Prompt: Here, Sinatra vies with Bing Crosby. How has the crooner rivalry changed? Where does Sinatra fit musically in this film, which locates Bing amidst jazz culture?
While Sinatra and Crosby's characters do vie with one another for the affection of Grace Kelly's character in the film, there is still a good rapport between the two of them, that is friendly and competitive at the same time. In the one duet that the two of them have together, the combination seems to really work well and it seems like they feed off of each other. Crosby plays C.K. Dexter-Haven, the ex-husband of Tracy Lord (Kelly). Mike Connor (Sinatra) and Liz Imbrie (Celeste Holm) are reporters from Spy Magazine who are supposed to be covering Tracy's upcoming wedding to a man named George. Dexter and Mike are both attracted to Tracy, and while the two males do share some characteristics they also are different from one another.
Crosby is strongly tied to jazz music and that culture, while Sinatra stays more true to his normal performance style. Jazz was becoming more of a popular musical style, but some people considered it to be somewhat vulgar or not 'real' music. In the beginning of the movie Tracy scathingly calls Dexter a "jukebox hero" because of the popular jazz music that he's made, and then tells him that he could have been a great composer and done something great with his life. She feels like he's completely thrown away his talent and doesn't understand why he is so drawn to jazz. Not only does Dexter write music that Tracy doesn't really approve of, but he is also hosting the Jazz Festival at his house. The influence of jazz and its welcoming of improvisation are seen in some of Crosby's singing numbers; at one point he starts randomly humming and singing along to the music that Louis Armstrong is playing, and while it probably was staged, it has a feeling of spontaneity to it.
It feels like there is not much improvised or spontaneous in Sinatra's performances, and that he is much more traditional in his style and approach to musical numbers. However, I will add that his songs fit well with the story and what is happening at a particular moment. Twice in the film Sinatra sings directly to Kelly in attempt to woo her, and this is very unusual for one of his characters in a film to do. In contrast, the night of Tracy's bachelorette ball, Crosby sings a song about her that she overhears from her bedroom window.
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