High Society

In Newport a wealthy woman is two days from her second wedding. Her first husband is staying in the house next door and running a jazz festival. A magazine sends a reporter to cover the wedding, and who will end up with whom becomes uncertain among four people. The subject is not the triangle but a woman obliged to appear flawless letting that go. Everyone tells her the same thing: she is too perfect and therefore intolerant of people. The film itself endorses that accusation rather too readily, which is its most contested aspect now. The form is a musical. The songs are Cole Porter's, and one of them became a success in its own right after the film; True Love went on to sell a million copies and was nominated for the best song Oscar. The number Bing Crosby and Frank Sinatra sing together is watched as two different schools meeting in one scene. It is a musical remake of The Philadelphia Story from 1940. It was Grace Kelly's last film; after shooting she left for Monaco and gave up acting. Louis Armstrong appears as himself and functions as a narrator. Charles Walters directs. Who it is for: viewers who like classical Hollywood musicals and Cole Porter. Who it is not for: anyone who will compare it with The Philadelphia Story; this version is noticeably softer.