The Kissing Bandit (film)
The Kissing Bandit | |
---|---|
Directed by | László Benedek |
Written by | Isobel Lennart |
Produced by | Joe Pasternak |
Starring | |
Cinematography | Robert Surtees |
Edited by | Adrienne Fazan |
Music by | George Stoll |
Color process | Technicolor |
Production company | Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer |
Distributed by | Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer |
Release date |
|
Running time | 100 minutes |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Budget | $3,291,000 |
Box office | $1,381,000 |
The Kissing Bandit is a 1948 American comedy musical western film directed by László Benedek. It stars Frank Sinatra and Kathryn Grayson, with J. Carrol Naish in a supporting role, and Ricardo Montalbán, Ann Miller, and Cyd Charisse in cameo roles.
Plot
In the early nineteenth century, Ricardo, the son of a robber known as the Kissing Bandit, is a shy, Boston-bred young man who does not know how to sit on a horse. He falls for the daughter of the Spanish Governor of California.
Cast
- Frank Sinatra as Ricardo
- Kathryn Grayson as Teresa
- J. Carrol Naish as Chico
- Mildred Natwick as Isabella
- Mikhail Rasumny as Don Jose
- Billy Gilbert as General Felipe Torro
- Sono Osato as Bianca
- Clinton Sundberg as Colonel Gomez
- Carleton G. Young as Count Ricardo Belmonte
- Ricardo Montalbán as Fiesta Specialty Dancer
- Ann Miller as Fiesta Specialty Dancer
- Cyd Charisse as Fiesta Specialty Dancer
- Sally Forrest as Fiesta Specialty Dancer
- Edna Skinner as Juanita
- Vicente Gómez as Mexican Guitarist
- Mitchell Lewis as Fernando (uncredited)
Songs
- "Tomorrow Means Romance" (music by Nacio Herb Brown; lyrics by William Katz) – Sung by Kathryn Grayson
- "What's Wrong With Me?" (music by Nacio Herb Brown; lyrics by Earl K. Brent) – Sung by Kathryn Grayson, Frank Sinatra
- "If I Steal a Kiss" (music by Nacio Herb Brown; lyrics by Edward Heyman) – Sung by Frank Sinatra; reprised by Kathryn Grayson
- "I Like You" (music by Nacio Herb Brown; lyrics by Edward Heyman) – Sung and danced by Sono Osato
- "Siesta" (music by Nacio Herb Brown; lyrics by Edward Heyman) – Sung by Frank Sinatra
- "Dance of Fury" (music by Nacio Herb Brown) – Danced by Ricardo Montalban, Cyd Charisse and Ann Miller
- "Señorita" (music by Nacio Herb Brown; lyrics by Earl K. Brent) – Sung by Frank Sinatra and Kathryn Grayson
- "Love Is Where You Find It" (music by Nacio Herb Brown; lyrics by Earl K. Brent) – Sung by Kathryn Grayson
Reception
The film was a financial disaster, earning $969,000 in the US and Canada and $412,000 overseas, resulting in a loss to MGM of $2,643,000. This made it one of the least successful musicals in MGM history.
It was reviewed - unfavourably - in Picturegoer : "the progress of [the] romance is uninspired and very dull. The one worthwhile performance comes from J. Carrol Naish as The Kissing Bandit's henchman."
- 1948 films
- Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer films
- Films produced by Joe Pasternak
- Films directed by László Benedek
- American Western (genre) musical films
- 1940s Western (genre) musical films
- Films set in the 19th century
- American historical musical films
- 1940s historical musical films
- 1940s English-language films
- 1940s American films