Silk Stockings (1957)

Great movie! If you want to be entertained and have a few good laughs, see this movie. The music is also very good,

It's funny, it's tense, it features two great performances from two actors and the director expertly creates a web of odd tension where you actually don't know what is happening for the majority of the run time.

All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

Pretty much a waste f time - Cole Porter at his weakest, routine dance numbers and overall weak acting. Comedic timing is off by a mile. If you have to do a copy of Ninotchka, at least make it your own and don't try to mimic Greta Garbo, please. Fred Astaire is wooden - why would a woman like Cyd here fall for him? Not for a minute. Obviously lots of money was spent - the result though unfortunately is forgettable. Let's forget this movie and rather enjoy Wilder's and Lubitsch' masterpiece one more time.

"Silk Stockings" is based on a Broadway musical and the 1939 film, "Ninotchka." Both of those are based on a story by Melchior Lengyel, and this film further includes a book written on the original story. The 1939 MGM film was a huge success when it hit theaters just a month after the start of World War II in Europe. Efforts to revive it during the war were stopped because the Soviet Union was then an Ally. The film was banned in the Soviet Union.Cole Porter wrote the music and lyrics for the 1955 Broadway play by the same title (his last work for the stage). It starred Hildegard Neff and Don Ameche. Porter had a popular hit from the show, "All of You." He wrote one more number for this film, at the behest of Fred Astaire, "The Ritz Roll and Rock." It was Astaire's nod to the emerging music culture of rock and roll. While the stage musical was a success with 478 performances, the movie fizzled and lost MGM $1.4 in 1957. The story keeps some of the dialog of the original "Ninotchka," especially between the leads. Fred Astaire plays Steve Canfield and Cyd Charisse is Ninotchka Yoschenko. Charisse is quite good at imitating the Ninotchka of Greta Garbo, but the change in the story with the male lead casts Astaire in his all- too-familiar role as a stage or film producer or director. And, that role and his part here seem out of place and don't work well. Some of the rest of the casting wasn't that good. Janis Paige as Peggy Dayton was way overboard in a bombastic role. And, the three derelict Russian commissars here couldn't' match the three great supporting character actors of the original film. However, the inclusion of Peter Lorre as one of the commissars, with some particularly funny lines and actions, gave the film a badly needed shot in the arm. Other than the hit song, "All of Me," and the very funny and clever "Siberia," most of the musical numbers were just so-so. Even Astaire's special "roll and rock" number wasn't very special. Except for a 1968 single film return with some light footwork ("Finian's Rainbow"), this was Fred Astaire's last dancing movie. To his credit, the great master of dance quit while he was near top form. Yet, even here, Astaire's dance numbers are tame and without pizazz or creativity. Astaire continued to act and appear in films and on TV for more than two decades. But his career as a leading star in music and dance films was closed. It was an amazing career for a 58-year-old song and dance man – perhaps the greatest of all time.Seven stars may be generous for this film, but I give them for the good comedy and performances of some stars – notably Charisse and Lorre. And, because it's Astaire's swan song for his dancing career. This doesn't come close to the great dance films of the past, but it's okay for whiling away a rainy afternoon. Check the Quotes section on this IMDb Web page of the film for funny lines. Here are a few. Bibinski, "Come. We talk to him now." Brankov, "Very casual. Don't frighten him. Smile." Bibinski, "I haven't smiled in 30 years."Markovitch, on the desk intercom, "I want to look somebody up. Does this office have a copy of 'Who's Still Who?'"Steve Canfield, "Ninotchka, don't you like me at all?" Ninotchka, "The arrangement of your features is not entirely repulsive to me."Ninotchka, "In Russia, when someone wants someone, he says, 'You, come here!'" Steve Canfield, "Oh, you mad, romantic Russians."

