That Midnight Kiss (1949)

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That Midnight Kiss (1949)
Topic Started: Oct 7 2009, 09:03 AM (28 Views)
Laughing Gravy	Oct 7 2009, 09:03 AM Post #1
Revered in the UK Posts: 11,069 Group: Admin Member #1 Joined: August 31, 2005	Rich old biddy Ethel Barrymore opens a new Opera House in Philadelphia so that her granddaughter Kathryn Grayson has a place to sing, and hires José Iturbi to be the musical director and some fat slob of a tenor as the leading man. Well, Ms. Grayson's piano mover is Mario Lanza and what th' heck, he can sing a bit. Fun, fun movie, but then, I was watching it at nearly-packed Crest Theatre last night; That Midnight Kiss was back for an encore after playing here when the Crest opened in the fall of 1949. Grayson and Lanza are very cute and appealing and all that, but it is the supporting cast that kept me riveted. Iturbi is wonderful (as he is in Anchors Aweigh); I don't know how he keeps stealing scenes just by being in them, but he always does. Jules Munshin is the Jerry Lewis-like stage manager who had some very, very funny physical comedy bits, including leading the orchestra with his baton, hands, feet, and just about everything else. J. Carrol Naish, Keenan Wynn, Arthur Treacher... all wonderful. (The one exception is Marjorie Reynolds as Lanza's fiance Mary; she appears tired and way too old for him, oddly enough.) It's always fun to see classic movies with an audience; there's a scene early in the picture where Grayson is auditioning and in her nervousness, she stares up at the ceiling. Pretty soon, Iturbi and Barrymore are trying to figure out what th' hell it is she's looking at. In the theatre, with everybody laughing, it played as a grand scene; in my living room, with just me, I don't think it would've been funny. So, anyway, Happy Birthday to the Crest. I look forward to the 70th and beyond.



panzer the great & terrible	Oct 7 2009, 10:22 AM Post #2
Mouth Breather Posts: 10,340 Group: Members Member #13 Joined: September 3, 2005	Hurray for the Crest! Another brilliant coup. Whooda thunk That Midnight Kiss, which comes across on TV as sonething of a dog, plays well before a live audience? Maybe that explains Danny Kaye.
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