IMDb plot summary: A roguish poet is given the run of the scheming Wazir's harem while pretending to help him usurp the young caliph.
Directed by Vincente Minnelli. Starring Howard Keel, Ann Blyth, Dolores Gray, and Vic Damone.
So let's address the elephant in the room - every single main character is a person of color played by a white person, and the show makes a lot of use of exotic Arabian Nights-style stereotypes which are very messy. That being said, this movie looks GORGEOUS. It's got these vivid colors and these great big dramatic shots that make the whole thing feel very musical theater and very larger than life in all the best ways. The songs themselves don't really stand out in and of themselves (I can't remember a single one now that the film's over), but the vocal performances are lovely, and I was certainly never bored watching them. This has all the earmarks of a classic Golden Age Hollywood musical, and I adored all those trappings, while always wishing that it wasn't quite so much cultural cosplay.
How it entered my Flickchart:
Kismet > High School Musical 3: Senior Year
Kismet > The Black Cat
Kismet < Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation
Kismet < The Martian
Kismet < We're Not Married!
Kismet > Before Sunset
Kismet > The Impostors
Kismet > Cloud with a Chance of Meatballs
Kismet > The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes
Kismet > Is It College Yet?
Kismet > City Lights
Final spot: #724 out of 3305, or 78%.
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