Comparisons between this and the 1939 film "Ninotchka" are inevitable, but both films are entirely different genres and need to be evaluated on their own merits…or lack thereof. The 1939, Garbo-Douglas "Ninotchka" can be defined as a comedy/drama; the 1957, Astaire- Charisse "Silk Stockings" as a comedy/musical.Also… to those who find fault with the script as an unauthentic representation of Soviet citizenry circa the Cold War era… well…"Silk Stockings" is not meant to be a polemic on Communism, soviet style. It takes elements from Soviet life, exaggerates, and subverts the realities for comedic effect. We're talking comedy here, not documentary. Fred Astaire, as Hollywood producer Steve Canfield, here is an older Fred than we are used to seeing and although given star billing, the film is more of an ensemble effort. Cyd Charisse, as Ninotchhka, is tasked with playing a prudish, repressed, literal minded Soviet official. Ninotchhka, a personality manufactured by political propaganda is more of a one- dimensional caricature, a role that doesn't require great acting skill and Charisse manages her role with facility. Together Astaire and Charisse make a good dance team but the choreography is lackluster and pedestrian. Astaire at age 58 still demonstrates vitality but he's taking it easy here… nothing physically innovative or too rigorous. There's no Fred wow factor that would serve to add another jewel to the King of Dance's crown.Peter Lorre, one of a trio of Soviet commissars come to Paris to waylay a Russian composer's defection to Hollywood, diverges from his familiar portrayals. Formerly inseparable from characterizations of the sinister, sly insinuator here he's an engaging, chubby comrade/sidekick. Janis Paige was a ubiquitous, popular name in entertainment in the 1950s. She's the crass exhibitionist, Peggy Dayton, a concoction epitomizing the Hollywood star factory; she's a proxy for the over the top, gaudy commercialism of the Capitalist System. Her movie star is a manufactured product famous for showcasing her talents in the type of movie called water spectaculars, most commonly confined to swimming pools or sound stage sets mimicking exotic, fanciful lagoons. A not very flattering homage to Esther Williams...maybe?In "Silk Stockings" Cole Porter has given us song lyrics that seem forced, applied with a heavy- handed manipulation agonized over. The tunes are not memorable. Overall, there's a turgid gimmickry at work here, lacking the easy, almost effortless, sophisticated grace of his best work. This musical score is not representative of the best compositions in Porter's catalogue of memorable work. The most glaring bungling occurs in the cinematography and lightening. The camera work throughout is woefully uninspired, filmed predominately using medium shots, every scene is framed in a relentless monotony lacking visual variety. The unimaginative lightening only emphasizes the camera's deficiency further bathing everything in a uniform bright light, without nuance, shadow or mood. The result presents everything as if a flat page in a picture book. These "lazy" production values extend to the costumes and set décor as well where Technicolor is not used to advantage. The entire movie has a flat dullness, and drabness to it all. It might as well have been filmed in black and white. After finishing "Silk Stockings," Astaire didn't make another movie musical for ten years. After viewing the finished product, it's no mystery why he made that decision. All this being said… this is not the worst musical ever made, and can offer some entertainment value. Just sit back and enjoy the effortless charm and courtliness of Fred Astaire and the gorgeous Cyd Charise. What woman wouldn't want her figure and those beautiful, sculpted long legs?!

I had the occasion recently to see "Silk Stockings" and "Ninotchka" back to back. While the musical (and its Broadway antecedent) is based upon the general plot line of the famous Greta Garbo comedy----each film can fully stand on its own to critical judgment."Ninotchka" is considered a classic by many people, and contains Garbo's first comic performance. It is also one of her most accessible roles as well as her penultimate film appearance. Acting styles have changed considerably over the years, and contemporary film-goers may be somewhat mystified as to why she was so highly regarded in her time. However in "Ninotchka," she created a character that is almost free of the mannerisms and affectations often found in her serious movies that turn off so many of today's viewers. The Lubitsch "touch?" Perhaps."Silk Stockings" may not be a classic, but it's a delightful and enjoyable musical film entertainment. It is interesting that in the year 1957, we saw the last traditional film musical from both Fred Astaire ("Silk Stockings")and Gene Kelly ("Les Girls") as well as "Silk Stockings" being the last film directed by the legendary Rouben Mamoulian. Coincidentally, Mamoulian directed one of Garbo's most highly regarded films----"Queen Christina" back in 1933.The recent death of Cyd Charisse reminds us of what a great artist she was in her prime musical years. And while Fred Astaire may have done better work in many of his earlier films, he left the musical genre (excluding the forgettable "Finian's Rainbow") with a stylish, charming and endearing performance.Personally, I find the character played by Astaire considerably more likable than the one dimensional cad-lover played in the earlier film by Melvyn Douglas. And while Cyd Charisse never was considered much of an actress, her stone-faced Bolshevik who is seduced and in turn warmed by Western "decadence" compares favorably with Garbo's Ninotchka---plus she can dance! What an understatement! "Silk Stockings" is an underrated film from the Golden Age of musicals. Fred Astaire left to go on to other projects---and it could be argued that his several subsequent television specials with Barrie Chase extended his classic dancing work. But "Silk Stockings" is his last great role as a song and dance man. What a way to go!