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Original title:Kismet
Category:Movie / Adventure / Musical / Fantasy / Comedy / Romance
Released:1955
Director:Vincente Minnelli,Stanley Donen
Actors:Howard Keel,Ann Blyth,Dolores Gray
Writer:Charles Lederer,Luther Davis
Budget:$2,692,960
Duration:1h 53min
Video type:Movie

Rating 6.3: Votes 543

1955 Howard Keel Ann Blyth Dolores Gray Vincente Minnelli Stanley Donen

Short summary

Like a tale spun by Scheherazade, Kismet follows the remarkable and repeated changes of fortune that engulf a poor poet. It all happens in one incredible day when Kismet (Fate) takes a hand.

The orange seller (the man who Hajj (Howard Keel) holds down and calls the "father of none and son of many") was played by Jamie Farr, best known for his role as Corporal Maxwell Q. Klinger on M*A*S*H (1972).

It was Vernon Duke who suggested Bob Wright and Chet Forrest use the music of Aleksandr Borodin as a basis for their score.

Another number excluded from the movie was the Vizier's theme song, "Was I Wazir". It was probably not used in the movie because of the bizarre punishments described in the song, including that of a royal flute player who lost his grasp on his instrument, and who the Vizier had bitten by an asp.

Alfred Drake won the 1954 Tony Award (New York City) for Actor in a Musical for "Kismet" as the Public Poet.

Vic Damone (Caliph) was the cousin of Doretta Morrow, who played Marsinah in the original Broadway production.

The original Broadway production of "Kismet" opened at the Ziegfeld Theater in New York City on December 3, 1953, ran for five hundred eighty-three performances, and won the 1954 Tony Award for Best Musical.

Jack Cole choreographed (uncredited) Marlene Dietrich's seductive dances in MGM's Kismet (1944), starring Ronald Colman. Jack Cole choreographed Edwin Lester and Homer Curran's Los Angeles and San Francisco Civic Light Opera 1953 summer production of "Kismet" prior to the show's New York City opening in December, 1953. Arthur Freed hired Jack Cole for the 1955 film musical to duplicate and re-stage the dances he had choreographed for the Broadway production.

Howard Keel began his career on Broadway as a standby and/or understudy for the lead roles in understudy for "Oklahoma!" and "Carousel." He also essayed the role of Curly in the original London production of "Oklahoma!"

Howard Keel opened the 1947 London West End production of the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical "Oklahoma!" following appearances in the New York companies of "Oklahoma!" and "Carousel." By 1949, MGM needed a male musical lead to counter Warner Brothers' singing star Gordon MacRae and Howard Keel made his MGM debut as Frank Butler in Irving Berlin's Annie Get Your Gun (1950) with Betty Hutton. In 1953, MGM loaned Keel to Warner Brothers to play Wild Bill Hickock with Doris Day in Calamity Jane (1953) which was Warners' answer to Annie Get Your Gun (1950). Kismet (1955) marked Keel's last film musical role, after which he returned to stage musicals such as "Saratoga" and "Ambassdor."

The Poet (Howard Keel) and Lalume (Dolores Gray) sing about "Rahadlakum", which is most likely a bastardization of "rahat loukoum". The line in the song, "'tis sweet with the meat of the lychee nut / combined with a kumquat rind", is a description of Turkish Delight, a confectionery sweet that at times include nuts, and can be flavored with the zest of lemon rind.

Future mega-successful television producer Aaron Spelling (Charlie's Angels (1976), The Love Boat (1977), Dynasty (1981)) appears uncredited as a beggar. Spelling wrote in his memoirs that this role made him decide to give up acting. Director Vincente Minnelli always said he was responsible for Spelling's career as a successful television producer and told him: "Had I not put you in 'Kismet', you'd still be an actor somewhere."

Movie rights cost one hundred twenty-five thousand dollars.

Although MGM owned two cinemas in London's West End, this movie never played in either of them and despite being certificated by the BBFC in December 1955, and was not shown in the UK until it went in general release in March 1957.

There was an age difference of only nine years between Howard Keel and Ann Blyth, who played his daughter.

Because the production ran a few days beyond schedule, co-Director Stanley Donen had to take over for the last three or four days of the production, plus one day of additional shooting, when Director Vincente Minnelli had to leave for Europe to begin work on his next film, Lust for Life (1956).

The dance number "Zubbediya, Samaris' Dance" appears in the final scene, immediately before the presentation of the three Princesses of Ababu.

The word kismet comes from the Arabic word kismat, meaning "division, portion, lot". Basically, it means your fate or your destiny. It was Hajj's destiny to succeed.

