Kismet

Trailer—Kismet

I saw this movie version and have always loved it. I also saw the stage version, but who could be better than Howard Keel. I felt like a "Stranger In Paradise." I have always been a movie musical buff and a big fan of Mr. Keel. When I first saw the movie as a child, I felt transported back to that time period (even if it was a Hollywood movie). The beautiful music and romance contained within makes you feel wonderful. And you can imagine all the romance, adventure and "Baubles, Bangles and Beads" you could ever wish for and all in the time and space of this lovely movie with beautiful music. Thank you Howard Keel, Ann Blyth, Vic Damone and company for one of my favorite movie memories.

Some okay songs and the somewhat sexy presence of Dolores Gray add some interest to but cannot save this uninspired bore of a film. For the most part, there's a wall between it and the audience, especially where Howard Keel is concerned. His wild, over-the-top portrayal of the poet enticed nothing but yawns from me, so I could hardly be expected to be happy for him in the end. Actually, he came across as rather selfish... but that would be giving away the ending, wouldn't it? Perhaps the Broadway musical and the 30's film version of this story with Marlene Dietrich are better, as I've heard. I only know that this film just wasn't very good.

Kismet is not the best of the MGM musicals, the songs sound plain bad to modern ears and hence a reason why the musicals died a celluloid death. Even the story and direction is heavy handed with little fun injected. Howard Keel plays the opportunistic poet and beggar Hajj in old Baghdad. His daughter Marsinah falls for the young Caliph who is wandering in the market in disguise as a commoner. Hajj gets mistaken as man who has the power to inflict curses and rewind them which brings him to the attention of the powerful Wazir who wants the Caliph to marry someone else. The directing and scenery in Kismet is pedestrian, you would not even think that this was directed by Vincente Minnelli. The film also has an unfortunate mix of the middle east and far east, one of the dance sequences at the end was more Thai influenced.

Kismet isn't a complete waste of time but director Minelli was itching to do Lust for Life and had little enthusiasm for this assignment, which engaged his abilities, but not his sympathies. Unfortunately, it shows. Like Brigadoon and a few other musicals, this was one case where the Freed factory failed despite some gorgeous singing by the principals (Vic Damone is no actor but he ravishes "Stranger in Paradise"). Some numbers are shorn from the score, which doesn't hurt much but some are added, which does. There's a stale, formulaic quality to this movie and Kismet is a hothouse flower that doesn't thrive under M-G-M's "crunch-it-out" treatment. More imagination and taste were needed. There are several good recordings of the score and I'd suggest that, if you like the music (what's not to like?), you experience Kismet aurally.

On paper this is a great cast but on screen it doesn't work because no two cast members seem to be working in the same film. The best voice by a country mile is that of Dolores Gray but it is diametrically opposed to that of Ann Blyth and we can only be glad they had no numbers together, Similarly Howard Keel and Vic Damone are equally poles apart. The last place one expects to find Ted de Corsia is in Baghdad and so on. We're talking serious mish-mosh here and three 'standards' - Baubles, Bangles and Beads, And This Is My Beloved, Stranger In Paradise - are not really enough to save it and, if it comes to that, they're not necessarily the best songs in the film. Vincente Minnelli directs as if he were determined to make something more insipid than Brigadoon and totally erase the charm of Meet Me In St Louis from the memory-banks of cinema-goers everywhere. Well worth missing.

I first saw this movie when I was 10 years old with my parents. I fell in love with Ann Blyth and wanted to grow up and marry her someday. Seeing her in the Student Prince also helped. This was a great musical of the time. Younger people, when seeing this movie today (1999) must take into consideration that we had different morality then. Men,as well as women,liked movies for the romance . We were not looking for cheap sex scenes or showing a lot of skin. Ahhh.., the butterflies in the stomach and heart palpitations of being in love. Jane Powell was another heart throb of the time. See her movies also. I only wished I could have gown up and looked like and sang like Howard Keel.

If you want a classic movie that is exotic, romantic and even hypnotic, Kismet fits the bill. Set in ancient Baghdad, Kismet gives us a much different perspective than we have today (even if it is a movie set). First and foremost, it gives us that classic duet, 'Stranger in Paradise.' Second, it stars Howard Keel. Third, the romanticized Arabesque cinematography is superb. A 50's-style romantic 'Arabian Nights' setting sets the stage for a comedic/dramatic romance/love story in the tradition of ancient fable akin to Alladin and the Magic Lamp. Even the fact that almost everyone in the movie is a white person painted dark gives it a bygone sentimental appeal. I wish this movie were more available, particularly on DVD. It represents Howard Keel at his best in a role that is a departure from his usual venue.

Apparently some of the disgust a handful of readers have been feeling about this movie is due to the fact that they have the old VHS version. The new DVD version restores the original theatrical ratio, and the result is simply stunning: the movie is much clearer that it was in the full screen form, and restores the more lavish numbers to their full glory - there are more extras in there than anyone who has seen the original VHS version realizes; it's not a very small cast at all! True, the original finale is replaced by Howard Keel's version of "The Sands Of Time," the song that opened and closed the original Broadway musical, but that hardly matters. I have seen scenes from the VHS version on GOOGLE Video, and they are faded and grainy, while the DVD version is bright and colorful - you MUST watch it.