''Call Me Madam'' is a 1953 American

Technicolor Technicolor is a series of Color motion picture film, color motion picture processes, the first version dating back to 1916, and followed by improved versions over several decades. Definitive Technicolor movies using three black and white films ...

musical film Musical film is a film genre in which songs by the characters are interwoven into the narrative, sometimes accompanied by dancing. The songs usually advance the plot or develop the film's characters, but in some cases, they serve merely as breaks ...

directed by

Walter Lang Walter Lang (August 10, 1896 – February 7, 1972) was an American film director. Early life Walter Lang was born in Tennessee. As a young man he went to New York City where he found clerical work at a movie studio, film production company. The ...

, with songs by

Irving Berlin Irving Berlin (born Israel Beilin; yi, ישראל ביילין; May 11, 1888 – September 22, 1989) was a Russian-American composer, songwriter and lyricist. His music forms a large part of the Great American Songbook. Born in Imperial Russi ...

, based on the 1950 stage musical of the same name. The film, with a

screenplay ''ScreenPlay'' is a television drama anthology series broadcast on BBC2 between 9 July 1986 and 27 October 1993. Background After single-play anthology series went off the air, the BBC introduced several showcases for made-for-television, fe ...

Arthur Sheekman Arthur Sheekman (February 5, 1901 – January 12, 1978) was an American theater and movie critic, columnist, playwright, and editor—but best known for his writing for the screen. His specialty was light comedy. Groucho Marx called him "The Fast ...

, starred

Ethel Merman Ethel Merman (born Ethel Agnes Zimmermann, January 16, 1908 – February 15, 1984) was an American actress and singer, known for her distinctive, powerful voice, and for leading roles in musical theatre.Obituary ''Variety'', February 22, 1984. ...

Donald O'Connor Donald David Dixon Ronald O'Connor (August 28, 1925 – September 27, 2003) was an American dancer, singer and actor. He came to fame in a series of films in which he co-starred with Gloria Jean, Peggy Ryan, and Francis the Talking Mule. His best ...

, Vera-Ellen,

Billy DeWolfe William Andrew Jones (February 18, 1907 – March 5, 1974), better known as Billy De Wolfe, was an American character actor. He was active in films from the mid-1940s until his death in 1974. Early life and early stage career Born William And ...

George Sanders George Henry Sanders (3 July 1906 – 25 April 1972) was a British actor and singer whose career spanned over 40 years. His heavy, upper-class English accent and smooth, bass voice often led him to be cast as sophisticated but villainous chara ...

, and

Walter Slezak Walter Slezak (; 3 May 1902 – 21 April 1983) was an Austrian-born film and stage actor active between 1922 and 1976. He mainly appeared in German films before migrating to the United States in 1930 and performing in numerous Hollywood producti ...

. The film replaced "Washington Square Dance" with the older " International Rag", and interpolated "What Chance Have I With Love?" from Berlin's ''Louisiana Purchase'' (sung and danced by Donald O'Connor). A

soundtrack album A soundtrack album is any album that incorporates music directly recorded from the soundtrack of a particular feature film or television show. The first such album to be commercially released was Walt Disney's ''Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs'' ...

was released by

Decca Decca may refer to: Music * Decca Records or Decca Music Group, a record label * Decca Gold, a classical music record label owned by Universal Music Group * Decca Broadway, a musical theater record label * Decca Studios, a recording facility in W ...

both as a 10-inch LP and as a set of three 7-inch EPs, and was released on CD in 2004 by Hallmark. The numbers "The Hostess with the Mostest'" and " You're Just in Love" are included on the

Rhino Records A rhinoceros (; ; ), commonly abbreviated to rhino, is a member of any of the five extant species (or numerous extinct species) of odd-toed ungulates in the family Rhinocerotidae. (It can also refer to a member of any of the extinct species o ...

CD set ''Irving Berlin in Hollywood''. The film was out of circulation for many years but was issued on DVD in 2004. Merman won the

Golden Globe Award The Golden Globe Awards are accolades bestowed by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association beginning in January 1944, recognizing excellence in both American and international film and television. Beginning in 2022, there are 105 members of t ...

for Best Actress in a Musical or Comedy. Alfred Newman won the

Oscar Oscar, OSCAR, or The Oscar may refer to: People * Oscar (given name), an Irish- and English-language name also used in other languages; the article includes the names Oskar, Oskari, Oszkár, Óscar, and other forms. * Oscar (Irish mythology), ...

for Best Scoring of a Musical Picture, and

Irene Sharaff Irene Sharaff (January 23, 1910 – August 16, 1993) was an American costume designer for stage and screen. Her work earned her five Academy Awards and a Tony Award. Sharaff is universally recognized as one of the greatest costume designers of a ...

was nominated for her

costume design Costume design is the creation of clothing for the overall appearance of a character or performer. Costume may refer to the style of dress particular to a nation, a class, or a period. In many cases, it may contribute to the fullness of the arti ...

