Thirty-five years ago today, on September 14, 1982, Grace Kelly, one of the most glamorous stars of Hollywood died. There are many films in which she appeared that are brilliant but High Society was the most joyous of them; it was her only role in a musical and her last film, so I chose it as my tribute to her.
Her co-stars were Bing Crosby and Frank Sinatra. The film was produced by Sol C. Siegel for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, and shot in VistaVision and Technicolor. The music and lyrics were by Cole Porter.
Bing Crosby, Grace Kelly and Frank Sinatra
High Society soundtrack
vinyl LP album cover detail
detail photo by Styrous®
Based on the play, The Philadelphia Story, by Philip Barry, with a screenplay by John Patrick, it is about a successful popular jazz musician who tries to win
back the affections of his ex-wife who is preparing to marry another
man. The cast also features Celeste Holm, John Lund and Louis Calhern. Louis Armstrong appears as himself with his band in the film.
The 1939 play was originally made into a film in 1940; both were written as a vehicle for Katharine Hepburn. The film's success marked a reversal of fortunes for Hepburn, who was one of the film stars deemed "box office poison" by the Independent Theatre Owners of America in 1938.
Katharine Hepburn - 1939
on stage in The Philadelphia Story
High Society was the last film in which Grace Kelly appeared; it was released three months after her marriage to Prince Rainier III when she became Princess consort of Monaco. More on the 1956 "Wedding of the Century" in a future article.
I loved the the song, True Love (link below),
a duet with Bing Crosby. It is a beautiful and delicate song of eternal love and the
riches it can bring to those who are lucky enough to find it.
Bing Crosby, Grace Kelly and Frank Sinatra
High Society soundtrack
vinyl LP album cover detail
detail photo by Styrous®
The song, Now You Has Jazz is a bouncy, jazzy tune as only Louis Armstrong and his group could provide; it included Edmond Hall (clarinet), Trummy Young (trombone), Billy Kyle (piano), Arvell Shaw (bass), and Barrett Deems (drums) (link below).
Louis Armstrong & Grace Kelly 
on the set of High Society - 1956
photographer unknown
A couple of the songs from the film were covered in Red Hot + Blue, the first in the Red Hot Benefit Series compilation albums from the Red Hot Organization. It features contemporary pop performers reinterpreting several songs of Cole Porter, and the title of the album comes from the Porter musical Red, Hot and Blue. Too Darn Hot is not from the film but the Erasure version of it on the Red, Hot and Blue compilation is so darn HOT I had to link to it as well (link below).
vinyl LP album back cover
photo by Styrous®
The soundtrack
album was released the year of the film's release and was a major
success in both America and the United Kingdom. It has been said
that one of the main reasons Sinatra was drawn to the film was a
mock-tipsy duet with his boyhood idol Crosby on Well, Did You Evah!, a
song from an earlier Porter show, DuBarry Was a Lady
(1939), re-adapted and added at the last minute when it was noted that
the two singers did not have a duet to perform in the film.
High Society soundtrack
vinyl LP album back cover detail
detail photo by Styrous®
At the North American box office, High Society was a success. It was one of the 10 highest grossing films of 1956 in the US and Canada earning $5,602,000, and $2,656,000 elsewhere, resulting in a profit of $1,148,000. It received two Oscar nominations.
High Society soundtrack
vinyl LP album back cover detail
detail photo by Styrous®
It's claimed that Sinatra was fascinated with Grace Kelly and would have loved to have an affair with her but
feared rejection and embarrassment in front of Crosby, who had
previously had an affair with her. A ménage à trois would have still been verboten in the 1950's.
vinyl LP album back cover detail
detail photo by Styrous®
Grace Kelly began her acting career in 1950 when she was 20. She appeared in New York City theatrical productions and more than 40 episodes of live drama productions broadcast during the early 1950s Golden Age of Television. She made her film debut in a small role in the 1951 film Fourteen Hours. In October 1953, she gained stardom from her performance in the film Mogambo, which won her a Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress and her first Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress in 1954.
