AUNTIE MAME (1958), Rosalind Russell, abt how Patrick came to attend St. Boniface Boarding School

The description offered via IMDB is a two-sentence collapse of the story: "An orphan goes to live with his free-spirited aunt. Conflict ensues when the executor of [the orphan's] father's estate objects to the aunt's lifestyle."
In these scenes excerpted from the beginning of the movie, the 9 year-old orphan, Patrick Dennis, has been living with his free-spirited Auntie Mame for a short while. Set October 1929 in Mame's Manhattan Beekman Place apartment, these scenes explain how young Patrick is sent off to St Boniface Boarding School by the Trustee of his money, Dwight Babcock, President of the conservative Knickerbocker Bank.
Note: After he greets Mr Babcock, Patrick informs Babcock that "My auntie Mame will be right down. She's having a little trouble with her halo." The "halo" is a reference to the previous scene: Set in Mame's bedroom, Mame has awoke hung-over, with the stage actress Vera Charles predictably passed-out in the guest room, next door. Mame receives a phone call from Babcock, informing her that he is in her neighborhood and would like to see her right then and there. Mame has admitted she's been avoiding Babcock, "for weeks." Desperate, she awakes Vera and insist she arise and help her dress. Vera advises her, "Do the Lillian Gish routine. You know: simple dress; Madonna-like hairdo."
The hair switch is part of Mame and Vera's effort to make the bohemian Mame look conservatively acceptable to Patrick's Trustee, Dwight Babcock, who is in control of Patrick's money. Initially, Mame's charms seem to win Babcock over. But in the final scene, it's all to no use, as Babcock departs, declaring to Mame, "I'm going to turn this kid into a decent, God-fearing Christian if I have to break every bone in his body!"
As always during AUNTIE MAME, the Beekman Place apartment undergoes interior decoration changes to match each of Mame's personas, as well as the zeitgeist of the decade. Art Director Malcolm C. Bert with Set Decorator George James Hopkins created an apartment that achieves the status of being a character in and of itself, within the movie - a perfectly-deserved promotion of a living space, to a character, in an almost perfect, flawless movie.
"Live, live, LIVE! Life's a banquet and most poor suckers are starving to death!" ~Mame Dennis in AUNTIE MAME

[@reggie583]

The vocal sneer in "Exclusively what, and restricted to whom?" is perfect!

[@macrichardson7440]

There is so much to love about this movie. How they filmed it in and out like a broadway production with lighting and the actors timing is amazing. R.R. Should have received an academy award!

[@ausguy5052]

Its unbelievable how this movie is as relevant now as it was then and dare I say, will be in the future.

[@jimkahn957]

My all-time favorite movie. I first saw it as a kid of 8...it taught me a lot about life...and here I am, 70+ years later and I still live by her belief... "Life is a banquet and most poor suckers are starving to death!"

[@letitiafairbanks1919]

Absolutely the *best* motto to live by, Jim. I've followed it my whole life, too.

[@ddiamondr1]

Absolutely! ‘Life is a banquet.’ 66 and still following this credo. I read her autobiography of the same name as a teen and never forgot it. It helped to have parents who lived the same❤️Thank you for this!

[@zabadazidit]

Right on!!

[@arianafaustini42]

This is SO my favourite movie!

[@HeatherValentineMsFoodie]

I think all kids should mix drinks like that 😂💝

[@zabadazidit]

Yeah, but Patrick uses too much vermouth. 😝

[@samanthab1923]

Better than just sending them to the fridge for a beer

[@kawika9204]

Knowledge is power! 🤣

[@juliananorleen9750]

Rosalind Russel is the best Mame

[@samanthab1923]

Love her in the Angels movies as well. Great mother superior ❤️

[@c.a.savage5689]

The ONLY Mame.

[@florencedelvalle8145]

Love he as MAME! This movie is a classic

[@TechBearSeattle]

Angela Lansbury was quite good in the musical. Lucille Ball, not so much.

[@aliasmarg8ta127]

I loved every scene of this movie. The best wardrobe !

[@bluesam6942]

Also interior

[@dennie2619]

Hands down my favorite movie ever! I shared it with my kids (many times) and now my grandkids. I think I fell in love with it because of Auntie Mame’s character. I wanted to be cool like her…..love love love this movie!

[@jaysonbiggs8979]

It's funny you should say that. My now-deceased mother recommended I see it when I was a kid in the 1960's. It's a masterpiece movie.

