The Reluctant Debutante is a vintage example of the sort of elegant, witty "polite" comedy that Hollywood used to pull off so well. Members save with free shipping everyday! Joan Howell, a young and pretty maid-for-hire, meets and begins dating wealthy New York City businessman Tom Milford. Jane's visit coincides with it being "the season" in London: when all the society debutantes hold their balls to "come out" as being ready to find a suitable mate and marry. Paperback $ 12.99. The music score is by Eddie Warner and the cinematography by Joseph Ruttenberg. The music captures the feel of the 50's beautifully, with an almost Cliff Richard like quality... Actually my wife is disputing that comment, it's much more American than Cliff in her opinion. After spending three years in an asylum, a washed-up actor views a minor assignment from his old director in Rome as a chance for personal and professional redemption. The Reluctant Debutante is a 1958 American Metrocolor comedy film in CinemaScope directed by Vincente Minnelli and produced by Pandro S. Berman from a screenplay by Julius J. Epstein and William Douglas-Home based on Douglas-Home's play of the same name. Even Jane Broadbent passively accepts the system. Sheila believes that someone like if not David Fenner (Peter Myers) himself, he a guard at Buckingham Palace, would be a suitable mate for Jane. Web. The Reluctant Debutante Get a sneak peek of the new version of this page. Want to share IMDb's rating on your own site? Times [London, England] 1 Jan. 1960: 13. The Reluctant Debutante is refreshing and prettily dressed, a colorful, saucy film version of the William Douglas Home stage trifle. In 2003 the film was remade as What a Girl Wants, starring Colin Firth and Amanda Bynes. About The Reluctant Debutante Jimmy and Sheila Broadbent, welcome to London Jimmy’s 17-year-old daughter, Jane. love love love. The Reluctant Debutante (14-Aug-1958). Teaser Trailer. Comedy is in season for The Reluctant Debutante, a rib-tickler of societal foibles and follies given spirited direction by Vincente Minnelli and featuring a full dance card of deft badinage. Sheila believes that someone like if not David Fenner (Peter Myers) himself, he a guard at Buckingham Palace, would be a suitable mate for Jane. As stated in the film, 1958 was the last year for the British society custom of an official debutante season, which was then abolished by Queen Elizabeth II. When 17-year-old Jane Broadbent comes to London to live with her wealthy father Lord Jimmy Broadbent, her stepmother Lady Sheila feels compelled by her own social aspirations to introduce Jane to society. So does my wife, we love it together. A teenage American girl while visiting her father, is thrown into London society during the "Debutante Season". The Reluctant Debutante is a vintage example of the sort of elegant, witty "polite" comedy that Hollywood used to pull off so well. 0:31 Watch it with different friends and they will love you for it. Jane is from Jimmy’s first marriage to an American and has come to visit her father and the step-mother she has never met. However, because of Harrison's tax problems, the film had to be made in Paris. Sheila, as her first act of being Jane's British stepmother, wants Jane to come out along with all her British peers. The Reluctant Debutante - DVD-R (1958) for $10.80 from OLDIES.com Comedy Warner Archive Collection Series Amid the swirl of coming-out balls the aristocratic Broadbents are intent on giving their American-educated 17-year-old daughter Jane the right entry into society and a proper upper-class beau. Based on the stage hit by William Douglas-Home (which originally starred Wilfred Hyde White, Celia Johnson and Anna Massey) THE RELUCTANT DEBUBANTE was decidedly old-fashioned even by 1958 when it was first released. The actor cared for Kendall until her death at the age of 32. Ship This Item — Qualifies for Free Shipping Buy Online, Pick up in Store Check Availability at Nearby Stores. A teenage American girl while visiting her father, is thrown into London society during the … The film stars Rex Harrison and Kay Kendall — whom he had married in 1957 after they worked together on The Constant Husband (1955) — with featured performances by John Saxon, Sandra Dee, and Angela Lansbury. An unsophisticated young woman from the Mississippi swamps falls in love with an unconventional southern gentleman. The Reluctant Debutante is a 1958 American Metrocolor comedy film in CinemaScope directed by Vincente Minnelli and produced by Pandro S. Berman from a screenplay by Julius J. Epstein and William Douglas-Home based on Douglas-Home's play of the same name. It makes me want to dance every time I see it. He also inherits an Italian dukedom which makes him a better "catch" than David Fenner and satisfies Sheila's concerns for Jane's social status. She tries to keep him away from Jane while her garrulous friend Mabel schemes to secure David Fenner for her own daughter, Clarissa. ", Search for "The Reluctant Debutante" on Amazon.com, Title: Comedy is in season for The Reluctant Debutante, a rib-tickler of societal foibles and follies given spirited direction by Vincente Minnelli and featuring a full dance card of deft badinage.