After the success of Mogambo, Kelly starred in a TV play The Way of an Eagle with Jean-Pierre Aumont, before being cast in the film adaptation of the Frederick Knott Broadway hit, Dial M for Murder.
After the success of Mogambo, Kelly starred in a TV play The Way of an Eagle with Jean-Pierre Aumont, before being cast in the film adaptation of the Frederick Knott Broadway hit, Dial M for Murder.
vinyl LP album back cover detail
detail photo by Styrous®
She had leading roles in five films: The Country Girl (1954), for which her deglamorized performance earned her an Academy Award for Best Actress. Other films include High Noon (1952) with Gary Cooper, Dial M for Murder (1954) with Ray Milland, Rear Window (1954) with James Stewart, To Catch a Thief (1955) with Cary Grant, and High Society (1956) with Frank Sinatra and Bing Crosby.
vinyl LP album back cover detail
detail photo by Styrous®
Kelly turned down the opportunity to star alongside Marlon Brando in On the Waterfront (1954) to take the role of Lisa Fremont in Rear Window instead. Eva Marie Saint, who replaced her, won an Academy Award for that role.
vinyl LP album back cover detail
detail photo by Styrous®
On September 13, 1982, Kelly was driving back to Monaco from her country home in Roc Agel when she had a stroke causing her to lose control of her 1971 Rover P6 3500
and drove off the steep, winding road and down the 120 foot (37 m)
mountainside. She and her daughter Stéphanie, who was with her in the
car, were transported to the Monaco Hospital (later named the Princess Grace Hospital Centre). Grace died the following night at 10:55 p.m.
Kelly's funeral was held at the Saint Nicholas Cathedral, Monaco on September 18, 1982. After a Requiem Mass, she was buried in the Grimaldi family vault. Over 400 people attended, including Cary Grant, Nancy Reagan, and Diana, Princess of Wales. At a later memorial service in Beverly Hills, James Stewart delivered the eulogy.
Prince Rainier, who did not remarry, was buried alongside her when he died on April 6, 2005, at the Cardiothoracic Center of Monaco at 6:35 AM local time at the age of 81.
Prince Rainier, who did not remarry, was buried alongside her when he died on April 6, 2005, at the Cardiothoracic Center of Monaco at 6:35 AM local time at the age of 81.
vinyl LP, side 1
photo by Styrous®
vinyl LP label, side 1
photo by Styrous®
vinyl LP, side 2
photo by Styrous®
vinyl LP label, side 2
photo by Styrous®
Tracklist:
Side 1:
A1 – MGM Studio Orchestra - High Society (Overture)
A2 – Louis Armstrong And His Band - High Society Calypso
A3 – Bing Crosby - Little One
A4 – Frank Sinatra & Celeste Holm - (Who Wants To Be) A Millionaire
A5 – Bing Crosby & Grace Kelly - True Love
Side 2:
B1 – Frank Sinatra - You're Sensational
B2 – Bing Crosby - I Love You, Samantha
B3 – Bing Crosby & Louis Armstrong - Now You Has Jazz
B4 – Bing Crosby & Frank Sinatra - Well Did You Evah?
B5 – Frank Sinatra - Mind If I Make Love To You
Companies, etc.
Pressed By – Capitol Records Pressing Plant, Scranton
Credits:
Conductor – Johnny Green
Illustration – Jonson*
Lyrics By, Music By – Cole Porter
Orchestra – MGM Studio Orchestra
Notes:
——Center labels info——
From the Sound Track of the M-G-M Picture
Manufactured for Essex Productions, Inc. / Hollywood, California
——Sleeve info——
Made in U.S.A.
