Sometimes you see a movie and you know that the actor or actress in it was born to play that part.
Clark Gable in Gone with the Wind
Bette Davis in All About Eve
Barbra Streisand in Hello, Dolly
Rosalind Russell in Auntie Mame
I love Russell and the parts she played. She was a liberated woman before the rest of the world knew that women needed to be liberated.
But in Auntie Mame she reached her peak. Mame is so vibrant and alive. She flaunts every one of Mame's eccentricities without stepping over the line into caricature. She also brings alive Mame's decency, compassion and tolerance. When I watch it, I almost feel ashamed of myself for being such a stick in the mud.
I enjoyed the musical with Lucille Ball, but all the way through it - I wanted it to be Rosalind Russell playing the part. It takes very little imagination on my part to hear her singing the songs. Rosalind, you are "just sensational" as Mame.
