- “Summer Under the Stars” – Howard Keel: On Aug. 4, TCM will be presenting 13 titles, 10 of which are musicals. Among these are five classics/near-classics: Kiss Me Kate, Annie Get Your Gun, Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, Show Boat, and Calamity Jane.
TCM ‘Summer Under the Stars’ – Aug. 4: 13 Howard Keel films, including the Oscar-nominated Seven Brides for Seven Brothers
Turner Classic Movies’ “Summer Under the Stars 2025” continues on Aug. 4 with 13 titles – 10 musicals, two comedies, one Western – starring Howard Keel, a powerfully built and powerfully voiced Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer star during the first half of the 1950s who, three decades later, would gain small-screen celebrity status thanks to the long-running series Dallas. (See TCM’s Howard Keel film schedule further below. Most titles will remain available for a while on the Watch TCM app.)
Of note, among TCM’s Howard Keel presentations are five of the best-known and best-liked musicals of the studio era: Kiss Me Kate, Annie Get Your Gun, Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, Show Boat, and Calamity Jane.
Below are brief comments about Howard Keel’s “Summer Under the Stars” films.
Ride, Vaquero! (1953)
In the role of Ava Gardner’s husband – a settler who joins forces with bandit Robert Taylor to fight Mexican nationalist/bandit Anthony Quinn – third-billed Howard Keel delivers the most memorable performance in John Farrow’s moderately compelling post-Civil War Texas-set Western Ride, Vaquero!, easily Keel’s most successful ($895,000 in profits) non-musical.
Callaway Went Thataway (1951)
Screenwriters-directors Melvin Frank and Norman Panama’s engaging television satire Callaway Went Thataway (1951) provides third-billed Howard Keel – listed below Fred MacMurray and Dorothy McGuire – a good double role: An egotistical, alcoholic former Hollywood cowboy star and his manly but courtly cowpoke doppelgänger.
Similarities to The Prisoner of Zenda are likely no coincidence. Things get a bit trickier when it comes to comparisons to Cat Ballou, as the “good” Lee Marvin also happens to be a raging alcoholic.
Curiously, Hopalong Cassidy actor William Boyd (his hugely popular big-screen character is the inspiration for Callaway Went Thataway’s TV cowboy) also encountered trouble with his “double”: William “Stage” Boyd, who every now and then would get into scrapes with the law. These reached news outlets, which would at times publish images of his thespian namesake.
Note: Callaway Went Thataway features cameos by Esther Williams (Howard Keel’s costar in that year’s Texas Carnival [see below]), Clark Gable, and Elizabeth Taylor.
Texas Carnival (1951)
A solid commercial hit,* Charles Walters’ romantic musical comedy Texas Carnival (1951) is an artistic letdown.
Esther Williams and Red Skelton (who had previously costarred in the more amusing blockbusters Bathing Beauty and Neptune’s Daughter) become enmeshed in a case of mistaken identities (theirs), passing for rich folk when they’re actually dunk tank operators at a local carnival. Third-billed Howard Keel is the broad-shouldered foreman who falls for the nearly-as-broad-shouldered carny.
* Texas Carnival earned MGM $3.8 million in worldwide rentals (the share of the box office gross that goes to the studios) and $681,000 in profits.
Pagan Love Song (1950)
The first of three movies starring Esther Williams and Howard Keel, Robert Alton’s joie de vivre-less romantic color musical Pagan Love Song has nothing in common with W.S. Van Dyke’s late-silent era hit The Pagan, beyond the South Pacific setting, a mixed-race lead character, and the titular song first crooned by Ramon Novarro in the 1929 movie.
Esther Williams plays a part-Polynesian/part-European young woman who dreams of leaving behind the tediousness of tall palm trees, crashing waves, and blissful moonlights for the hustle and bustle of life in the United States. But that all changes after she meets Howard Keel’s recently arrived schoolteacher from Ohio.
Note: In the past, TCM has aired a mediocre print of Pagan Love Song, which also features future Oscar winner Rita Moreno (West Side Story, 1961) in one of her earliest roles.
Fast Company (1953)
John Sturges’ modestly budgeted romantic comedy Fast Company (1953) was another non-musical money-loser ($275,000 in the red) for Howard Keel, cast as a horse trainer out to cheat the beautiful – and inexperienced – owner (Polly Bergen) of a racehorse. Nina Foch is featured as the other woman, out to cause trouble for all involved.
Lovely to Look At (1952)
Based on Jerome Kern and Otto Harbach’s 1933 Broadway musical Roberta, Mervyn LeRoy’s Lovely to Look At (1952) does justice to its title in terms of visual qualities – a generally good-looking cast, cinematography by George J. Folsey, gowns by veteran costume designer Adrian.
