The Mating Season (1951)

User Rating:

7.6/10   

Director:

Mitchell Leisen

Writers:

Charles Brackett (writer)
Richard L. Breen (writer)

Release Date:

12 January 1951 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy

Plot:

Ellen McNulty sells her New Jersey hamburger stand and heads west to pay a surprise visit to her son and his new bride...

Plot Keywords:

Mother | Party | Maid | Mistaken Identity | Deception

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar. Another 1 win & 1 nomination

Cast

Gene Tierney	...	Maggie Carleton McNulty
John Lund	...	Val McNulty
Miriam Hopkins	...	Fran Carleton
Thelma Ritter	...	Ellen
Jan Sterling	...	Betsy Donaldson
Larry Keating	...	George Kalenger, Sr.
James Lorimer	...	George C. Kalenger, Jr.
Gladys Hurlbut	...	Mrs. Natalie Conger
Cora Witherspoon	...	Mrs. Owen Williamson
Malcolm Keen	...	Mr. Owen Williamson
Ellen Corby	...	Annie
Billie Bird	...	Mugsy
Mary Young	...	Spinster walking Poodle
Samuel Colt	...	Col. Conger
Grayce Hampton	...	Mrs. Fahnstock

Also Known As:

A Relative Stranger (USA) (working title)

Runtime:

101 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Finland:S | Sweden:Btl

Company:

Paramount Pictures

Quotes:

Mr. Paget: It's the first of July, Mrs. McNulty.
Ellen McNulty: Already? Gee, June flied in a hurry. Isn't it?
Mr. Paget: So did May and April. The bank can't wait any longer.

Soundtrack:

Je n'en connais pas la fin

A real charmer

Mitchell Leisen directed three wonderful movies, one very good one, may fine ones, and some that weren't successful. No matter what one thinks of the hauteur theory, he was a fine stylist and that's not a bad track record.

The three beauties include this one. Also there are "Midnight," one of the most glamorous and charming of all screwball comedies, and "Easy Living." That may have been Jean Arthur at her very best (and most lovable.) (The very good one, in my view, is "Death Takes A Holiday.") Thelma Ritter carries this one. So, as she might say with a flip of a dust rag, "what else is new?" Indeed, she is one of the treasures of American movie history.

Here she is the mother of John Lund, who is not very appealing. She's as blue collar as blue collar can be. Lund has fallen for and married Gene Tierney. Her mother is played very stylishly by Miriam Hopkins. Well, which one would you want as a mother? Or a mother-in-law? Thing is, Thelma is mistaken for a maid when she arrives the day of Lund and Tierney's wedding and carries on this charade for most of the movie. It's sad, really. That part is rarely played for laughs and it is indeed far more poignant than funny.

Larry Keating is good as Lund's ultimate boss. The actor playing his son is a cipher and looks almost Keating's age.

But this is Ritter's movie. Does she steal scenes? Not discernibly, though I've heard her accused of doing that in other films. She steals the picture. And our hearts.