A certain factory style momentum
kept the various departments at MGM moving forward in their tasks – designing,
building, planning and rehearsing. But all these things needed a significant
amount of directorial enthusiasm - or at least engagement - to achieve any kind
of happy culmination. Howard Keel’s memories of “Kismet” suggest that that
element was missing from early on. The actor-singer had plenty of reasons to be
excited about his part. For one thing, this would be the first musical in which
he’d be top-billed. Previously, the names of his female co-stars (even Ann
Blyth, in the previous year’s “Rose
Marie”) had always come first. Blyth was
an important star, but with the phenomenal success of “Seven Brides for Seven
Brothers”, Keel was now, at very least, equal
in status. Furthermore, the role of Haaj was, without doubt, the major one
in “Kismet”. He had more scenes, more songs and fifty times more dialogue than
any of his co-stars. Haaj was linchpin to the whole story, offering any
actor who played him both exciting opportunity and major challenge. No
“Kismet” could work without a dynamic, charismatic Haaj at its center.
Keel, energized and eager, was
determined to make his performance memorable. And having Minnelli, monarch of movie
musicals, at the helm would have made the outlook seem all the more promising.
Director and actor had worked together only once before – and that very
briefly. In 1952 Minnelli had been brought in to concoct a lavish finale for
the Grayson-Keel vehicle “Lovely to Look
At”. (Mervyn LeRoy had done the rest of
the picture). Minnelli had mainly
occupied himself with decor, fashion and
movement. But that one scene, in its finished form, was
generally conceded to be the highlight of the picture. So Keel had every reason
to believe Minnelli might bring the same
kind of magic – from beginning to end – to “Kismet”.
According to Keel, though, word
got out very quickly that Minnelli was doing the picture under duress. Surely,
the director’s initial intentions were to make the best of a bad bargain. But
his mood had further soured when MGM was unable to deliver a couple of the
actors he’d wanted. Apparently, Minnelli
was very keen on getting Robert Morley to play the wicked Wazir. He also wanted Cyd Charisse in the film
(Marsinah? Lalume? Charisse seems an uneasy
fit for either. Imposingly statuesque and less than three years younger than
Keel , Charisse would have been a stretch as his daughter; she’d also have to be dubbed for the songs . And though
she was both striking beauty and superb dancer , Charisse’s onscreen
personality –lady-like and reserved - was almost as low-key as Damone’s. She was certainly no mistress of comedy. Minnelli
and Cole may have devised some stunning Dance of the Seven Veils for her. But It’s hard to imagine Charisse delivering
the droll insinuations and double entendres Dolores
Gray tossed off with such aplomb.
At any rate, according to Keel,
Minnelli’s on set behavior was not encouraging.
The actor found him rude, impatient, dictatorial and dismissive. Offering little in the form of help or
suggestions. Also increasingly transparent
in his scorn for the property and his eagerness to get the whole
thing over with as soon as possible. Keel wound up
getting more actual guidance from choreographer Jack Cole and conductor Andre Previn. The actor was also
disappointed in what he saw as top brass indifference. Having pulled out the
stops convincing/forcing Minnelli to do the thing, MGM honchos were just happy they’d
won the argument - and quite unwilling to admit the results were far from
optimum. Besides which, they probably figured the faster the shooting schedule,
the bigger the profit margin. So let Minnelli keep racing. For a disillusioned
Keel, filming gradually degenerated into a daily grind. Near the end of shooting, the actor supposedly observed Minnelli on set planning scenes
for “Lust for Life”, while all but ignoring the picture at hand. He went to head office and delivered an
ultimatum, stating that if Minnelli was on the set next day, he wouldn’t be. Keel got his way. But
Minnelli was hardly downcast. Itching to get on with “Lust for Life”, he immediately
hot-footed it to Europe, quite happy to be
off even sooner than planned. According to Keel, Mervyn LeRoy completed what
had to be done. Minnelli always maintained it was Stanley Donen. Even on this
point, the two couldn’t agree. And to further complicate matters, Ann Blyth remembers Richard Thorpe as the man who finished the picture. Perhaps all three
directors polished off different sections.
Most
people (myself included) think Howard Keel was pretty terrific in “Kismet”. But
he always regretted that the version committed to film hadn’t really given him
the opportunity to perfect his portrayal. Happily, in later years, Keel
played Haaj in various stage productions and was eventually able to fully
inhabit and enjoy the role. Despite his disappointment with Minnelli, Keel
always spoke warmly about his three “Kismet” co-stars. Blyth and Gray, both determinedly positive thinkers, remembered the
project in a much fonder light, relatively happy with the filming and the film. Blyth does, however,
recall that, though she enjoyed working with Keel , she was aware he and
Minnelli were often at loggerheads. Conceding as well that Vincente Minnelli was, perhaps, not
totally committed to the project - as a result of which "Kismet" never quite achieved that distinctively inspired Minnelli shimmer.
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