The Mating Season

IMDB entry

Starring:
Gene Tierney....Maggy Carleton
John Lund....Val McNulty
Miriam Hopkins....Fran Carleton
Thelma Ritter....Ellen McNulty/Ellen "the maid"

Synopsis:

When Val McNulty gets married to his new socialite bride, he neglects to mention his working-class mother, Ellen, who just lost the family greasy spoon. In order to spare her son any embarrasment, Ellen skips the wedding. But when she makes a surprise visit to meet the new bride, she is mistaken for a cook hired to help at an important cocktail party for Val's boss and of course, hijnks ensue...

I mainly watched ths movie because had heard so much about Gene Tierney's legendary beauty, and she truly did not disappoint. Tierney was radiant on the screen. She also wore nicer dresses to wash the dishes than I'd be likely to wear to church.

The true star of the movie though is Thelma Ritter. I knew I'd seen this woman before, and after checking out her IMDB page I realised she was one of those old standby character actors and that I specifically remembered her from Rear Window and All About Eve. The woman just has a sense of comic timing that so easy and comfortable. She makes you think that she's not acting at all, she just showed up on the set and let the camera follow her around.

The story itself is pleasant enough, though not surprising in the least, it is enjoyable. The real reason to watch though is for the warmth of Ritter's performance and the near flawless beauty of Tierney. Not a bad way to spend 90 minutes if you're in the mood for old-fashioned fun.