I was delighted to see this available on a popular video site online (even though I have it on dVD it is good to have on just as background on the iPad at nighttime).
Lansbury plays a widowed charlady Ada Harris, who is anything but work shy. On arriving one morning at her employer's stately home, Lady Dant's, Mrs Harris espies among the mail an invitation to a ball at Buckingham Palace. As she turns with the mail to hand she spots two beautiful Dior dresses hanging on the closet in preparation for the ball. Lady Dant sees Ada admiring them and tells her they were from Dior in Paris along with revealing the hefty price tag.
Wanting a grand dress for herself at all costs, Ada makes a great many sacrifices and scrimps and saves for three years aided by a small win on the football pools and then makes her solo trip to Paris where she wastes no time in taking a taxi directly to "Dior's dress shop". Not realising there is no shop as such she finally pursuades one Madame Corbet to squeeze her in at that afternoon's viewing much to the disgust of other clients and one staff member who deems her too common and too shabby to be in the same room.
She eventually chooses a pink gown modelled by a pretty young French fashion model, Natasha and when she realises the dress has to be made especially, Natasha convinces the dull accountant Andre (who drools over Natasha), to accommodate Mrs Harris for the week they promise it will take to have her dress made. During this time she does some matchmaking between the duo, reunites a Marquis with his estranged daughter and grandchild and helps through the Marquis to see to it that Madame Corbert is awarded a medal for her brave deceased husband where she is also promoted within the House of Dior.
When finally her dress is ready she has not a penny left for custom fees so her new friends concoct a way around it. this is pretty much a film that requires a suspension of belief but it is just so uplifting and morally on track. It is quite simply delightful.
Lansbury plays a widowed charlady Ada Harris, who is anything but work shy. On arriving one morning at her employer's stately home, Lady Dant's, Mrs Harris espies among the mail an invitation to a ball at Buckingham Palace. As she turns with the mail to hand she spots two beautiful Dior dresses hanging on the closet in preparation for the ball. Lady Dant sees Ada admiring them and tells her they were from Dior in Paris along with revealing the hefty price tag.
Wanting a grand dress for herself at all costs, Ada makes a great many sacrifices and scrimps and saves for three years aided by a small win on the football pools and then makes her solo trip to Paris where she wastes no time in taking a taxi directly to "Dior's dress shop". Not realising there is no shop as such she finally pursuades one Madame Corbet to squeeze her in at that afternoon's viewing much to the disgust of other clients and one staff member who deems her too common and too shabby to be in the same room.
She eventually chooses a pink gown modelled by a pretty young French fashion model, Natasha and when she realises the dress has to be made especially, Natasha convinces the dull accountant Andre (who drools over Natasha), to accommodate Mrs Harris for the week they promise it will take to have her dress made. During this time she does some matchmaking between the duo, reunites a Marquis with his estranged daughter and grandchild and helps through the Marquis to see to it that Madame Corbert is awarded a medal for her brave deceased husband where she is also promoted within the House of Dior.
When finally her dress is ready she has not a penny left for custom fees so her new friends concoct a way around it. this is pretty much a film that requires a suspension of belief but it is just so uplifting and morally on track. It is quite simply delightful.