& **Please be aware that this is a manufactured on demand disc that was created using a DVD-R disc. English 1723515736. Parkson's reputation is undeserved, but Sheila is convinced otherwise. During WW2, husband-less New Zealand women meet and marry American soldiers who are fighting in the Pacific theater. Overview System Requirements Related. Take a look ahead at all the major movie releases coming to theaters and streaming this season. View production, box office, & company info. The Reluctant Debutante movie (1958) - Clip. Rex Harison is very dry, with always brilliant delivery a little Henry Higgins'esquire on occasion but funnier in my opinion this time round. Jane is bored by the debutante balls she attends and the young men she is introduced to, but she becomes interested in a drummer named David Parkson who has a reputation for leading young women astray. Overview of The Reluctant Debutante, 1958, directed by Vincente Minnelli, with Rex Harrison, Kay Kendall, John Saxon, at Turner Classic Movies Jane Broadbent (Sandra Dee) is an independent-minded teenager who moves to London to live with her aristocratic father, Jimmy (Rex Harrison), and stepmother, Sheila (Kay Kendall). On a Sunday, Eileen Tyler, still a virgin, leaves Albany to visit her airline pilot brother in New York but a chance encounter with a man on a city bus threatens to derail her upcoming marriage to boyfriend Russ. Comedy is in season for The Reluctant Debutante, a rib-tickler of societal foibles and follies given spirited direction by Vincente Minnelli and featuring a full dance card of deft badinage. For other uses, see. In 1945, during a 48-hour leave, a soldier accidentally meets a girl at Pennsylvania Station and spends his leave with her, eventually falling in love with the lovely New Yorker. Certificate: Passed Use the HTML below. [3], The Reluctant Debutante was the 12th most popular film at the British box office in 1959. A new senior at a boy's prep school, finds himself harassed by the machismo culture of his classmates and the unfeelingly behavior by his father, only being treated with decency by his roommate and with affection by the coach's wife. A sportswriter and a fashion-designer marry after a whirlwind romance, and discover they have little in common. The Reluctant Debutante. Real-life husband and wife Rex Harrison and Kay Kendall are cast as newly wed Jimmy and Sheila Broadbent, two of London's more attractive aristocrats. Director: Vincente Minnelli Writer: William Douglas-Home From a play: The Reluctant Debutante by William Douglas-Home Dance Music and Arrangements by: Eddie Warner and His Orchestra Producer: Pandro S. Berman Keywords: Romantic Comedy Written by Kay Kendall's Sheila is astonishing and full of wonder for her snobbery, competitive instincts and neurosis. One of my favourite quotes from Sheila whilst dancing... "mmmmm, this song drives me out of my mind"You can watch this film over and over, we have been for the last 15 years and it doesn't get old at all. It's jazzy. Keep track of everything you watch; tell your friends. T Film. The Reluctant Debutante, at times, feels like something in Minnelli’s wheelhouse, yet at other times comes off like a foreign studio produced it, a la the Rank Organisation or Gainsborough Pictures. With Rex Harrison, Kay Kendall, John Saxon, Sandra Dee. (1958). The Reluctant Debutante simply uses the outdated, class-based Season as a backdrop for light-comedy charades. The Reluctant Debutante is a 1955 play by the British playwright William Douglas Home. At a private psychiatric clinic, the daily dramas and interactions between the doctors, nurses, administrators, benefactors and patients are accentuated by the personal and family crises of these individuals. Upon her banking executive father, Lord Jimmy Broadbent (Sir Rex Harrison) remarrying who is now the second Lady Broadbent, Sheila (Kay Kendall), seventeen-year-old Jane Broadbent (Sandra Dee), who has been living in the States with her American mother since the divorce, pays her father in London a visit so that she can meet Sheila. Harrison had learned from Kendall's doctor that she had been diagnosed with myeloid leukemia, a fact that was kept from Kendall, who believed she was suffering from an iron deficiency. The Reluctant Debutante, Blu-ray, Manufactured on Demand, Amaray Case, Subtitled, Comedy Video, 883929713400 Rent $1.99 Buy $4.99 11 July 2012. https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=The_Reluctant_Debutante_(film)&oldid=998985302, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, This page was last edited on 7 January 2021, at 23:32. 