) might be the less than adequate arrangements of the music as well as the mangling that was done of some the lyrics and the removal of whole songs. Noticablly missing is the classic "Was I Wasir?" the very clever if gruesome show stopper craftily performed in the original stage show by Henry Calvin.What really is worth seeing (or perhaps it would be better to say worth hearing) are the sequences with Ann Blyth and Vic Damone who had some of the best voices in film at that time. Damone actually gives Richard Kiley (who was the Caliph in the original Broadway cast) a run for his money in with the performance of "The Night of my Nights". Blyth has a beautiful voice and gives a creditable performance in the face of a hard act to follow in Doretta Marrow, the B-Way Marsinah.The hardest loss in this production is the beautiful cacophony of voices that was the hallmark of the Broadway show. Instead you get a canned studio chorus that was best left in the can.I am sorry that the one film version of this delightful Arabian Night tale is such a disappointment.