The Reluctant Debutante (1958)
In The Reluctant Debutante, Sandra Dee visits her father and stepmother for the London season. They haven’t seen her in a very long time, and when a “friend” puts the competitive bee in their bonnets about her missing out on a debutant ball, they decide to throw her the event of the season. It’s all very fluffy, with big problems made out of little mishaps, like gossip and wrong telephone numbers. Rex Harrison and his real life wife Kay Kendall play spouses in this movie, but if you know about their relationship, you know that he had a very heavy heart during filming. She looked lovely and healthy, and it was either a great tribute to his talent or to his ability to live in the moment, but he acted like he had nothing heavier on his minds than debutante balls.
Ironically, Kay’s expressions and delivery reminded me of Julie Andrews, whom Rex notoriously didn’t get along with. However, before condemning him as a terrible person, it might serve you to consider how he must have felt to see Julie so full of life and energy during the years when he was caring for Kay.
But back to the movie: it’s very cute. It has quick lines and quick timing, and you can easily imagine it playing out on the stage. The humor is very British, like not understanding someone’s obvious meaning or acting too proper for believability. There’s a running joke that whenever the band plays “God Save the Queen” no one can move or leave the room, so once when Rex and Kay are trying to prevent Sandra and her unsuitable drummer beau John Saxon from running off together, the band plays and prevents them from giving chase.
I could totally see David Niven and Deborah Kerr in the lead roles (but then I’m famous for saying “It should have been David Niven!”). If you do like Rex, though, this might be one of your favorites. Had this been the first movie of his I’d seen, I’d probably really like him. It’s light and fluffy, very funny, and he and his wife have great chemistry together. She’s quite delightful, and even when she’s acting silly, you can’t help but want to give her a hug and compliment her hair and outfit.
Speaking of outfits, Helen Rose nearly outdid herself. I use the word “nearly” because she designed gowns for Ziegfeld Follies, The Harvey Girls, Annie Get Your Gun, The Belle of New York, The Glass Slipper, Interrupted Melody, and countless others. Still, the gowns are gorgeous in this movie, so if you like fashions and beautiful hairdos, you will totally appreciate them. Literally every gown that every actress wears in every scene is beautiful. I couldn’t decide whether I would have rather been Angela Lansbury, Sandra, or Kay during wardrobe fittings.
Want to watch it? Click here to see it on ok.ru and thanks "Sunflower Movies" for posting!
More Rex Harrison movies here!
Ironically, Kay’s expressions and delivery reminded me of Julie Andrews, whom Rex notoriously didn’t get along with. However, before condemning him as a terrible person, it might serve you to consider how he must have felt to see Julie so full of life and energy during the years when he was caring for Kay.
But back to the movie: it’s very cute. It has quick lines and quick timing, and you can easily imagine it playing out on the stage. The humor is very British, like not understanding someone’s obvious meaning or acting too proper for believability. There’s a running joke that whenever the band plays “God Save the Queen” no one can move or leave the room, so once when Rex and Kay are trying to prevent Sandra and her unsuitable drummer beau John Saxon from running off together, the band plays and prevents them from giving chase.
I could totally see David Niven and Deborah Kerr in the lead roles (but then I’m famous for saying “It should have been David Niven!”). If you do like Rex, though, this might be one of your favorites. Had this been the first movie of his I’d seen, I’d probably really like him. It’s light and fluffy, very funny, and he and his wife have great chemistry together. She’s quite delightful, and even when she’s acting silly, you can’t help but want to give her a hug and compliment her hair and outfit.
Speaking of outfits, Helen Rose nearly outdid herself. I use the word “nearly” because she designed gowns for Ziegfeld Follies, The Harvey Girls, Annie Get Your Gun, The Belle of New York, The Glass Slipper, Interrupted Melody, and countless others. Still, the gowns are gorgeous in this movie, so if you like fashions and beautiful hairdos, you will totally appreciate them. Literally every gown that every actress wears in every scene is beautiful. I couldn’t decide whether I would have rather been Angela Lansbury, Sandra, or Kay during wardrobe fittings.
Want to watch it? Click here to see it on ok.ru and thanks "Sunflower Movies" for posting!
More Rex Harrison movies here!