It's no definitive masterpiece but it's damn close.

Good start, but then it gets ruined

Did you people see the same film I saw?

Great story, amazing characters, superb action, enthralling cinematography. Yes, this is something I am glad I spent money on.

A successful Broadway musical that opened in 1953 and won the Tony Award for Best Musical, "Kismet" was brought to the screen by MGM under the guidance of producer Arthur Freed and director Vincente Minnelli. Despite those gilded credentials, the film is a mixed bag that flies high when Howard Keel sings, and plummets when Vic Damone is on screen. Keel has a strong baritone voice that, coupled with a physique and screen presence to match, enhanced such great musicals as "Show Boat," "Kiss Me Kate," and "Seven Brides for Seven Brothers." If a younger Keel had been cast as the Caliph in this film, his rendition of "Stranger in Paradise" alone would have rocked the theaters. However, cast as Hajj, Keel has lesser songs, and, while he gets a girl, he does not get the girl. Although Vic Damone had a successful recording career, his on-screen presence is pallid, and his voice, while good, fails to match Keel's by any measure. As the Caliph, Damone is a wimpy colorless ruler.Beyond the two male leads, Anne Blyth appears as Marsinah, Hajj's daughter, and Dolores Gray plays Lalume, the Wazir's wife. Both are adequate, but Gray displays her extensive musical experience, although her broad performance is better suited to stage than screen. Set in a never-never land called Baghdad, which should not be confused with the capital of Iraq, the slight predictable storyline involves a young caliph seeking a wife, a strolling inventor of rhymes, the rhymer's lovely daughter, a power-hungry wazir, and the wazir's neglected wife. While admittedly derived from a stage production, the on-screen silliness plays against obviously fake backdrops derived from some production designer's fantasies. Perhaps the art director over-indulged in curry, kebabs, and hummus, then fell asleep reading "The Arabian Nights." The sets are garish and flimsy, and the costumes are equally gaudy. However, cinematographer Joseph Ruttenberg captures all the vibrant color, which is undeniably eye catching, and Andre Previn adapted the fine Broadway score, based on melodies by Alexandr Borodin.Unfortunately, the skilled hands of Freed, Minnelli, Ruttenberg, Previn, and Keel could not lift "Kismet" above a second-tier MGM musical. Despite some memorable songs, energetic choreography by Jack Cole, and a bold brash performance by Howard Keel, the film can be tough going at times. What should have soared, instead lumbers. Movie musicals petered out in the years after "Kismet," and, while this adaptation did not hammer in the last nails, it did not help either. However, for MGM musical completists and fans of Howard Keel, "Kismet" is essential viewing; for others, passable entertainment at best.

Kismet is not the best of the MGM musicals, the songs sound plain bad to modern ears and hence a reason why the musicals died a celluloid death. Even the story and direction is heavy handed with little fun injected.Howard Keel plays the opportunistic poet and beggar Hajj in old Baghdad. His daughter Marsinah falls for the young Caliph who is wandering in the market in disguise as a commoner.Hajj gets mistaken as man who has the power to inflict curses and rewind them which brings him to the attention of the powerful Wazir who wants the Caliph to marry someone else.The directing and scenery in Kismet is pedestrian, you would not even think that this was directed by Vincente Minnelli. The film also has an unfortunate mix of the middle east and far east, one of the dance sequences at the end was more Thai influenced.

6-12-2014: The Blu-ray of this film was released this week and I received mine today and watched it. Please allow me to share something that I just posted at FSM (Film Score Monthly), in a discussion about the Blu-ray release of this film (including thoughts on the Blu-ray of "Fame"):I received my copy of the "Kismet" Blu-ray today, and almost immediately watched it. First, it's gorgeous, and the audio sounded quite good with my elaborate surround system. But I found myself getting impatient with the movie, and did feel that it hasn't aged well (despite looking gorgeous). Once I finished watching it, I felt a need to see a more contemporary musical, so I put on my Blu-ray of Alan Parker's "Fame," which has hardly aged at all in the 24 years since it was released, and what fun it was! I remember seeing the movie at the Picwood Theater on the west side of L.A. and being so thrilled by it that I returned a few days later with some of my best friends, who also loved it. Watching "Fame" today, I was reminded how wonderful it was, and during the big ("I Sing The Body Electric") musical number at the end, I was bawling my eyes out."Fame" looks and sounds wonderful, and, as I wrote, it has hardly aged a bit. Having bought too many Blu-rays (and DVDs!) I'll never watch more than once, "Fame" is an exception! For fans of this version of "Kismet" (it was filmed before with Ronald Coleman), you're going to love the Blu-ray, which is quite crisp and sounds wonderful. But, for me, I just don't feel that it has aged well.Please forgive my writing less about "Kismet" than the other movie!

Kismet's main problem is that it is not timeless. The playwright, scriptwriter, director, whoever, decided to put in a bunch of stuff that simply shreiks 50's. The song 'bored' is an example, as is the arrival of the three princesses of ababu (or whatever it is). If this story could have this crap removed, and replaced with some believable (and tasteful) Bagdad Arabian Nights stuff, then the wonderful songs like 'stranger in paradise' would have a proper frame. As it is, the music is trying to shore up a third-rate story. Is such a thing possible? It's like South Pacific, which with some massaging of the dialog, could be vastly improved, without changing the story. This music really deserves better.