The Kissing Bandit (film)

The Kissing Bandit
Directed by	László Benedek
Produced by	Joe Pasternak
Written by	Isobel Lennart
Starring	Frank Sinatra; Kathryn Grayson; J. Carrol Naish;
Music by	George Stoll
Cinematography	Robert Surtees
Edited by	Adrienne Fazan
Production; company	Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Distributed by	Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Release date	November 18, 1948;
Running time	100 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$3,291,000[1][2]
Box office	$1,381,000[1]

The Kissing Bandit is a 1948 film directed by László Benedek. It stars Frank Sinatra and Kathryn Grayson, with Ricardo Montalbán, Ann Miller, and Cyd Charisse in supporting roles.

Plot

The film is set in the early nineteenth century. Ricardo (Frank Sinatra) is the son of a robber known as the Kissing Bandit. He however is a shy, Boston-bred young man who does not know how to sit on a horse. He falls for the daughter of the Spanish Governor of California.

Cast

Frank Sinatra as Ricardo
Kathryn Grayson as Teresa
J. Carrol Naish as Chico
Mildred Natwick as Isabella
Mikhail Rasumny as Don Jose
Billy Gilbert as General Felipe Toro
Sono Osato as Bianca
Clinton Sundberg as Colonel Gomez
Carleton G. Young as Count Ricardo Belmonte
Ricardo Montalbán as Fiesta Specialty Dancer
Ann Miller as Fiesta Specialty Dancer
Cyd Charisse as Fiesta Specialty Dancer
Sally Forrest as Fiesta Specialty Dancer
Edna Skinner as Juanita
Vicente Gómez as Mexican Guitarist

Songs

Music by Nacio Herb Brown, lyrics by Earl Brent and Edward Heyman.

"Love is Where You Find It"
"Tomorrow Means Romance"
"What's Wrong With Me?"
"If I Steal a Kiss"
"I Like You"
"Siesta"
"Senorita"

Reception

The film was a financial disaster, earning $969,000 in the US and Canada and $412,000 overseas, resulting in a loss to MGM of $2,643,000. This made it one of the least successful musicals in MGM history.[1][3][4]

It was reviewed - unfavourably - in Picturegoer : "the progress of [the] romance is uninspired and very dull. The one worthwhile performance comes from J. Carrol Naish as The Kissing Bandit's henchman."[5]

References

Glancy, H. Mark (1992). "MGM film grosses, 1924–1948: The Eddie Mannix Ledger". Historical Journal of Film, Radio and Television. Los Angeles. 12 (2): 127–144. doi:10.1080/01439689200260081.
Another source puts the cost at $2.5 million Variety February 1948
Variety says it earned $1.8 million see "Top Grossers of 1948", Variety 5 January 1949 p 46
"Top Grossers of 1949". Variety. January 4, 1950. p. 59.
Picturegoer, 4 June 1949, p. 16

External links

The Kissing Bandit at IMDb
The Kissing Bandit at the TCM Movie Database

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[Mannix-1] Glancy, H. Mark (1992). "MGM film grosses, 1924–1948: The Eddie Mannix Ledger". Historical Journal of Film, Radio and Television. Los Angeles. 12 (2): 127–144. doi:10.1080/01439689200260081.

[2] Another source puts the cost at $2.5 million Variety February 1948

[3] Variety says it earned $1.8 million see "Top Grossers of 1948", Variety 5 January 1949 p 46

[top-4] "Top Grossers of 1949". Variety. January 4, 1950. p. 59.

[5] Picturegoer, 4 June 1949, p. 16