Reiko Sato and Patricia Dunn reprise their stage roles as two of the three Princesses of Ababu.

Opening credits: The events, characters and firms depicted in this photoplay are fictitious. Any similarity to actual persons, living or dead, or to actual firms, is purely coincidental.

User reviews

Author: Steelraven

KISMET was originally a play by Edward Knobloch written about 1910, and used as a vehicle for many years by the popular Broadway character actor Otis Skinner, playing the role of Hajj, the philosophical thief who saves the Caliph of Baghdad. Skinner even did a silent film version of the play. Two years after his death in 1942 a sound version of the film (in color) was made starring Ronald Colman, Marlene Dietrich, and Edward Arnold. The movie was a success, but nobody realized it would shortly become extremely successful in a new way. A song writing team (Bob Wright and Chet Forrest) constructed a score for KISMET based on the melodies of Alexander Borodin. The score contained such songs that became standards as STRANGER IN PARADISE (from the "Polevetsian Dances" in the opera PRINCE IGOR), BAUBLES, BANGLES, and BEADS, THIS IS MY BELOVED, THIS WAS THE NIGHT OF MY LIFE, and others. Wright and Forrest would do this several times on Broadway (they composed reset themes by Heitor Villa Lobos in another musical, for example) but KISMET was their joint masterpiece. So successful were they at rejuvenating the old Knobloch play, it was eventually revived again in the late 1990s in a new form as TIMBUCTOO (reset from the Califate of Baghdad to the great African trade city).

Eventually the musical came to the attention to the Freed unit at MGM, and Vincent Minelli was chosen to direct this 1955 version. The musical expanded on the play a little. Howard Keel (as Hajj - the name was restored to the original one, not Hafiz as Ronald Colman was named in the 1944 version) is involved at the beginning with Jay C. Flippen as a violent bandit leader who is seeking his son, and whom Hajj suggests will be found in Baghdad. We see Flippen from time to time looking for his missing son. In the end he does find the son (who lives up or down to Flippen's own reputation).

Keel had the right voice for Hajj, as did Dolores Gray as Lalume, the Vizier's bored wife (Dietrich in the 1944 film). Ann Blyth played Hajj's daughter Marsinah (who falls for the Caliph, Vic Damone). The evil vizier was played by Sebastian Cabot, and his rival government figure Omar (played by Harry Davenport in the 1944 film) is now played by Monty Wooley, in his final major movie part.

Actually the musical is livelier than it's critical history suggests. The old creaky play may turn off many critics, but it had some color, and the Borodin-inspired melodies raised it. But like BRIGADOON, Minelli could not shoot the film on location as it would have been incredibly expensive. Possibly the studio sets may have effected how the film was received by the critics. But it is entertaining, and (because of the music) very memorable. If some numbers were cut most of the big numbers were saved. Besides, I'd rather hear Keel sing A FOOL SAT BENEATH AN OLIVE TREE than hear Cabot (a questionable singing talent) try WAS I VIZIR. I don't think Sebastian Cabot even tried to sing once on FAMILY AFFAIR...his was a distinguished speaking voice, not a singing one.

Author: Halloween

It's hard for me to believe that I saw many of these old M.G.M. musicals when they first came out when I was a teenager. I first saw Kismet with my cousin and sister in Jackson, Mississippi, and we loved it! I don't like repeating myself, but just because a Broadway star is in a hit musical on Broadway doesn't necessarily mean that they are good movie material. They just don't have the following in the movies to support a movie such as movies like Kismet, Hello Dolly, Gypsy, and Kiss Me, Kate which is considered a better movie than it was a Broadway show.

Kismet is glorious entertainment. Howard Keel is perfect as Hajj the Beggar and even though Ann Blyth was too old to be his daughter, you forgive that problem in casting. She never sang better and Vic Damone was great as the Prince. Thankfully, the songs "He's in Love" and "Was I Wazir" was cut from the film, but sadly, even though it was recorded and filmed "Rhymes Have I" was deleted from the movie. This should not have been. Maybe, some day, someone will restore this number in future Videos of Kismet.

You could not have cast anyone better than Delores Gray as Lalume, and the addition of her song "Bored" [not in the original play on Broadway] shows you don't have to be naked and obscene on the screen to get sex across to the audience as she sings her song and nearly seduces Howard Keel right on the spot, and could that woman sing!

The wonderful thing about this movie is that a Broadway orchestra can't bring out the wonderful music as it is really meant to be heard like a movie orchestra can. For the first time you hear all the music in its richest melodies and Howard Keel, Ann Blyth, Vic Damone, and Delores Gray are thousands time better in their performances than the broadway cast could ever be. "And This is My Beloved" is a much better version in the movie than the Broadway rendition which was much too operatic.

