Higher and Higher

As a lover of all kinds of music spanning many era's, I can safely say that Frank Sinatra is far and away my personal favourite and arguably the best male vocalist of all time.

When Higher and Higher was made back in 1944, Sinatra was still working on his craft. He had a typical 1940's Big Band voice, no different really from the likes of Ray Ebberly, Johnny Desmond or Dick Haymes but he was better in many ways. He had yet to develop his own distinctive sound which would become instantly recognisable and would eventually make him the singing sensation of the 20th century.

Yet in this largely forgettable romantic comedy, the tools are there and you are starting to see the true craftsman at work.

Sinatra played himself, which I thought was a mistake as the love stories would have worked better if he was in character and completely detached from his true self. At the time Frank was happily married to his first wife and was already the father of two, yet the script announces his engagement to the lovely Barbara Hale (of Perry Mason fame.) Obviously RKO thought very little of unimportant crimes such as bigamy.

Despite these flagrant liberties taken with Frank's personal life, the film is redeemed as he is given perfect chance to prove to us just why he was the most popular singer of the war years with powerful ballads like, 'I Couldn't Sleep a Wink Last Night,' and, 'A Lovely Way to Spend an Evening.'

What was a double treat for me was that another one of my all time favourite singers also featured in the cast. Mel Torme was an excellent artist but, 'The Man with the Velvet Voice' was not really given much opportunity in this vehicle to show us what a great singer he really was.

However despite the great songs expertly executed by the man himself, and excellent performances by the entire cast, nothing seems to rescue this film from drab dullness.

I think it's main failing was a rather weak and transparent plot, but hell..... if it past a dreary hour or so and took your mind off the horrors and reality of the war, then it had done what it had set out to do.

After watching this movie for no other reason than I was sick from school and it was on television, I recommend it if only for the chance to see such a young Frank Sinatra in action. (Especially the great scene at the "Butler's Ball.") I thought the actress who played Millie, the main character, was rather annoying, but the rest of the cast is great, especially the different servants.

When the household staff of a wealthy family find out that their employers have gone broke, they concoct a dubious scheme: have new maid Millie (Michele Morgan) pretend to be the daughter of the rich family long enough to wed a wealthy suitor and get her hands on his money, after which she'll pay the other servants handsomely. Butler Michael (Jack Haley) manages the scheme despite having feelings for Millie himself, while next door neighbor Frank Sinatra (Frank Sinatra) keeps popping over to hit on Millie, as well as sing a few tunes.

The story is minor, and the humor thin, but it was fun seeing so many later major stars in early roles. Mel Torme looks like he's about 13 years old, Barbara Hale is youthful yet still mature, and Victor Borge is a long way from the goofball that I used to see on PBS so often in the 70's and 80's. The real draw is Sinatra, of course, playing a version of himself. He sings several songs, but doesn't have much acting to do. He's very thin and looks like he's wearing a suit 3 sizes too big. One of his songs earned an Oscar nomination for Best Song ("I Couldn't Sleep a Wink Last Night"), as did the film's score by C. Bakaleinikoff.

This is not the best of films, but a cute, fluffy romantic musical comedy. The real treat is seeing Frank Sinatra, Mel Torme, and Victor Borge as young men - 3 true legends.

This was the first RKO picture for Sinatra of a 3 film RKO deal. However, Louis B. Mayer was a fan of Sinatra's - his rendition of Ol' Man River moved him to tears. Mayer contacted RKO & bought out Sinatra's RKO contract in order to bring him to MGM.

While a far cry from a "great musical classic" HIGHER AND HIGHER does have its moments. Most of them are provided by the young Frank Sinatra. As part of the Frnak Sinatra DVD collections, this flimsy musical showcases him well. I kind of liked Sinatra as the youngish, cute and innocent characters he played in this first films and up to FROM HERE TO ETERNITY. That's when he lost the "boyishness" and became a mature actor, which he handled with ease. HIGHER AND HIGHER has a cute plot that's really kind of a fairy tale, but fun. The supporting cast is really good and makes up for the plot line and contrivences. Michelle Morgan is well cast as the scullery maid turned debutante for plot purposes. Never cared for Jack Haley, but everyone else was fun. Look for a young Barbara Hale and Mel Torme. Most of the songs are well done and Sinatra could do no wrong in any of his numbers. My favorite I COULDN'T SLEEP A WINK LAST NIGHT. For some light fun and breezy entertainment, I recommend HIGHER AND HIGHER.