Auntie Mame (1958) Queer Film B-

Auntie Mame
DIRECTOR Morton DaCosta
Auntie Mame is a Technicolor comedy about a flamboyant New York socialite who becomes guardian to her orphaned nephew. Through wild adventures, financial highs and lows, and constant clashes with conservative values, Mame teaches him—and everyone else in her orbit—to embrace life with humor, generosity, and open‑mindedness.
I must admit I’m not a card‑carrying member of the Rosalind Russell fan club, so the rapture many of my gay friends feel at the mere mention of her Auntie Mame remains something of a mystery to me. But for a large swath of queer viewers, Russell’s performance is gospel. Gay director Morton DaCosta (born Morton Tecovsky and known to friends as “Tec”) directs with a distinctly theatrical hand—sometimes too theatrical—but he would refine that style in his second and penultimate Hollywood outing, The Music Man, four years later.
The film is also notable for its portrayal of the chic, martini‑dry lesbian character Vera Charles, played by gay actress Coral Browne, who steals every scene she’s in. We’ll be meeting Ms. Browne again as we move through the queer‑cinema canon.
Adapted from Patrick Dennis’s 1955 novel Auntie Mame and the stage play by Jerome Lawrence and Robert E. Lee, the film preserves much of the Broadway spirit—no surprise, since Russell originated the role onstage.
Cinematography: Harry Stradling
Warner Bros.

STREAMING: Amazon Prime Video, YouTube and Apple TV

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