Sunday 2 December 2012

The Kissing Bandit (1948) - Star of the month... Frank Sinatra


'The Kissing Bandit' is a 1948 musical starring Laslo Benedek and starring Frank Sinatra, Kathryn Grayson, Ann Miller, J. Carrol Naish, Mildred Natwick, Ricardo Montalban & Cyd Charisse.

Produced by Joe Pasternak, the screenplay was written by Isabel Lennart & ??

Ricardo (played by Sinstra) visits California to discover he is the son of the notorious kissing bandit. Ricardo plans to live a quiet, however his friends have other ideas and encourage him to follow in his father's footsteps.  

Musical progran


  • "Tonight Means Romance" - Kathryn Grayson
  • "What's Wrong With Me?" - Kathryn Grayson & Frank Sinatra
  • "I Like You" - Sono Asato
  • "If I Steal A Kiss" - Kathryn Grayson
  • "Siesta" - Frank Sinatra
  • "Dance of Fury (Fiesta Dance Specialty)" - Ann Miller, Ricardo Montalban & Cyd Charisse)
  • "SeƱorita" - Frank Sinatra & Kathryn Grayson
  • "Love Is Where You Find It" - Kathryn Grayson
  • "If I Steal A Kiss (Reprise)" - Frank Sinatra

Song: "Dance of Fury" - Ann Miller, Cyd Charisse 

Song: "Love is Where You Find It" - Kathryn Grayson

Did you know...


  • Frank Sinatra did not want to make this film, as he felt he was not right for the part - however the studio forced him to appear and Sinatra claimed he never saw the finished film
  • Kathryn Grayson said this was her least favourite of all her films


Closing remarks

A very underrated MGM musical, which I really enjoyed. I found all  of the songs to be quite good, with the highlights being the "Dance of Fury" dance specialty featuring Miller, Montalban & Charisse. I am a very big fan of Ann Miller (she is in my top 3 stars), so I found it very exciting to see her dance off up against Cyd Charisse (my other fave dancer). Another musical highlight was Sono Asato's whip cracking dance routine "I Like You".

Similar premise to 'The Pirate' (1948), released the same year with Gene Kelly. I actually prefer this film over 'The Pirate', however 'The Pirate' is much more well known and appreciated today.

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