[@jaysonbiggs8979]

A double came down the stairs.

[@absters5001]

It's my favorite movie, too. It's so quotable- are we all lit?

[@SimirJohnson]

Im guessing that is why they no longer talk to you

[@akrenwinkle]

@@jaysonbiggs8979 When? What time?

[@TabaquiJackal906]

OH, that apartment...all lavender and blue and grey, so gorgeous and so restful.... Everything about this movie is sheer perfection (and delightfully hilarious).

[@letitiafairbanks1919]

I totally agree!

[@TechBearSeattle]

It changes every scene, along with Mame's hair style and color.

[@teptime]

I wish I had an Auntie Mame.

[@claudiachasman4688]

OH, ME, TOO 💔💔💔💔😭😭😭😭😭😓😓😓😓😓😞😞😞😞😞😞

[@tedliu8060]

Rosalind Russell, Splendid performance!

[@sandybeach123]

There was a time (years ago) when one of my friends and I enjoyed a private joke by dropping the sentence "We were just playing fish families...." within certain situations and knowing what we were trying to silently tell each other without letting others know......good memories!!

[@samanthab1923]

My parents took my younger bros. to see the remake with Lucille Ball. All they talked about was the naked guy playing the piano at school 😂

[@happyguy7005]

This is the best movie ever! It’s in my top 10! Russell is FABULOUS

[@charlescopenhagen6198]

I can not tell you how many times I’ve seen this movie, still gets me.

[@pollysbuddy]

My mom had some of these qualities…..humor and ahead of her time.

[@taylorrosenberg3350]

Just watched it again, what a hoot! How lovely that Mame showed up those bigots without raising her voice. She should have at least been nominated for an Oscar.

[@akrenwinkle]

She was.

[@cynthiahusband106]

My most favorite movie thanks to Ms Russell there is only one Russell

[@belenheredia2024]

8:40 I love the use of silence in this movie, I burst out laughing every time 😂

[@tommiller3017]

Like Peggy Cass struggling to sit up on the couch?

[@TheDivayenta]

Exactly!!!😂

[@RaymondHng]

2:56 "Nuts?" That same line was said to Rosalind Russell when she starred in _The Women_ (1939). Her character announced that she would never harm her close friend and another character responded with an extended bowl saying, "Nuts?"

[@isabellas.c.scanderbeg2670]

Absolutely wonderful, camp and modern forever ✨✨✨

[@srothbardt]

Brilliant

[@KetoStyle]

Yes! I’m with so many others here; LOVE, LOVE, LOVE this movie. I’ve seen the Lucille Ball version too, but this one is the best!!

[@johnpickford4222]

charley yancey: The musical version with Lucille Ball is a poor excuse for a film and her performance, while she worked hard, didn’t register emotionally partially due to her and other elements in the film.

[@reneerichburg8023]

Well I didn't like LUCILLE BALLS 👎 BUT I LOVE THIS ONE 👍👍💕💞☺️

[@jameshall9402]

The best "feel good" movie of all time!

[@petersmafield1494]

I was 12 years old when I 1st saw this movie in 1958 and it has been one of my favorites ever since. I even found the book at the public Library and read it for myself. It was risqué in my 12-year-old mind, and I loved it.

[@asvegas777]

I read this book around the same age 11 or 12. And watched the movie a few years after. It wasn’t in the 70s but in the late 90s for me… yes I was a weirdo to somehow find this and relate to it.

[@KT-wr3cv]

What an amazing & classy lady. This is one of her best. Of course, she never made a bad movie!

[@windstorm1000]

Agreed love her

[@bar10ml44]

A huge thank you for posting. Cheers from London

[@josephthomasjr.6551]

From what I have been told, "bully" was one of Theodore Roosevelt's favorite sayings. With him though, it was unwaveringly positive.

[@retroguy9494]

Whoever told you that about TR was 100% correct!

[@jeffreymartin6369]

Yes. Towards men

[@mehmetokay7073]

Now that is the way to make a martini. Superb.

[@edcastrillon787]

My favorite film. Reminds me of my Grandma Nancy. She was just as fabulous.❤️

[@letitiafairbanks1919]

It’s particularly wonderful when we can each find an Auntie Mame in our own lives.

[@hollyh1969]

I love this movie.

[@jeromelombardo6053]

My favorite décor of her penthouse.

[@pmouyren]

Thanks Laeticia for adding bit by bit this classic. 😀 A treasure

[@letitiafairbanks1919]

You are very welcome @pmouyren.

