Auntie Mame
1958 US
Dir:Morton DaCosta
Stars:Rosalind Russel, Forrest Tucker, Coral Browne, Fred Clark
Left:Rosalind Russel, Right:Fred Clark
This quite entertaining movie is uttely fun to watch even though somewhat I must admit that the plot line is
so simple that it might look as if just concatenating individual episodes in a row. Director of this movie Morton
DaCosta is essentially a director of stage products, and he directed only three movies including this one and the
screen version of "The Music Man"(1962). Even so, by these two movies, he is a great director to me.
But, the most entertaining element of this movie comes from the presence of Rosalind Russel who is playing the
lead character Mame here. Her personality and stylish performance look so perfectly matching the role of "Auntie
Mame" that she seems to be born to playing this very role even after considering the fact that she had before
this film also been playing roles that required very stylish charm of the sort she is showing in this movie. As
I had been thinking that her role of the obsessive spinster in the previous movie "Picnic"(1956) was
quite out of her character, I was somewhat relieved when I watched her playing a very very stylish and Bohemian
character in this movie "Auntie Mame". On top of her tour de force performance, the perfomances from
support players are also splendid. Especially, Fred Clark who plays a quite ill-natured and meddling bank manager
is fun to watch as usual, and Coral Browne who plays a drunken stage actress is excellent. However, the most funniest
performance comes from Peggy Cass who plays a helpless typist, and apart from Rosalind Russel, she is definitely
a comedy highlight. But, there is another reason why I've been so strongly attracted to this movie besides the
excellent performances from all those capable players. That is, this movie somehow satisfies our desire to live
like a Bohemian by letting us vicariously living through the life of Auntie Mame. I think it's quite easy for us
to sympathize with her way of living consciously or unconsciously. Thus, when Mame loudly and determinately tells
to her nephew a rather hedonic phrase "Life is a banquet, and most poor suckers are starving to death",
it certainly looks as if she was not only addressing the phrase to her nephew, but also to us the audience. Although
this sort of assertion might under certain situations sound quite arrogant and improper, nevertheless coming from
her character, it sounds so natural. This point definitely proves the quality of this movie; quality filled with
stylishness and satisfaction regarding the life style we the audience are always hankering for. Additionally saying,
there is another (musical) movie version of this material; that is "Mame"(1974) where Lucille Ball plays
the lead character Mame. However, this one is far inferior to the original one apart from a few points such as
the number sung in the Texas ranch scene is splendid and the presence of Beatrice Arthur who plays in her own way
the role of the drunken actress originally played by Coral Browne is quite unique, for Lucille Ball's personality
is quite different from the one required for this role which we can witness so perfectly fitting in with Rosalind
Russel's performance in the original, and not to mention such trivial points as, in the remake version, the aforementioned
helpless typist Agnes Gooch originally played by Peggy Cass and the rather steady housekeeper Norah Muldoon who
firstly brings the nephew to Auntie Mame's house is played by one person. Anyway, all in all, the original version
is so entertaining a movie that I've already watched it countless times, and especially the movie is effective
when my mood is quite blue.