By the time Frank Sinatra got his co-starring role in a movie - this one, he had become a new singing heart-throb of the young bobbysoxers of the day. "Higher and Higher" is supposedly a loosely based film on a 1940 Broadway musical, but doesn't resemble it much at all, as others have noted. Regardless, RKO assembled a somewhat strange cast for this film. It's supposed to be a comedy musical, and romance, but it just delivers on the musical aspect, and that's not very notable.
Sinatra's singing and appearance in the start of his film career is really the only reason to see this film. The film got two Oscar nominations for its music. The best song nomination, "I Couldn't Sleep a Wink Last Night" is the only number that people might be familiar with. There were no hit tunes. But, it's almost a certainty that Sinatra's draw is what made this film a small success. It finished 81st in box office receipts for the year.
The problems with the film are threefold. The screenplay just wasn't very good. It is humorless with forced attempts at comedy. That's the worst thing that can happen with a comedy. And Michele Morgan in the lead role as Millie is a disaster. The role really needed a comedienne to play it, and that's one type of role she could not do well. The French actress had gone to Hollywood during WW II, but she didn't catch on with American movie fans as did some other European actresses. So, with a poor screenplay, an actress who couldn't do comedy well, obvious forced attempts for comedy by most of the rest of the cast, and the odd script that makes Morgan's Millie come across as a buffoon and ignorant person, this is rare film that leaves some fans embarrassed for poor Miss Morgan. And, as for the rest of the cast -- Jack Haley, Leon Errol, Mary Wickes, Barbara Hale and Paul Hartman all had much better work in memorable films. And, Victor Borge became one of the most popular comedy and musical entertainers on the stage and in nightclubs, theaters and on TV for more than four decades.
After a few little known films in Hollywood, Morgan returned to France where she resumed a successful career in mostly dramatic roles and mysteries. And, Sinatra's star continued to rise slowly until he starred and co-starred in some smashing musicals and then dramas, beginning with "Anchors Aweigh" in 1945.
Sinatra's singing and appearance in the start of his film career is really the only reason to see this film. The film got two Oscar nominations for its music. The best song nomination, "I Couldn't Sleep a Wink Last Night" is the only number that people might be familiar with. There were no hit tunes. But, it's almost a certainty that Sinatra's draw is what made this film a small success. It finished 81st in box office receipts for the year.
The problems with the film are threefold. The screenplay just wasn't very good. It is humorless with forced attempts at comedy. That's the worst thing that can happen with a comedy. And Michele Morgan in the lead role as Millie is a disaster. The role really needed a comedienne to play it, and that's one type of role she could not do well. The French actress had gone to Hollywood during WW II, but she didn't catch on with American movie fans as did some other European actresses. So, with a poor screenplay, an actress who couldn't do comedy well, obvious forced attempts for comedy by most of the rest of the cast, and the odd script that makes Morgan's Millie come across as a buffoon and ignorant person, this is rare film that leaves some fans embarrassed for poor Miss Morgan. And, as for the rest of the cast -- Jack Haley, Leon Errol, Mary Wickes, Barbara Hale and Paul Hartman all had much better work in memorable films. And, Victor Borge became one of the most popular comedy and musical entertainers on the stage and in nightclubs, theaters and on TV for more than four decades.
After a few little known films in Hollywood, Morgan returned to France where she resumed a successful career in mostly dramatic roles and mysteries. And, Sinatra's star continued to rise slowly until he starred and co-starred in some smashing musicals and then dramas, beginning with "Anchors Aweigh" in 1945.