44:32. BruceCatherine6779. The Reluctant Debutante (1958) "MGM presents the Comedy-Romance in luscious COLOR!" The Times Digital Archive. The tonal opposite of Gigi can be found in The Reluctant Debutante, a non-romantic romance about the fall and decline of the British Empire. In 2003, Warner Bros. released What a Girl Wants, which was loosely based on The Reluctant Debuntante. See details. A teenage American girl while visiting her father, is thrown into London society during the "Debutante Season". This FAQ is empty. Drama. Description. The former members of a dance troupe are suing because of recently published memoirs. This fun farce (“a cult favorite at … The Reluctant Debutante (1958) 2/2. I won’t go into the story’s Cinderella aspect except to say that when the film’s big twist came around, I couldn’t believe the way the movie dodged any kind of thoughtful conflict. [4] According to MGM records it earned $1,555,000 in the US and Canada and $1,425,000 elsewhere resulting in a loss of $355,000. Directed by Vincente Minnelli. Available on. The Reluctant Debutante Rex Harrison Kay Kendall Sandra Dee (1958) English newlyweds (Rex Harrison, Kay Kendall) survive the London debut of his American daughter (Sandra Dee) by a previous marriage. [5], This article is about the film. 71. Add the first question. Younger generation vs. "older" folks on vacation at an Italian villa. Embarrassed about bringing him back to her tiny apartment that she ... See full summary ». DonaldRandy8182. Huggo. Sign in to Purchase Instantly. MCU fans, here are some streaming picks to watch while you wait for the next episode of "The Falcon and the Winter Solider. "Year Of Profitable British Films." Sheila's plans fail miserably. Was this review helpful to you? Jane and Parkson fall in love with each other and Parkson proposes to Jane. To complicate matters, an upper-class man with perfect credentials, David Fenner, relentlessly pursues Jane although she openly detests him. HoloLens PC Mobile device Xbox 360 Trailer. That's what we do. The Reluctant Debutante is a vintage example of the sort of elegant, witty "polite" comedy that Hollywood used to pull off so well. It was the second of three movies Sandra Dee and John Saxon made together. jazz jazz jazz. Americans, especially in the South, know of the debutante, but … You must be a registered user to use the IMDb rating plugin. Reluctant Debutante, The (1958) - You're A Gigolo Bored at the first London ball of the season, Lord Jimmy (Rex Harrison) meets unattached David (John Saxon), whom he introduces to his daughter Jane (Sandra Dee), as she chats with his wife Sheila (Kay Kendall, the real Mrs. Harrison), in Vincente Minnelli's The Reluctant Debutante, 1958. 51:22. It's about an aristocratic family attending the debutante balls in London and trying to get their daughter married 'well' (meaning to someone even richer than they are) and not getting her bedded by a moneyless Lothario. It doesn't stretch the romantic comedy genre, nor is it one of director Vincente Minnelli's flashier assignments. Read 4 reviews from the world's largest community for readers. 10 of 16 people found this review helpful. Rent $2.99. Real-life husband and wife Rex Harrison and Kay Kendall are cast as newly wed Jimmy and Sheila Broadbent, two of London's more attractive aristocrats. The Reluctant Debutante 1958 Trailer HD - Rex Harrison - Kay Kendall. love love love. Sheila, as her first act of being Jane's British stepmother, wants Jane to come out along with all her British peers. - Order by Phone 1-800-336-4627 Big band. In attending some of the earlier season balls, Jane not only finds David Fenner a drip, but she also does not want to step on the toes of her first true friend in London, Clarissa Claremont (Diane Clare), who is in love with ... John Saxon, ‘A Nightmare on Elm Street’ Star, Dies At 83. [1], Variety called it "refreshing and prettily dressed". 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