MAME the movie. — Page 2

"The part where they drape the lights on Gooch's body is in the show."

Which was why I preceded my description of it with "And some staging that worked onstage just looks weird on film."

Btw, according to some accounts, George Cukor was originally hired to direct the film. But then Ball had a skiing accident, breaking her right leg, shortly before filming was to start. By the time she had recuperated, Cukor was no longer available and Saks was hired.

Updated On: 1/3/07 at 01:20 PM

I enjoy both.
It has become a camp classic for me in many ways.
It is up there in my camp listings:

MOMMIE DEAREST
VALLEY OF THE DOLLS
SHOWGIRLS
AND
MAME

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This thread reminded me that Christine Baranski almost went to Broadway in Mame for a limited engagement last year.
if only Billy Elliot and Coram Boy did'nt book the Imperial

and lets face it, as much as I love Herman, the music isn't that great.

And your idea of "great" would be...? I consider MAME, one of the 10 greatest scores to a musical.

Updated On: 1/5/07 at 02:37 PM

"Mame" is one of my all time favorite films. I can watch it over and over and over again and never tire of seeing it.

Maybe, it's because when the film came out in 1974, I was 9 years old and a HUGE "I Love Lucy" fan. I would watch ILL reruns everynight at 7pm on Channel 11 here in Los Angeles. So, when I saw the commercials for the film, I asked my Mom to take me to see it and she did. To see "Lucy" on the big screen singing and dancing, was a thrill! A complete and utter thrill!!!

It didn't even occur to me at 9 years old that she was, perhaps, miscast or that she couldn't sing.

When I was in high school, I created a "Mame" scrapbook....and, I still have it today. It's got tv reviews in it, pictures from magazines, stills, etc. To this day, I scan EBAY to find any "Mame" stuff that I might not have.

Looking at the film today, it's not as bad as everyone says it is. Yes, her voice should have been dubbed. The title number in the film, is clearly worth the price of admission - a true showstopper! The costumes are gorgeous, the set design is beautiful and Lucy never looked better.

Was Lucy "miscast." Gee, I don't know? Would Angela Lansbury have been better? Probably......we'll never know.... But, Angela and Lucy are completely different people and actresses.

I love the film and will always defend it.

With any type of art, it's suppose to touch us...make us feel better. Whenever I think of "Mame," I immediately think of when I first saw the film, and how exciting it was for a little boy!

nealb1 - nicely put.

That's exactly what I did when I first saw it about a month ago. I fully embraced it for what it is -- for the good AND the bad. It's simply astounding how people dissect and analize everything to it's absolute core as if it'll change things.

The film was done. That's it. It won't be reshot with a younger Angela Lansbury no matter HOW much we bitch. Until another film adaption comes around for the musical, this is the one we've got.

Funny how WEST SIDE STORY was embraced instantly and Natalie Wood WAS dubbed (as was Richard Beymer) and Rita Moreno was immensley limited as a dancer, and...and...and...

...and Audrey Hepburn was chosen OVER Julie Andrews for the film-version of MY FAIR LADY, and she was dubbed, too.

...and Barbra Streisand was chosen OVER Carol Channing for the film-version of HELLO, DOLLY! (the horror!).

...and Rosario Dawson was chosen OVER Daphne Rubin-Vega for the film-version of RENT.

...and Alyson Reed was chosen OVER Donna McKechnie for the film-version of A CHORUS LINE.

...and Jennifer Hudson was chosen OVER Jennifer Holliday for the film-version of DREAMGIRLS.

It just goes on and on (and on)...

Kelly Bishop did play Vera in the Papermill Playhouse production, with I believe Christine Ebersoll as Mame. Harriet Harris was an abominable Vera to Christine Baranski's even worse Mame at the Kennedy Center. Its no wonder that awful production of a great musical did not make it to Broadway. As for the musical version, no one can top Lansbury and Arthur, but for anyone playing Mame, there is no one better than Roz Russell. Auntie Mame is one of the funniest laugh out loud movies I have ever seen.

I also read somewhere that Lucy did not want anyone to dub her voice, because she was fully aware that the public knew she couldn't sing, so she didn't want her Mame to all of a sudden have a good singing voice.

But Lucy did star on Broadway in Wildcat, and introduced the song "Hey, Look Me Over." I did not see Wildcat, but from what I've read, not a good show, but Lucy was a HUGE draw. However, she coudn't sustain the rigors of singing and dancing 8 shows a week, and had to withdraw early, which forced the closing of the show.

Saw the movie on the Starz channel a few years ago. A quarter of the films budget must have been used for the Vaseline on the camera lense.

And Kirby Furlong was one of the worst child actors EVER!!! Absolutely PAINFUL to watch him!

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i just wanna say again that i am thankful to have Bea Arthur's VERA captured on film.

I had my girlfriend turn it off after the scene with the naked children running around. It was practically pornography to me.

You assume nude is pornagraphic? WHY? The kids in the scene (very young) were just playing nude in a progressive school in which Mame enrolled Patrick. (In the novel he describes going there a few weeks with little ill effect.) In the movie it is basically a short gag shot. Yet THAT one shot made you tell your gf to turn off the movie. What kind or warped mentality do you have???????? If the sight of children innocently playing nude is so offensive to your sensibilities I sincerely hope that you and your gf never have any children of your own.

I do not understand how some people can watch the most gruesome violent movies and remained untouched, yet show a little skin and they go ballistic. Janet Jackson's boob gets accidently shown on Tv for all of 3 seconds and over 50,000 people wrote letters of complaint to the FCC.

Turn off MAME because it bad film, poorly acted and directed.

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I do not recall THAT much child nudity in the film anyway, it was a brief shot during "Open a New Window" and then when Mr. Babcock visits the school.

I still find the film good fun, even if it has it's down points.

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Whenever I come across MAME on tv, I always end up watching it for a number of reasons:

To admire Lucy for all the effort that she put in it. She was 65 when she filmed it and worked very hard on those dances. Miscast as she was in it, she wasn't just walking through it.

Having said that, some of the wrong choices in it are delightful. Her "facial interpretations" as "If He Walked Into My Life" is played as a voiceover. Her reaction shot in "Gooch's Song," it looks as if someone out of camera range poked her in the back with a stick.

And to wonder what Bea Arthur ever did to the costume designer to make her hate Bea so much that she made Bea wear those hideous costume dresses. The one she sings "Bosom Buddies" in, especially.

And I really like the song written for Robert Preston "Loving You." I'd say to include it in any stage revivals of MAME, but it would come early in the second act and you'd have to do Beau's death and it start the act out on the wrong foot.

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