The Carson City jazz club turned me on to re-watching the 1956 movie High Society for a summer Covid-safe outdoor presentation. A remake of The Philadelphia Story, the movie moves action to Newport, Rhode Island, home to a (then) newly-formed jazz festival, which creates a good excuse to bring Louis Armstrong to town. Screen legends Frank Sinatra, Bing Crosby, and Grace Kelly make suitable replacements for the original trio (Jimmy Stewart, Cary Grant, and Katharine Hepburn), but High Society's major boasting point comes from the chance to hear jazz greats. Crosby joins Armstrong for "Now You Has Jazz", and does his only on-screen crooning with Sinatra in the amusing "Well, Did You Evah!" Kelly holds her own singing "True Love" with Crosby, good enough to justify another musical for her, but instead she ran off and married the prince of Monaco (the Cartier engagement ring she shows off in the movie came from her real-life fiancé). High Society ignored its opportunity to get musical greats Armstrong, Sinatra, and Crosby performing together as lead singers. It never achieved the musical ranks of Singin' in the Rain and other classics from the 1950s but remains a fluffy, amusing concoction.
Event Details: Jazz & Beyond, in cooperation with Carson City Classic Cinema Club and the Brewery Arts Center, presents the 1956 classic film High Society in a drive-in movie setting at the Brewery Arts Center. KUNR movie reviewer Robin Holabird, provides commentary via Zoom.
The show runs two nights: Wed., Aug. 19, and Thurs., Aug. 20 with no charge, though
reservations are required and issued on a first-come, first-served basis. Vehicles will be assigned parking spots based upon size of vehicles and profile. There is no limit to the number of occupants per car. In keeping with guidelines for social distancing, movie goers must stay with their vehicles. No food trucks will be present. Sound will be provided via FM signal to car radios.
Comments