That Midnight Kiss

Buy This Item That Midnight Kiss by MGM (Video & DVD)  Available from Amazon  $19.98  on 11-15-2008     Mario Lanza and Kathryn Grayson speak words of love to each other and to their fans in this Technicolor delight from MGM's Pasternak unit. The Pasternak unit had more freakish talent assigned to it than the Freed unit (though there was in actual practice quite a bit of back and forth)--suffice it to say that you don't see movies teaming Mario Lanza with Judy Garland--ever wonder why not? Freed had Gene Kelly, Fred Astaire, Lena Horne; Pasternak had Esther Williams, Red Skelton, Jane Powell. Obviously both men made boatloads of money for their mother studio, but I think it's time for a Pasternak revival, for his pictures are by far the most fun, even though they might not be classy per se. <br /> <br />This story of a spoiled opera singer, Prudence, who learns love from a singing truck driver, is made to order for those of us who like a good laugh at ourselves and a lesson in auteur humility. Grayson looks delectable in a pale peach gown and other fancy dresses whipped up for her by the incomparable Helen Rose, who really knew how to take her measurements. (In other vehicles, Grayson sometimes looks unfortunately like she went to the bargain basement and all her clothes fit too tightly.) Here she looks fantastic, like a cloud above the Niagara, pink with rain and just about to melt. As her lower-class beau, Mario Lanza makes an outstanding debut, and you can still see why he made opera a popular art form all over again just about singlehandedly. He's like an animal, with the brute masculinity of a boa constrictor and a child's charm. Grayson (and the divine Ethel Barrymore, slumming as Grayson's forebear) both look fascinated by him, and worried too, the way you and I might be if an angel or a devil landed in our kitchen or bed. <br /> <br />I have watched this opus at least a dozen times and can still never figure out what the midnight kiss is supposed to signify. Is it a kiss of commitment, or a Judas kiss of betrayal? What ever happened to Jose Iturbi? He was there for years, the tentpole of the Pasternak movies, and then all of a sudden this is it for him. The old order changeth, and the new order hath a new name, MARIO LANZA. The movies have only one rule, that nothing is eternal, yet everything returns again. In THAT MIDNIGHT KISS you can feel the gap between two eras of kitsch. It yawns wide like a throat filled with champagne, or like the eerie creak when the bridge over the San Luis Ray begins to fall apart. <br /> <br /> Reader Reviews I grew up listening to Mario Lanza on radio & seeing his movies, but I had never seen his first movie, That Midnight Kiss. What a joy to watch and hear him, as well as Kathyrn Grayson. He was so young, and his weight the best I've ever seen of him. Guess he was born with natural acting talent as well as beauty of voice, because I saw no flaws in his acting--only perfect timing, expression of feeling, and enthusiasm (and, of course, that fabulous voice). A really sweet, romantic movie. Kathryn Grayson also was a favorite of mine at that time--so pretty, with a delightful voice. I think this is my favorite of his movies.

That Midnight Kiss Available from Amazon Price: $19.98 Updated on 11-15-2008.

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