SimonJack "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."

weezeralfalfa I'd like to start off saying something unexpected. I was struck how much the basic plot resembles that of the previous musical "Belle of New York", also starring Fred, with another famous dancer: Vera Ellen, in Cyd's role. They both involve Fred taking on the challenge(why?) of trying to break through the thick ice of a beautiful, but emotionally repressed, young woman, who is always seen wearing a drab uniform. True , Cyd's character (Ninotchka) was a much harder case to crack, but eventually, Fred succeeded in both cases. In consequence, the singing(dubbed) and dancing of Vera-Ellen and Cyd is delayed compared to Fred's, and it takes time for their characters to fully warm up to Fred's lifestyle, including exuberant dancing. They both get a dance without Fred, in their bedrooms, when they first change from their drab uniforms into some sexy female clothing(including silk stockings). In both films, it looks like they will soon marry Fred at one point. But the woman then becomes disenchanted by something, and partially reverts to her old self until the finale, when their imminent marriage is again hinted. While the earlier film was set in turn of the century NYC, this film is set in contemporary Paris and sometimes Moscow. However, the combination of Fred and Janet Blair impart a significant American flavor to the film. Thus, two musical numbers lampoon the recent pop phenomenon of rock and roll, or several film enhancement technologies commonly adopted in recent times to try to lure potential customers away from their small- screen B&W monaural TVs, back into movie theaters. The present film is much longer than the earlier film, with a more interesting and complicated plot and more significant characters. However, we are stuck through most of it, even to the end, with Cyd's unpleasant arrogant robotic monotone Soviet persona, occasionally replaced by Janet Blair's blasé personality or snippets of Cyd's westernized personality. I would rate the songs in the earlier film as being, on the whole, better, while the dancing is more stimulating in this film. Cyd's solo dancing, in the several opportunities she is given, is especially interesting. There are an endless number of jabs at the stereotypical repressed lives of Soviets, half-truth Soviet propaganda about capitalism, and paranoia, to counter Ninotchka's constant criticisms of 'decadent' capitalism, as she saw it or had been indoctrinated to expect. At one point, Ninotchka, composer Boroff, and the 3 stooge-like commisars sent to bring him back from Paris, have returned to Moscow, reminisce about how they miss their brief stay in Paris, then stage an exuberant dance to music recently composed by Boroff, while singing that they have the "Red Blues": a nifty title. Comically, during this dance, a Soviet bureaucrat walks through the room twice, inducing all to revert to pretending they are discussing the virtues of communism over capitalism. Since Fred can't get a visa to visit Russia, he thinks up a trick to induce the turn of all to Paris...The overall theme of the film clearly is that the Soviet attempt to remake human nature to be interested only in basic survival mode and to only serve the interests of the state is flawed and will ultimately be rejected by real people.In the later part of the film, Ninotchka seemingly develops a split personality, occasionally succumbing to Fred's attempt to westernize her thinking and behavior and seduce her, but then reverting to her monotone Soviet personality. Seems like she mostly lets down her guard after she's had some Champagne. In the finale, she tears up her second plane ticket back to Moscow, after learning that Fred still wants to marry her, thereby presumably proving that even the seemingly most loyal adherents to the Soviet state, given the chance, will choose to live in a western country.The 3 clownish commisars sent to bring back the reluctant -to-leave-Paris composer Boroff rather remind me of the 3 sailors on leave in "On the Town". Jules Munshin served as one of the 3 in both groups, being much taller than any of the others. The choice of Peter Lorre and Joseph Buloff as the other two seems odd, as neither was musical and the singing of both was dubbed. Would have been interesting to have the Marx Brothers or 3 Stooges at their height in their places. But would have been considered overkill, I'm sure.I wonder why the screenwriters decided to subtly deride Esther William's acting ability in clearly casting Janis Paige in her likeness, with the implication that it was doubtful if she could carry a film that lacked her swimming ballets. Interestingly, Esther's long contract with MGM had rather recently been terminated. Seldom used Rouben Mamoulian, as director, was a controversial choice. His last film musical('48) was an expensive box office flop for MGM. However, he had directed some prior successful films , as well as the stage versions of "Oklahoma" and "Carousel". More significantly, he spent his youth in Georgia, where Stalin had also spent his youth. Thus, it was felt he could help provide a more authentic presentation of the Soviets.The non-musical "The Iron Petticoat" and "Jet Pilot", with similar themes of defecting Soviet women, were released about the same time, but were box-office flops, compared to the moderate success of this film.

bkoganbing After an adaption to Broadway as the final stage musical of Cole Porter's career, Ernest Lubitsch's acclaimed film Ninotchka, now Silk Stockings is getting its film treatment. Silk Stockings ran for 478 performances on Broadway in the 1955-1956 season and starred Don Ameche and Hildegarde Neff in the roles originally played by Melvyn Douglas and Greta Garbo.For reasons I don't understand Charles Brackett and Billy Wilder's names are not given credit here. I distinctly heard a lot of lines from the original Ninotchka that came from them. I also heard some of the acid barbs of George S. Kaufman who worked with Abe Burrows on the book for Silk Stockings.Most of Cole Porter's score makes it intact to the screen, but since the male and female leads were now dancers, Porter wrote Fated To Be Mated and The Ritz Roll and Rock for Fred Astaire and Cyd Charisse. The latter is one of my favorite Astaire numbers from his film. Porter who was no mean satirist himself was having a bit of fun at the new trend in music called Rock and Roll in a spoof of Rock Around the Clock.The plot from the original Ninotchka was changed and updated from the time of the pre-World War II Soviet Union of Stalin to the Cold War. Commissar Ninotchka is no longer concerned with selling jewels of the former nobility, she's negotiating with an American producer who wants a famous Russian composer to score his film adaption of War and Peace. Curiously enough War and Peace did make it to the screen the previous year.Astaire as the producer also has a sexy, but very tough minded star in Janis Paige to contend with. Janis has her moments on screen with the song Josephine and singing and dancing with Astaire in Stereophonic Sound. The big hit song from the score, All of You is sung and danced elegantly by Fred and Cyd. As usual Cyd's vocals were dubbed in this case by Carole Richards who used to be a regular for a while on Bing Crosby's radio show.Peter Lorre, Jules Munshin, and Alexander Granach are the three commissars who Ninotchka has to bail out as in the original film. Granach repeats his role from Ninotchka. But George Tobias sets a record as the only player to appear in both film and the Broadway version. In the original Ninotchka he was the Soviet Embassy Official who balks at granting Melvyn Douglas a visa. On stage and on screen he plays the boss of Garbo/Neff/Charisse, a part that was done in the original Ninotchka by Bela Lugosi.The comedy is a lot more broad than in the Lubitsch film, but with that Cole Porter music and the charm and dancing of Fred Astaire and Cyd Charisse, Silk Stockings is a film you should not miss.

ccthemovieman-1 I watched this to see Fred Astaire dance and Cyd Charisse to smile and show off her legs and dancing talents. I got very little of the above. Astaire, as "Steve Canfield," sang a lot more than he danced, and his singing was always "fair, at best." Charisse's character, "Ninotchka Yoschenko," mostly pouted throughout the film and spoke with a stupid accent, not exactly appealing. It also takes away from the film when you know someone else is singing, not her! To be fair, some of their work here together just makes you marvel at them. Perhaps another look - this time with a CinemaScope widescreen DVD picture, - would make me appreciate this movie more.This is a musical remake of the 1939 Greta Garbo film "Ninotochka." I don't think either is all that great but given the choice to watch either again, I'd take the Garbo film, even though it's always good to watch Astaire and Charisse stepping out, so to speak.