Auntie Mame (1958)

Director:

Morton DaCosta

Writers:

Betty Comden (screenplay) and
Adolph Green (screenplay) ...
(more)

Release Date:

27 December 1958 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama

Plot:

An orphan goes to live with his free-spirited aunt. Conflict ensues when the executor of his father's estate objects to the aunt's lifestyle.

Plot Keywords:

Nephew | Socialite | Guardian | Orphan | Love

Awards:

Nominated for 6 Oscars. Another 6 wins & 3 nominations

Cast

Rosalind Russell	...	Mame Dennis
Forrest Tucker	...	Beauregard Jackson Pickett Burnside
Coral Browne	...	Vera Charles
Fred Clark	...	Dwight Babcock
Roger Smith	...	Patrick Dennis - Older
Patric Knowles	...	Lindsay Woolsey
Peggy Cass	...	Agnes Gooch
Jan Handzlik	...	Patrick Dennis - Younger
Joanna Barnes	...	Gloria Upson
Pippa Scott	...	Pegeen Ryan
Lee Patrick	...	Doris Upson
Willard Waterman	...	Claude Upson
Robin Hughes	...	Brian O'Bannion
Connie Gilchrist	...	Norah Muldoon
Yuki Shimoda	...	Ito
Brook Byron	...	Sally Cato MacDougall
Carol Veazie	...	Mrs. Burnside
Henry Brandon	...	Acacius Page
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Cris Alexander	...	Mr. Loomis (uncredited)
Olive Blakeney	...	Dowager (uncredited)
Lela Bliss	...	Party Guest (uncredited)
Peter Bourne	...	Party Guest (uncredited)
John Caler	...	College Boy (uncredited)
Evelyn Ceder	...	Woman in White (uncredited)
Roydon Clark	...	Stable Boy (uncredited)
Booth Colman	...	Alan - Party Guest (uncredited)
Max Cutler	...	Gangster (uncredited)
Morton DaCosta	...	Edwin Dennis (voice) (uncredited)
Jack Daly	...	Workman (uncredited)
Mark Dana	...	Reginald (uncredited)
Paul Davis	...	Stage Manager (uncredited)
Margaret Dumont	...	Noblewoman in Play (uncredited)
Sandra Edwards	...	Party Guest (uncredited)
Adolph Faylauer	...	Sleeping Man in Audience (uncredited)
Robert Gates	...	Actor as 'Lord Dudley' (uncredited)
Gregory Gaye	...	Vladimir Klinkoff (uncredited)
Rand Harper	...	Pianist (uncredited)
Michael Harris	...	Party Guest (uncredited)
Sam Harris	...	Mr. Jackson (uncredited)
Charles Heard	...	Dr. Feuchtwanger (uncredited)
Butch Hengen	...	Emory MacDougall (uncredited)
Gloria Holden	...	Guest at Garden Party (uncredited)
Dick Hudkins	...	Stable Boy (uncredited)
Terry Kelman	...	Michael Dennis (uncredited)
Fred Kelsey	...	Front Row Audience at Play (uncredited)
Colin Kenny	...	Perry - Party Guest (uncredited)
Louise Lane	...	Jazzy Dame (uncredited)
Cajan Lee	...	Woman Hunter (uncredited)
Carl M. Leviness	...	Actor on Stage (uncredited)
Thomas Martin	...	Party Guest (uncredited)
Frank McClure	...	Actor on Stage (uncredited)
Tom McDonough	...	Expressman (uncredited)
Owen McGiveney	...	Man Wearing Monocle (uncredited)
Daniel Meyers	...	Groom (uncredited)
Harold Miller	...	Extra Boarding Departing Ship (uncredited)
Forbes Murray	...	Party Guest (uncredited)
Doye O'Dell	...	Cousin Jeff (uncredited)
Barbara Pepper	...	Mrs. Krantz (uncredited)
Jack Perrin	...	Doorman (uncredited)
Richard Reeves	...	Mr. Krantz (uncredited)
Larry Rio	...	Taxi Driver (uncredited)
Gladys Roach	...	Mrs. Klinkoff (uncredited)
Jeffrey Sayre	...	Front Row Audience at Play (uncredited)
Hazel Shermet	...	Macy's Customer (uncredited)
Smokey	...	Mame's Horse (uncredited)
Bert Stevens	...	Party Guest (uncredited)
Dub Taylor	...	County Veterinarian (uncredited)
Arthur Tovey	...	Actor in Play (uncredited)
Ruth Warren	...	Mrs. Jennings (uncredited)

Directed by
Morton DaCosta

Writing credits
Betty Comden		(screenplay) and
Adolph Green		(screenplay)
Patrick Dennis		(from the novel by)