The songs, among them “Smoke Gets in Your Eyes,” are also top-notch. If only the proceedings had been as lively as they are lovely.*
Kathryn Grayson and Howard Keel star in the roles incarnated by Irene Dunne and Randolph Scott in RKO’s William A. Seiter-directed 1935 big-screen transfer of the stage musical, also titled Roberta. Gower Champion and Marge Champion landed the old Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers roles.
* With our most sincere apologies.
Kiss Me Kate (1953)
In their third and final pairing, Kathryn Grayson and Howard Keel received good notices for their work in George Sidney’s handsomely mounted musical comedy Kiss Me Kate, in which they play a divorced musical-theater couple who appear to spend more time fighting than singing while rehearsing Cole Porter’s (fictional) musicalized version of William Shakespeare’s The Taming of the Shrew. In a supporting role, Ann Miller steals all her scenes.
Annie Get Your Gun (1950)
More entertaining than several other better-regarded classic musicals of the studio era, George Sidney’s* blockbuster Annie Get Your Gun bursts with energy thanks to its star, Betty Hutton (on loan from Paramount as a replacement for a “difficult” Judy Garland). Howard Keel plays real-life Irish-born marksman Frank Butler, the romantic interest of Hutton’s warbling Annie Oakley.
* George Sidney replaced Charles Walters who had replaced Busby Berkeley.
Seven Brides for Seven Brothers (1954)
The only Howard Keel movie to be shortlisted for the Best Picture Academy Award (in addition to four other nods), Seven Brides for Seven Brothers is everything a romantic musical comedy should be: It features excellent songs (Saul Chaplin, Gene de Paul, and Johnny Mercer); vibrant musical numbers (choreography by Michael Kidd); gorgeous (color) cinematography (by veteran George J. Folsey); and personable, capable leads (Jane Powell, Howard Keel).
Seven Brides for Seven Brothers is supposed to have been Howard Keel’s favorite among his films.
Show Boat (1951)
A sizable box office hit, George Sidney’s Show Boat – based on Jerome Kern and Oscar Hammerstein II’s 1927 Broadway hit* – is unquestionably one of the best Hollywood musicals of the studio era.
Howard Keel is fully believable as the riverboat gambler who romances Kathryn Grayson, who, as Magnolia, shows that she could be a capable dramatic actress. Top honors, however, go to Ava Gardner as the tragic mulatto Julie.†
* Previously filmed at Universal by Harry A. Pollard in 1929 (with Laura La Plante, Joseph Schildkraut, and Alma Rubens) and by James Whale in 1936 (with Irene Dunne, Allan Jones, and Helen Morgan).
† On screen, Ava Gardner’s singing was dubbed by Annette Warren, though Gardner’s voice is featured in the soundtrack album.
Calamity Jane (1953)
Featuring songs by Sammy Fain and Paul Francis Webster (including the Oscar-winning “Secret Love”) and some eyebrow-raising lesbian subtext (screenplay by James O’Hanlon), Warner Bros.’ David Butler-directed Calamity Jane is one of Doris Day’s best star vehicles. On loan from MGM, Howard Keel costars as Wild Bill Hickok.
Note: Calamity Jane and Annie Get Your Gun have similar settings but dissimilar storylines.
Rose Marie (1954)
Directed by Mervyn LeRoy and featuring choreography by Busby Berkeley, Rose Marie lacks the verve of the filmmakers’ early 1930s output at Warner Bros.
In this third big-screen* adaptation of Otto Harbach and Oscar Hammerstein II’s hyphenated 1924 operetta Rose-Marie – with music by Rudolf Friml and Herbert Stothart – Howard Keel plays a Canadian Mountie, Fernando Lamas a fur trapper, and Ann Blyth the tomboy turned full-fledged female they both compete for. The ending is a both a surprise and a letdown.
Note: Next Aug. 16, Ann Blyth will be turning 97 years old.
* MGM had previously filmed Rose Marie in 1928 and, loosely, in 1936. Spelled Rose-Marie, the silent version was directed by Lucien Hubbard, and featured Joan Crawford, James Murray, and House Peters. The 1936 adaptation was directed by W.S. Van Dyke, and starred Jeanette MacDonald and Nelson Eddy.
Jupiter’s Darling (1955)
In a year’s time, Howard Keel went from career peak (the 1954 blockbuster Seven Brides for Seven Brothers) to career bottom (the 1955 box office duds Jupiter’s Darling and Kismet).
