Frank Sinatra and Kathryn Grayson are paired together again in this 1940s musical that's a cross between The Mark of Zorro and The Court Jester. After getting an education in Boston, Frankie returns home to California to take over his dead father's hotel business. J. Carrol Naish, his father's faithful sidekick, is delighted to have another leader, but when Frankie arrives, they're both disappointed. It turns out, the hotel business was a cover-up—Frankie's dad was really "The Kissing Bandit" who kissed women after robbing their stagecoaches. Frankie's not a crook or a ladies' man, so J. Carrol Naish has his hands full when trying to train the new bandit.Hidden in this cute and colorful musical are cameos by Mildred Natwick, Cyd Charisse, Ricardo Montalban, and Ann Miller. Yes, it's a little campy and corny, but compared to a lot of 1940s silly musicals, this one is pretty cute. There are some funny jokes and cute songs, including Kathryn Grayson's "Love is Where You Find It". If you're not looking for anything too serious, rent The Kissing Bandit for a fun girls' weekend!

MGM musical starring Frank Sinatra and Kathryn Grayson. Sinatra plays the son of a businessman who had a secret identity as the Kissing Bandit in California. When his father dies, Sinatra moves from Boston to California to take over the business - and the Kissing Bandit identity. The problem? He's kind of a wuss. During his first raid, he's too afraid to kiss Kathryn Grayson, the daughter of the governor, which causes her to seethe with jealousy. The Kissing Bandit has an awfully low IMDb rating at 4.7, but I didn't think it was that bad. It's certainly no worse than a good chunk of MGM musicals made around the same time. Sure, we could wish it were better, but it's cute enough, funny enough and it has some pretty good songs. Grayson is absolutely adorable in it. The film also includes Cyd Charisse, in what might be her lousiest dance sequence ever (obviously the choreographer's fault) with a whip to charm Sinatra, and Ann Miller and Ricardo Montelbahn (along with another uncredited dancer) share a fine dance as "fiesta specialty dancers".

A klutzy young man returns West after being schooled in the hotel business via Boston; he quickly learns his friends in Spanish-colonized Old California expect him to fill his deceased father's shoes instead--that of a romantic thief known for kissing his female victims after robbing them. Colorful but silly M-G-M production has a great deal of talent before and behind the camera, but it never takes off. This might have been fun, second-string material for Abbott & Costello, but Frank Sinatra looks lost and embarrassed in the lead. Combination of raucous comedy and musical interludes are hindered by the poor staging (Sinatra is photographed singing at one point in a mirror, but one doesn't concentrate on his performance so much as noticing how odd the star appears reflected in this way!). Kathryn Grayson is the Governor's daughter who falls for Frank, and her high soprano trilling turns her singing scenes into self-parody. Aside from Robert Surtees' cinematography and the decent art direction, this "Bandit" remains kissless. * from ****

The Kissing Bandit was the third and final film that Frank Sinatra and Kathryn Grayson co-starred at MGM with. The first two were Anchors Aweigh and It Happened in Brooklyn. And in both Sinatra wooed and lost Grayson. I guess the third time's the charm.For romance maybe, but definitely not for screen image. Sinatra in his forty's films once again plays the nice little schnook only this time in toreador pants. Poaching on Tyrone Power's territory laid out in The Mark of Zorro, Sinatra plays the son of a man who was a hotel owner by day and The Kissing Bandit by night. He's gone and left California for an education and has come back ready to take Dad's place, but in the hotel business only. And where does he learn the hotel business, Boston.Of course some of Dad's former gang members, grown a little old and paunchy led by J. Carrol Naish, want him to lead the gang again. But Frank's just not cut out for the outlaw life. But he does make a good impression on the Governor's daughter, Kathryn Grayson.Somebody must have had it in for Sinatra at MGM to cast him in this after the bad reviews he got in Miracle of the Bells. Frank's in a part that was more suitable for Red Skelton. But since this was a musical, I guess the brain trust at MGM figured Kathryn Grayson had to have a singing co-star.In fact the best number in the film are for her, Love Is Where You Find It. Also Ricardo Montalban, Ann Miller, and Cyd Charisse do a dance specialty that is nice. Frank's songs are nice, but nothing spectacular.In later years, Sinatra would wince at the mention of The Kissing Bandit and with good reason.