[@debbiepettit2110]

I love this movie. Rosalind Russell was a superb actress. One of a kind.

[@cynthiawilson4500]

I was 3 when this movie came out and 30 before I was able to see it for the first time. I have watched it numerous times since. I will hopefully watch it many more times before I die. It never gets old.

[@MicharlMcGarry-pn1fd]

My favorite movie!

[@cousinsister69]

My favourite movie. An absolute joy. 👏

[@audreydaleski1067]

He played his part so perfectly, patrick.

[@charlkriek4863]

Love the butler! A brilliant movie allround.

[@privatemailcall6011]

Fairbanks!!! Wow. I'm honored. Douglas Fairbanks Sr. & Douglas Fairbanks Jr. Two mega stars.True Hollywood royalty. Their friends were the Who's who. Sr. married Pickford. The famous Pickfair Estate. Jr married J Crawford. Etc... The Fairbanks were Glamorously handsome. Multi talented. True Stars. I was surfing around for Classics. Landed on Auntie Mame. R Russell. Another perfect film with a perfect cast. There are several Classic films/ movies, featuring amazingly gifted, beautiful, & muti talented Movie Stars. So perfectly written, directed produced and cast, that one can watch these movies, repeatedly without tiring. These stars are so fabulous. From Fairbanks, Barrymore, Crawford, Davis, Russell Monroe, Bacall, Bogie, Grant, Hudson,, Hepburn, Tracy, Reagan, Taylor, McDowell, Swanson, Douglas, Randall, Hope, Sinatra, Fonda... Endless stars from back then, who possess the same Star power today. I'll choose their movies first, everytime. Thank you Ms Fairbanks.

[@letitiafairbanks1919]

Thank you @privatemailcall6011 for your appreciation of the great film stars of the classics, both silent and "talkies". 😊

[@elainelosee7974]

Dennis you're fabulous. I too love This film. Found it today, again. Thankfully, need the joy, especially today During the climate. Thanks, feeling great, your sharing is absolutely fantastic.

[@letitiafairbanks1919]

You are very welcome! I, too, find AUNTIE MAME a great tonic for these current times.

[@suechambers9151]

Mame showed us how to enjoy life!

[@cremebrulee4759]

Wonderful! Thank you.

[@audreydaleski1067]

Love the butler. Love the gift he and

[@kittywalker2944]

All-time Favorite movie! Just got the book, as well as ‘Travels with My Aunt.’

[@eileenjohnston5520]

I've got the book Auntie Mame written by Patrick Dennis.

[@mickikindley7821]

Omg I love this movie

[@petitpoisparis]

Read the books to my daughters years ago we had such a laugh .We will have to find the film or films 😊

[@samanthab1923]

Always think of it at Christmas 🎄

[@nmeier5]

My absolute favorite movie of all time from when I was 7-8 yrs old! Rosalind Russell is perfection! I can recite this movie from start to finish. Never gets old. 😂

[@MiiFone1]

Rosalind Russell was a amazing actress with a powerful presence and reminds me of my late mother

[@aliciachristopher6506]

The book is hallarious.

[@HBLADY]

Fish family! Try putting that in a movie these days!!! 😆

[@jennifermorrill5184]

"Exclusively what and restricted to whom?" There was so much weight in that line. There was even more meaning with that little raised eyebrow when he said, "wrong side of the tracks."

[@lisaterry2387]

THe kid knows how to make a dry martini!!

[@jaysonbiggs8979]

When I first saw this as a kid on TV, I didn't get a number of the references. This one about the fish; the two lesbians at the party. One or two more.

[@reneerichburg8023]

Ooooo I LOVE THIS MOVIE 👍👍👍👍💞💕

[@michaelgarcia2024]

Looks like Russlin Russell who was friends with Joan Crawford, witness for herself Christina Crawford mixing drinks for her uncles at a tender age, and added it as a funny scene. That scene looks identical as it did in Mommie Dearest but Christina Crawford killed it with eye-piercing look and shade for days attitude.... 😂🍸🍸🍸

[@windstorm1000]

Who wouldn't want an Auntie Mame-better than any college education

[@terry9238]

Actually, Patrick went to college.

[@robertomainetti4836]

Come al solito i film interessanti completi su KZbin, non ci sono mai

[@jefflong1799]

I have to thank Letitia for posting this with the FORCED wide-screen view, and the excellent copy it's from.. The detail, color, and beauty of it all is like it was filmed yesterday.. THANK YOU!! :)

[@dkuhs]

Patrick My little Love . 😞

[@thomaslucas6079]

I was 3 years old when this was new. I remember my mom watching this on TV when I was 10 years old.

