Customer Reviews

Auntie Mame (Widescreen Edition) [VHS]

5 star:		(214)
4 star:		(15)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(7)

 

 

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!

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.

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.

After a long period during which amazon.com didn't sell this wonderful movie, they're finally putting it up again. Thank God!

This really is a great movie, filled with scenes and one-liners that will have you laughing for days after you've seen this. I swear, it's that funny! The Betty Comden-Adolph Green screenplay, based on the Lawrence and Lee stage play which was in turn based on the Patrick Dennis novel, is excellent. The costumes are amazing, and the supporting cast is hilarious, notably Peggy Cass, a riot of Mame's clueless secretery, Agnes Gooch ("Agnes, you're coming out!" "WHERE?") Coral Browne as Mame's actress friend, Vera Charles, and Joanna Barnes as Mame's nephew's airhead fiancee. ("It's REALLY top-drawer!") And then there is Roz. Rosalind Russell, recreating her stage success, gives the performance of her life as Mame Dennis, the eccentric socilite who beleives that "Life is a banquet and most poor suckers are starving to death!" Delivering the one-liners to perfection and looking great in those costumes, what's even better about the performance is her incredible warmth and obvious love and affection for her nephew. A breath of fresh air amid all the snobby, rich bigots she encounters in the movie and who were very prevelent then and now, Mame/Roz is one of a kind, and we all love her for it. Don't you wish you knew someone like her, or better yet were like her yourself! A great movie, thakfully on sale again for all to buy, enjoy, and be enlightened by.

It should be noted that Auntie Mame has had a healthy life. From novel to play to movie, she was turned into a musical showcase for Angela Lansbury in the 1960s, another great performance preserved on the musical's cast album. Unfortunatly, the musical's film version, with Lucille Ball in the title role, is every bit as bad as this movie and its Broadway cousin are good. But that's the only blemish in the history of this remarkable character of fiction.

I am happy to declare "AUNTIE MAME" is fine on DVD. This delightful romp is letterboxed but no matter. It looks and sounds perfect anyway. The fabulous Rosalind Russell shines like a diamond tiara as "Mame"---a role she was born to play and the supporting cast is sterling. This is a treasure to be savored again & again for the many hilarious vignettes chronicling her relationship with her orphaned nephew as he grows up under her unorthodox tutelage. We should ALL have an Auntie Mame in our lives and to finally have this film on DVD is close enough for me. A gorgeous Technicolor extravaganza like they don't make anymore and as full of charm and brilliant dialogue as it is endless pleasure, "AUNTIE MAME" is HERE and this poor sucker won't be starving to death for genuine entertainment. Bravo to Warner Bros. for delivering this classic in fine form.

I'm a big fan of this movie after only seeing it 3 times. It's filled with great scenes and one-liners that'll have you laughing for days on end. I won't spoil them; you'll have to watch the movie to find them. Rosalind Russell gives the performance of a lifetime. She's got great dialogue and great costumes! Not only that, she's a very warm person and shows true love for her nepwhew. I really wish I had an Auntie Mame, or a Rosalind Russell in the person of Auntie Mame! there are plenty of other great performances, too, such as Peggy Cass, who's an absolute riot as mame's hopelessly out-of-it secretery, Agnes Gooch, and coral browne, who's good as Mame's friend, the first lady of the American theatre, Vera Charles. A wonderful movei, one that I definitly recommend. However, I DO NOT RECOMMEND THE MUSICAL REMAKE, MAME, WITH LUCLILLE BALL! That's not nearly as god as this one.

Rosalind Russell is wonderful as the lively, vivacious, outgoing and flamboyant Auntie Mame raising her nephew, Patrick Dennis. She is wealthy and lives high, but she is no snob. She lives life to the fullest and teaches Patrick to do the same. Because of her adventurous lifestyle, she is talked into writing her autobiography and a young actress who was later to become a game show panelist regular, Peggy Cass, is supurb as her mousy secreatary (rememeber Peggy as a panelist in shows such as I've got a Secret, What's my Line, etc?).

We see Patrick evolve from a young boy to a young adult contemplating marriage. Mame alway's raised Patrick to "live Live LIVE," and she ingrained in him the axiom that "life is a banquet and most people are starving to death." As I said earlier. Mame is no snob but, the adult Partick shows signs of becoming one. His choice of a shallow fiancee, who has pretentions of being a classy socialite, is questionable. Also, this movie, in a humorous way, probes the issue of social antisemitism (after all, a shallow socialite of that era certainly would live in a restricted community, wouldn't she?). Patrick begins to become ashamed of some of his aunt's audacious antics. The question is, can Mame, gently, without being heavy handed lead him back to the right path? I think you can surmise the answer (OK, maybe some of her techniques are outrageously funny and not so gentle).

