Rating: 
Summary: A Banquet and Then Some....
Review: "Auntie Mame" is my favorite movie of all time. Although sitting through the entire movie does not happen often, I always stop to watch when I see it on TV. For those who prefer Lucille Ball's "Mame," I must disagree whole-heartedly. "Auntie Mame" is a fun frolick with a lot of great one-liners and a deeper message. And although "Mame" has some good moments ("need a little christmas" for one), I cannot tolerate Lucille Ball's smoking-induced raspy voice. There is NO comparing the two movies. "AM" is the winner...and where the heck is the DVD???
Rating:
Summary: ".....Boxed, like Proust!"
Review: 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!
Rating:
Summary: This Is The Best Movie Imaginable
Review: I believe it was when I was 13 on a hot summer day, when my mother called me into the room, to watch a movie, that (she said) would remind me of my recently deceased Grandmother. I tried to resist, being the little monkey that I was, but finally gave in, and sat down to watch. Let me tell you...I was no where near disapointed. I loved everything about it. The vibrant colors, the wonderful acting, and especially the mad cap performance of Mame, by Rosolind Russell. I do not know how to stress to you to watch this movie. It's plot (based on a true story) is about a little boy (Patrick) whose father dies, and is sent to live wtih his bohemian aunt alongside his personal nanny. They have many,many,many adventures that are unbelievably heartwarming. If I can recomend one movie it would most definatly be this movie.
Rating:
Summary: Mame is great!!!
Review: Auntie Mame is terrific, Roz to a beautiful job as the title character!! I like young Patrick in the version with Lucille Ball a little better. Young Patrick in the Roz version seems a little to pefect & goody-twoshoeish, but all in all good. There's so much more of a story line in the Roz version than the Lucy version, but both are entertaining.
Rating:
Summary: Rosalind or Lucy...it's up to you
Review: I am one of the rare breed who find both "Auntie Mame" with Rosalind Russell, and the musical "Mame" with Lucille Ball both very entertaining and quite funny. Rosalind Russell's acting is definitely over-the-top in Auntie Mame but I think that's what was intended. She is flamboyant, fun, irreverant, caring, and rarely sober. How do you put all of that into one character without being a little over-the-top? I do agree with a previous reviewer that the Patrick Dennis character is too whiny - but his fiancee easily makes up for any shortcomings I find in his character! She's definitely top drawer! Overall, both are worth purchasing!
Rating:
Summary: Rosaind Russell IS Mame Dennis!!
Review: If you loved Patrick Dennis' book, this adaptation will not dissapoint! If you haven't read the book, see the film anyway (and then go buy the book!). The racier chapters and scenes have been omitted, but the film perfectly captures the buoyancy of the novel. Gloria (you simply MUST hear her voice...why it's just GHASTLY!) and Pegeen are cleverly integrated into the same vignette...who needs those three awful sisters, anyhow? If Bettie Page made me want to dye my hair black, Roz Russell's Auntie Mame made me want to bob it (and then dye it blonde...and then to skunk stripe it...and then...). ;o)
Rating:
Summary: THIS FILM IS A BANQUET
Review: "Life is a banquet, and most poor suckers are stah-ving to death!" shrieks Auntie Mame (Rosalind Russell). Well, this film is a banquet that is always to be savored to the fullest. Patrick Dennis' story of his grande dame auntie who taught him to live life to the fullest is brought to the screen here with fun and glamour and wit. This extremely entertaining film was nominated for six 1958 Academy Awards, including Best Picture. Mame is brought to life by the one and only Rosalind Russell, who is absolutely brilliant as the colorful, wise and warm Mame Dennis, who takes her orphaned nephew under her wing, and exposes him to the joys of life: "I'm going to open doors for you, Patrick. Doors you never even dreamed existed!" Russell was very deservedly nominated for an Oscar as Best Actress, and won a Golden Globe Award for the role. The cast list of characters is also memorable: Coral Browne as Mame's flamboyant actress friend Vera Charles, Forrest Tucker as Mame's southern husband Beauregard Burnside, Fred Clark as Patrick's uptight trustee, and most memorable next to Russell, Oscar-nominee Peggy Cass as Mame's delightfully dim sceretary, Agnes Gooch. The actors are only one reason to see the film, however: the Oscar-nominated sets and costumes are fabulous to watch, and the script is bursting alive with hilarious one-liners and bouncy scenes. This glorious triumph is one of the best films ever made, one that I would certainly take to a desert island. It was also recently put on the American Film Institute's list as one of the Funniest Movies Ever Made. With the gilded cast, sensational script, and eye candy all the way around, "Auntie Mame" is a magical film for the whole family.
