The Kissing Bandit

Director: Laslo Benedek Laslo Benedek

Overview

In this comedy, a young man journeys to California to run his recently deceased father's inn and is shocked to discover that his father was a kissing bandit. The members of his father's old gang then convince the fellow to follow in his father's footsteps.

Product Details

Release Date:	06/18/2019
UPC:	0883929689743
Original Release:	1948
Rating:	NR
Source:	Warner Archives
Sound:	[Dolby Digital Mono]
Language:	English
Time:	1:40:00
Sales rank:	49,138

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Frank Sinatra	Ricardo
Kathryn Grayson	Teresa
J. Carrol Naish	Chico
Mildred Natwick	Isabella
Mikhail Rasumny	Don Jose
Billy Gilbert	General Felipe Torro
Sono Osato	Bianca
Clinton Sundberg	Col. Gomez
Edna Skinner	Juanita
Vincente Gomez	Mexican Guitarist
Henry Mirelez	Pepito
Nick Thompson	Pablo
Joe Dominguez	Francisco
Alberto Morin	Lotso
Pedro Regas	Esteban
Julian Rivero	Postman
Mitchell Lewis	Fernando
Byron Foulger	Grandee
Ricardo Montalban	Fiesta Dancer
Ann Miller	Fiesta Dancer
Cyd Charisse	Fiesta Dancer
Carleton Young	Count Belmonte
Nacio Brown	Composer
André Previn	Composer
Earl Brent	Composer
Edward Heyman	Composer
George Stoll	Composer
Albert Sendrey	Composer
Scott Bradley	Composer

Technical Credits

John Briard Harding

Isobel Lennart

Albert Sendrey

Laslo Benedek	Director
A. Arnold Gillespie	Special Effects
Joe Pasternak	Producer
John Briard Harding	Screenwriter
Isobel Lennart	Screenwriter
Albert Sendrey	Screenwriter

Editorial Reviews

One only has to think about the concept -- Frank Sinatra in a period musical as an innkeeper-cum-desperado in Old California -- to quickly realize that The Kissing Bandit was doomed to failure. It's tempting but ultimately unfair to blame Bandit's extremely poor quality on Sinatra; but while the crooner does indeed deserve to shoulder his fair share of the blame, it's equally true that even with a more appropriately cast star, the best Bandit could have hoped for would have been mediocrity. After all, there's only so much that can be done with this kind of plot, especially when the writers don't seem to know whether they're writing it straight or spoofy. A stronger directorial hand would undoubtedly have helped, but Laslo Benedek's work here is strictly routine. Sinatra sounds good when he's singing, of course, but his performance here is otherwise dreadful. Kathryn Grayson comes across better, although her own dramatic work is really only adequate. The songs are pleasant, with "Love is Where You Find It" actually quite engaging. The film's undeniable high spots are two dance-oriented numbers, one with the lovely Sono Osato and the other the exciting "Dance of Fury" with Ann Miller, Cyd Charisse and Ricardo Montalban. There's also the usual handsome MGM production values -- quite nice, but not enough to offset the flaws.