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Highly Overrated But Still Good

Admirable film.

Let me be very fair here, this is not the best movie in my opinion. But, this movie is fun, it has purpose and is very enjoyable to watch.

Great example of an old-fashioned, pure-at-heart escapist event movie that doesn't pretend to be anything that it's not and has boat loads of fun being its own ludicrous self.

A very rich man in a big, beautiful house with lots of servants is broke. He can't afford his big, beautiful house, and he hasn't paid his servants in months. Collectively, the servants come up with the idea to pass off a maid, Michele Morgan, as their boss's daughter, since his real daughter is abroad in Europe, and then to marry her off to a rich man to save the household. The problem is that Michele is in love with the valet, Jack Haley. He doesn't know she's alive, but their singing neighbor next door, Frank Sinatra—who actually plays himself—sure notices her! It's very silly, but there are some cute songs and funny jokes, and the romances are very entertaining. As silly and corny as this movie is, I actually liked Higher and Higher. Just make sure you're in the mood for that combination before you rent this black-and-white musical. The cast works well off each other and the plot is very funny. Plus, it's cute to see a very young Frank Sinatra, but don't expect any acting chops on him yet; all he does in this one is sing.

I really, really hated "Higher and Higher" and it's a shame, as I really wanted to like it. After all, there are few reviewers on IMDb who love classic Hollywood films like me and a huge number of my reviews are for such films. But the lousy writing of this film made it very difficult to watch and its only saving grace was a chance to hear Frank Sinatra sing some lovely tunes.The plot of "Higher and Higher" seems almost like it comes from some sitcom. In other words, it's very goofy and enough to keep the audience interested for about 30 minutes. However, the dumb plot idea wears very thin because it doesn't make sense and Michele Morgan was rather pretty but incredibly awful in this film. I could understand why she eventually returned to France to make movies considering the tripe they had her doing in films like this! The story begins at a mansion. The man of the house (Leon Errol) has just learned that he's penniless. Instead of panicking, his butler (Jack Haley) has a crazy idea--to give one of the maids a makeover and pass him off as his European-raised daughter. Then, supposedly, rich guys will come out of the woodwork to marry her and save the estate. There are two major problems with this--Morgan's character is an idiot and she is in love, secretly, with Haley (though you have no idea why). The problem is that the plan is rather nasty, Morgan's character is dumber than Gracie Allen and the romance that is tacked on at the end makes no sense at all. Mostly I blame the writers for this one, as it really could have used a massive re-write. Another director also might have helped. All I know is that silly plot could have worked but here you just keep holding on until the next time Sinatra appears to sing a tune.

Higher and Higher was one of Rodgers&Hart's lesser Broadway musicals it only had a run of 84 performances on Broadway in 1940. Yet it yielded one of their bigger hits It Never Entered My Mind.Nevertheless except for one minor song, So Disgustingly Rich, the entire Broadway score was scrapped when RKO bought the film rights. Instead a whole new score by Jimmy McHugh and Harold Adamson was written, mostly to accommodate one Francis Albert Sinatra who was making his feature film debut.Sinatra who had done some vocal cameos in previous films, takes a leaf from the page of his singing rival Bing Crosby. When Bing did his feature film debut in The Big Broadcast, he played Bing Crosby. Frank Sinatra took on the role of Frank Sinatra and I can't think of anyone who could have done a better job. The Chairman of the Board is billed third here behind stars Jack Haley and Michele Morgan. He's the butler and she's the scullery maid to Leon Errol. In fact Errol is a millionaire who hasn't paid his help for seven months. Mainly because he's about to go belly up into chapter 11 or so he informs the staff.Errol's a delightful old soul to work for and none of the staff want to lose a good thing. They pool their resources and get Michele Morgan to impersonate Errol's daughter who's over in Switzerland with her mother. The idea being to snag a rich bankroll in the hopes rescuing the family fortune. Only Michele starts looking at another.It's a slight plot and certainly no worse than a whole lot of musicals, but RKO invested this film with a good cast of players. Barbara Hale and Elizabeth Risdon play another débutante and her mother who suspect something's not right, Victor Borge is a fortune seeking no account, Dooley Wilson, Paul Hartman, Grace Hartman, Marcy McGuire, Mel Torme and Mary Wickes, play others of the Errol household staff. Not a bad bunch at all.Sinatra sang three good ballads all of them had some kind of commercial success, The Music Stopped, A Lovely Way to Spend an Evening, and I Couldn't Sleep a Wink Last Night. The last one was nominated for an Oscar for Best Song, but lost to Alice Faye's You'll Never Know.1943 was the year of the Musician's Union Strike against the recording industry. To get their material out, Frank Sinatra recorded the songs from Higher and Higher with an acapella chorus for Columbia. Bing Crosby recorded songs from his film Dixie in the same manner for Decca. Both of them were denounced by the president of the union, James C. Petrillo as strikebreakers and both did not cross the picket line again. The strike wasn't settle completely until 1944 although Decca broke ranks earlier from the other record companies and settled earlier than Columbia, RCA Victor and the others.The strike provided some anxious moments for Sinatra. He had just left the Tommy Dorsey Orchestra when the strike was called. It closed off a needed venue for his artistry when he wasn't sure whether leaving Dorsey would prove to be a right career move. Fortunately Higher and Higher was received well a legend was launched.

This movies should never be listed as one of the best films of all times, but I enjoy this film every time I watch it. I would watch it just for the songs, because there are some very beautiful songs in it. I got an XM radio just so I can listen to songs from this era.The movie provides a little twist to the usual Cinderella story. Here is the maid supposed to be finding her Prince Charming and become rich, but all she wants to do is be a maid and marry the valet who enjoys the chance to play a rich girl once in awhile. Millie never gets what she is supposed to do providing for some comedic scenes. One of my favorite's is the Butler's Ball when she does everything to keep dancing with her love including losing her skirt.This movie is a fun twist on an old fashioned tale. If you want meaningful storyline with a big plot line don't watch it, but if you want some light-hearted laughs and good 40's music than this is for you.