High Society - 1956

A very good old musical movie. It’s really good, with an incredible cast and beautiful songs and a nice story.

Tracy (Grace Kelly) is about to marry George, tomorrow! Her ex-husband Dexter (Bing Crosby) comes back, he’s her neighbour and a jazz singer songwriter.

I don’t remember why, but Louis Armstrong and his band are staying at Dexter’s house, playing themselves. He sings the ‘high society’ song at the beginning of the movie, and of course being friends with Dexter hopes he’ll get back with Tracy, since it’s no mystery to anyone that he still loves her. At one point he says of a song that it’s  “good for the feet, not for the heart” , then Dexter sings to Caroline, Tracy’s sister, and Louis says “right song, but the wrong girl” :-p

Tracy’s father Seth Lord has left home for an affair with a younger girl, and a gossip magazine, called Spy Magazine, threatens to publish that story with pictures if they don’t allow for the wedding to be covered by one of their reporters and a photographer, so they have to accept.

The reporter is Mike Connor (Frank Sinatra) and the photographer is Elizabeth ‘Liz’ Imbrie (Celeste Holm), although we never see them doing any work, so they might as well be playing painter or stock brokers, it wouldn’t make any difference. 

Tracy and Caroline act out for them in a funny scene: first Caroline, and then Tracy comes in and when Mike asks about “that sister of yours” she says “isn’t she a dear? and so talented, but we’re afraid she has a homicidal streak” and “Elizabeth Imbrie! It sounds like a medieval saint who was burned to death” and “Michael, what a lovely musical name, you mustn’t be ashamed of it” :lol: Mike:”I’m not, Mike is for Macaulay” - “and what’s the Macaulay for?” - “my father taught English history in high school. My friends call me Mike” - “of whom you have many I’m sure” while doing patpat on his knee :-p and “oh English history always fascinates me: Cromwell and Robin Hood, and Jack the ripper. Where did he teach? Oh, your father I mean”:-p

She moves and acts in a ridiculous way but that was the point, it’s on purpose, and yet she’s very very lovely :-D

They insist on meeting Mr Lord, who the family think still away with his chorus girl, so when her uncle Willie comes Tracy calls him papa, but then her father comes too so she has to call him uncle Willie :-p

Mike and Liz sing Who wants to be a milionarie while looking at her wedding presents, then we see when Tracy and Dexter were together on their boat called True Love, and they sing ‘true love’ together, which is beautiful. I only knew it sung by Elton John :-p It’s really beautiful here: “for you and I have a guardian angel up high with nothing to do but to give to you and to give to me love forever true..”

Tracy and Mike spend a little time together and he starts falling for her too.

I love that in movies people can drive cabriolet cars and yet nothing moves, not a little wind, they keep their hat on :-p

Mike:”where are we going?” - Tracy:”the graveyard” - “I’m not ready” :-p

Mike sings to her ‘you’re sensational’, and then Louis says “what goes on here? There’s a dark horse in this race and my boy’s running a slow third” so he plays some music and Dexter sings something romantic “now we’re getting warm” :-p

Comes the night, there’s the pre-wedding ball: Liz and Mike talk: Liz”one of the prettiest sights in this pretty world is the sight of the privileged class enjoying its privileges”  of course Mike says that they’re not so bad when you get to know them… Seth clears things up regarding who’s the father and who’s the uncle, while Tracy dances with George, and she’s already drunk.

At some point “the greatest of them all, Mr Louis Armstrong” goes on stage with his band. Dexter sings the introduction of the band (calling them one by one), of him and of jazz. At the end of the song they sing together, and it’s funny how two such different voices sound well together.

Tracy is very drunk, she kisses Dex and when George takes her away she sings ‘I’m sensational’. He locks her in a room where she can lie down.

Mike and Dexter find themselves in a room together looking for drinks, and Mike tells him that he should have never let her go, something like that, and then they sing together, and it’s really good :-D when it seems it’s the end, after a second they come back into the room and sing a bit more :-)

George stands guard outside her door, but she goes out the window - not at all difficult, at floor level. She goes away with Mike, at her home, where they drink some more, dance, and kiss “we’re out of our minds” - “and into our hearts” … yeah yeah, nice words, but you two are drunk! Then she falls in the pool.

When Dex reaches her house, he understands Tracy’s there and tries to prevent George from finding out, from seeing her. There’s nothing he can do though, when they see Mike carrying Tracy in his arms and into the house. George is rather upset while she isn’t because she’s so drunk!

When morning comes, many of them have to deal with hangovers.

Tracy doesn’t remember a thing of what happened the night before, and is troubled because she found Mike’s wristwatch in her bed. When Dex mentions the pool she starts to put things together, but not everything. She still doesn’t know what happened between her and Mike, and she cries, tells Dex that she’s always been hard on people who weren’t perfect but now she feels a mess. George comes but is not sure if there will be a marriage or not, he demands an explanation before, and Mike gives it to him: two kisses, one late swim, and then he brought her to bed and left her there to sleep. She’s surprised herself, tells him “was I so unattractive?” but he says that she was drunk and there are rules about that (of course, he didn’t take advantage of her). She thanks him but when George says that since nothing really happen they can get married alright, she’s not happy about it, complains that he wants to marry her now that she’s worthy of him, but she’d had wanted him to marry her when he thought she wasn’t perfect, unworthy. In a way I agree, his manner is rather unpleasant. 

George goes away and then the wedding music starts - and I love how when they all rush in, Liz takes Mike’s hand so naturally :-)

To save things, Dex tells her that he’ll marry her instead, and she smiles realizing she likes that idea :-) and agrees. Louis plays at the wedding, Liz and Mike kiss and we know they’ll get together, and Caroline smiles happily. 

All Tracy’s dresses are simply wonderful, and Celeste Holm is very funny, brilliant :-) I don’t understand why they call him Dexter if his name is CK Dexter-Haven… isn’t Dexter the surname?

When Louis says “end of story” it’s the end :-)

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