Based on Robert E. Sherwood’s 1928 play about the relationship between Carthaginian military commander Hannibal (Keel) and a Roman denizen (Esther Williams, with singing voice by Jo Ann Greer), George Sidney’s pedestrian Ancient Rome-set musical comedy lost MGM a disastrous $2.3 million.
As it happened, Jupiter’s Darling and Kismet marked the end of Howard Keel’s association with MGM and the end of his Hollywood stardom.
Immediately below is Howard Keel’s “Summer Under the Stars 2025” film schedule.
Howard Keel films: TCM schedule (EDT) – Aug. 4
6:00 AM Ride, Vaquero! (1953)
Director: John Farrow.
Cast: Robert Taylor, Ava Gardner, Howard Keel, Anthony Quinn, Jack Elam, Kurt Kasznar, Ted de Corsia, Charlita, Walter Baldwin, Rex Lease.
90m8:00 AM Callaway Went Thataway (1951)
Directors: Melvin Frank & Norman Panama.
Cast: Fred MacMurray, Dorothy McGuire, Howard Keel, Jesse White, Natalie Schafer, Douglas Kennedy, Elisabeth Fraser, Don Haggerty.
Cameos: Clark Gable, Elizabeth Taylor, Esther Williams.
81m9:30 AM Texas Carnival (1951)
Director: Charles Walters.
Cast: Esther Williams, Red Skelton, Howard Keel, Ann Miller, Paula Raymond, Keenan Wynn, Glenn Strange, Tom Tully.
77m11:00 AM Pagan Love Song (1950)
Director: Robert Alton.
Cast: Esther Williams, Howard Keel, Minna Gombell, Charles Mauu, Rita Moreno.
76m12:30 PM Fast Company (1953)
Director: John Sturges.
Cast: Howard Keel, Polly Bergen, Nina Foch, Carol Nugent, Marjorie Main, Horace McMahon, Iron Eyes Cody, Joaquin Garay, Robert Burton.
67m2:00 PM Lovely to Look At (1952)
Director: Mervyn LeRoy.
Cast: Kathryn Grayson, Red Skelton, Howard Keel, Ann Miller, Gower Champion, Marge Champion, Zsa Zsa Gabor, Kurt Kasznar, Marcel Dalio.
105m4:00 PM Kiss Me Kate (1953)
Director: George Sidney.
Cast: Kathryn Grayson, Howard Keel, Ann Miller, Keenan Wynn, Tommy Rall, James Whitmore, Ron Randell, Kurt Kasznar, Bobby Van, Bob Fosse, Willard Parker, Ann Codee, Claud Allister, Dave O’Brien.
111m6:00 PM Annie Get Your Gun (1950)
Director: George Sidney.
Cast: Betty Hutton, Howard Keel, Louis Calhern, Keenan Wynn, Benay Venuta, J. Carrol Naish, Edward Arnold, Clinton Sundberg.
107m8:00 PM Seven Brides for Seven Brothers (1954)
Director: Stanley Donen.
Cast: Jane Powell, Howard Keel, Jeff Richards, Russ Tamblyn, Marc Platt, Matt Mattox, Tommy Rall, Jacques D’Amboise, Ruta Lee, Virginia Gibson, Julie Newmar.
103m10:00 PM Show Boat (1951)
Director: George Sidney.
Cast: Kathryn Grayson, Ava Gardner, Howard Keel, Joe E. Brown, Agnes Moorehead, Gower Champion, Marge Champion, Robert Sterling, Leif Erickson, William Warfield.
108m12:00 AM Calamity Jane (1953)
Director: David Butler.
Cast: Doris Day, Howard Keel, Allyn Ann McLerie, Philip Carey, Dick Wesson, Paul Harvey, Chubby Johnson, Gale Robbins.
101m2:00 AM Rose Marie (1954)
Director: Mervyn LeRoy.
Cast: Ann Blyth, Howard Keel, Fernando Lamas, Bert Lahr, Marjorie Main, Joan Taylor, Ray Collins, Chief Yowlachie.
115m4:00 AM Jupiter’s Darling (1955)
Director: George Sidney.
Cast: Esther Williams, Howard Keel, Marge Champion, Gower Champion, George Sanders, Richard Haydn, William Demarest, Norma Varden, Douglass Dumbrille, Michael Ansara.
96m
“Howard Keel Films on TCM” notes
Howard Keel “Summer Under the Stars” film schedule via the TCM website.
Howard Keel publicity shot: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer.
“Howard Keel Films on TCM: 5 Classic Musicals” last modified in August 2025.