Grace Kelly‘s name is forever woven into the fabric of classic Hollywood. Despite only starring in 11 films, her cinematic footprint will live on for eternity.
Unfortunately for the classic movie connoisseur, 11 movies aren’t nearly enough to satisfy our natural inclination. Some wonder what Grace‘s career would’ve looked like had she not relocated to Monaco and married Prince Rainier.
Would there be more Hitchcock in her future?
Would she win manage to win another Academy Award?
Who knows? I’d like to think she’d go in a different direction.
In 1956, Grace Patricia Kelly wed Prince Rainier of Monaco in a wedding ceremony that would rival anything you’d see in Game of Thrones. Flowers, champagne, the sound of 1,000 trumpets – ‘the whole shebang’; it was truly a remarkable sight to behold. Coincidentally, just a couple months earlier, Grace was in Hollywood filming what would be the last movie she’d ever perform in.
High Society is a musical comedy romp that stars a marvelous cast of actors and actresses that include Bing Crosby, Grace Kelly, Frank Sinatra Celeste Holm, and John Lund.
Directed by Charles Walters the film tells the story of wealthy socialite Tracy “Samantha” Lord and her journey to self-discovery as she falls in love with three men: C.K Dexter Haven (her ex), George Kittredge (her very dull and insipid fiancé) and Mike Connor (the magazine photographer sent to her residence to catalog her upcoming wedding.)
Throughout the movie, we see Sam and her many suitors go through a number of different situations like, getting drunk and going for a “romantic swim” (aka skinny dipping in classic Hollywood terms) in the family pool, speeding around the various mansions of Newport, Rhode Island and revisiting old memories with her estranged ex-husband.
Watching Grace Kelly as Samantha Lord juggle these three men so effortlessly was a joy to watch.
Her comedic timing was impeccable; her delivery was impressive for an actress who was primarily known for her dramatic roles.
I suppose that’s why it’s so unfortunate that Grace quit Hollywood when she did. High Society seemed like the type of movie Grace could’ve continued to make had she not married royalty. Don’t get me wrong, I adore her love story with Rainier, but, it would’ve been interesting to see what direction her career would’ve taken if she stayed in Hollywood’s ‘dream factory.’
I envision her career going the way of a Rosalind Russell or even Katharine Hepburn; actresses who’ve starred in dramatic pictures but, are also very well known for their work in comedy.
In the end, all this speculation is in vain. Although it would have been wonderful if Grace continued with her movie career, I can’t help but think that she found her natural calling of being a princess.
How could you go wrong with that?
To read more entries in this blogathon, click: here.
Anybody Got A Match? 
Yes, I think everybody would have loved to see her continue her career as an actress!
Excellent choice for the blogathon and great article as well! I’ve always loved High Society (and The Philadelphia Story as well!) and I perfectly agree with you that she had a perfect comedic timing. Too bad we didn’t have the occasion to see more of it! I found it interesting when you said that her carrer could have been similar to the ones of Katharine Hepburn and Rosalind Russell! Grace was indeed an actress I think could have suited to many movie genre and different types of roles.
Thanks so much for your participation to the blogathon
PS: “dull and insipid” really is the best way to describe George Kittredge.
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Yeah! I’m glad you enjoyed it! I really do believe that if Gracie would’ve continued on in her career, she could’ve been a fantastic comedienne, it’s a shame really….
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I think many projects were planned for her, such as Hithcock’s Marnie, but thinks went differently. Dolores Hart had a similar situation if you are a bit familiar with her.
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It would of been interesting to see her in Marnie. Although Tippi Hedren did a incredible job, I would’ve liked to see Grace in that role. As for Dolores Hart, no I haven’t.. I’m a bit embarrassed that I’ve haven’t, haha. I’ll look her up. Thanks for mentioning her!
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She’s not as famous as Grace Kelly! Anyway, to make a short story, she stopped her carrer in 1963 when she was only 24 or so to become a nun. She’s still alive and is at the Abbaye of Regina Laundis in Connecticut. She attended the Oscar in 2012 because a documentary about her life was nominated. My uncle wrote a fiction book that has her story as a central subject and he met her and once in a while they write to each other. 🙂 So it’s mostly because of that that I discovered her. She was often compared to Grace Kelly, not only because they shared a physical ressemblance but because she had a very short acting career. I saw a majority of her movies and I can tell you she was a promising actress. If you want to discover her, I’ll recommend you to start with Where the Boys Are? It’s a highly entertaining film!
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Yes! I read up on her, and I believe she’s been in a couple of films with Elvis. Her story is quite something. All at the age of 24, wow… I certainly couldn’t have done it. By chance, do you know the name of the book your uncle wrote? It sounds fascinating.
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Yes it’s called Elvis & Dolores, unfortunately if my memory is good it hasn’t been published in English (we’re francophones).
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Ohh. Cool! Maybe I could pick it up anyway. I’m trying to learn some French and I bet it’ll make for good reading.
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[…] from Anybody Got A Match? discusses Grace Kelly’s last film, High Society, in a great and interesting […]
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I love this film! Grace is perfect as Samantha. It is a shame that she never made more films, she was really starting to prove by this time that she was a very good dramatic actress.
I really love The Philadelphia Story, but it is High Society that is my favourite of the two films.
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Yes! I love them both of them equally. It’s a shame Grace couldn’t do more films….
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Ah yes, that is a tantalizing question, What If Grace Kelly Stayed in Hollywood?
I’m always surprised she only made 11 films. A huge impact indeed!
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Yes only 11 films…. it’s a shame, really…
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