I remember that my cousin Margaret looked at me after Howard Keel sang "The Olive Tree" and she said that if her father ever looked at her the way Howard Keel looked at Ann Blyth, she'd run like hell. Let's face it! Any Blyth was old enough to be his lover and not his daughter, but you forgive the producers for the miscast, because as a whole the film is not miscast, but perfect!

It's just a shame that these films can't be seen on the large theater screens today with stereophonic sound the way they "should" be seen. Maybe, someday, someone will get the hint!

Kismet was and is glorious, and I wouldn't have missed it for the world!

Author: Goll

Apparently some of the disgust a handful of readers have been feeling about this movie is due to the fact that they have the old VHS version. The new DVD version restores the original theatrical ratio, and the result is simply stunning: the movie is much clearer that it was in the full screen form, and restores the more lavish numbers to their full glory - there are more extras in there than anyone who has seen the original VHS version realizes; it's not a very small cast at all! True, the original finale is replaced by Howard Keel's version of "The Sands Of Time," the song that opened and closed the original Broadway musical, but that hardly matters. I have seen scenes from the VHS version on GOOGLE Video, and they are faded and grainy, while the DVD version is bright and colorful - you MUST watch it.

Author: Nikok

Given the times we're in and the changing public tastes in music, I'm not sure how well a revival of Kismet as a Broadway show would do today. Certainly the music of Alexander Borodin remains timeless, but a show with an Arabian Nights setting, I'm not sure would go over so well right now.

The Broadway show with Alfred Drake, Doretta Morrow, Richard Kiley, and Joan Diener ran for 583 performances in the 1953-54 season and won a Tony Award. As none of those worthy performers were movie names, Arthur Freed recast the film with MGM players Howard Keel, Ann Blyth, Vic Damone, and Dolores Gray and I've sure got no complaints about any one of them.

But Kismet has an older an more varied history. It was first presented on Broadway as a straight dramatic play in 1911, written by Edward Knoblauch and providing a career role as Hajj the beggar king for Otis Skinner. He must have done the role a gazillion times on Broadway and in touring companies.

Skinner even did two films, a silent and early sound version that I believe are both lost. It then got a film version with Ronald Colman as Hajj and it co-starred Marlene Dietrich, James Craig and Joy Page. Colman spoke the lines in the inimitable Colman fashion, but the music score that Harold Arlen and E.Y. Harburg wrote was singularly bland.

Nothing bland about the themes of Alexander Borodin which Robert Wright and Chet Forrest arranged and wrote lyrics for to provide a far better musical score. Two songs, Strangers In Paradise and Baubles Bangles And Beads were chart toppers in the first half of the Fifties. I well remember as a child hearing both played on the radio a lot.

The plot of the story centers around the nimble tongued Keel as Hajj who gets himself involved in palace politics with the Wazir/Prime Minister of the old Caliphate of Bagdad played by Sebastian Cabot and his wife Dolores Gray who's taken a real fancy to Keel. At the same time the Caliph on one of his nocturnal wanderings of legend has fallen for Keel's daughter Ann Blyth. The Caliph is played by Vic Damone. Both plot elements come together for an inevitable conclusion which I think you can figure out.

Vincente Minnelli did a great directing this old chestnut, impeccably cast with great musical performers. Songwriting because of who inspired it, doesn't get any better than this.

