Pretty much a waste f time - Cole Porter at his weakest, routine dance numbers and overall weak acting. Comedic timing is off by a mile. If you have to do a copy of Ninotchka, at least make it your own and don't try to mimic Greta Garbo, please. Fred Astaire is wooden - why would a woman like Cyd here fall for him? Not for a minute. Obviously lots of money was spent - the result though unfortunately is forgettable. Let's forget this movie and rather enjoy Wilder's and Lubitsch' masterpiece one more time.

"Silk Stockings" is based on a Broadway musical and the 1939 film, "Ninotchka." Both of those are based on a story by Melchior Lengyel, and this film further includes a book written on the original story. The 1939 MGM film was a huge success when it hit theaters just a month after the start of World War II in Europe. Efforts to revive it during the war were stopped because the Soviet Union was then an Ally. The film was banned in the Soviet Union.Cole Porter wrote the music and lyrics for the 1955 Broadway play by the same title (his last work for the stage). It starred Hildegard Neff and Don Ameche. Porter had a popular hit from the show, "All of You." He wrote one more number for this film, at the behest of Fred Astaire, "The Ritz Roll and Rock." It was Astaire's nod to the emerging music culture of rock and roll. While the stage musical was a success with 478 performances, the movie fizzled and lost MGM $1.4 in 1957. The story keeps some of the dialog of the original "Ninotchka," especially between the leads. Fred Astaire plays Steve Canfield and Cyd Charisse is Ninotchka Yoschenko. Charisse is quite good at imitating the Ninotchka of Greta Garbo, but the change in the story with the male lead casts Astaire in his all- too-familiar role as a stage or film producer or director. And, that role and his part here seem out of place and don't work well. Some of the rest of the casting wasn't that good. Janis Paige as Peggy Dayton was way overboard in a bombastic role. And, the three derelict Russian commissars here couldn't' match the three great supporting character actors of the original film. However, the inclusion of Peter Lorre as one of the commissars, with some particularly funny lines and actions, gave the film a badly needed shot in the arm. Other than the hit song, "All of Me," and the very funny and clever "Siberia," most of the musical numbers were just so-so. Even Astaire's special "roll and rock" number wasn't very special. Except for a 1968 single film return with some light footwork ("Finian's Rainbow"), this was Fred Astaire's last dancing movie. To his credit, the great master of dance quit while he was near top form. Yet, even here, Astaire's dance numbers are tame and without pizazz or creativity. Astaire continued to act and appear in films and on TV for more than two decades. But his career as a leading star in music and dance films was closed. It was an amazing career for a 58-year-old song and dance man – perhaps the greatest of all time.Seven stars may be generous for this film, but I give them for the good comedy and performances of some stars – notably Charisse and Lorre. And, because it's Astaire's swan song for his dancing career. This doesn't come close to the great dance films of the past, but it's okay for whiling away a rainy afternoon. Check the Quotes section on this IMDb Web page of the film for funny lines. Here are a few. Bibinski, "Come. We talk to him now." Brankov, "Very casual. Don't frighten him. Smile." Bibinski, "I haven't smiled in 30 years."Markovitch, on the desk intercom, "I want to look somebody up. Does this office have a copy of 'Who's Still Who?'"Steve Canfield, "Ninotchka, don't you like me at all?" Ninotchka, "The arrangement of your features is not entirely repulsive to me."Ninotchka, "In Russia, when someone wants someone, he says, 'You, come here!'" Steve Canfield, "Oh, you mad, romantic Russians."

After seeing a lot of Fred Astaire films in grainy black & white RKO productions here is Fred in MGM spruced up colour. Silk Stockings is a 1956 musical remake of Ninotchka the 1939 comedy starring Greta Garbo which was billed as 'Garbo laughs.'The remake is a clash of culture musical-comedy and was made during the cold war period when the USA was looking for reds under the beds at home. Therefore there is some bite to the satire.Cyd Charisse plays the pretty but stern Russian envoy sent to Paris to bring back a musical composer unwilling to return to Russia and who has been contracted to write low brow music for a film by the producer Fred Astaire. She also has to retrieve the three bumbling idiots who were originally sent to get him back but were diverted by the glitz of Paris courtesy of Astaire. Fred distracts Cyd by taking her to nightclubs, getting her stunning outfits, showing her the landmarks as well song and dance where she begins to thaw and starts to enjoy the bourgeois and decadent lifestyle of the west. Its not long before Cyd is kicking those famous legs high.The film is a little variable in quality and also rather overlong. The studio bound Paris setting does not help matters but some of the musical numbers gets in the way of the story and pads out the running time.There is a nice supporting cast with Peter Lorre scene stealing with his between the chair and table Cossack dancing and Janis Paige stunning as the Esther William's type film star.The film is a sad farewell note to the musicals of yesteryear, there is a song and dance number called 'Stereophonic Sound.' At the climax we see Fred singing and dancing to a rock n roll number which is a take on the famous Bill Haley song which kind of has its own surreal charm.

Musical version of "Ninotchka". Three bumbling Russian men go to Paris to bring a Russian composer home. He doesn't want to go and a friend of his named Steve Canfield (Fred Astaire) talk them out of it. Then strict unemotional Ninotchka Yoschenko (Cyd Charisse) comes by to get the job done. Steve falls for her and tries to get her to fall in love with him.This is a good MGM musical but far from being one of the best. The dance numbers are energetic but dull (Charisse's strip tease goes on forever), the songs are forgetful, it's far too long and the simplistic portrayal of Rusians would be offensive if it weren't so silly. Still it does have its good points--Astaire and Charisse are in top form and just great; Peter Lorre actually sings AND dances (sort of); Janis Paige is full of energy and steals every scene she's in; the script is somewhat amusing and the "Stereophonic Sound" number is a show stopper (and the only good song in the film). So, all in all, it's worth catching but no great shakes. I give it a 7.