The American musical High Society (1956) is a musical remake of The Philadelphia Story (1940) which was based on the 1939 play 'The Philadelphia Story' by Philip Barry. Bing Crosby plays C.K. Dexter-Haven, a popular jazz musician, who lives in a mansion near his ex-wife Tracy Lord's family estate. Tracy (Grace Kelly) is on the verge of marrying a man blander and safer than Dex. Of course, Dex tries to win Tracy's heart again. Mike Connor (Frank Sinatra), an undercover tabloid reporter, also falls for Tracy while covering the wedding for Spy magazine. Tracy must choose between the three men as she discovers that "safe" can mean "deadly dull" when it comes to husbands and life. High Society was Kelly's last film before she married Prince Rainier III and became Princess Consort of Monaco.
![Grace Kelly in High Society (1956)]()
West-German postcard by Kolibri-Verlag G.m.b.H., Minden (Westf.), no. F 38. Photo: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM). Grace Kelly in High Society (Charles Walters, 1956).
![Grace Kelly]()
French postcard by Editions du Globe, Paris, no. 496. Photo: Virgil Apger / Metro Goldwyn Mayer. Key-set portrait from High Society (Charles Walters, 1956). Helen Rose designed the costumes. She also designed Grace Kelly's wedding gown for her marriage to Prince Ranier.
![Grace Kelly]()
French postcard by Editions du Globe, Paris, no. 498. Photo: Virgil Apger / Metro Goldwyn Mayer. Key-set portrait from High Society (Charles Walters, 1956).
![Frank Sinatra and Bing Crosby in High Society (1956)]()
Dutch postcard by Editions Altona, Amsterdam / Gebr. Spanjersberg, Rotterdam, no. 5135. Photo: Capitol Records. Frank Sinatra and Bing Crosby in High Society (Charles Walters, 1956).
![Louis Armstrong in High Society (1956)]()
German postcard by Rüdel-Verlag, Hamburg-Bergedorf, no. 1988. Photo: MGM. Louis Armstrong in High Society (Charles Walters, 1956). The German title of the film is Die oberen Zehntausend.
High Society (Charles Walters, 1956) is a glossy Technicolor-and-VistaVision musical remake of George Cukor's classic The Philadelphia Story (1940), starring Katharine Hepburn, Cary Grant, and James Stewart. Both were based on Philip Barry's enormously successful stage 1939 comedy of manners.
Set amongst the rich and famous in Newport, RI, the story revolves around the wedding plans of spoiled heiress Tracy Lord (Grace Kelly). Tracy is all set to marry stuffy social climber George Kittridge (John Lund), while undercover Spy magazine reporter Mike Connor (Frank Sinatra) and photographer Liz Imbrie (Celeste Holm) intend to cover the ceremony.
Meanwhile, Tracy's ex-husband C.K. Dexter-Haven (Bing Crosby), a successful jazz musician who lives next door, also comes calling. Ostensibly, he is there to attend the annual Newport Jazz Festival, but actually, he wants to win Tracy back.
In the course of events, Mike falls in love with Tracy, and she with him. Tracy has to choose between the three men. The Jazz Festival subplot allows scriptwriter John Patrick to bring Louis Armstrong and his band into the proceedings.
Minus points are the casting of Crosby who appears old enough to be Kelly's grandfather (Grace Kelly was 26, Bing Crosby was 53) and obviously misses the looks and the class of Cary Grant, and the fact that the more satiric aspects of Philip Barry's witty dialogue seem to have been sanded away. But we love these Cole Porter tunes like the Crosby-Sinatra duet 'Well, Did You Evah?,' the Crosby-Armstrong teaming 'Now You Has Jazz,' the Kelly-Crosby romantic ballad 'True Love,' and the Sinatra solo 'You're Sensational.'
![Bing Crosby and Louis Armstrong in High Society (1956)]()
Dutch postcard by Uitg. Takken, Utrecht, no. 3014. Photo: MGM. Bing Crosby and Louis Armstrong in High Society (Charles Walters, 1956).
![Bing Crosby and Grace Kelly in High Society (1956)]()
Dutch postcard by Uitg. Takken, Utrecht, no. 3015. Photo: MGM. Bing Crosby and Grace Kelly in High Society (Charles Walters, 1956).
![Grace Kelly and Frank Sinatra in High Society (1956),]()
Dutch postcard by Uitg. Takken, Utrecht, no. 3016. Photo: MGM. Grace Kelly and Frank Sinatra in High Society (Charles Walters, 1956).
