Though her career only spanned six years and eleven films, Grace Kelly is considered one of the most iconic, fashionable stars in cinematic history. Released in 1956, High Society is a remake of Philip Barry’s social satire The Philadelphia Story. Co-starring Bing Crosby, Frank Sinatra, Celeste Holm and Louis Armstrong, there are several jazzy Cole Porter tunes added to the mix.
The rather simple plot revolves around socialite Tracy Lord (Kelly), who is about to marry a second time, when her first husband C.K. Dexter-Haven (Crosby) shows up for the pre-wedding festivities. Spy magazine reporter Mike Connor (Sinatra) and photographer Liz Imbrie (Holm) are there to cover the wedding, as Tracy finds herself between her fiancé, Dexter-Haven, and Connor. While Tracy ultimately must make a choice between these three very dissimilar men, in the end, true love wins out.
Having filmed To Catch a Thief in Monte Carlo the previous year, Grace Kelly fell in love with the area. She returned there months later represent the U.S. at Cannes. It was then that she met 32-year-old Prince Rainier of Monaco. By the time cameras rolled on High Society, Grace was sporting a 10.5-carat engagement ring, which she wore in the film.
High Society allows its top billed stars to do what they’re best at. Bing Crosby’s voice has never been smoother, and his easy-going acting style is appealing. One of the films highlights is a tipsy duet featuring Sinatra and Crosby, “Well, Did You Evah!” as Mike, Sinatra oozes cool, and Grace Kelly is as stylish as ever, and Celeste Holm adds some acidic charm as the overlooked Liz. Louis Armstrong pops up, often with his band, to perform standout musical numbers. George Kittredge is properly stiff as Tracy’s fiancé, Louis Calhern in his last role as Uncle Willie, Sidney Blackmer as Tracy’s dad, Margalo Gillmore as Tracy’s mother, and Lydia Reed as Tracy’s younger sister, round out the supporting cast.
When High Society finished filming, Grace Kelly returned to Europe for the wedding. MGM paid for the glamorous wedding dress, comprised of 25 yards of silk taffeta, 100 yards of silk net, and thousands of pearls. With that, Grace Kelly ended her film career and began her reign as Princess Grace, Her Serene Highness.
The original VistaVision 1.85:1 theatrical aspect ratio has been faithfully rendered in 4K. The image is excellent throughout, with lifelike clarity. HDR adds additional brilliance to the Technicolor processing, resulting in true color processing throughout. Skin tones look natural. The stock shots used in a couple of scenes (when driving) point out how bad this can look in older films. That aside, High Society looks great in 4K.
The newly remixed Dolby Atmos soundtrack sounds as good as it looks. Music is a high point, with wonderfully separated vocals. Most of the dialogue comes from the center channel with orchestral accompaniments in the surrounds. The 4K and the included Blu-ray of the film feature the almost five-minute overture, and, for purists, there is a DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 mono track.
English SDH subtitles are available.
Both the UHD and the Blu-ray discs contained in this package have the same extras:
- Cole Porter in Hollywood (HD, 8:59)
- Premiere Newsreel (HD, 1:07)
- Radio Promos (15:36)
- Millionaire Droopy (HD, 6:56) 1956 animated Cinemascope short.
- Trailers (HD, 4:03, 4:13, 0:46)