Author: Akinohn

This is musically the most glorious Broadway show of them all. in my judgment; and the most opulent of all filmed musicals in its sound, lyrics and colorful presentation. Of course, it might have been made differently, or better, or smaller or larger. But I am personally glad, as its biggest fan, and as writer, singer, songwriter, critic and moviegoer, that the film was made as honestly as it was. To begin with, the cast is vocally (unarguably) very fine; the two songs omitted, "Was I Wazir" and "He's in Love" were stage songs, without movement and needed omitting. The direction by Vincente Minnelli is very solid and generally fine, the use of color unprecedented. And this film has Howard Keel's best movie role ever, Ann Blyth lovely and seemingly young as his daughter, Sebastian Cabot as the wicked Wazir, Jay C. Flippen as his bandit father, suggestively sexy Dolores Gray as Lalume, and Vic Damone as the lovestruck very-young Caliph. The film's story-line follows the revived stage-play which was adapted to musical purposes in the early 1950s, for Broadway. The main storyline involves an ingenious but penniless poet, a maker of rhymes, who has a daughter; she wants a better life, he wants a better life for her. He finds gold, which a famous bandit claims as his own; but the gold buys him instant wealth; his arrest because he cannot account for the wealth nearly gets him killed; but he sells the idea that he is a magician to the Wazir and fortune favors his predictions. Four other strands are also interwoven in the deft and very entertaining plot. His daughter has met and fallen in love in a garden with the young Caliph without recognizing him; the wicked Wazir of the empire is pressing the young ruler to marry one of the Wazir's choices for monetary advantage; the Wazir's sexy favorite wife falls in love with the poet; and the bandit chief is seeking his long-lost son, who turns out to be the wicked Wazir. All the strands meet when to save his daughter from being forcibly married to the Wazir (to keep her from the Caliph who is still searching for her), the poet tries to drown the Wazir who has had his bandit father murdered when he's found him,and the Caliph alone can set things to rights when he discovers what his true enemy has been plotting. The poet accepts banishment--with Lalume--at an oasis, the daughter marries the Caliph, and the story ends in a splendid wedding. Robert Wright adapted the songs from the music of Aleksandr Borodin. Charles leader and Luther Davis get the credit for the literate screenplay; The sterling cinematography was done by Joseph Ruttenberg, art direction by Cedric Gibbons and E. Preston Ames, with set decoration by F. Keogh Gleason and Edwin Willis. Tony Duquette created the elaborate costumes for this Arabian Nights romp with hairstylings by Sydney Guilaroff and makeup by William Tuttle. Some of the lovely songs from this show are among the brightest lyrics and most beautiful melodies in Broadway--and Hollywood--history. The showstoppers are "Stranger in Paradise", "This is My Beloved", "The Olive Tree", "The Song of the Hand", Not Since Nineveh", Baubles, Bangles and Beads", "Night of My Nights", "Sands of Time" and "Rahadlakum". Among the performers, Dolores Gray is incomparable in the part, and Howard Keel very good in every respect. Among the others involved, Jack Elam, Ted de Corsia, Monty Wolley, and Flippen contribute good work. With a bit more money to expend, outdoor locations could have expanded the film. But most viewers who discover this film fall under the spell of its opulent and beautifully-pacing opening and find the production, as do professionally and personally, very enjoyable indeed.

Author: ℓo√ﻉ

If you want a classic movie that is exotic, romantic and even hypnotic, Kismet fits the bill. Set in ancient Baghdad, Kismet gives us a much different perspective than we have today (even if it is a movie set). First and foremost, it gives us that classic duet, 'Stranger in Paradise.' Second, it stars Howard Keel. Third, the romanticized Arabesque cinematography is superb. A 50's-style romantic 'Arabian Nights' setting sets the stage for a comedic/dramatic romance/love story in the tradition of ancient fable akin to Alladin and the Magic Lamp. Even the fact that almost everyone in the movie is a white person painted dark gives it a bygone sentimental appeal. I wish this movie were more available, particularly on DVD. It represents Howard Keel at his best in a role that is a departure from his usual venue.

Author: Shistus

Thanks to the mega surprise success of SEVEN BRIDES FOR SEVEN BROTHERS, and the income of $7m in rentals (wow!) MGM lurched into a series of 'robust' macho musicals: ATHENA, ROSE MARIE, HIT THE DECK, and the best of all: IT'S ALWAYS FAIR WEATHER. KISMET today, 50 years later, it is best enjoyed knowing it came from that mindset and is a product of a lavish budget itself: $2.6m. Like all those above it made money, but only just. In 2004 it is the production values and the music/dancing that is sensational and compared to modern film production quality is positively a masterpiece. I am sure even Madonna has seen this because the Market Place dance number is certainly recycled into her music video imagery. Dolores Gray is suitably brassy and the absolutely awesome NIGHT OF MY NIGHTS number with Vic Damone is one of the most visually enchanting set pieces committed to film ever. Try and see it in cinema scope, as pan/scan TV prints cut the sides off and the impressive visuals are crippled. It's quite rude too.

Author: Anarawield

I first saw this movie when I was 10 years old with my parents. I fell in love with Ann Blyth and wanted to grow up and marry her someday. Seeing her in the Student Prince also helped. This was a great musical of the time. Younger people, when seeing this movie today (1999) must take into consideration that we had different morality then. Men,as well as women,liked movies for the romance . We were not looking for cheap sex scenes or showing a lot of skin. Ahhh.., the butterflies in the stomach and heart palpitations of being in love. Jane Powell was another heart throb of the time. See her movies also. I only wished I could have gown up and looked like and sang like Howard Keel.