![Grace Kelly and Frank Sinatra in High Society (1956)]()
Dutch postcard by Uitg. Takken, Utrecht, no. 3017. Photo: MGM. Grace Kelly and Frank Sinatra in High Society (Charles Walters, 1956).
Among the strong points of High Society (Charles Walters, 1956) are the songs. Producer Sol C. Siegel paid Cole Porter $250,000 for his first original film score in eight years. Louis Armstrong and his band get a couple of standout moments and Frank Sinatra and Bing Crosby collaborated for the first time. Behind the scenes, two master orchestrators – Conrad Salinger and Nelson Riddle– melded their arrangements under the baton of Johnny Green.
For Grace Kelly, High Society was her only musical. Though Tracy is the central character, Kelly does not sing a solo. She only accompanies Bing Crosby on 'True Love' and drunkenly shouts, 'Sensational'. Despite initial plans to dub her, Kelly sang her own part in 'True Love', which became a gold record.
Cole Porter wrote he song 'True Love' especially for the film. It became a million-seller and both Grace Kelly and Bing Crosby were awarded platinum records for the song. This is the only platinum record ever given to sitting royalty as Grace Kelly had become Princess Grace by the time it was awarded.
The song 'Well, Did You Evah?' came from a previous Cole Porter musical. It was originally performed by High Society's director) Charles Walters and Betty Grable in the 1939 Broadway musical 'DuBarry Was A Lady'. It was added at the last minute to High Society after the filmmakers realised that there wasn't a song for Bing Crosby and Frank Sinatra to sing together.
Although High Society is a remake of The Philadelphia Story, it is not set in Philadelphia. The setting was changed to Newport, Rhode Island, so the filmmakers could take advantage of the famous jazz festival held there.
![Frank Sinatra and Bing Crosby in High Society (1956)]()
Dutch postcard by Uitg. Takken, Utrecht, no. 3020. Photo: MGM. Frank Sinatra and Bing Crosby in High Society (Charles Walters, 1956).
![Bing Crosby and Grace Kelly in High Society (1956)]()
Dutch postcard by Uitg. Takken, Utrecht, no. 3021. Photo: Metro Goldwyn Mayer. Bing Crosby and Grace KellyHigh Society (Charles Walters, 1956).
![Louis Armstrong and his band with Bing Crosby in High Society (1956)]()
Dutch postcard by Uitg. Takken, Utrecht, no. 3022. Photo: MGM. Louis Armstrong and his band with Bing Crosby in High Society (Charles Walters, 1956).
![Bing Crosby and Louis Armstrong in High Society (1956)]()
Dutch postcard by Uitg. Takken, Utrecht, no. 3024. Photo: MGM. Bing Crosby and Louis Armstrong in High Society (Charles Walters, 1956).
Sources: Hal Erickson (AllMovie), Michael Costello (AllMovie), Wikipedia and IMDb.
West-German postcard by Kolibri-Verlag G.m.b.H., Minden (Westf.), no. F 38. Photo: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM). Grace Kelly in High Society (Charles Walters, 1956).
French postcard by Editions du Globe, Paris, no. 496. Photo: Virgil Apger / Metro Goldwyn Mayer. Key-set portrait from High Society (Charles Walters, 1956). Helen Rose designed the costumes. She also designed Grace Kelly's wedding gown for her marriage to Prince Ranier.
French postcard by Editions du Globe, Paris, no. 498. Photo: Virgil Apger / Metro Goldwyn Mayer. Key-set portrait from High Society (Charles Walters, 1956).
Dutch postcard by Editions Altona, Amsterdam / Gebr. Spanjersberg, Rotterdam, no. 5135. Photo: Capitol Records. Frank Sinatra and Bing Crosby in High Society (Charles Walters, 1956).
German postcard by Rüdel-Verlag, Hamburg-Bergedorf, no. 1988. Photo: MGM. Louis Armstrong in High Society (Charles Walters, 1956). The German title of the film is Die oberen Zehntausend.
A glossy Technicolor-and-VistaVision musical remake
High Society (Charles Walters, 1956) is a glossy Technicolor-and-VistaVision musical remake of George Cukor's classic The Philadelphia Story (1940), starring Katharine Hepburn, Cary Grant, and James Stewart. Both were based on Philip Barry's enormously successful stage 1939 comedy of manners.
