Mame (1974)

Following the death of his father, an orphan is sent to live with his free-spirited aunt.

Director:

Gene Saks

Writers:

Jerome Lawrence (Broadway musical), Robert E. Lee (Broadway musical)

Stars:

Lucille Ball, Robert Preston, Bea Arthur

2 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Lucille Ball	...	Mame Dennis
Bea Arthur	...	Vera Charles (as Beatrice Arthur)
Robert Preston	...	Beauregard Jackson Pickett Burnside
Bruce Davison	...	Older Patrick
Kirby Furlong	...	Young Patrick
Jane Connell	...	Agnes Gooch
George Chiang	...	Ito
Joyce Van Patten	...	Sally Cato
Doria Cook-Nelson	...	Gloria Upson (as Doria Cook)
Don Porter	...	Mr. Upson
Audrey Christie	...	Mrs. Upson
John McGiver	...	Mr. Babcock
Bobbi Jordan	...	Pegeen
Patrick Labyorteaux	...	Peter
Lucille Benson	...	Mother Burnside

Storyline

Upon the death of wealthy Chicagoan Edward Dennis in the late 1920s, his nine-year-old son Patrick Dennis becomes the ward of their only living relative, Edward's equally-wealthy New-York-residing sister, Mame Dennis. Edward's will states that Patrick is to be raised Protestant in a "traditional" manner and that the trustee, Mr. Babcock of the Knickerbocker Bank, will pay Mame for expenses incurred in raising Patrick, but he has the right to refuse to pay if he deems that she's not honoring the spirit of Edward's will. Mr. Babcock and Patrick's longtime nanny, the timid Agnes Gooch, are to ensure that Patrick is raised correctly. Edward included these stipulations in his will knowing that his sister is a flamboyant, freewheeling, eccentric woman who can be considered anything but traditional or conventional. Despite the disruption each provides in the other's life, Mame and Patrick form a loving, supportive relationship. Mame wants to provide her sense of guidance to Patrick, which ...

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Plot Keywords:

taxi | 1920s | 1930s | 1940s | reference to rhett butler | 

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Taglines:

She'll coax the blues right out of your heart!

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Genres:

Musical

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Certificate:

PG

Did You Know?

Trivia

Bea Arthur and Jane Connell reprise their stage roles for this film version.

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Goofs

Mame claps her hands together and asks "Where's all of last year's tinsel and stuff?" Then the camera angle changes and Mame's hands are suddenly spread apart.

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Quotes

Vera Charles: [when Mame's bracelet gets caught on Vera's dress during a curtain call] Get a hack saw! Curt her arm off!

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Connections

References Gone with the Wind (1939)

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Soundtracks

Main Title & St. Bridget
Written by Jerry Herman (uncredited)
Performed by the Warner Bros. Studio Orchestra and Jane Connell

User Reviews

Just enough good elements to take it seriously...

...for example, Bea Arthur as Vera Charles has one solo and parts of three duets--she steals the film easily, no contest. Robert Preston has one solo & is part of two other numbers, in limited screen time--he does his best to make Lucy look good in the title song and dance and succeeds. The instrumental music is so loud during Lucy's numbers it almost drowns her out, along with other cast members who can't sing.

Now for the bad - Lucy didn't have the range to sing the title part and shouldn't have been cast. She ruins her first two songs, then she and the kid cast ruin song number three. From then on she alternates between a very limited tenor range and talk-singing her songs, like Rex Harrison in My Fair Lady (1964). Also, all of the choreography seems slowed down--there is so much blurring of the camera lens one can barely see the pearls Lucy is wearing--they look to be dots. In the end the film just barely avoids disaster and today is considered a bit of a camp classic.

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English Japanese French Russian

Release Date:

27 March 1974 (USA)

Also Known As:

Mame

Filming Locations:

Santa Clarita, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$12,000,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

American Broadcasting Company (ABC), Warner Bros.

Technical Specs

Runtime:

132 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.39 : 1