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Auntie Mame

  • 1958
  • Approved
  • 2h 23m
IMDb RATING
7.9/10
14K
YOUR RATING
Coral Browne, Peggy Cass, Fred Clark, Patric Knowles, Rosalind Russell, Roger Smith, and Forrest Tucker in Auntie Mame (1958)
Theatrical Trailer from Warner Bros. Pictures
Play trailer3:09
1 Video
46 Photos
Screwball ComedyComedyDramaRomance

After his father's death, an orphan goes to live with his free-spirited aunt in 1928 Manhattan. Conflict ensues when the executor of his father's estate objects to the aunt's lifestyle, as t... Read allAfter his father's death, an orphan goes to live with his free-spirited aunt in 1928 Manhattan. Conflict ensues when the executor of his father's estate objects to the aunt's lifestyle, as they deal with the difficulties of the Depression.After his father's death, an orphan goes to live with his free-spirited aunt in 1928 Manhattan. Conflict ensues when the executor of his father's estate objects to the aunt's lifestyle, as they deal with the difficulties of the Depression.

  • Director
    • Morton DaCosta
  • Writers
    • Betty Comden
    • Adolph Green
    • Patrick Dennis
  • Stars
    • Rosalind Russell
    • Forrest Tucker
    • Coral Browne
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • IMDb RATING
    7.9/10
    14K
    YOUR RATING
    • Director
      • Morton DaCosta
    • Writers
      • Betty Comden
      • Adolph Green
      • Patrick Dennis
    • Stars
      • Rosalind Russell
      • Forrest Tucker
      • Coral Browne
    • 143User reviews
    • 23Critic reviews
  • See production info at IMDbPro
    • Nominated for 6 Oscars
      • 5 wins & 12 nominations total

    Videos1

    Auntie Mame
    Trailer 3:09
    Auntie Mame

    Photos46

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    Top cast96

    Edit
    Rosalind Russell
    Rosalind Russell
    • Mame Dennis
    Forrest Tucker
    Forrest Tucker
    • Beauregard Jackson Pickett Burnside
    Coral Browne
    Coral Browne
    • Vera Charles
    Fred Clark
    Fred Clark
    • Dwight Babcock
    Roger Smith
    Roger Smith
    • Patrick Dennis - Older
    Patric Knowles
    Patric Knowles
    • Lindsay Woolsey
    Peggy Cass
    Peggy Cass
    • Agnes Gooch
    Jan Handzlik
    Jan Handzlik
    • Patrick Dennis - Younger
    Joanna Barnes
    Joanna Barnes
    • Gloria Upson
    Pippa Scott
    Pippa Scott
    • Pegeen Ryan
    Lee Patrick
    Lee Patrick
    • Doris Upson
    Willard Waterman
    Willard Waterman
    • Claude Upson
    Robin Hughes
    Robin Hughes
    • Brian O'Bannion
    Connie Gilchrist
    Connie Gilchrist
    • Norah Muldoon
    Yuki Shimoda
    Yuki Shimoda
    • Ito
    Brook Byron
    Brook Byron
    • Sally Cato MacDougall
    Carol Veazie
    Carol Veazie
    • Mrs. Burnside
    Henry Brandon
    Henry Brandon
    • Acacius Page
    • Director
      • Morton DaCosta
    • Writers
      • Betty Comden
      • Adolph Green
      • Patrick Dennis
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

    User reviews143

    7.913.5K
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    Featured reviews

    Trailrider

    A film to watch especially when your spirits are down.

    Rosalind Russell -IS- Auntie Mame and there is no doubt in my mind that she being cast in the role was a perfect choice. I read Dennis' book and I have to stress that anyone who loves this film but who has not read the book should read it. I think they did a great job in adapting the novel to film although I could imagine the great temptation to include the very racy parts of the novel. If they did include them, the "G" rating would probably have needed to be changed to "R". One of my favorite lines in the film is delivered so expertly by actress Coral Browne (Vera Charles), who upon being wakened out of a drunken sleep (with bottle still in hand) looks out the window at the sun and says "Ohhh---that moon is bright". Another favorite line delivered by Russell (in Mame's comment about Vera Charles' phony English accent) "When your from Pittsburgh, you have to do something". Rosalind Russell brought such magic to the character of Auntie Mame so much so, that I wish I had an Aunt like her. Auntie Mame helps stress the point to appreciate diversity in life and to live life to the fullest. I have often chosen to watch my copy of this film when feeling low and I can tell you it is a spirit lifter.
    10techiegurl

    I love this movie!

    This is one of the best films I have EVER seen, and I watch a lot of films, as I am sure most of you do. First, it is an excellent adaptation of the book. They managed to follow the story line extremely well. Yes, somethings were left out, but all and all, they did a great job. Second, Rosaline Russell rocks! It doesn't matter what character she plays, she is fantastic, but she IS Mame, nobody can do it like her. Forget about the musical version (MAME) with Lucille Ball ( who is a great actress in her own right, but certainly not in the same ballpark with Ms. Russell). Third, it is not only funny, but heartwarming. The relationship between Mame and Patrick speaks volumes about what love should be, completely accepting of who the other person is, even if you don't always agree with them or like what they do. Fantastic family film, fun for everyone.
    Snow Leopard

    Unforgettable Performance By Rosalind Russell

    With a perfect match between character and actress, Rosalind Russell's unforgettable performance as "Auntie Mame" is almost enough to carry the whole movie by itself. The story is also interesting, if quite contrived, and most of the supporting cast helps out when needed. The variety of settings and situations also helps to make the movie an effective portrait of a life.