Set amongst the rich and famous in Newport, RI, the story revolves around the wedding plans of spoiled heiress Tracy Lord (Grace Kelly). Tracy is all set to marry stuffy social climber George Kittridge (John Lund), while undercover Spy magazine reporter Mike Connor (Frank Sinatra) and photographer Liz Imbrie (Celeste Holm) intend to cover the ceremony.
Meanwhile, Tracy's ex-husband C.K. Dexter-Haven (Bing Crosby), a successful jazz musician who lives next door, also comes calling. Ostensibly, he is there to attend the annual Newport Jazz Festival, but actually, he wants to win Tracy back.
In the course of events, Mike falls in love with Tracy, and she with him. Tracy has to choose between the three men. The Jazz Festival subplot allows scriptwriter John Patrick to bring Louis Armstrong and his band into the proceedings.
Minus points are the casting of Crosby who appears old enough to be Kelly's grandfather (Grace Kelly was 26, Bing Crosby was 53) and obviously misses the looks and the class of Cary Grant, and the fact that the more satiric aspects of Philip Barry's witty dialogue seem to have been sanded away. But we love these Cole Porter tunes like the Crosby-Sinatra duet 'Well, Did You Evah?,' the Crosby-Armstrong teaming 'Now You Has Jazz,' the Kelly-Crosby romantic ballad 'True Love,' and the Sinatra solo 'You're Sensational.'
Dutch postcard by Uitg. Takken, Utrecht, no. 3014. Photo: MGM. Bing Crosby and Louis Armstrong in High Society (Charles Walters, 1956).
Dutch postcard by Uitg. Takken, Utrecht, no. 3015. Photo: MGM. Bing Crosby and Grace Kelly in High Society (Charles Walters, 1956).
Dutch postcard by Uitg. Takken, Utrecht, no. 3016. Photo: MGM. Grace Kelly and Frank Sinatra in High Society (Charles Walters, 1956).
Dutch postcard by Uitg. Takken, Utrecht, no. 3017. Photo: MGM. Grace Kelly and Frank Sinatra in High Society (Charles Walters, 1956).
Sensational
Among the strong points of High Society (Charles Walters, 1956) are the songs. Producer Sol C. Siegel paid Cole Porter $250,000 for his first original film score in eight years. Louis Armstrong and his band get a couple of standout moments and Frank Sinatra and Bing Crosby collaborated for the first time. Behind the scenes, two master orchestrators – Conrad Salinger and Nelson Riddle– melded their arrangements under the baton of Johnny Green.
For Grace Kelly, High Society was her only musical. Though Tracy is the central character, Kelly does not sing a solo. She only accompanies Bing Crosby on 'True Love' and drunkenly shouts, 'Sensational'. Despite initial plans to dub her, Kelly sang her own part in 'True Love', which became a gold record.
Cole Porter wrote he song 'True Love' especially for the film. It became a million-seller and both Grace Kelly and Bing Crosby were awarded platinum records for the song. This is the only platinum record ever given to sitting royalty as Grace Kelly had become Princess Grace by the time it was awarded.
The song 'Well, Did You Evah?' came from a previous Cole Porter musical. It was originally performed by High Society's director) Charles Walters and Betty Grable in the 1939 Broadway musical 'DuBarry Was A Lady'. It was added at the last minute to High Society after the filmmakers realised that there wasn't a song for Bing Crosby and Frank Sinatra to sing together.
Although High Society is a remake of The Philadelphia Story, it is not set in Philadelphia. The setting was changed to Newport, Rhode Island, so the filmmakers could take advantage of the famous jazz festival held there.
Dutch postcard by Uitg. Takken, Utrecht, no. 3020. Photo: MGM. Frank Sinatra and Bing Crosby in High Society (Charles Walters, 1956).
Dutch postcard by Uitg. Takken, Utrecht, no. 3021. Photo: Metro Goldwyn Mayer. Bing Crosby and Grace KellyHigh Society (Charles Walters, 1956).
Dutch postcard by Uitg. Takken, Utrecht, no. 3022. Photo: MGM. Louis Armstrong and his band with Bing Crosby in High Society (Charles Walters, 1956).
Dutch postcard by Uitg. Takken, Utrecht, no. 3024. Photo: MGM. Bing Crosby and Louis Armstrong in High Society (Charles Walters, 1956).
Sources: Hal Erickson (AllMovie), Michael Costello (AllMovie), Wikipedia and IMDb.