Produced by
Morton DaCosta	....	producer (uncredited)

Original Music by
Bronislau Kaper

Cinematography by
Harry Stradling Sr.		(director of photography)

Film Editing by
William H. Ziegler		(as William Ziegler)

Production Design by
Malcolm C. Bert		(uncredited)

Art Direction by
Malcolm C. Bert		(as Malcolm Bert)

Set Decoration by
George James Hopkins

Costume Design by
Orry-Kelly

Makeup Department
Gordon Bau	....	makeup supervisor
Gene Hibbs	....	makeup artist: Miss Russell
Myrl Stoltz	....	hair stylist: Miss Russell
Robert J. Schiffer	....	makeup artist (uncredited)

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Don Alvarado	....	assistant director (as Don Page)

Art Department
Robert Hanley	....	interior decor consultant

Sound Department
M.A. Merrick	....	sound
Michael Colgan	....	sound editor (uncredited)
Bruce Flu	....	sound editor (uncredited)
Larry Meek	....	sound editor (uncredited)

Special Effects by
Johnny Borgese	....	special effects (uncredited)

Stunts
Roydon Clark	....	stunts (uncredited)
Bob Herron	....	stunts (uncredited)
Dick Hudkins	....	stunts (uncredited)
Boyd 'Red' Morgan	....	stunts (uncredited)
Audrey Scott	....	riding double: Rosalind Russell (uncredited)
Dean Smith	....	stunts (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
Harry Stradling Jr.	....	camera operator (uncredited)

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Joan Joseff	....	costume jeweller (uncredited)

Music Department
Ray Heindorf	....	music supervisor

Other crew
Lawrence Carr	....	produced on the stage by
Robert Fryer	....	produced on the stage by
Jerome Lawrence	....	adapted for the stage by
Robert E. Lee	....	adapted for the stage by
Wayne Fitzgerald	....	title designer (uncredited)
Boyd 'Red' Morgan	....	animal coordinator (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Warner Bros (presents)

Distributors

• Warner Bros (1958) (USA) (theatrical)
• Warner Bros (1963) (USA) (theatrical) (re-release)
• Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) (1982) (USA) (TV) (network premiere) (pan/scan)
• Warner Home Video (199?) (USA) (VHS) (pan/scan)
• Warner Home Video (2002) (USA) (DVD)
• Warner Home Video (2006) (USA) (DVD)
• Warner Home Vídeo (????) (Brazil) (DVD)

Other Companies

• Delman  shoes by: Miss Russell's
• Maximilian  furs by: Miss Russell's

Also Known As:

Runtime:

143 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound Recording)

Certification:

Australia:G | Finland:K-12 | Sweden:15 | UK:A | USA:Approved (PCA #19033) | USA:Unrated | USA:TV-MA (TV rating) | Canada:PG (video rating)

Filming Locations:

Stage 11, Warner Brothers Burbank Studios - 4000 Warner Boulevard, Burbank, California, USA

Company:

Warner Bros

Trivia:

The movie's line "Life is a banquet, and most poor suckers are starving to death." was voted as the #94 of "The 100 Greatest Movie Lines" by Premiere in 2007.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Mame is sitting on the bar stool having a cocktail at the Upson's house, the napkin in her right hand disappears and then reappears.

Quotes:

Patrick Dennis:[walking with Mame after Mame's remarkable sidesaddle horseback ride during a fox hunt] Can I ask you just one question? How did you stay on that horse?
Auntie Mame:It was just like New Haven with the bracelets. I got stuck, but at the other end.

Movie Connections:

Featured in The Lady in Question Is Charles Busch (2005)

Soundtrack:

It Came Upon a Midnight Clear

One of the greats!!!!

Auntie Mame is a long movie, but it goes by as fast as a giggle!! There are few movies that I care to watch over and over again. I never tire of Auntie Mame because the screenplay is simply a brilliant piece of work. Comden and Greene are from the laudable days where one was expected to engage the brain when writing comedy! Practically every line is a quotable classic. Warner Brothers did us all a service by hiring theater director Morton da Costa to recreate the Broadway stage play. The movie is classy, sumptuously designed and brilliantly staged with those exquisite blackouts after each scene. Rosalind Russell should have won an Academy Award for this role (she refused to campaign for it) because no one will ever come close to getting that perfect timing that she displays in every scene. You love her from the moment she shakes the monkey's hand in the second scene. The supporting cast is perfection, especially Coral Browne, an undeservedly little known actress who makes a meal of Vera Charles. Peggy Cass is hilarious as Agnes Gooch; Forrest Tucker a charmer as Burnside. Everything about this picture makes it a true classic of the American cinema; one of those rare movies that makes you laugh, but even more important, makes you feel good!!! They don't get any better than this!