This movie is great fun and is also the type of movie you can watch many times without becoming bored. I first saw it as a young child in 1958 and I have enjoyed many times since. This DVD is highly recommended.

"Life is a banquet, and most poor suckers are stah-ving to death!" shrieks Auntie Mame (Rosalind Russell). Well, this film is a banquet that is always to be savored to the fullest. Patrick Dennis' story of his grande dame auntie who taught him to live life to the fullest is brought to the screen here with fun and glamour and wit. This extremely entertaining film was nominated for six 1958 Academy Awards, including Best Picture. Mame is brought to life by the one and only Rosalind Russell, who is absolutely brilliant as the colorful, wise and warm Mame Dennis, who takes her orphaned nephew under her wing, and exposes him to the joys of life: "I'm going to open doors for you, Patrick. Doors you never even dreamed existed!" Russell was very deservedly nominated for an Oscar as Best Actress, and won a Golden Globe Award for the role. The cast list of characters is also memorable: Coral Browne as Mame's flamboyant actress friend Vera Charles, Forrest Tucker as Mame's southern husband Beauregard Burnside, Fred Clark as Patrick's uptight trustee, and most memorable next to Russell, Oscar-nominee Peggy Cass as Mame's delightfully dim sceretary, Agnes Gooch. The actors are only one reason to see the film, however: the Oscar-nominated sets and costumes are fabulous to watch, and the script is bursting alive with hilarious one-liners and bouncy scenes. This glorious triumph is one of the best films ever made, one that I would certainly take to a desert island. It was also recently put on the American Film Institute's list as one of the Funniest Movies Ever Made. With the gilded cast, sensational script, and eye candy all the way around, "Auntie Mame" is a magical film for the whole family.

What can I say about Auntie Mame that hasn't already been said?
A wonderful story from the novel by Patrick Dennis! A great cast! And a scipt that you can never get enough of! Truly one of those movies that you can watch over and over and always enjoy!

Rosalind Russell was marvelous as the title role! She shined like the true star that she was!! She was more lovely and charming than any other that I have seen!! However, to say any more about her and her in this movie, I would have to write a million words! I know that some people feel that this movie feels too long, but if you keep your eye on our Roz the whole time, the movie won't feel long enough.

The supporting cast was perfect. Forrest Tucker, Coral Brown, little Jan Handzlik, Fred Clark, Lee Patrick, Willard Waterman and countless others were wonderful and all fit their parts beautifully!

Not forgetting those behind the camera:(To name a few) Brilliant directing by Mortan DaCosta, and a smashing screenplay by Betty Comden and Adolph Green. Lovely costumes and sets, radiant color, and to top it off with an unforgettable musical score comosed by Bronislaw Kaper!

My point being that Auntie Mame is, by far, one of the best movies ever made! And when you watch it, you remember what life is really all about...

"Auntie Mame" is a truly wonderful comedy and has been one of my favorites since I first read the book. I was lucky enough to have seen the Broadway original play with Rosalind Russell and Peggy Cass. Unfortunately at the time the film was made, two of the funniest jokes were watered down because two terms could not be used in films at that time.

1: When Patrick tells Mame what his father thought of her, she says: "That bas----!(She says the full word) (Patrick starts to write the word on his pad of words he does not understand and Mame takes the pad and pencil and says, as she writes) "The word is B.A.S.T.-- (spells it out)and it means your late father."

2: Her catch phrase is a bit stronger than in the film. It is: "Life is a banquet and most poor sons of b------ are starving to death." When Michael (her grand nephew) says this line in the last scene, it makes much more sense when his mother covers his mouth rather than the laundered "stinker" in the film. The original line is also used in the stage musical "Mame".

I purposely did not spell the words out so as to not offend any readers, but in today's films, these words would be used in a PG film.They are funny as changed in the film, but lose a bit of the edge from the stage version.

"Life Is A Banquet" is the title of Miss Russell's autobiography.

There are two other changes that the Production Code required at the time. Mother Burnside does not sneeze all the time, but give out with mighty bleches always demanding her soda tablets. The biggest change was that there was no wedding for Gooch with O'Bannion demanding partial royalties from Mame's book.

But the film and Miss Russell are wonderful even with the tamer vocabluary and changed situations.