The Unsinkable Molly Brown (1964)

A poor, uneducated mountain girl leaves her cabin in search of respect, a wealthy husband, and a better life in this fictionalized biopic of Margaret "Molly" Brown, who survived the 1912 sinking of the RMS Titanic.

Director:

Charles Walters

Writers:

Helen Deutsch, Richard Morris (play)

Stars:

Debbie Reynolds, Harve Presnell, Ed Begley

Nominated for 6 Oscars. Another 5 wins & 7 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Debbie Reynolds	...	Molly Brown
Harve Presnell	...	'Leadville' Johnny J. Brown
Ed Begley	...	Shamus Tobin
Jack Kruschen	...	Christmas Morgan
Hermione Baddeley	...	Buttercup Grogan
Vassili Lambrinos	...	Prince Louis de Laniere
Fred Essler	...	Baron Karl Ludwig von Ettenburg
Harvey Lembeck	...	Polak
Lauren Gilbert	...	Mr. Fitzgerald
Kathryn Card	...	Mrs. Wadlington
Hayden Rorke	...	Malcolm Broderick
Harry Holcombe	...	Mr. Wadlington
Amy Douglass	...	Mrs. Fitzgerald
George Mitchell	...	Monsignor Ryan
Martita Hunt	...	Grand Duchess Elise Lupavinova

Storyline

Majestic mountains are in the background and a waterfall in the foreground. Is that a canoe on the river? No it's a cradle with a baby. The buoyant Molly Brown has survived the first crisis of her life -- a flood. Sixteen years later she sets out to make her way in the world. Can she sing and play the piano? She assures the Leadville saloon keeper that she can and learns quickly. Soon she is the bride of Johnny Brown, who in a few years will be able to replace the original cigar wrapper wedding ring with a replica in gold and gemstones. But it takes more than a few million dollars to be accepted by Denver society. The Browns head for Europe and bring a few crowned heads back to Denver for a party that turns into a ballroom brawl. Molly goes to Europe alone, returning on the Titanic. She didn't survive a flood as a baby for the story to end here.

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Plot Keywords:

bathtub | cake | music lesson | piano | overweight | 

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Taglines:

Get out of the way... Or get hit in the heart!

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Genres:

Biography | Comedy | Musical | Romance | Western

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Did You Know?

Trivia

The story of J.J. Brown accidentally burning his money after Molly hid it in the stove didn't really happen. It was made up by a Denver journalist after Molly Brown became a hero on the Titanic. When asked by her daughter why she didn't refute the false story, Molly Brown supposedly replied, "It's better that they write *something* about me than nothing." (Kathy Bates, as Molly Brown, repeats the story in James Cameron's Titanic (1997).) Molly Brown is also said to have reported the story with a slightly different ending. Molly did hide money in the potbelly stove in their Leadville cabin, and Johnny unknowingly started a fire on a particularly cold night. That's in keeping with the other version, but the end of the story, as told by Molly and reported in newspapers interviews during her lift, was a little different. Her addition was "Just think if it had been paper money!" The "money" was gold and silver coin which melted and melted to the stove. Miners didn't trust paper money in those years. The stove had to be broken apart and resmelted to separate the iron, gold and silver.

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Goofs

When Buttercup Grogan is drinking beer with Molly, Johnny and Shamus, the level of beer in her glass goes from nearly full to nearly empty and back to nearly full.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Shamus Tobin: [and Murphy] Belly up, belly up to the bar, boys / Better loosen your belts...

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Crazy Credits

introducing Harve Presnell

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Alternate Versions

In the past, TCM has shown a version with Overture and Exit Music that ran 135 minutes. It also had a slightly different aspect ratio.

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Connections

Referenced in Hollywood Singing & Dancing: A Musical History - 1960's (2009)

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Soundtracks

Overture (Belly Up to the Bar, Boys/I Ain't Down Yet/I'll Never Say No/Colorado, My Home)
(uncredited)
Music and Lyrics by Meredith Willson; Performed by Robert Armbruster and the MGM Studio Orchestra

User Reviews

Doesn't really work.

I don't know what it was, but I couldn't really get into this movie, be affected by it or enjoy it very much. Well, yeah, the society party scenes were a hoot, the scenery was pretty, the chereography of the "Friend" song was good, but that was about it. The rest was just... there, not horrible, but definitly not above average, either.

Debbie Reynolds should have been very well suited to the role of Molly Brown, but for all her teeth-gritting, yelling, and wailing, she just doesn't rise to the occasion. Why this is often considered her best role, and why she was nominated for an Oscar for it, I really couldn't tell you. Harve Presnell has a soaring voice, but again, just is average. The Merideth Willson score is rather pedestrian. (Apparently several songs were cut from the Broadway show; maybe they were better.) But really, this guy did The Music Man? And the Titanic sinking is done and dispensed with in maybe two minutes, if that. Come on! The one reason this musical was made was because of Mrs. Brown's legendary courage after that sinking. Not much evidence of that here. Oh, and yes, the musical is pretty accurate in terms of the many legends surrouding Margaret Brown, but not so faithful to the real person. (Many minute things: she was never rescued from a flood as a baby, she was actually born and raised in Hannibal, Missouri, her husband was always called J.J., never Johnny, they never really did reconcile, she actually had two children with him that were not mentioned, she never really was accepted by the Sacred Thirty-Six, her many contributions to the juvenile and suffrage movements were ignored as always, etc. and so forth. She was never even called Molly, always Margaret.) You get the point...

It simply wasn't anything special.

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

11 June 1964 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Unsinkable Molly Brown

Filming Locations:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios - 10202 W. Washington Blvd., Culver City, California, USA

Box Office

Gross USA:

$13,167,200

Company Credits

Production Co:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

128 min

Sound Mix:

70 mm 6-Track (70 mm prints) (Westrex Recording System) Mono (35 mm prints) 4-Track Stereo (some prints)

Color:

Color (Metrocolor) Black and White (some shots)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1