Sinatra completists will, of course, want even The Kissing Bandit in their DVD collections so this is a given. I have mixed feelings; as a lifetime Sinatra fan I naturally want his first actual appearance in a leading role - he had appeared twice as the uncredited vocalist with the Tommy Dorsey outfit and later in Reveille With Beverley but here was performing songs specifically written for him albeit working as himself, Frank Sinatra, opposite a group of actors playing fictional roles - but I'm also a lifetime Rodgers and Hart fan and it's not easy to see their whole Broadway score jettisoned - with the exception of about one third of Disgustingly Rich in favor of a specially commissioned score by Jimmy McHugh. The fact that Sinatra gets to perform three great numbers and went on to record a great song from the Broadway show on his Wee Small Hours album is neither here nor there. The cast is a dream for film buffs. Michele Morgan was arguably the heaviest hitter with a string of French classics behind her but we also get the great Mary Wickes, Mel Torme, Marcy McGuire, Leon Errol and Victor Borge - it is his strong resemblance to Borge that makes it difficult to take Arsene Wenger seriously - and strange choice leading man Jack Haley, then 45 with his Tin Man days firmly behind him. As a light-hearted comedy with songs it would have certainly hit the spot in 1943 and is still likable today.
Review of Higher and Higher
