Auntie Mame (1958)
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92% of critics liked it
(13 reviews) -
91% of users liked it
(7,921 ratings)
Auntie Mame began as a novel by Patrick Dennis (aka Ed Fitzgerald), then was adapted into a long-running Broadway play by Jerome Lawrence and Robert E. Lee. This 1958 film version permits Rosalind Russell to recreate her stage role as Mame Dennis, the flamboyant, devil-may-care aunt of young,… More Auntie Mame began as a novel by Patrick Dennis (aka Ed Fitzgerald), then was adapted into a long-running Broadway play by Jerome Lawrence and Robert E. Lee. This 1958 film version permits Rosalind Russell to recreate her stage role as Mame Dennis, the flamboyant, devil-may-care aunt of young, impressionable Patrick Dennis. Left in Mame's care when his millionaire father drops dead, young Patrick (Jan Handzlik) is quickly indoctrinated into his aunt's philosophy that "Life is a banquet--and some poor suckers are starving to death." Social-climbing executor Dwight Babcock (Fred Clark) does his best to raise Patrick as a stuffy American aristocrat, but Mame battles Babcock to allow the boy to be as free-spirited as she is. In 1974, Auntie Mame was remade as the filmmusical Mame with Lucille Ball. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Directed By
- Morton DaCosta
- Written By
- Betty Comden, Adolph Green
- Genres
- Drama, Classics, Comedy
- In Theaters
- Dec 27, 1958 Wide
- Studio
- Warner Bros. Pictures
Critic Reviews
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Emanuel Levy, EmanuelLevy.Com
Base on a book and Broadway play, the movie is still too theatrical due to Da Costa's mediocre helming, but it's a great, campy and colorful showcase for comedienne Rosalind Russell in her best-known role which she had originated on stage.
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Steve Crum, Kansas City Kansan
THE Rosalind Russell movie, and still fabulously funny.
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Gabriel Shanks, Mixed Reviews
Possibly the greatest comedy of all time, with a performance by Rosalind Russell that can only be described as 'bravura'.
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Pablo Villaca, Cinema em Cena
Supostamente baseado em fatos reais, traz Russell em uma atuação sensacional e conta com ótima direção de arte.
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Ken Hanke, Mountain Xpress (Asheville, NC)
Stage-bound, but classic
See more critic ratings and reviews on Rotten Tomatoes
Fresh (60% or more critics rated the movie positively)
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Cast
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Rosalind Russell
as Mame Dennis
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Forrest Tucker
as Beauregard Burnside
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Coral Browne
as Vera Charles
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Fred Clark
as Mr. Babcock
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Roger Smith
as Patrick Dennis
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Patric Knowles
as Lindsay Woolsey
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Joanna Barnes
as Gloria Upson
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Peggy Cass
as Agnes Gooch
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Jan Handzlik
as Patrick Dennis as a child
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Pippa Scott
as Pegeen Ryan
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Lee Patrick
as Mrs. Doris Upson
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Willard Waterman
as Mr. Claude Upson
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Robin Hughes
as Brian O'Bannion
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Connie Gilchrist
as Norah Muldoon
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Yuki Shimoda
as Ito
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Carol Veazie
as Mrs. Burnside
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Henry Brandon
as Acacius Page
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Olive Blakeney
as Dowager
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Booth Colman
as Perry
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Margaret Dumont
as Noblewoman
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Gregory Gaye
as Vladimir Klinkoff
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Rand Harper
as Pianist
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Terry Kelman
as Michael Dennis
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Owen McGiveney
as Man wearing Monocle
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Barbara Pepper
as Mrs. Krantz
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Richard Reeves
as Mr. Krantz
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Dub Taylor
as Veterinarian
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Ruth Warren
as Mrs. Jennings
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Morton Da Costa
as Edwin Dennis
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Charles Heard
as Dr. Feuchtwanger
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Doye O'Dell
as Cousin Jeff
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Cris Alexander
as Mr. Loomis
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Paul Davis
as Stage Manager
- Fred Clarke
