{"id":4900,"date":"2007-12-01T20:21:37","date_gmt":"2007-12-02T03:21:37","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=4900"},"modified":"2021-02-07T09:51:24","modified_gmt":"2021-02-07T16:51:24","slug":"auntie-mame-1958","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=4900","title":{"rendered":"Auntie Mame (1958)"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>[<strong>Note:<\/strong> The following review is of a non-<em>Guide for the Film Fanatic<\/em>  title; click <a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?page_id=4388\">here<\/a> to read more.]<\/p>\n<p><strong>&#8220;Life is a banquet &#8212; and most poor suckers are starving to death!&#8221;<\/strong><\/p>\n<table>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/12\/Auntie-Mame-Poster.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/12\/Auntie-Mame-Poster-200x300.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"200\" height=\"300\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-68003\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/12\/Auntie-Mame-Poster-200x300.png 200w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/12\/Auntie-Mame-Poster-682x1024.png 682w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/12\/Auntie-Mame-Poster-85x128.png 85w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/12\/Auntie-Mame-Poster-180x270.png 180w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/12\/Auntie-Mame-Poster.png 715w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 200px) 100vw, 200px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Synopsis:<\/strong><br \/>\nWhen a young orphan named Patrick (Jan Handzlik) goes to live with his eccentric Aunt Mame (Rosalind Russell) in New York, the executor (Fred Clark) of his deceased father&#8217;s estate worries that Patrick will be subjected to &#8220;unhealthy&#8221; influences &#8212; but Patrick grows into an upstanding young man (Roger Smith) with a mind of his own, eventually deciding to marry a stuffy socialite (Joanna Barnes) who&#8217;s radically different from free-spirited Mame.\n<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p>\n<strong>Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Character Studies<\/li>\n<li>Comedy<\/li>\n<li>Non-Conformists<\/li>\n<li>Orphans<\/li>\n<li>Play Adaptation<\/li>\n<li>Raising Children<\/li>\n<li>Rosalind Russell Films<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Review: <\/strong><br \/>\nThis Oscar-nominated adaptation of <a href=\"http:\/\/www.answers.com\/main\/ntquery?s=auntie+mame&#038;gwp=8&#038;x=0&#038;y=0\">Jerome Lawrence&#8217;s play<\/a> (based on Patrick Dennis&#8217; bestselling novel) is conspicuously missing from Peary&#8217;s book. Despite its flaws &#8212; it was nowhere close to being one of the best films of the year &#8212; it nonetheless holds a special place in film fanatic history, given that Rosalind Russell (who originated the title role on Broadway) is <em>the<\/em> definitive Mame. While Oscar-nominated Peggy Cass as Agnes Gooch is (to me) less impressive, and Yuki Shimoda&#8217;s turn as Ito the butler is painful to watch, others &#8212; including Coral Browne as Mame&#8217;s lifelong acting friend, Jan Handzlik as young Patrick, and Forrest Tucker as a wealthy southerner who falls head over heels for Mame during the Depression &#8212; do a fine job bringing the heart-warming story to life. Some portions of the 2-hour-plus episodic narrative are, inevitably, better than others (the entire Deep South sequence, for instance, could easily have been omitted), but the structure is perfectly suited to Mame&#8217;s live-each-day-as-it-comes philosophy, and there are countless laugh-out-loud moments. Indeed, it&#8217;s hard not to be amused by Mame&#8217;s reactions to the inexplicable stuffiness of most folks &#8212; we could <em>all<\/em> use a bit of her world-view.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Redeeming Qualities and Moments: <\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Rosalind Russell as Mame<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/12\/AM-Mame.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/12\/AM-Mame-1024x768.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-68004\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/12\/AM-Mame-1024x768.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/12\/AM-Mame-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/12\/AM-Mame-128x96.jpg 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/12\/AM-Mame-768x576.jpg 768w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/12\/AM-Mame-1536x1152.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/12\/AM-Mame-360x270.jpg 360w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/12\/AM-Mame.jpg 1600w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>Mame enduring a visit with Patrick&#8217;s obnoxious in-laws-to-be<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/12\/AM-Enduring.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/12\/AM-Enduring-1024x768.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-68005\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/12\/AM-Enduring-1024x768.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/12\/AM-Enduring-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/12\/AM-Enduring-128x96.jpg 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/12\/AM-Enduring-768x576.jpg 768w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/12\/AM-Enduring-1536x1152.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/12\/AM-Enduring-360x270.jpg 360w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/12\/AM-Enduring.jpg 1600w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>The cool kaleidoscopic opening titles<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/12\/AM-Kaleidoscope.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/12\/AM-Kaleidoscope-1024x768.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-68006\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/12\/AM-Kaleidoscope-1024x768.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/12\/AM-Kaleidoscope-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/12\/AM-Kaleidoscope-128x96.jpg 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/12\/AM-Kaleidoscope-768x576.jpg 768w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/12\/AM-Kaleidoscope-1536x1152.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/12\/AM-Kaleidoscope-360x270.jpg 360w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/12\/AM-Kaleidoscope.jpg 1600w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Must See? <\/strong><br \/>\nYes, simply for Russell&#8217;s noteworthy, historically relevant performance as Mame. <\/p>\n<p><strong>Categories<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Noteworthy Performance(s)<\/li>\n<li>Oscar Winner or Nominee<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Links: <\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/imdb.com\/title\/tt0051383\/\">IMDb entry<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/1958\/12\/05\/archives\/screen-auntie-mame.html\">NY Times Original Review<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.tcm.com\/tcmdb\/title\/67795\/auntie-mame\/#articles-reviews?articleId=87344\">TCM Article<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>[Note: The following review is of a non-Guide for the Film Fanatic title; click here to read more.] &#8220;Life is a banquet &#8212; and most poor suckers are starving to death!&#8221; Synopsis: When a young orphan named Patrick (Jan Handzlik) goes to live with his eccentric Aunt Mame (Rosalind Russell) in New York, the executor (Fred Clark) of his deceased father&#8217;s estate worries that Patrick will be subjected to &#8220;unhealthy&#8221; influences &#8212; but Patrick grows into an upstanding young man&#8230;<\/p>\n<p class=\"read-more\"><a class=\"btn btn-default\" href=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=4900\"> Read More<span class=\"screen-reader-text\">  Read More<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4900","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-missing-title-reviews"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4900","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=4900"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4900\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":68007,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4900\/revisions\/68007"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=4900"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=4900"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=4900"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}