Auntie Mame
Auntie Mame directed by Morton DaCosta. Starring: Rosalind Russell as Mame Dennis, Forrest Tucker as Beauregard Burnside, Coral Browne as Vera Charles, Jan Handzlik as the young Patrick Dennis, Joanna Barnes as Gloria Upson, Fred Clark as Dwight Babcock, and Roger Smith as the grown Patrick Dennis.
“Live! Life is a banquet and most poor suckers are starving to death!” Auntie Mame (Superbly portrayed by Rosalind Russell, reprises her successful Broadway role.) delivers this piece of advice with much aplomb to her mousy secretary, Agnes Gooch.(Marvelously played by Peggy Cass) Mame glides through the movie with permanent smile on her face, gesticulating fancifully whenever given the chance. She lives larger than life and encourages everyone around her to do the same.
The film opens with 10-year-old Patrick Denis, a recently orphaned boy being unceremoniously dumped into his Auntie Mame’s lavish lifestyle during a swinging party. Even though little Patrick is a bit of a prig, his Auntie Mame takes an instantly liking to him and assumes parenting with the gusto that she brings to all that crosses her path.
In the opening partying scene done in one long take, Auntie Mame flits about the party, introducing her young nephew to indifferent artists, socialites, pretentious academic bores, and the unconventional riff-raff. There is even a gaggle of masculine bulldaggers gathered together on the balcony in the background!
The plot revolves around Auntie Mame’s trying to give her nephew a broad and unconventional upbringing while her nemesis, Mr. Babcock, Patrick’s trustee, tries to do the opposite, and almost succeeds.
Auntie Mame is one of the last of the great witty and urbane liberal New Yorkers. Although it is never fully explained how a former actress can afford a posh Manhattan duplex on Beekman Place (during the start of the Great Depression no less) the movie spans nine years and follows Mame around the world on her wacky escapades. The cleverly written zingers and amusing pratfalls that befall Auntie Mame make her character appealing and touching. Rosalind Russell was truly a versatile female comedienne, able to deliver tongue-tripping dialogue rapidly while being able to execute physical comedy expertly.
The movie runs long, but the sharp dialogue and slapstick scenes should keep the viewer’s interest. If you enjoy an upbeat film, Auntie Mame is a great rental choice.
