AUNTIE MAME (1958) (***1/2)
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Theatrically melodramatic and filled with slapstick and wit, AUNTIE MAME combines humor and heart wonderfully. This is all driven by a fascinating central character, which is brought to life perfectly by Rosalind Russell.

Patrick Dennis (Jan Handzlik) is orphaned when his father passes and he must go to New York City to live with his eccentric aunt Mame (Russell, PICNIC). Patrick's father sets up his son's trust with a conservative bank and puts Dwight Babcock (Fred Clark, SUNSET BLVD.) in charge of making sure that his son doesn't become a freak at the hands of his "crazy" sister. Mame loves Patrick and tries to do the best for him, fighting the influence of Babcock as best as she can. However, Mame's lavish lifestyle comes to a crashing end when the stock market plummets and she loses all her money. Mame keeps her head up as she struggles to survive and keep Patrick in her life. However, she has a hard time when a grown Patrick (Roger Smith, MAN OF A THOUSAND FACES) wants to marry Gloria Upson (Joanna Barnes, THE PARENT TRAP), a girl from a "top-drawer" family.

Other key characters include: Beau Burnside (Forrest Tucker, CAT BALLOU), a Southern gentleman Mame falls in love with; Vera Charles (Coral Browne, THEATER OF BLOOD), consistently drunk actress/ Mame's best friend; Lindsay Woolsey (Patric Knowles, 1946's OF HUMAN BONDAGE), book publisher and Mame's admirer; Agnes Gooch (Peggy Cass, ALFRED HITCHCOCK PRESENTS), Mame's frumpish secretary; Pegeen Ryan (Pippa Scott, THE SEARCHERS), Mame's pretty and smart secretary; Doris and Claude Upson (Lee Patrick, NOW, VOYAGER & Willard Waterman, TV's DENNIS THE MENACE), Gloria's bigoted parents; Brian O'Bannion (Robin Hughes, THE THING THAT COULDN'T DIE), Mame's roguish editor; Norah Muldoon (Connie Gilchrist, 1949's LITTLE WOMEN), Patrick's nanny; and Ito (Yuki Shimoda, MACARTHUR), Mame's dedicated butler.

Mame is a worldly woman who tries to give Patrick a broader perspective of life. Her motto is — live, live, live. Russell plays Mame with flair — she's flamboyant, dramatic and can never sit still. Russell combines all the elements — from the sentimental to the silly — into one complete character.

Director Morton DaCosta (THE MUSIC MAN) brings his theatrical experience to this screen adaptation that combines Patrick Dennis' novel and Jerome Lawrence and Robert E. Lee's stage play, however he finds a way to avoid the film from feeling like a filmed play. He does so with a "full force ahead" pacing, lavish set design and good use of his various locations. I also liked his use of an iris-like lighting effect, which usually focuses in on Mame's face, as a transition from one key plot point to the next. DaCosta and his cast do a nice job of equally handling the witty dialogue and visual gags.

When it comes to weakness, there are some clunky melodramatic moments that felt forced and Handzlik isn't the best child actor in history. However, the dramatic personalities of the characters help us forgive those problems, which also add to the film's campy appeal as well. Additionally, the running time of 143 minutes is a bit long for a film of this nature, making the less vibrant sections toward the end lag.

Despite these flaws, the film remains a charming entertainment from start to finish. We love Mame and want to see what new adventure she will get into. In addition, the closing conflict between Mame and Patrick over his fiancée brings back some of the compelling conflict from the beginning. What's especially striking is that some of Mame's behavior and thoughts are still shocking today. The school she first enrolls Patrick in would turn many heads today just as it would have during the setting of the story and upon the film's original release. Funny and frolicking, this Oscar-nominated Best Picture is a grand tale that whips you up in the world of Auntie Mame and carries you along for a fun world wind ride.