    The story works best when taken as an appreciative but light-hearted portrayal of a memorable character. Many of Mame's adventures are stylized, and they work best when not taken too seriously. Given that, there are plenty of amusing sequences, and just enough thoughtful moments to maintain some balance.

    Russell herself is in her element. With a character whom it is almost impossible to overplay, she gives the role plenty of energy and charm. She also works very well with the other characters, giving believable (given the character) and usually interesting reactions to what they say and do.

    In the supporting cast, Forrest Tucker and Peggy Cass make good use of their scenes, and Fred Clark works well as Mame's frequent adversary. Coral Browne gets some good moments as Mame's old friend. The filming was approached in a rather stagy fashion, yet much of the time this seems appropriate. All told, the movie has a number of strengths, yet the memory most likely to remain is Russell's portrait of Mame herself.
    9carflo

    The One and Only Mame

    Sometimes you see a movie and you know that the actor or actress in it was born to play that part.

    Clark Gable in Gone with the Wind

    Bette Davis in All About Eve

    Barbra Streisand in Hello, Dolly

    Rosalind Russell in Auntie Mame

    I love Russell and the parts she played. She was a liberated woman before the rest of the world knew that women needed to be liberated.

    But in Auntie Mame she reached her peak. Mame is so vibrant and alive. She flaunts every one of Mame's eccentricities without stepping over the line into caricature. She also brings alive Mame's decency, compassion and tolerance. When I watch it, I almost feel ashamed of myself for being such a stick in the mud.

    I enjoyed the musical with Lucille Ball, but all the way through it - I wanted it to be Rosalind Russell playing the part. It takes very little imagination on my part to hear her singing the songs. Rosalind, you are "just sensational" as Mame.
    10Holdjerhorses

    Perfect? Just about!

    When "Auntie Mame" was first published, I read and re-read it (and its sequel, "Around the World with Auntie Mame") for several summers. Believe it or not, the books are even funnier than the film. They were not "memoirs," though that was the PR at the time. Edward Everett Tanner, or "Patrick Dennis," ultimately admitted as much. Auntie Mame was a creation from Tanner's own talented imagination.

    No one ever has, or ever will, embody Auntie Mame as well as Rosalind Russell, who, by the time her Broadway performance in the role was filmed, had honed her portrayal to one of the finest in American theatre and film.

    Listen to her vocal technique: from high girlish squeals to basso-profundo sarcasm.

    Or watch her remarkable body language throughout -- from grande dame theatricality to lowbrow burlesque.

    Russell's supporting players are magnificent -- from the 12-year old Jan Handzlik, through Coral Browne, Peggy Cass, Forrest Tucker, Fred Clark, Patrick Knowles, Connie Gilchrist, Yuki Shimoda, Robin Hughes, Roger Smith, Pippa Scott -- and, my own particular favorites who almost, but not quite, steal their scenes from Miss Russell: Willard Waterman, Lee Patrick and Joanna Barnes as the unforgettable Upsons.

    George James Hopkins' brilliant sets and set design, and Orry-Kelly's amazing costumes, along with Branislau Kaper's score and Morton Da Costa's direction are like Tiffany settings, showing off this flawless cast at the top of their form.

    Lawrence and Lee's original Broadway script was adapted by Betty Comden and Adolph Green, whose main contribution would appear to be the hydraulic furniture at the final dinner party.

    The famous line, originally from the Broadway play and not found in the novel, is "Life is a banquet! And most poor sons-of-bitches are starving to death!" "Damn" and "hell" both are heard in the film: but "sons-of-bitches" was apparently too strong for the MPAA in 1958.

    Is the film dated? I suppose. In the same way that "Citizen Kane" is dated, or "Some Like It Hot." It's also timeless. And Miss Russell's performance, here at the zenith of her long and distinguished comedic and dramatic career (Eugene O'Neill's "Mourning Becomes Electra," anybody?) is an acting lesson unto itself.

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    Related interests

    Barbra Streisand and Ryan O'Neal in What's Up, Doc? (1972)
    Screwball Comedy
    Will Ferrell in Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy (2004)
    Comedy
    Mahershala Ali and Alex R. Hibbert in Moonlight (2016)
    Drama
    Ingrid Bergman and Humphrey Bogart in Casablanca (1942)
    Romance

    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      Rosalind Russell broke her ankle in the first take of the scene where she comes flying down the stairs in the gown with the capri pants and shooting had to be delayed until she recovered.
    • Goofs
      In 1929 Mame and Lindsey talk about what Dr. Spock has to say on child rearing, a decade before his famous book was published.
    • Quotes

      Mame Dennis: Oh, Agnes, where is your spine? Here you've been taking my dictation for weeks and you don't get the message of my book. Live, that's the message!

      Agnes Gooch: Live?

      Mame Dennis: Yes! Life is a banquet and most poor suckers are starving to death!

    • Connections
      Featured in AFI's 100 Years... 100 Laughs: America's Funniest Movies (2000)
    • Soundtracks
      Tea for Two
      (1925) (uncredited)

      Music by Vincent Youmans

      Played off-screen on piano ay Mame's party

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    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • December 27, 1958 (United States)
    • Country of origin
      • United States
    • Languages
      • English
      • French
      • Russian
      • Hindi
    • Also known as
      • Vivir es mi deseo
    • Filming locations
      • Stage 9, Warner Brothers Burbank Studios - 4000 Warner Boulevard, Burbank, California, USA
    • Production company
      • Warner Bros.
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

    Edit
    • Budget
      • $2,240,000 (estimated)
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Tech specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      • 2h 23m(143 min)
    • Aspect ratio
      • 2.35 : 1

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