Bea Arthur in MAME (1974 Film)

[Marquise]

Posted: 3/10/10 at 5:17pm

Okay, the film as a whole leaves A LOT to be desired but is required viewing if only to see Bea Arthur as Vera Charles.

Her "Man in the Moon" along with her many over-the-top scenes are the highlight of this film along with her duet on "Bosom Buddies".

Thank God she made it to the film version, Thank you Gene Saks!

P.S. Jane Connell as Gooch is another highlight.

[best12bars]

Posted: 3/10/10 at 6:26pm

I can't make it more than 30 minutes with this film. I've tried a few times, but no dice.

It's dreadful. I'm sorry a good performance went down with the ship. But this isn't even a "bad movie I love." It's just a bad movie.

[nmartin]

Posted: 3/10/10 at 6:45pm

I was 14 when this movie came out. I waited and waited for it to open in my little Southern town. It never did. A year later it was on a precursor of HBO called Cinema Two. I made my mother get it. I have to admit I loved it at the time. It is a bad movie, but Bea Arthur is wonderful.

[neal1b]

Posted: 3/10/10 at 7:14pm

The movie is BRILLIANT. I don't know why everyone thinks it so bad. Lucille Ball knows her lines. Seems as though I'm only one with taste around here.

[DAME]

Posted: 3/10/10 at 8:14pm

There is a video somewhere out there of the revival with Angela Lansbury . It was at the Uris theater ( now the Gershwin). She was wonderful in it. I think the Vera was also very good. And I think Jane Conell did her Gooch. But I am not certain.

[ABB2357]

Posted: 3/10/10 at 8:49pm

You are correct, Dame - Jane Connell was Gooch. I believe Vera was played by Anne Francine. This is the same 1983 revival that was more of a scaled down, bus and truck version of the original production, and came into Broadway on short notice with no advance sale, closing quickly as a result. Too bad, because everyone (Lansbury included) was fantastic.

[DAME]

Posted: 3/10/10 at 9:09pm

Thank you. I actually went to opening night of this production. If anyone is interested.. there is a place here in LA called "Eddie Brandt's Saturday Matinee." It is a specialty store that provides footage, B rolls, and tons of hard to find videos . It basically services the studios. They have a really bad copy of the above mentioned video. I think these days you have to submit your name and business reason one day before renting. A union card would work.

[MTVMANN]

Posted: 3/10/10 at 10:17pm

Bea Arthur and Robert Preston were the only ones who surpassed the actors who played their parts in "Auntie Mame".

[Gothampc]

Posted: 3/11/10 at 8:34am

"Thank God she made it to the film version, Thank you Gene Saks!"

Thank you Lucille Ball. Lucy wasn't a stupid woman and one thing she learned from "I Love Lucy" was the value of the supporting cast. Lucy needed someone that had talent but wouldn't outshine her. There were many actresses that could have played Bea's role but would have stolen the picture out from under Lucy.

[D2]

Posted: 3/11/10 at 8:39am

Madeline Kahn was originally signed to play Gooch and was fired from the picture for precisely that reason.

[madbrian]

Posted: 3/11/10 at 8:58am

As much as I love the story and the score, I find the movie unwatchable, especially when compared to the brilliant Auntie Mame. That said, I'd love to see a Broadway revival.

[Stage Door Sally]

Posted: 3/11/10 at 9:07am

I guess I'm a terrible fan, because I really love Lucille Ball and know every episode of I Love Lucy by heart. But I hate every movie she's been in, I even cringe when she's on screen in Stage Door.

I won't watch her version of Mame again, ever, unless I am being subjected to the Ludovico treatment ala Clockwork Orange.
Updated On: 3/11/10 at 09:07 AM

[doodlenyc]

Posted: 3/11/10 at 11:43am

"I was never in the chorus....I was NEVER in the chorus!!"

[Magdalene]

Posted: 3/11/10 at 6:45pm

I didn't find Lucille Ball to be that bad---it could have been much worse!! Then again, I love Lucy in everything pretty much! (pun intended!)

[nealb1]

Posted: 3/11/10 at 7:01pm

Bea is wonderful in the movie with those deadpan glares and one liners. She will be missed.

[sondheimboy2]

Posted: 3/12/10 at 11:58pm

What I'd like to know is what Bea Arthur did to piss off the costume designer?

I mean, that suit she wears in "Bosom Buddies"?

[Dre2387]

Posted: 3/12/10 at 11:59pm

Yeah, the original Auntie Mame movie is so much better than the musical movie Mame. But I have to say Bea Arthur was the highlight of Mame.