The Kissing Bandit (1948) - Frank Sinatra and Kathryn Grayson

The world's goofiest bandit makes time with a young lady in The Kissing Bandit (1948).

Ricardo (Frank Sinatra) returns home from training in hotel management to discover that his late father was not an inn keeper but a famous bandit who kisses every woman he meets. His father's second in command, Chico (J. Carrol Naish), convinces the son to join the family business despite Ricardo's lack of training in criminal activities.

On his first crime spree, Ricardo robs the coach of Teresa (Kathryn Grayson)  - a desperate ingenue who has just graduated from a girls' school and can't get kissed fast enough. She puckers prettily, waiting for the inevitable, but Ricardo is something of a gentleman and abstains. The rest of the film sees the two of them awkwardly taking strides towards one another.

Watch for the always-hilarious Mildred Natwick as Teresa's Aunt Isabella who eagerly steps outside the coach, willing to take the kiss to spare her niece. Ah, the sacrifices!

The Nacio Herb Brown songs are light and beautiful (Yours truly is particularly fond of the appropriately lethargic "Siesta.") and are winningly performed by two of MGM's top singing stars.

There is a funny song ("I Like You") where a woman (Sono Osato) tries to seduce Ricardo.
However, she only succeeds in frightening the man with her ability to crack whips and snuff out candles with her bare hands.

Despite the fun songs, this film is famous as a flop. Legend has it that the producers apparently knew this film was lacking, so they rushed a last-minute performance into the works. There is a well-known, 5-minute cameo by superstars Ricardo Montalban, Cyd Charisse and Ann Miller who perform "The Dance of Fury" out of nowhere.

It didn't save the film from losing money, but it's an exciting little dance where two women dressed nearly identically (Sisters?) fight over one man. There is a progression from pure elation, to frustration, to manipulation, to a final calm. Brilliant story-telling in dance. You'll probably remember excerpts of it from That's Entertainment III (1994).

This film has a jovial, lightweight plot, yet almost all of the posters for The Kissing Bandit have a sober tone to them.  Under Sinatra's and Grayson's earnest faces are taglines like, "The Boldest Story Ever Told in Music and Technicolor."  You would think this is the torrid love affair of Untamed (1955). Maybe that's why the film didn't make the money they expected - false advertisement.

 Although the plot in The Kissing Bandit is just there to keep you occupied between songs and dances, it's still an entertaining musical comedy. Recommended.

Untamed (1955) - Susan Hayward, Tyrone Power Adventure

Scarlett O'Hara takes South Africa. This is perhaps the best way to describe the film adaptation of Helga Moray's novel, Untamed.

Susan Hayward stars as Katie O'Neil, a spoiled young woman who must have everything her heart desires, regardless of the consequences to self or others. After the potato famine in Ireland, Katie leaves her destitute estate and marries one man (John Justin) to move to South Africa where she pursues another man (Tyrone Power) that she met once back home. As with Scarlett, a green dress plays a strong role in seducing men.

The first man dies and Katie - as with Margaret Mitchell's heroine in Gone With the Wind - practically dances on his grave. She's free now to continue her quest for the impossible - to get rugged Paul (Power) to forget about establishing the Dutch Free State and concentrate on her. (Katie even tells Paul "I'll never let you go,"  which, coming from her, sounds less like poignant longing and more like a threat.)

In the meantime, she manipulates a third man (Richard Egan) who's not quite as clueless as everyone else, but is instantly in love with her in spite of his sense of self-preservation. He and Power are each a combination of Ashley Wilkes and Rhett Butler.


Power is barely in the film; he's the MacGuffin, the plot device which keeps Katie's adventure going. And going it does. Katie loses more than one fortune, becomes a shady gold and diamond trader, has several shoot-'em-outs and two babies.

The movie celebrates the character for her resilience and strong-will, but Katie is really an anti-hero. She runs roughshod over everyone and ultimately learns nothing.

Although the protagonist is a mild disappointment, Hayward's performance of her is not. The actress plays Katie with relish, chewing up the screen. She was born to play this kind of fiery woman. Brava!

This film is also impressive for its breathtaking landscapes. Though the copy of the film that I watched was kind of murky, the location shots are still majestic. There is a battle scene where hundreds of Zulu warriors line up in a circle on a hillside and chant. It must have looked great in CinemaScope.

Watch for a brief performance by Rita Moreno as Julia - the "other woman" who waits in the wings for one of Katie's leftover men.

I usually enjoy studying the posters of the film, just to see how close the ad comes to the finished film in terms of tone.

The English language posters mostly show a Zulu warrior standing over Katie and Paul who are embracing on the ground. They do embrace on the ground a lot, but the battle scene is just one episode in Katie's life.

There doesn't seem to be a poster that truly captures the film. This Spanish poster or lobby card comes close. The warrior is to one side and there are several scenes. This better captures how the film feels - busy, action-packed, one episode after another.

Beyond the film itself,  one of Power's costumes in the final 20 minutes of the film intrigued me. I'd seen it before. Then it hit me. It's the same one which can be seen on the cover of his daughter's book - Searching for My Father by Romina Power. 

Source

 His family visited the set while on location.

Tyrone and Romina Power . Source.

Although Untamed seems to be inspired by Gone With the Wind, there is plenty to be said of its casting and impressive location shots. Unlike the other film -which is pretty long at nearly 4 hours- Untamed packs in plenty of action into a re-watchable hour and a half.