Author: Cordanara

Here we have a musical which unfortunately did not get the full MGM treatment other musicals have been given before. On stage this was a huge hit with complex orchestrations, high quality singing and dancing girls. However, I don't know why, the music was ridiculously simplified, the singing was good but not so complex (for example the exhilarating "And This is My Beloved" lost almost all of its charm once the overlapping quartet was eliminated). As to dancing girls there is not much to choose from. But we still have here a very good example of high entertainment, despite the many drawbacks done by the production company. The sets and the costumes are very realistic and the singing is very good when compared to the quality of the music. Keel and Gray are great as the 'mature' lovers who know how to enjoy life at the expense of her husband. His rich baritone and her sensual contralto voice are at their best in the hypnotic "Rahadlakum", while Vic Damone's tenor and Ann Blyth's soprano reach theirs in the love duets "Stranger in Paradise" and "This is my Beloved." Another good song which wasn't effected too much by the alterations was the philosophical "Sands of Time" sung by the great and unforgettable Keel. If you like musicals, adventures and girls in Arabian costumes this is the movie for you.

Author: SiIеnt

I saw this movie version and have always loved it. I also saw the stage version, but who could be better than Howard Keel. I felt like a "Stranger In Paradise." I have always been a movie musical buff and a big fan of Mr. Keel. When I first saw the movie as a child, I felt transported back to that time period (even if it was a Hollywood movie). The beautiful music and romance contained within makes you feel wonderful. And you can imagine all the romance, adventure and "Baubles, Bangles and Beads" you could ever wish for and all in the time and space of this lovely movie with beautiful music. Thank you Howard Keel, Ann Blyth, Vic Damone and company for one of my favorite movie memories.

Author: Prince Persie

Kismet isn't a complete waste of time but director Minelli was itching to do Lust for Life and had little enthusiasm for this assignment, which engaged his abilities, but not his sympathies. Unfortunately, it shows. Like Brigadoon and a few other musicals, this was one case where the Freed factory failed despite some gorgeous singing by the principals (Vic Damone is no actor but he ravishes "Stranger in Paradise"). Some numbers are shorn from the score, which doesn't hurt much but some are added, which does. There's a stale, formulaic quality to this movie and Kismet is a hothouse flower that doesn't thrive under M-G-M's "crunch-it-out" treatment. More imagination and taste were needed. There are several good recordings of the score and I'd suggest that, if you like the music (what's not to like?), you experience Kismet aurally.

Author: Musical Aura Island

In the 1950's, my late father was a businessman who traveled to New York and took in Broadway shows whenever he could. One night, he went to the box office at the Ziegfield Theatre and managed to land himself a great seat for a hit musical. What happened that night would become a legend in my family. Dad fell in love with "Kismet" and for the rest of his life he would torture us by telling the story of the production and playing the original cast album (and the recording of the subsequent Lincoln Center revival) over and over and over and over...

As an adult now, I can appreciate this work. My father was deeply disappointed by this film version and now having seen it I can understand why. As the book of this musical is pure cotton candy fluff, the key to success with any production of this material is how the music is arranged and presented. The singers should be classically trained and the individual playing Hajj needs to be a strong actor with an ability to truly interpret the lyrics.

After having seen Keel in "Kiss Me Kate", I had high hopes before my viewing of this film that he would be able to pull it off. Unfortunately, he only proved that Alfred Drake owns this role in the same way that Richard Kiley will always be "The Man of LaMancha" and Yul Brynner the "King". Keel's portrayal of the character is at best second rate.

Part of his problem (and indeed the problem of other performers in the film) might be the less than adequate arrangements of the music as well as the mangling that was done of some the lyrics and the removal of whole songs. Noticablly missing is the classic "Was I Wasir?" the very clever if gruesome show stopper craftily performed in the original stage show by Henry Calvin.

What really is worth seeing (or perhaps it would be better to say worth hearing) are the sequences with Ann Blyth and Vic Damone who had some of the best voices in film at that time. Damone actually gives Richard Kiley (who was the Caliph in the original Broadway cast) a run for his money in with the performance of "The Night of my Nights". Blyth has a beautiful voice and gives a creditable performance in the face of a hard act to follow in Doretta Marrow, the B-Way Marsinah.

The hardest loss in this production is the beautiful cacophony of voices that was the hallmark of the Broadway show. Instead you get a canned studio chorus that was best left in the can.

I am sorry that the one film version of this delightful Arabian Night tale is such a disappointment.

Author: Sataxe

It's as if someone took a shredder and put the script and the songs through it, leaving just a patchwork of odd scraps and pieces that are good--a case where the sum is not as good as the parts. The once beautiful score lacks the musical treatment given it in the stage version--and even the wonderful Howard Keel can't compensate for the shortcomings. He seems to be play-acting all the way through, forcing himself to overcome the weak script and playing the role so broadly he might as well be playing to the third balcony.

