Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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62 of 63 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
".....Boxed, like Proust!", February 13, 2001
There are certain roles that are inextricably linked to their portrayors. Bela Lugosi as Dracula, Yul Brynner as The King of Siam, Ethel Merman as Madame Rose, and, of course, Rosalind Russell as Auntie Mame. Rosalind Russell was, in my opinion, a class act. The lady had style, warmth, modesty, and a great acting talent, particularly in comedy, especially the fast-talking kind. Sure, she had some career misfires, such as her unconvincing Jewish mama in "A Majority of One", and her "slumming society dame" Madame Rose in "Gypsy", but Roz reigned supreme in comedies such as "The Women", "His Girl Friday", and, of course, "Auntie Mame" which, having created it on Broadway, it became HER signature role. Her performance is recorded for generations to come in this delighful film. Also on hand from the original Broadway cast are Peggy Cass as the frumpy, would-be butterfly Miss Gooch, and Jan Handzlik as 9-year-old Patrick Dennis, who comes to live with his madcap aunt. Add to this the fabulous, acid-tongued Coral Browne (she would become, years later, Mrs. Vincent Price!), handsome and appealing Patric Knowles and Forrest Tucker (who is extremely charming in this, possibly his best role), showbiz vets Fred Clark, Lee Patrick and Willard Waterman as Mame's snobbish betes noirs, and the largely unsung Joanna Barnes as grown-up Patrick's unbearable, shallow fiance. Her performance, replete with annoying, Gloria Vanderbilt-like accent, is one of those great performances where you laugh at her and despise her at the same time. The costumes, by Orry-Kelly, are superb - classy/crazy creations that are beautiful as well as mad. The same can be said about the ever-changing decor of Mame's Beekman Place duplex-from Japanese to Moderne to Louis XIV to library chic to 50s modern to East Indian-well, there you have it! And, of course, there is the wonderful Betty Comden/Adolph Green script, which is full of so many quotable lines that it has become part of my friends' and mine lexicon! The film is a little episodic, but who the hell cares? I definitely prefer this film to the sadly unfunny, leaden musical version with Lucille Ball. I love Lucy, too, but "Mame" was not for her. Auntie Mame is one of my favorite heroines. She is a woman full of adventure, fun, style, even a little bitchiness, but she is not mean. She has a generous, kind heart and is not a "money" snob or a "social-order" snob. Every parent should make their children watch this film-mine did, and am I glad! Roz rules!
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45 of 45 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Life's A Banquet--and Auntie Mame Invites You To It, March 12, 2003
The Patrick Dennis novel was a runaway bestseller--and it was soon followed by a stage version starring Rosalind Russell, who was born to play the madcap Mame in this story of an eccentric, fast-living society woman of the 1920s who "inherits" her nephew when her brother died. Determined to "open doors" for her adoring nephew, Mame exposes to him everything from bootleg gin to oddball characters--all the while doing battle with her nephew's ultra-conservative trustee, who is equally determined that the boy's life remain free of "certain influences."This is a knockout show, and Rosalind Russell delivers a knockout performance in it--easily her finest comedy performance since 1939's THE WOMEN. She is extremely well supported by the sadly under-acknowledged Coral Brown in the role of Vera Charles, an actress who passes out in Mame's apartment with considerable regularity, and Forrest Tucker as the Southern gentleman who becomes her knight in shining honor; the supporting cast, which includes Fred Clark, Peggy Cass (particularly memorable as Agnes Gooch, Jan Handzlik, Roger Smith, and Joanna Barnes is equally flawless. The infamous "production code" was still somewhat in force when AUNTIE MAME was filmed, and consequently several of the play's most famous lines had to be re-written--but this scarcely gets in the way of Russell and company, and director DaCosta offers a brilliant compromise between the art of cinema and the "set piece" nature of the stage show. The production values are rich, the score is memorable, and everything about the show is a tremendous amount of fun; by the time it ends, you'll wish that Auntie Mame was yours. Although there were a few minutes when I felt the film had been slightly cropped, the DVD version offers a visually stunning print of the film in its original ratio, and the sound is quite good as well. The few extras are nothing to speak of--but frankly, it hardly matters: this is one film you'll be glad to have on DVD, for you're likely to wear out a VHS in short order. If you need a good laugh, especially one with a slightly satricial edge, you'll adore AUNTIE MAME from start to finish. One of my favorite films, and strongly recommended.
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44 of 46 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
One of the best that isn't on those Top 100 lists, November 8, 2002
This is the one and only version of Auntie Mame that anyone should ever see. Rosalind Russell is brilliant as the eccentrically loving Mame who takes in nephew Patrick and includes him in her madcap life. Having been charmed by the original release of the film back in the '50s, I had the great pleasure of introducing my (now-adult daughter) to Mame--thereby bringing another generation forward to share the pleasure of the production.Dealing as it does with the highs and lows of Mame's fortunes, her loves and losses and, always, her devotion to Patrick, there is great comedy, genuine sentiment and some wonderful social comment as well. While Russell always turned in fine performances (The Women, most notably), she put subsequent wannabe efforts to shame. The Lucille Ball version (in which she looks as if she was shot through Vaseline-covered cheesecloth) is lamentably bad, going for cheap laughs. But there is nothing cheap about this, the original. From Mame's efforts to be a salesgirl at Macy's during the Christmas season, to her gentle put-down of an anti-semite, Russell is glorious as Mame--big-hearted, big-humored, and wonderfully off-center. And good performances are given across the board by co-cast members Peggy Cass, Coral Browne, Forrest Tucker, and Connie Gilchrist and Yuki Shimoda as Russell's faithful staff.
Get this and share it with special friends and family. It is truly one of the all-time great movies.
My highest recommendation.
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