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(More customer reviews)There are certain roles that are inextricably linked to their portrayors. Bela Lugosi as Dracula, Yul Brynner as The King of Siam, Ethel Merman as Madame Rose, and, of course, Rosalind Russell as Auntie Mame. Rosalind Russell was, in my opinion, a class act. The lady had style, warmth, modesty, and a great acting talent, particularly in comedy, especially the fast-talking kind. Sure, she had some career misfires, such as her unconvincing Jewish mama in "A Majority of One", and her "slumming society dame" Madame Rose in "Gypsy", but Roz reigned supreme in comedies such as "The Women", "His Girl Friday", and, of course, "Auntie Mame" which, having created it on Broadway, it became HER signature role. Her performance is recorded for generations to come in this delighful film. Also on hand from the original Broadway cast are Peggy Cass as the frumpy, would-be butterfly Miss Gooch, and Jan Handzlik as 9-year-old Patrick Dennis, who comes to live with his madcap aunt. Add to this the fabulous, acid-tongued Coral Browne (she would become, years later, Mrs. Vincent Price!), handsome and appealing Patric Knowles and Forrest Tucker (who is extremely charming in this, possibly his best role), showbiz vets Fred Clark, Lee Patrick and Willard Waterman as Mame's snobbish betes noirs, and the largely unsung Joanna Barnes as grown-up Patrick's unbearable, shallow fiance. Her performance, replete with annoying, Gloria Vanderbilt-like accent, is one of those great performances where you laugh at her and despise her at the same time. The costumes, by Orry-Kelly, are superb - classy/crazy creations that are beautiful as well as mad. The same can be said about the ever-changing decor of Mame's Beekman Place duplex-from Japanese to Moderne to Louis XIV to library chic to 50s modern to East Indian-well, there you have it! And, of course, there is the wonderful Betty Comden/Adolph Green script, which is full of so many quotable lines that it has become part of my friends' and mine lexicon! The film is a little episodic, but who the hell cares? I definitely prefer this film to the sadly unfunny, leaden musical version with Lucille Ball. I love Lucy, too, but "Mame" was not for her. Auntie Mame is one of my favorite heroines. She is a woman full of adventure, fun, style, even a little bitchiness, but she is not mean. She has a generous, kind heart and is not a "money" snob or a "social-order" snob. Every parent should make their children watch this film-mine did, and am I glad! Roz rules!
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Rosalind Russell recreates her hallmark stage role as the accentric grande dame of highlife, briging up a 10-year-old nephew. A banquet of laughter, nominated for 6 Academy Awards(R).
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