A musical romantic comedy with Bing Crosby, Grace Kelly, Frank Sinatra, and Louie Armstrong? Hollywood used to be very different. Getting to experience the treasures of the past is one of the best things about the Warner Archive Collection, and the other is the top-notch quality that they put into their releases. The new High Society 4K release allows you to enjoy the star-studded musical in all of its glory, as it is beautifully shot in VistaVision (eat your heart out, The Brutalist) and painstakingly restored to display in Dolby Vision.
“Bing Crosby, Grace Kelly, and Frank Sinatra romp elegantly through the scenic, moneyed grounds and waters of outwardly elitist Newport, Rhode Island, in this hip, witty musical version of Philip Barry’s The Philadelphia Story. Legendary Louis Armstrong as himself, plays his trumpet and narrates in prose and song the peccadillos of his songwriter friend C.K. Dexter Haven (Crosby), his beautiful perfectionist ex-wife Tracy Samantha Lord (Kelly, in her final film role), and her stuffy fiancé George Kittredge (John Lund). Sinatra and wise-cracking Celeste Holm are a scandal sheet reporter and photographer who arrive to cover the wedding and complicate the tangled romances. Armstrong and his composer buddy conspire musically and by other devious means to stop Tracy’s marriage. Dexter wants her back, but she takes off with the magazine writer — all of which gives everybody wonderful excuses to break into the incomparable songs of Cole Porter. M-G-M pulled out all the stops to make High Society a must-see screen event back in 1956, even arranging to license Paramount’s magnificent widescreen process VistaVision, to ensure the film would be something special. Now meticulously restored and remastered in 4K UHD HDR and Dolby Vision from its original VistaVision negative, and accompanied by a thrilling new Dolby Atmos remixed soundtrack, High Society looks and sounds better than ever before!” says the official description
Directed by Charles Walters, High Society is a musical remake of 1940’s The Philadelphia Story. The movie revolves around Bing Crosby’s character trying to win the heart of his ex-wife, played by the always-wonderful Grace Kelly. The star power is electric, with Frank Sinatra, Celeste Holm, and John Lund rounding out the main cast and Louis Armstrong and his band appearing. The nine songs are also catchy, as the legendary Cole Porter did the score. It also features the first collaboration between Sinatra and Crosby (“Well, Did You Evah!”), as well as being Kelly’s lone musical. Is it as good a movie as The Philadelphia Story? Not quite, and few films are, but it’s plenty enjoyable and brings its own merit thanks to the musical aspect.
The High Society 4K release is one of the best-looking films of the year. Shot in VistaVision, Warner Archive has delivered a new scan of the original negative and done a fantastic job cleaning up the image while leaving in film grain. It’s truly one of the most beautiful discs I’ve had the pleasure of owning, and its audio is just as wonderfully restored with a Dolby Atmos mix. Looking and sounding as good as possible, this is a wonderful reason to upgrade to the 4K and to pick it up if you’ve never seen it before.
The High Society 4K release features over 30 minutes of bonus features. This includes a 2003 retrospective, a newsreel showing off the red carpet, three radio spots (with Crosby, Kelly, and Sinatra), and three original trailers for the film. There’s also a Droopy cartoon (1956’s “Millionaire Droopy”), which is a fun watch and a nice extra, even if it’s unrelated.
High Society 4K Review: Final Verdict
While High Society isn’t one of my favorite musicals, it’s a charming film that is full of memorable scenes. It’s the final film of Grace Kelly’s career as she would leave Hollywood behind to become a literal Princess, and seeing the main trio together is a real treat. Warner Archive’s High Society 4K does a great job of restoring this classic, as it’s never looked and sounded so good.
Disclosure: Distributor provided product for our High Society 4K review.