Rating: 
Summary: A Big Disappointment
Review: I first viewed this movie when I was a small child and thought it was a wonderful film. I dreamed of having just such an aunt as Mame Dennis. So after watching it again recently through adult eyes, I've come to the conclusion that this seriously dated film is highly overrated. The cast is really an excellent one and each is a fine actor in their own right but in this version of this much beloved story, they all seem to be in competition to see who can eat the most scenery. The acting style is highly stylized and overbearing with Rosalind Russell leading the way. Her attempt at portraying a warmhearted, wacky character is pretty much counteracted by her phony aristocratic accent and the very snobbish treatment of other characters in the film. The child Actor who portrays Patrick Dennis is an incessant whiner; I really wanted Mame to spank his rear after listening to him drone on and on for most of the film. I felt the blackouts used to convey the passage of time really got old after the fourth or fifth time, and they succeed in giving the movie a kind of eerie feel. I realize that Mame is loved by many but for me, the second time around, I found it to be a major disappointment. I personally find the musical version with Lucille Ball a much more enjoyable film. The acting isn't quite so over-the-top, the sets and costumes are a far more accurate depiction of the period, and even though Lucy's singing voice was gravelly, it is exactly the kind of voice I would expect from a woman like Mame.
Rating:
Summary: Get This Classic Today!
Review: Rosalind Russell is a treat in her Broadway role of AUNTIE MAME (as was Greer Garson later in the Broadway run) The film is a lavish and campy comedy filled with champagne,caviar and all the trimmings! Mame Dennis is more than a little shocked to find her orphaned nephew Patrick and his nanny literally on the doorstep of her Beekman Place apartment. The boy is in for some good times,and many mishaps,with Mame and her batch of cronies. As Mame goes from rich to poor and back to rich again,she and Patrick stay together,even with Dwight Babcock looming in the wings! Some of the foes in Mame's life include the Upsons,who,just as the name implies,are complete racists and Gloria (Joanna Barnes)Patrick's fiancee is more than a little hostile. Then there is the amorous Mr O'Banyon,who is assigned to help Mame with her memoirs,but helps himself to her secretary Agnes Gooch (Peggy Cass) instead! Mame's friends include Pittsburgh-born 'English' Vera Charles (Coral Browne) who is the darling of the theatre,Pegeen Ryan (Pippa Scott) who is Mame's assistant,among other things,and there is Lindsay Woolsey. The joy of MAME will never die,wether it be in this version,or Jerry Herman's classic musical version,whose MAMES have included Angela Lansbury,Janis Paige,Ann Miller,Celeste Holme,Ginger Rogers and Lucille Ball.
Rating:
Summary: Auntie Mame
Review: Rosalind Russell, was the perfect woman for this role. As much as I love Lucille O'ball and her sneaky and clutcy ways. Lucille did a good job, she was right for the part just did't do well in it.But Auntie Mame with Rosalind Russell was and still is a fabouls movie.I love the part when the Upsens come to Auntie Mame's house and sit on those chairs that go up and down, and those drinks the Auntie Mame set on fire was really creative.Also when Auntie Mame changes her apartment all the time. The story was ahead of that time. oh but a great movie it is. I believe that this is the greatest movie for the whole family.
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