[@DippyHippie]

Awww,my little loves!😂

[@donaldzahnke1951]

I first saw this movie when I was 8

[@Alusnovalotus]

5:26 When Vera smiled and said said “bye kid!” I thought the actress was Reneé Taylor

[@elizabethwalter5744]

Coral Browne, wife of Vincent Price, and as irreplaceable and unforgettable in her part as Ros Russell is in hers

[@tomservo56954]

​@@elizabethwalter5744And as Barry Humphries (aka Dame Enda Everage) made clear in his eulogy...irreplaceable and unforgettable in life.

[@peanutbutter3543]

exclusively what and restricted to whom?? Love her character and RR nails it

[@larryshaver3568]

i only got to see this in color about 35 years ago it was broadcast in black and white when i was growing up

[@TheDivayenta]

Or maybe you had a b& w TV?

[@audreydaleski1067]

Roz IS Mame, the one and only.

[@SanFranDentist94301]

"Restricted" had a specific meaning back then. No Black people or Jewish.

[@TechBearSeattle]

As was made very clear later in the movie, when Mr. and Mrs. Upson are talking to Mame about buying the lot next door for Patrick and Gloria. And how Mame slapped them right back: "No, the Epstein Home for Refugee Jewish Children!"

[@robertomainetti4836]

If it is as half as good as the book is a masterpiece

[@midnight0beast0lover]

I watched this with my Nana when I was 8 (I’m 26 now) and I didn’t get what they were talking about around 7:50 at alllllll. xD

[@SanFranDentist94301]

I would have been furious!

[@theylied1776]

This is why when I was growing up, I loved watching movies from the 40s, 50s, and 1960s because the overt racism and antisemitism were coded. And it made me pay attention to what adults were actually saying.

[@ThatBearHasMoxie]

Lucille Ball version who?!!! I still say Roslind was ripped off at the Oscars for this!

[@gailwebb9619]

She was. She was fabulous as Mame and should have won the Oscar.

[@ms.laterholmes2890]

Oh, that was the switch when she goes to cry, she put her left hand up but then when they really shoot him holding their shoulders, it’s her right hand never cut one of those errors in an old movie before

[@ShannonTBarge]

Pick up my coat! Babbbbby!!

[@user-fg4jk5ny4g]

All of her movies were great.

[@tibitaylor]

"October's bright ???? weather".

[@jimwilson1187]

Omg yes!!!

[@crystalharris7394]

💗💗💗

[@bjay175]

2:37 "Driniking during business hours" lol

[@jaysonbiggs8979]

Catch what he said. They have yogurt time and then they play impregnate the eggs.

[@tomservo56954]

They do what gentlemen fish do--don't be vulgar.

[@carmenpetrou376]

❤️🌹

[@deenababie]

I don’t think I realized what that fish game was all about when I saw this as a little kid in the 70’s. I think as a Nonna now, I’d put him in his knickers and take him to school too. Naked fishes for little kiddles is a no no for me too. LOL

[@Demetri450]

Exclusive & Restricted!

[@teaeyedoubleguhur]

I need to mix a pitcher of martinis using Patrick's method.

[@markwhitman9029]

Yes the kid is gay and nobody today gives a hoot or should. Loved this way before its time movie. Rosalind is superb!!

[@galerae947]

He isn't gay. He marries at the end and they have a child together.

[@rodneythomas8813]

A gay young man might love growing up in this house.

[@letitiafairbanks1919]

Agreed! Any child would love growing up in this house.

[@infonut]

@@letitiafairbanks1919 ... I believe he was making an attempt at hate but failed miserably. Just like most of his relationships I dare say,

[@josephbahri1403]

Is it just me or does Mr. Babcock seem more than a little condescending in calling the oriental helper "HEY" ?

[@philippbretzler7687]

I love the colors. Like old paintings. Is it Anscocolor/Agfacolor?

[@SimonFurber]

This film is oft criticized. I however can find no fault.

[@cathyohara1768]

Say something about patrik dennes who wrote all those wonder lines said perbatem by the book

[@clairewatson3868]

Magnificent movie, too bad about the Japanese butler caricature.

[@californiaslastgasp6847]

You act like he’s the Mickey Rooney in Breakfast at Tiffany’s.

