Mame is a 1974 Technicolor musical film in Panavision. It starred Lucille Ball in her final feature film role. The musical numbers were choreographed by Onna White.
Synopsis[]
At the reading of the will of young Patrick Dennis' father, a trustee, Mr. Babcock, reveals that Patrick is to be left in the care of his aunt, Mame Dennis, and his nanny, Agnes Gooch. Mame wants to fill the child's life with adventure, but when Babcock finds out that she has enrolled Patrick in a non-traditional school, Patrick is taken from Mame's custody. Simultaneously, the stock market crash leaves Mame penniless. She manages to keep her home. Mame's friend, actress Vera Charles, offers Mame a small role in her newest show as "The Man in the Moon." Mame flubs her one line and causes the play to be a disaster, which puts a major rift in their friendship. Patrick reassures Mame that he still loves her.
A desperate Mame takes a job in a department store, where she meets Beauregard Burnside, to whom she attempts to sell a pair of roller skates. She cannot write up a cash order and is fired. At home, Mame decides to lift everyone's spirits by decorating the house for Christmas and giving everyone their gifts early. Her hired help pays off the butcher until September.
Burnside appears at her front door and invites everyone to dinner. Mame and her servants all agree that Mr. Burnside is like Santa Claus; Mame says that Santa is more like Rhett Butler. They fall in love and move to his family's plantation in Peckerwood, Georgia. At first, Burnside's relatives are unhappy about his marrying a Yankee, but when Mame captures the fox in a fox hunt, they sing her praises.
The Burnsides go on an extended honeymoon, traveling all over the world. Meanwhile, Patrick goes from a young child who pulls in a B+ average to a high school senior failing many classes. When Burnside dies in an avalanche, Mame returns home to be reunited with a now-grown Patrick, who is dating a snobby, conservative girl named Gloria Upson.
When Mame meets Vera for a drink, the two trade snippy comments, which they insist are not being made out of hatred, but simple honesty, as that is what "Bosom Buddies" do. The two come home and reminisce about men they have dated. Agnes, who is listening to the conversation, admits that she is never had a date. Mame and Vera decide to give the uptight, frumpy Agnes a makeover and send her out to live. Six months later, Agnes returns home, pregnant, and describes what she did while living it up.
Mame visits the Upsons at their home in Connecticut, where she learns that Patrick and Gloria are engaged. After finding the Upsons to be insufferable bores and bigots, Mame is asked to help pay for a piece of property next door so that Patrick and Gloria could live there, as opposed to "the wrong kind of people". Afterward, she is candid with Patrick about her disdain for the family. Patrick admits that he is ashamed of her and her "crazy" friends. A heartbroken Mame wonders what she did wrong with this boy she raised.
Mame and Patrick apologize to each other at her home. They are dressed for company: the Upsons. Mame promises to behave and Patrick meets Mame's new maid, Pegeen. Mr. and Mrs. Upson announce that the property they wanted has been bought by some "Jew lawyer". Mame reveals that she bought the property next door so she could build the Beauregard Burnside Memorial Home For Single Mothers. This is the final straw, and the Upsons leave, angry that Mame is not "one of us." Patrick, visibly upset, also leaves.
Years later, following World War II, Patrick and Pegeen are married and have a child, Peter. Mame, who is going on a trip to Siberia, requests that Peter be allowed to go with her. The two get onto a plane, and Patrick states that Mame has not changed. Mame and Peter wave goodbye and go into the plane.
Songs[]
Music and Lyrics by Jerry Herman
- Uncredited
- "St. Bridget" - Jane Connell
- "It's Today"; "Open a New Window" - Lucille Ball and company
- "The Man in the Moon" - Beatrice Arthur
- "My Best Girl" - Kirby Furlong and Ball
- "We Need a Little Christmas" - Ball, Connell, Furlong and George Chiang
- "Mame" - Robert Preston and Company
- "Loving You" - Preston
- "The Letter" - Furlong and Bruce Davison
- "My Best Girl" (Reprise) - Davison
- "Bosom Buddies" - Arthur and Ball
- "Bosom Buddies" (Dance and Reprise) - Arthur, Ball and Connell
- "Gooch's Song" - Connell
- "If He Walked Into My Life" - Ball
- Finale: "Open a New Window"/"Mame" - Ball and Company
Cast[]
| Actor/actress | Character |
|---|---|
| Lucille Ball | Mame Dennis |
| Beatrice Arthur | Vera Charles |
| Robert Preston | Beauregard Burnside |
| Bruce Davison | Older Patrick |
| Kirby Furlong | Young Patrick |
| Jane Connell | Agnes Gooch |
| George Chiang | Ito |
| Joycr Van Patten | Sally Cato |
| Doria Cook | Gloria Upson |
| Don Porter | Mr. Claude Upson |
| Audrey Christie | Mrs. Dori Upson |
| John McGiver | Mr. Babcock |
| Bobbu Jordan | Pegeen |
| Patrick Labyorteaux | Peter |
| Lucille Benson | Mother Burnside |
| Ruth McDevitt | Cousin Fan |
| Burt Mustin | Uncle Jeff |
| James Brodhead | Floorwalker |
| Leonard Stone | Stage Manager |
| Roger Price | Ralph Divine |
| John Wheeler | Judge Bregoff |
| Ned Wertimer | Fred Kates |
| Alice Nunn | Fat Lady |
| Jerry Ayres | Bunny |
| Michele Nichols | Midge |
| Eric Gordon | Boyd |
| Barbara Bosson | Emily |
External links[]
- Mame at the Internet Movie Database
- Mame at the Movie Database
- Mame at Rotten Tomatoes
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