HIGHER AND HIGHER (RKO 1943) Warner Home Video

Based on the Gladys Hurlbut/Joshua Logan stage play, Tim Whelan’s Higher And Higher (1943) is a colossal claptrap of oddities and misfires, beginning with the insertion of Frank Sinatra as himself. The screenplay by Jay Dratler and Ralph Spence is a faire dire affair. Clearly stultified by the material he has been given, director Whelan stages the musical production numbers as though they were on the stage, with a one-dimensional lack of cinematic exuberance and with a delayed break after each – presumably, so the audience can applaud without drowning out the rest of the narrative. Sinatra’s early tenure in film was not exactly top-tier entertainment, and Higher and Higher is about as bottom-of-the-barrel as movie musicals can get; the entire focus of the piece, meant to capitalize on Sinatra’s drawing power with the bobby-soxers who, presumably, would go to see him in anything, so long as he occasionally warbled a tune. The story is that of an alcoholic hoi polloi, Cyrus Drake (Leon Errol) who awakens after a bender with his valet, Mike O’Brien (Jack Haley) only to discover his wealth has evaporated and his estate is in foreclosure in a mere 60 days. Drastic times call for drastic measures. So, Cyrus decides he will cast one of his servants in the role of his estranged daughter, Pamela – marry her off to a wealthy suitor and thus, ensure this new heir assumes all responsibilities to his creditors.

The fortunate peon is Millie Pico (Michele Morgan), an utterly clueless – if congenial – would-be heiress who, unfortunately for all concerned, has not the slightest idea of how to behave like a lady. Into this mix enters Frank Sinatra as himself – a next door neighbor who has been politely waving to Millie across the way and has finally decided to approach her socially to ask for a date. Meanwhile, one of the real Pamela’s childhood playmates, Katharine Keating (Barbara Hale) is coming out at a debutante’s ball. This, Cyrus also uses as his springboard for Millie’s debut into high society. The two women are modest rivals, though this plot entanglement is never entirely realized. Katharine’s date for this society event is Sir Victor Fitzroy Victor KBOB (Victor Borge) – a presumed wealthy pianist who is actually a scheming social climber and penniless protégé of conman, Mr. Green (Rex Evans). Through a bizarre set of circumstances, Victor finds Millie enchanting. Assuming Victor is loaded, Drake approves the marriage – a deal thwarted by O’Brien who, after being locked in the basement to prevent him from stopping the ceremony – uses a furnace pipe to launch his objections. It seems O’Brien has been in love with Millie all along and she with him. To ensure the family will not be cast into the street, O’Brien has stumbled upon a speakeasy hidden in the cellar that is reopened for lucrative business shortly thereafter. Thus, ends the narrative, with Sinatra warbling as Millie and O’Brien dance off into the clouds – a happy couple for all time.

The musical program is highlighted by two Sinatra standards; the torch ballad ‘I Couldn’t Sleep A Wink Last Night’ and poignant ‘A Lovely Way To Spend An Evening.’ The great tragedy of the film is that it becomes utterly stage-bound from the word ‘Go’ and thereafter develops along the lines of a series of implausible vignettes loosely strung together and infrequently interrupted by largely forgettable songs when all else seems to fail. There is no continuity to the story and worse, no consistency to these characters. As example, there is no reason the character of Mike O’Brien should suddenly awaken to Millie’s obvious affections toward him and furthermore, no real reason why Millie should harbor such romantic ideals about him, especially since she has been flirting with Sinatra and even mentions him as her romantic ideal at the outset when it is proposed she become the Drake family’s dupe - nee salvation by marrying rich. In the final analysis, Higher and Higher sinks lower and lower, becoming more ‘dire’ and ‘dire’ until the whole darn mess unravels to its inevitable conclusion. It’s passable entertainment value aside – the picture is so front-loaded with dead end plot points it’s only genuine appeal is to see Sinatra in his film debut.

Warner Home Video’s DVD is rather nicely rendered. The B&W image exhibits a nicely contrasted gray scale with solid blacks and very clean whites. Occasionally film grain and age-related artifacts appear, though none are distracting. The image is generally crisp with fine detail evident throughout. The audio is mono as originally recorded. Like all other Sinatra titles in this latest spate of offerings, Warner Home Video has provided NO extras and NO menu for chapter stops (annoying!).

FILM RATING (out of 5 - 5 being the best)

2

VIDEO/AUDIO

3.5

EXTRAS

0