The Kissing Bandit- 1948

I’m a sucker for Sinatra and while this movie is definitely not considered one of his best, it is still kind of fun and amusing to watch once in a while. I rewatched it to prepare for a blogathon and much of it was enjoyable, but some of it is certainly cringe-worthy.

Synopsis:

Ricardo {Frank Sinatra} returns to his father’s old town in California to follow in his footsteps. He thinks that he is coming to be an innkeeper, but his father’s old friend tells him that the main occupation was that of a bandit, specifically The “Kissing” bandit. Ricardo is reluctant to follow in his father’s footsteps of robbing stage coaches and kissing strange women, but the band of bandits encourage him, so he does his best.

When he encounters the governor’s daughter {Kathryn Grayson} to rob her coach, he is so shy that he can’t follow through on the kissing part. It is love at first sight for both, but he needs to figure out a way to see her again. Meanwhile, the governor is expecting a visit from the king’s subordinates to collect taxes that he doesn’t have.

The Players:

Frank Sinatra

Frank did not want to do this movie, but was pressured into it by the studio who was trying to groom him as a leading man. He didn’t feel he was the right fit and could never bring himself to watch it later on because he was too embarrassed by it.

Personally, Frank is always cute. His character here actually reminds me a bit of the ones he played opposite Gene Kelly in On the Town and Take Me Out to the Ballgame, which were released the year after this one. He’s kind of shy and timid in this role and I think it works well for the character he is playing.

Plus, his voice. There’s never anything to fault there. His voice is always suburb even it the movie itself is a bit silly. And honestly, this song is a bit silly too, but I don’t mind because it’s him.

Kathryn Grayson

Oh, Kathryn, Kathryn…I have a love/hate relationship with her. I enjoy her acting, but her singing is just not my style. There’s no doubt that she’s extremely talented, but the operatic style is just too much for me. I do, however, love her singing in Kiss Me Kate. I think that is much easier on the ears.

Her character in this movie is…interesting and she has said that this is her least favorite of her movies. Her character is super offended that the Kissing Bandit does not kiss her, which I get, and she wonders what is wrong with her, which is really predictable. I cringed at the part where she sings about how happy she was that he was going to abduct her in a “hey, I must not be so bad after all! I’m desirable! I’m pretty!” kind of way. That she used that to validate herself certainly ages the movie and makes the feminist in me want to slap her. It does show how naive her character is though.

Ann Miller, Ricardo Montalban and Cyd Charisse

Now these three! Definitely a highlight! Throwing Ricardo Montalban, Ann Miller and Cyd Charisse in this movie just for fun was a great idea! I love their dance. It is so fun to watch.

While The Kissing Bandit did not win any awards and is not a favorite of, well, anyone, it is one of those movies that is interesting to watch and study for the placement in the actors’ careers. Frank and Kathryn both went on to have some stellar movies. This is one of those movies that is so bad, it’s kind of amusing. The stereotypes are cringe-worthy, but Frank’s velvety voice and the silly plot points make it an enjoyable film anyway.

This post was written specifically for Taking Up Room’s So Bad It’s Good Blogathon.