The cast tries hard but somehow nothing seems to jell. Even the fine singing voices of Ann Blythe and Vic Damone can do little to make "Stranger in Paradise" seem more than a routine number, as awkwardly staged as it is. The other songs based on the classical Borodin themes are lackluster in performance--surprising in view of the fact that this is an MGM musical. Dolores Gray has some good moments but Monty Woolley is wasted.

Vincente Minnelli's direction is less than inspired. Lavish and gaudy as the production is, it has a stagebound look that it never overcomes. Considering all the talent involved, this is a ho-hum project indeed!

According to reliable reports, Minnelli detested the assignment. He had seen the Broadway show and thought it corny and witless. He had no enthusiasm while making the film and it finished shooting in a quick two months without all the retakes he usually required. The hastiness shows in the finished product.

According to Stephen Harvey's book, "Directed by Vincente Minnelli", when the film was previewed one of the viewers gushed, "This is as good as Lana Turner's pictures!"

Author: BroWelm

Kismet is not the best of the MGM musicals, the songs sound plain bad to modern ears and hence a reason why the musicals died a celluloid death. Even the story and direction is heavy handed with little fun injected.

Howard Keel plays the opportunistic poet and beggar Hajj in old Baghdad. His daughter Marsinah falls for the young Caliph who is wandering in the market in disguise as a commoner.

Hajj gets mistaken as man who has the power to inflict curses and rewind them which brings him to the attention of the powerful Wazir who wants the Caliph to marry someone else.

The directing and scenery in Kismet is pedestrian, you would not even think that this was directed by Vincente Minnelli. The film also has an unfortunate mix of the middle east and far east, one of the dance sequences at the end was more Thai influenced.

Author: allegro

Some might refer to this as a rhinestone, but those cynical people can have their opinion. When you just lay back and listen to the soundtrack, just feel the shivers that rush up and down your spine as Vic Damone sings of a "Stranger in Paradise", Ann Blyth warbles "Baubels, Bangles and Beads", and together, the two of them declare, "And This is My Beloved". That is romantic music at its best, and when you put it in this exotic setting, you have a movie that, like a York Peppermint Patty, will take you far away from your troubles and leave you singing in your mind.

One of many versions of the classic tale of a beggar/thief who sings of "Fate" and "The Olive Tree", this colorful MGM musical may look like a Maria Montez/Sabu movie, but there is nothing wrong with that, and the movie is so much more. It is romantic. It is witty. It is beautiful to look at. And most importantly of all, it features one of the most beautiful of all Broadway scores that doesn't date even if the plot to some might seem like an opera that Wagner never got his hands on.

The storyline focuses on the wise beggar Hajj (Howard Keel in another one of the Alfred Drake musical roles he took to the silver screen) and his lovely daughter Marsinah (Blyth) who find romance in the most unexpected of Bagdad places: the palace! Keel wins the lusty eyes of Lalume (the succulent Dolores Gray), wife of the Wazir, while Blyth meets a young man (Damone) she assumes is a gardener who is really, of all people, the caliph! The young man is in danger of loosing his throne to usurpers (most obviously, the evil Wazir, played by "Family Affair's" Mr. French, Sebastian Cabot) but ultimately, as Keel sings, fate will take care of that. Gray makes her entrance in the most luscious of ways, singing "Not Since Ninevah" with a chorus of female Asian warriors "Bagdad! Don't Underestimate Bagdad!" she sings, leading into the fiery production number that practically stops the whole show even before it barely starts. And then when she breaks into "Bored", you know you've got the type of female that could never just settle for being the Wazir's wife; The insinuations are obvious, especially when Keel and Gray duet on "Rahadlakum" The romantic entanglement of Blyth and Damone doesn't stop the show cold like some young romances do; In fact, it spruces it up with their other musical number "Night of My Nights".

Nearing the end of the Arthur Freed/Vincent Minnelli era (MGM was slowly dissolving their contract player list), "Kismet" didn't do as well as they had hoped, but like their 1948 pairing, "The Pirate", I think it holds up better today. It might not fare so well on stage (revivals in both L.A. and New York's concert musical series have gotten mixed reviews for the comic material), but oh, what a pleasure it is to hear.

Author: Sharpbrew

I wish the rest of this film were as inspired as the "Night Of My Nights" number. It's the one thing I love in the movie. What a wonderful use of the CinemaScope ratio.

