Moments of Movie Wisdom: Wifely Duty in ‘Kiss Me, Kate’ (1953)

A publicity still for the 1953 film "Kiss Me, Kate" starring Kathryn Grayson and Howard Keel. MovieStillsDB

Commentary

William Shakespeare is called the Immortal Bard not only because his compositions shaped the English language and literary styles for hundreds of years, but because his plays dealt with universal themes, which are just as true today as in the Elizabethan Era. One of his most famous quotes is “All the world’s a stage, And all the men and women merely Players.” This line from “As You Like It” is quoted in many movies, but especially aptly in one particular film.

Today’s moment of movie wisdom is from “Kiss Me, Kate,” a 1953 MGM musical based on Cole Porter’s play of the same name about a Broadway musical take on Shakespeare’s “The Taming of the Shrew.” The scene is at the end of the movie. It’s the climax of both the play within the film and the film itself. Leading lady Lilli Vanessi (Kathryn Grayson) had walked out during the show because of the constant fighting with her ex-husband, Fred Graham (Howard Keel), who is not only her leading man but the show’s director. Just when Fred is wondering whether the understudy is coming, Lilli appears. Her character, Katherine, delivers an eloquent speech about the folly of women who try to dominate their husbands, revealing that she herself has been tamed of her shrewishness. The scene reflects the transformation which has taken place in real life between Lilli and Fred.

The Story

Hot-headed performers Lilli Vanessi and Fred Graham were once a great performing duo and married couple, but they’ve now been divorced for almost a year. They reunite at Fred’s apartment when he and composer Cole Porter (Ron Randell) try to convince Lilli to play the leading lady in the musical “Taming of the Shrew” they are producing. Just as Lilli is starting to consider the tempting offer, Fred’s latest discovery, over-the-top nightclub dancer Lois Lane (Ann Miller), bursts in to show Porter the dance routine Fred has promised she can do in the show. Angry that the brassy chorus girl would play her character’s younger sister, Bianca, Lilli says that she couldn’t take the part because she is marrying a millionaire cattleman, Tex Callaway (Willard Parker). However, after Fred offers to make Lois the leading lady instead, Lilli agrees to do the show.

Jump to opening night, when Lilli and Fred are at each other’s throats. However, they pause their fighting long enough to fondly reminisce about their early marriage. Meanwhile, Lois’s shifty beau and dancing partner in the show, Bill Calhoun (Tommy Rall), has lost $2,000 to some tough gamblers. Since he didn’t have the money, he signed Fred Graham’s name on the IOU. Before long, two thugs (Keenan Wynn and James Whitmore) show up at the theater to collect from a confused Fred. Minutes before curtain, Lilli receives a lovely bouquet from Fred, which rekindles her love for him. However, Fred knows that it will turn to hatred when she reads the note she tenderly tucked in her costume and realizes the flowers were for Lois.

A publicity still for the 1953 film "Kiss Me, Kate" starring (L-R) Kathryn Grayson, Ann Miller, and Howard Keel. MovieStillsDB

The Scene

In this scene, the characters in the play are dressed in very festive attire because Bianca is getting married. Petruchio (Keel) tells his father-in-law (Kurt Kasznar) that he knows Katherine won’t come in to answer his message to her. Between lines, Fred whispers to his fellow actor that the understudy is going on. Suddenly, he hears Lilli’s beautiful voice say, “What is thy will, sir?” She looks ravishing in her red wig and orange velvet Renaissance dress. As Fred stares at her incredulously, she whispers, “That’s your cue, Fred.” Remembering himself, Fred stammers his line, “Katherine, I charge thee, tell these headstrong women what duties they owe their lords and husbands.” Katherine responds my delivering the following speech, which is almost a direct quote from Shakespeare:

“I am ashamed that women are so simple to offer war where they should kneel for peace; or seek to rule, supremacy, and sway when they are bound to serve, love, and obey. Why are our bodies soft, and weak, and smooth, unapt to toil and trouble in the world, but that our soft conditions, and our hearts, should well agree with our external parts? So hold your temper, wives, and meekly put your hand beneath your lord and husband’s foot. In token of which duty, if he please, my hand is ready, ready may it do him ease.”

Its Significance

This scene takes place 102 minutes into the film, only 3 minutes before the end. It’s also the finale scene of a very eventful opening night of Cole Porter’s “Taming of the Shrew.” Although audience members are rarely aware of the drama which happens backstage during a live production, one would have to be sleeping in his seat to not notice some strange goings-on between the cast members! A good deal of this film’s runtime is dedicated to the musical numbers and dialogue in the show.

A publicity still for the 1953 film "Kiss Me, Kate" starring Kathryn Grayson and Howard Keel. MovieStillsDB

By this point, we’re just as familiar with the characters in the play as with the characters in the movie. Life imitates art so much during the show that the leading couple have ad-libbed much of the dialogue and action to express their hostility toward each other. Thus, when Katherine delivers this poignant speech, we know that the shrew has been tamed in the play and in real life (although Lilli certainly is gentler offstage). In the process, both husbands are cured of their selfish, philandering habits since they realize how important marriage is to them.

Feminine Wisdom

To modern ears, this monologue automatically sounds prejudiced against women. After all, didn’t Shakespeare and Cole Porter join forces to make the leading lady admonish other females to serve her husband? However, there is great wisdom in this scene, which is just as poignant in 2023 as it was in 1953 and in 1593. The message isn’t that women should be subservient slaves to men but that we are naturally the gentler sex.

When we try to dominate men or compete with them on their level, we’re denying our natural condition. By trying to be hard and tough, we’re denying our God-given role, qualities, and greatest strength. Externally, we are inclined to be soft and smooth, so we should embrace our natural femininity emotionally as well as physically. In doing so, we can be truly effective as positive forces in our families, communities, and in the world at large. As Lilli and Katherine learn, “to offer war when we should kneel for peace” only destroys our own happiness.