You Made Me Love You is a 1933 British comedy film directed by Monty Banks and starring Stanley Lupino, Thelma Todd and John Loder. The plot is a modern reworking of The Taming of the Shrew. In London, songwriter Tom Daly falls in love at first sight with a beautiful blonde he spies while at a traffic stop, she the inspiration for his latest song, what would become his and his father’s music publishing company’s most popular. He has no idea that she is Pamela Berne, the sister of an old friend, Harry Berne, and the daughter of Oliver Berne, the New York businessman who was planning on a merger with Mr. Daly, that is until the unfortunate first encounter he had with Tom. He also has no idea that she is a spoiled and temperamental brat, throwing violent tantrums whenever she doesn’t get her way, which is often.
In finding Pamela and learning all these things about her, Tom still wants to marry her and write more songs for which she is the inspiration. Conversely, Mr. Berne and Harry want Pamela to marry Tom if only to get her out of their hair, while Pamela will have no part of a life with this stranger. As such, Harry, with Mr. Berne and Tom’s blessing, comes up with a plan for Pamela to agree to marry Tom: they will pretend that Tom has been financing their life and is threatening to foreclose on their property, something that wouldn’t be required if Pamela became Mrs. Daly. Pamela has no choice but to agree to marry Tom if only to maintain the lifestyle to which she is accustomed. The marriage and honeymoon become a battle of the wills between Tom and Pamela, the former who only wants a loving wife, and the latter who wants to get as far away from her husband as possible, she unaware that Tom truly does love her, and that she may truly love him in return.
Kiss Me Kate is a 1953 MGM film adaption of the 1948 Broadway Musical of the same name. Inspired by The Taming of the Shrew. It tells the tale of Fred Graham and Lilli Vanessi, a divorced couple, who meet at Fred’s apartment to hear Coe Porter perform the score for Kiss Me Kate, to be directed by Fred. Lois Lane arrives to audition for the Bianca role (“Too Darn Hot”). Lilli decides against performing the lead of “Katherine”, opposite Fred in the male lead of Petruchio, as she is leaving to marry a rich Texas rancher. She changes her mind when Cole and Fred manipulate her by offering Lois the lead role.
Lois’ boyfriend, Bill Calhoun, is playing Lucentio in the play. He leads a gambling lifestyle, which results in owing a local gangster $2,000, but he has signed the IOU in Fred’s name. Lois laments his bad-boy lifestyle (“Why Can’t You Behave?”). After a fiery confrontation during rehearsals, Fred and Lilli get together in her dressing room and reminisce about happier times (“Wunderbar”). Fred later sends flowers and a card to Lois, but his butler mistakenly gives them to Lilli. Lilli is overcome by this romantic gesture and fails to read the card (“So In Love (Reprise)”). The play opens, with Fred, Lilli, Lois and Bill performing an opening number (“We Open In Venice”). In the play, Bianca, the younger daughter of Baptista, wishes to marry, but her father will not allow it until his elder daughter, Katherine, is married. Bianca has three suitors – Gremio, Hortensio and Lucentio – and each of them try to win her over. She is prepared to marry anyone (“…any Tom, Dick or Harry…”).
Petruchio arrives, seeking a wife (“I’ve Come To Wive It Wealthily In Padua”), and when he hears of Katherine, he resolves to woo her. Katherine hates the idea of getting married (“I Hate Men”). When Petruchio serenades Katherine (“Were Thine That Special Face”), Lilli finally reads the card from the flowers. She sees that it is addressed to Lois, and attacks Fred/Petruchio on stage, ad-libbing verbal abuse. As the curtain comes down, Fred spanks Lilli/Kate. Backstage, Lilli phones her fiancé, Tex, to come and immediately pick her up. Lippy and Slug, a pair of thugs, arrive to collect from Fred. Fred asks them to keep Lilli from leaving the show so it will be successful enough for Fred to pay the debt. Lois has learned that Fred has taken responsibility for the IOU and she comes to thank him, but each time she begins to thank him for not being angry about Bill forging his name, Fred kisses her to prevent Lippy and Slug from learning about his deception. Lilli and Bill walk in on the scene and become furious.
In order to keep Lilli from leaving, Slug and Lippy appear on stage, disguised as Petruchio’s servants. They have no acting ability, but still manage to amuse the audience. Petruchio sets about “taming the shrew”, but later reminisces about his days of philandering (“Where Is The Life That Late I Led?”). During the play’s intermission, when Tex arrives to rescue Lilli from the theatre, he is recognized by Lois, an old flame. When Bill is angered by Lois’ behavior, she admits that though she loves Bill, she cannot resist the advances of other men (“Always True To You In My Fashion”).
The gambling debt is cancelled by the untimely death of Slug and Lippy’s boss, so they stop interfering with Lilli’s mid-performance departure from the theatre. Fred tells her that she truly belongs in theatre, and also reveals his true feelings for her. She departs, leaving a dejected Fred to be cheered up by Slug and Lippy (“Brush Up Your Shakespeare”).
Bianca marries Lucentio. The rejected suitors, Gremio and Hortensio, meet two new girls (“From This Moment On”). At the finale, the show is temporarily halted when Lilli’s understudy goes missing. Suddenly, Lilli reappears on stage, delivering Kate’s speech about how women should surrender to their husbands (“I’m Ashamed That Women Are So Simple”). Fred is bowled over, and the play reaches its triumphant finale (“Kiss Me Kate”), with Fred and Lilli back together as a real couple.