I recall reading somewhere that Vincente Minnelli was almost forced to cut this number, as there was no money in the budget for the elaborate props - until costume designer Tony Duquette offered to design the number. Duquette was an artist who did all kinds of great things - sculptures and objets d'art - with inexpensive stuff like wooden spools and balls and so forth. If you see the number, you'll see the delightful result of his ability to use simple objects to create magic. Duquette's whimsical work gives the number great charm. And that shot utilizing the reflecting pool - wow. Movie magic.

Too bad the majority of the film was directed so indifferently by Minnelli. He didn't want the job, and they sort of goaded him into it. Proving you can lead a horse to water but you can't make him drink.

If you enjoy good singing, at least there are the stunning voices of four greats - Keel, Blyth, Gray, and Damone - backed by some gorgeous arrangements.

Author: Lightseeker

Some okay songs and the somewhat sexy presence of Dolores Gray add some interest to but cannot save this uninspired bore of a film. For the most part, there's a wall between it and the audience, especially where Howard Keel is concerned. His wild, over-the-top portrayal of the poet enticed nothing but yawns from me, so I could hardly be expected to be happy for him in the end. Actually, he came across as rather selfish... but that would be giving away the ending, wouldn't it? Perhaps the Broadway musical and the 30's film version of this story with Marlene Dietrich are better, as I've heard. I only know that this film just wasn't very good.

Author: Zainn

The strongest component of Kismet, at least on stage, was the music based on works of Alexandr Borodin. Unfortunately, much of that lovely lush score has been decimated, and what's left is a fairly entertaining story. But this is supposed to be a musical, and there is plenty of music but it just doesn't have the impressive feel of the stage version.

Maybe someday someone will re-film this musical as a movie and do it right!

Author: Dugor

Other comments here pretty much tell the sad story of a rather lavish-looking and musically lush rendering of a Broadway hit somehow faltering in its translation to the screen under the usually reliable tutelage of producer Arthur Freed and director Vincente Minnelli. When I saw it during its initial theatrical release I was entertained, perhaps chiefly because of the glorious singing voices among the cast. But even as a young teen-ager I was aware I wasn't experiencing a solid-gold entry into the canon of all-time M-G-M musical unforgettables.

There are a couple of elements that should have withstood the critics' withering appraisals - Dolores Gray's Lalume (especially her belting out "Not Since Nineveh") and Tony Duquette's costume design (and his uncredited enhancement of the overall production design.) Minnelli's apparent disinterest in the project didn't prevent his visual panache from gracing the CinemaScope-Eastman Color screen with a luxurious treat for the eyes. The VHS version is most probably not a widescreen transfer so, once again, don't bother!

Author: Runeshaper

While not up there with the classic film musicals, Kismet is one of the underrated ones. The complaints that some have for the film are understandable, the script apart from some deliciously witty moments(mainly from Keel and Gray) is somewhat weak and is swamped by everything else, Vincente Minelli's direction at times is cold and hasty- which comes through loud and clear in Gesticulate, very indifferently directed and the weakest song in the film too- and while youthful and suave Vic Damone is rather bland as an actor. There is much to recommend though. The production values are the very meaning of lavish and look gorgeous, the locations and photography are very exotic and who cannot love Delores Gray's outfits. The choreography is spirited and seductive as well as clever and generally tasteful(Not Since Ninevah stands out), and the story is charming enough, a little silly but hardly a bore. There are no complaints to be had with the songs and score, the score is lush and the songs, based on the music of Borodin with clever lyrics, apart from Gesticulate are wonderful. Stranger in Paradise, And This is My Beloved, The Olive Tree and Baubles, Bangles and Beads are the highlights, though Night of My Nights is also lovely. It is a shame about the absence of Was I Wazir? though, though you can sort of understand why it was omitted. The cast are good, Dolores Gray steals the show as a deliciously sultry Lalume, Rahadlakum is a show-stopper. Howard Keel clearly is having the time of his life in his role as Hajj, if at times playing it a little too on the broad side, his beautiful rich voice still sounds great and is one of those voices that is difficult to be tired of. Ann Blyth is too old but is still utterly beguiling and sings beautifully, especially in Baubles, Bangles and Beads and And This is My Beloved. Sebastian Cabot is wonderfully wicked with a touch of buffoonery, though I've always preferred his more distinguished style of acting. All in all, not perfect by any stretch of the imagination but well worth seeing, especially for the production values, the songs, Keel and Gray. 7/10 Bethany Cox

Author: Renthadral

On paper this is a great cast but on screen it doesn't work because no two cast members seem to be working in the same film. The best voice by a country mile is that of Dolores Gray but it is diametrically opposed to that of Ann Blyth and we can only be glad they had no numbers together, Similarly Howard Keel and Vic Damone are equally poles apart. The last place one expects to find Ted de Corsia is in Baghdad and so on. We're talking serious mish-mosh here and three 'standards' - Baubles, Bangles and Beads, And This Is My Beloved, Stranger In Paradise - are not really enough to save it and, if it comes to that, they're not necessarily the best songs in the film. Vincente Minnelli directs as if he were determined to make something more insipid than Brigadoon and totally erase the charm of Meet Me In St Louis from the memory-banks of cinema-goers everywhere. Well worth missing.