[@constancemiller3753]

​@@californiaslastgasp6847 exactly. Everyone is over the top. Ito is a fabulous character. He's delighted with his work.

[@LUIS-ox1bv]

Everyone is caricatured in this feature. Why stop at Ito. Get over yourself!

[@TT-kp3cz]

LMBO, fish family 🤣🤣

[@pmouyren]

By the way are you related to Douglas Fairbanks?

[@letitiafairbanks1919]

I was his niece. My online persona is curated by family.

[@mikep5335]

Mame is a queer icon. And even though they don't come right out and say it in these movies; Patrick himself was also gay; which just heightened these characters' iconic status in the gay community.

[@Vejur9000]

I used to hate this child actor, mainly because he was a terrible actor... Now it feels like they cast him because his character seems gay, which of course, aligns with this amazing movie, and of course, his equally amazing auntie Mame.

[@bobsanders9114]

Actually, the young Patrick Dennis is played by Jan Handzlik, who also played the role on Broadway. From Rosalind Russell's autobiography, Life is a Banquet, it's apparent that she felt motherly and protective towards him: when his mother, an ensemble performer, was out of work, Roz had husband Freddie Brisson give her a job in the company of Damn Yankees. She insisted he be in the movie, even though by then he was already, in her words "too old" (at 12). Look him up on imDb, you'll see he was also on The Twilight Zone, in The Monsters are Due on Maple Street, one of the classics. And by the way: not gay. Here's his bio: "Although he projected both charm and talent as the young "Patrick Dennis" in the Broadway stage and film versions of "Auntie Mame," and appeared in a popular episode of Twilight Zone, "The Monsters are Due on Maple Street," Jan Handzlik ultimately dropped out of acting completely to become a successful trial lawyer. Jan served as a prosecutor in the U.S. Attorney's Office in Los Angeles prosecuting federal fraud cases and was a partner in several nationally recognized law firms, including Kirkland & Ellis and Venable. He now runs his own law firm in Los Angeles, specializing in white collar crime investigations and defense, international law and complex civil litigation. In October 2000, Jan was chosen to chair the American Bar Association's National White-Collar Crime Committee. From 2014 to 2016, he served as chair of the International Bar Association's Business Crime Committee. In 2012, Jan was ranked as one of California's "Top 100 Attorneys" by the California legal periodical, The Daily Journal. He won the 2012 California Lawyer Magazine Attorney of the Year ("CLAY") Award in Criminal Law, and the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers White Collar Defender Award. For 35 years, Jan has been recognized in all volumes of the Best Lawyers in America (Woodward-White). He is also recognized in U.S. News and World Report's Best Law Firms in America; The International Who's Who of Business Crime Lawyers (Practicing Law Institute); Chambers USA: America's Leading Lawyers; Guide to the World's Leading Litigation Lawyers (Euromoney PLC); Guide to the World's Leading White Collar Crime Advisors (Mondaq); Who's Who Legal: Investigations (Law Business Research Ltd.); The American Lawyer Magzine; and Super Lawyers (Thomson Reuters). he lives in Los Angeles. Jan lives in Los Angeles."

[@goldHydrangeas]

@@bobsanders9114 WoW 😯 Good for him! he went the opposite way as Law is to art.

[@tommiller3017]

I think they cast kids back then somewhat stereotypically. The focus was on her, and he reacted to her. The scene with him and her after the play always breaks my heart.

[@goldHydrangeas]

@@tommiller3017 yea sad. But I don’t get why still today.. can’t put a finger to it 🤔.

[@lawrencehandal3745]

@@bobsanders9114 p.m.

[@frothe42]

Mr. Babcock sounds like today's #Rethugklicans and #Dixiecrats. Still relevant today!

[@HaloFlemz86]

We got new littles in the Family and I want to there auntie. I'm going to be a spinster cool auntie.

[@joestewart8914]

They already had very wide screens in 1958?

[@infonut]

MAN ! ... you really need to read a book.

[@monicdavis6150]

😂

[@hebneh]

I'm sorry to say that this kid's precise enunciation annoys me mightily - he reminds me of the murderous Rhoda in "The Bad Seed".

[@taylorrosenberg3350]

That's how all kid actors behaved back them: perfectly behaved little automatons.

[@goldHydrangeas]

The 🤖 boys.. less so the girls.. like Shirley Temple, liz Taylor.

[@Robert-hz9bj]

I can't believe they made boys wear formal shorts with a suit jacket and tie. He looks ridiculous...