Barcode and Other Identifiers
Matrix / Runout (Label A): W1-750
Matrix / Runout (Label B): W2-750
Matrix / Runout (Stamped Runout, Side A [variant 1]): W1-750-N5
Matrix / Runout (Stamped Runout, Side B [variant 1]): W2-750-N10#2
Matrix / Runout (Stamped Runout [except # etched], Side A [variant 2]): - W1-750-N2#3 [Scranton "lathe" symbol]
Matrix / Runout (Stamped Runout, Side B [variant 2]): - W2-750-N2//2 [Scranton "lathe" symbol]
Matrix / Runout (Stamped Runout, Side A [variant 3]): - W1-750-D4 [Scranton "lathe" symbol]
Matrix / Runout (Stamped Runout, Side B [variant 3]): - W2-750-D4 [Scranton "lathe" symbol]
Side 1:
A1 – MGM Studio Orchestra - High Society (Overture)
A2 – Louis Armstrong And His Band - High Society Calypso
A3 – Bing Crosby - Little One
A4 – Frank Sinatra & Celeste Holm - (Who Wants To Be) A Millionaire
A5 – Bing Crosby & Grace Kelly - True Love
Side 2:
B1 – Frank Sinatra - You're Sensational
B2 – Bing Crosby - I Love You, Samantha
B3 – Bing Crosby & Louis Armstrong - Now You Has Jazz
B4 – Bing Crosby & Frank Sinatra - Well Did You Evah?
B5 – Frank Sinatra - Mind If I Make Love To You
- Louis Armstrong and His Band as themselves
- Edmond Hall – Clarinetist
- Trummy Young – Trombonist
- Billy Kyle – Pianist
- Arvell Shaw – Bassist
- Barrett Deems – Drummer
Companies, etc.
Pressed By – Capitol Records Pressing Plant, Scranton
Credits:
Conductor – Johnny Green
Illustration – Jonson*
Lyrics By, Music By – Cole Porter
Orchestra – MGM Studio Orchestra
Notes:
——Center labels info——
From the Sound Track of the M-G-M Picture
Manufactured for Essex Productions, Inc. / Hollywood, California
——Sleeve info——
Made in U.S.A.
Barcode and Other Identifiers
Matrix / Runout (Label A): W1-750
Matrix / Runout (Label B): W2-750
Matrix / Runout (Stamped Runout, Side A [variant 1]): W1-750-N5
Matrix / Runout (Stamped Runout, Side B [variant 1]): W2-750-N10#2
Matrix / Runout (Stamped Runout [except # etched], Side A [variant 2]): - W1-750-N2#3 [Scranton "lathe" symbol]
Matrix / Runout (Stamped Runout, Side B [variant 2]): - W2-750-N2//2 [Scranton "lathe" symbol]
Matrix / Runout (Stamped Runout, Side A [variant 3]): - W1-750-D4 [Scranton "lathe" symbol]
Matrix / Runout (Stamped Runout, Side B [variant 3]): - W2-750-D4 [Scranton "lathe" symbol]
Various – High Society (Motion Picture Soundtrack)
Label: Capitol Records – W-750
Format: Vinyl, LP, Album, Mono
Country: US
Released: 1956
Genre: Jazz, Stage & Screen
Style: Soundtrack, Swing
Label: Capitol Records – W-750
Format: Vinyl, LP, Album, Mono
Country: US
Released: 1956
Genre: Jazz, Stage & Screen
Style: Soundtrack, Swing
Viewfinder links:
Net links:
Grace Kelly’s Life In Pictures NY Times obit
Chicago Tribune obit
CBS News obit
YouTube links:
High Society Official Trailer
Bing Crosby & Grace Kelly ~ True Love
Louis Armstrong ~ Beginning & End
Bing Crosby & Louis Armstrong ~ Now You Has Jazz
Bing Crosby & Frank Sinatra - Well, Did You Evah?
Frank Sinatra & Celeste Holm - Who Wants to be a Millionaire
Frank Sinatra - You're Sensational
Red, Hot and Blue compilation ~
Thompson Twins ~ Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?
Iggy Pop & Debbie Harry - Did You Evah?
Erasure ~ Too Darn Hot
"Hollywood amuses me.
Holier-than-thou for the public and
unholier-than-the-devil in reality!"
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