Author: Querlaca

One of the last big MGM musicals, and who expected they would return to the 1929 early talkie format?...nail the camera to a seat in the 10th row, have people stand around and talk--and then move over here and talk some more, don't edit out anything no matter superfluous or expendable it is, let everyone give hammy Vaudeville performances, and stage completely static musical numbers (there's even a pageant...like out of an old Ziegfeld show). It's as though there had been NO advances in film-making in the previous 20 years.

On the upside...the score is excellent, and if you rent the 2008 DVD (contained in "Musicals from The Dream Factory Vol 3"), you will get a sense of what real, movie palace stereo used to sound like. Also, like most early Cinemascope movies, it is super duper wide, which is always thrilling to look at on a widescreen TV (even if the subject matter is as anemic as this). Note the gaudy costumes...designed by none other than Tony Duquette, the famed interior designer.

Author: Urllet

I saw the original Broadway production of "Kismet" when I was 8 years old and, despite that fact that it was a smash-hit, found it excruciating to sit through with the exception of three ravishing ballads that became instant classics. The inevitable MGM film version came out three years later and was more of the same. Don't blame Vincente Minnelli for not wanting to direct it. The Arabian Nights plotline is unplayable and unwatchable (try the Colman-Dietrich 1944 version WITHOUT music--pure torture though a Technicolored eyeful). All that said, the 1955 version is still a must for movie-musical-lovers for the splendidly sung and staged renditions of "Baubles, Bangles and Beads" (Ann Blyth's finest four minutes--she is visually and vocally dazzling), Ms. Blyth and Vic Damone gorgeously dueting on "Stranger in Paradise", and the haunting "And This is My Beloved" (unfortunately given short shrift but still a vocal knockout thanks to Ms. Blyth (again!), Howard Keel and Vic Damone. A pity the rest of the film couldn't match these three outstanding highlights! Fate has never smiled upon any of the stage or film versions of "Kismet"!

Author: Kaim

If anyone can remember those beautiful musicals produced by Hollywood....certainly KISMET is one of them and should not be slighted.

Vincente Minnelli's spectacular production is far underestimated in my opinion. We should be seeing more of these exotic, internationally-flavored films made in the fabulous fifties. {My secret initiation into the Vic Damone fan club must have some how started, or was possibly confirmed, with this "Arabian nights" 1955 movie !}

I thought Vic fit the Caliph's part beautifully - his youthful suaveness and elegance swept me away" every time he expressed this up-dated Alexander Borodin music with his exquisite interpretation.

"Stranger in Paradise" sung with stunning Ann Blyth not to mention "This is My Beloved" equally shared with Miss Blyth are unforgettable as one of our most famous American musical classics.

Howard Keel carried off his usual exuberant self as the tongue-in-cheek beggar/thief of Baghdad, while vivacious Delores Gray was also appealing; but the audience is definitely won over by Damone's new Mesopotamian image on screen !

Terrific costuming - spectacular dance numbers - enchanting scenery - cute plot - all you could want in an exotic musical. In short, "KISMET" is a delight to every movie connoisseur.

Author: Vizil

Kismet's main problem is that it is not timeless. The playwright, scriptwriter, director, whoever, decided to put in a bunch of stuff that simply shreiks 50's. The song 'bored' is an example, as is the arrival of the three princesses of ababu (or whatever it is). If this story could have this crap removed, and replaced with some believable (and tasteful) Bagdad Arabian Nights stuff, then the wonderful songs like 'stranger in paradise' would have a proper frame. As it is, the music is trying to shore up a third-rate story. Is such a thing possible? It's like South Pacific, which with some massaging of the dialog, could be vastly improved, without changing the story. This music really deserves better.

Complete credited cast:
	Howard Keel	-	Poet
	Ann Blyth	-	Marsinah
	Dolores Gray	-	Lalume
	Vic Damone	-	Caliph
	Monty Woolley	-	Omar
	Sebastian Cabot	-	Wazir
	Jay C. Flippen	-	Jawan
	Mike Mazurki	-	Chief Policeman
	Jack Elam	-	Hasan-Ben
	Ted de Corsia	-	Police Sub-altern

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