Final Rating: 3.5/5
4K UHD Recommendation: Recommend
Here’s a little classic Hollywood thought experiment. Who are the three greatest comedic female actors before the 1970s?
This is not as easy as it might sound, as a good many of the greatest comedies from these decades are anchored by smooth-tongued or madcap male performances where their female co-stars are there as foil.
You’ve probably thought of Katherine Hepburn, who could be genuinely hilarious just as easily as she could convey deep emotion. Claudette Colbert was an incredibly adept comedienne with several classics to her name. Marilyn Monroe had her lane and played it to perfection. Barbara Stanwyck’s versatility extended her into some great comedic roles. Real classic Hollywood fans will likely point to Carole Lombard’s mastery of the screwball comedy.
Where was Rosalind Russell on your list?
It’s an interesting question because, despite not having the legacy of many of the women listed above, she may have a case as one of (if not the) very best funny women of this period of film. After a few years of getting fine roles that got small notice, the one-two punch of 1939’s The Women and 1940’s His Girl Friday cemented her fast talking, joke-a-minute style with audiences.
His Girl Friday in particular has lived on as one of the greatest comedic films and screenplays of all time. She won six Golden Globe Awards for Best Actress, four of which came in the Musical/Comedy category.
When the role of Mame Dennis in the Broadway production of Auntie Mame came up in 1956, she jumped on it and ran with it. Mame is an eccentric, independent bohemian heiress living an opulent lifestyle in 1920s Manhattan when she suddenly finds herself as caregiver to her orphaned nephew Patrick. She finds a maternal instinct at this turn of events and does her best to instill Patrick with more progressive viewpoints to combat the conservative ideals and wishes of Patrick’s late father.
She won a Tony Award for her leading performance, and near the end of the show’s run Hollywood came calling. They brought Russell, several of the play’s actors, and director Morton DaCosta directly from Broadway to make the film adaptation of Auntie Mame in 1958, which Warner Archive has recently restored and released on 4K UHD.
Stage adaptations were a common occurrence during these eras, and they sometimes suffered the fate of feeling like simply a filmed version of the play. Auntie Mame does feel like this several times, even if it isn’t necessarily distracting. Several key scenes end with background lights dimming and a spotlight staying on Russell for emphasis, a clear stage choice that director DaCosta carried over to varying success.
A good deal of the story takes place in Mame’s elaborate, perpetually redecorated two-story apartment, which does allow for some highly detailed and elaborate stage crafting to sit front and center as it would on Broadway. Even when we do get away from Manhattan, you do still feel that it hasn’t quite fully escaped the stage.
It is, however, pretty easy to dismiss these quibbles because of just how much damn fun this film is. The jokes and banter still hit after all these years, which is not a surprise given that the screenplay adaptation was in the hands of the legendary duo of Betty Comden and Adolph Green.
It is endlessly quotable, with so many different characters getting their moments. The younger Patrick (played by a then 12-year-old Jan Handzlik) and the awkward, socially inept secretary Agnes (the hilarious Peggy Cass) were both original Broadway cast members, and their comedic work and camaraderie with Russell really shine through.
Through it all, Rosalind Russell is the magnetic centre of this universe. She knows how to send up her exuberant free-spirited character without turning it into pastiche. She finds moments of genuine emotion and pathos, and she is fiercely loyal to those she is close with. It’s a great character; a lovable weirdo, a self-assured creative rebel, and a patron saint to childless adults all rolled into one.
Auntie Mame was one of the first dozen or so films that was shot in Technirama, an anamorphic widescreen format invented by Technicolor. This, along with the colourful and intricately detailed set and costume design, makes it a no-brainer inclusion into Warner Archive’s growing collection of 4K UHD releases.
The restoration before-and-after demo reel on the disc’s special features really highlights what an upgrade this print is, even over Warner’s previous 2017 remaster. This is assuredly the best the film has ever looked for a home viewing experience.
This new restoration was showcased for the first time theatrically earlier this year during the 2026 TCM Classic Film Festival. The screening was hosted by Dave Karger who prefaced the screening with a short Q&A with Jan Handzlik about his involvement getting cast in the play and film as a young child and his experiences working with the late Rosalind Russell. This Q&A was recorded and is also included as a supplemental feature on this physical release.
Yes, this film does feel like a comedic play written in the 1950s. Because of this, it may not have the crowd appeal that it did when it became the second-highest grossing film of 1958. But thumbing your nose at conservative ideals is still rich comedic soil; just ask fans of The Daily Show and Last Week Tonight. It may be old fashioned, but it’s a hell of a lot of fun.
Thank you Allied Vaughn and Movie Zyng for the screener.
Buy your copy of Auntie Mame here: https://moviezyng.com/pyquwh