. Lang was nominated for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Motion Pictures by the

Directors Guild of America The Directors Guild of America (DGA) is an entertainment guild that represents the interests of film and television directors in the United States motion picture industry and abroad. Founded as the Screen Directors Guild in 1936, the group merge ...

and the Grand Prize at the 1953 Cannes Film Festival, and Sheekman's screenplay was nominated Best Written American Musical by the

Writers Guild of America The Writers Guild of America is the joint efforts of two different US labor unions representing TV and film writers: * The Writers Guild of America, East (WGAE), headquartered in New York City and affiliated with the AFL–CIO * The Writers Guil ...

Plot

A wealthy Washington, D.C., socialite, Sally Adams (

), has political connections and is appointed U.S. ambassador to the tiny country of Lichtenburg, even though nothing in her background qualifies her for the job. A young journalist, Kenneth Gibson (

), persuades her to let him tag along as her press

attaché In diplomacy, an attaché is a person who is assigned ("to be attached") to the diplomatic or administrative staff of a higher placed person or another service or agency. Although a loanword from French, in English the word is not modified accor ...

. In the duchy of Lichtenburg, the arrival of Ambassador Adams does not sit well with some, particularly

chargé d'affaires A ''chargé d'affaires'' (), plural ''chargés d'affaires'', often shortened to ''chargé'' (French) and sometimes in colloquial English to ''charge-D'', is a diplomat who serves as an embassy's chief of mission in the absence of the ambassador ...

Pemberton Maxwell (

Billy De Wolfe William Andrew Jones (February 18, 1907 – March 5, 1974), better known as Billy De Wolfe, was an American character actor. He was active in films from the mid-1940s until his death in 1974. Early life and early stage career Born William Andr ...

), who is annoyed by many things, including her insistence on being addressed by him as "Madam." A pressing issue in Lichtenburg is that Princess Maria ( Vera-Ellen), niece of Grand Duke Otto (

Ludwig Stössel Ludwig Stössel (12 February 1883 – 29 January 1973) was an actor born in Lockenhaus, now Austria, then Hungary. He was one of many Jewish actors and actresses who were forced to flee Germany when the Nazis came to power in 1933. Biography St ...

) and Grand Duchess Sophie (

Lilia Skala Lilia Skala (née Sofer; 28 November 1896 – 18 December 1994) was an Austrian-American architect and actress known for her role in the film '' Lilies of the Field'' (1963), for which she received critical acclaim and an Academy Award nomination ...

), is about to have an arranged marriage to a neighboring land's Prince Hugo (

Helmut Dantine Helmut Dantine (7 October 1918 – 2 May 1982) was an Austrian-American actor who often played Nazis in thriller films of the 1940s. His best-known performances are perhaps the German pilot in '' Mrs. Miniver'' and the desperate refugee in '' ...

), but lacks a sufficient dowry to make their union a fair bargain for both parties. Knowing her republic's penchant for foreign aid, Sally is approached by Prime Minister Sebastian (

Steven Geray Steven Geray (born István Gyergyai, 10 November 190426 December 1973) was a Hungarian-born American film actor who appeared in over 100 films and dozens of television programs. Geray appeared in numerous famed A-pictures, including Alfred H ...

) about asking her friend

President Truman Harry S. Truman (May 8, 1884December 26, 1972) was the 33rd president of the United States, serving from 1945 to 1953. A leader of the Democratic Party, he previously served as the 34th vice president from January to April 1945 under Franklin ...

for a loan of $100 million, to the consternation of Lichtenburg's

foreign minister A foreign affairs minister or minister of foreign affairs (less commonly minister for foreign affairs) is generally a cabinet minister in charge of a state's foreign policy and relations. The formal title of the top official varies between cou ...

, General Constantine (

), who wants his country to be independent and self-reliant. Sally finds herself attracted to Constantine, while after a chance meeting in a department store, Kenneth has developed a very impractical romantic interest in Princess Maria, who finds him charming as well. In time, Sally returns home to Washington, where she belongs. At one of her social events, she is pleased to hear Constantine is among the guests, then disheartened at learning he has brought along a female companion. A happy ending for all ensues, however, when his date turns out to be Maria, who is willing to marry Kenneth and abdicate her royal title. Sally's future with Constantine seems assured, too.

Cast

Production

O'Connor later said the film contained his best dancing.

We did some beautiful numbers. The one with the castle all broken down, and around the water, was beautiful music beautifully choreographed. Working with Vera Ellen was such a joy. And there’s one they cut out
hen the movie is shown Hen commonly refers to a female animal: a female chicken, other gallinaceous bird, any type of bird in general, or a lobster. It is also a slang term for a woman. Hen or Hens may also refer to: Places Norway *Hen, Buskerud, a village in Ringe ...
on television. It had everything: a very fast two-person number, tap dancing. If you see the picture in its entirety, you’ll see it. That was, for me, my best dancing.

Reception

Contemporary reviews were mostly positive.

Bosley Crowther Francis Bosley Crowther Jr. (July 13, 1905 – March 7, 1981) was an American journalist, writer, and film critic for ''The New York Times'' for 27 years. His work helped shape the careers of many actors, directors and screenwriters, though his ...

of ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' called the film "an admirable duplication of the show as presented on the stage. And in it, the wonderful Miss Merman is better than ever—in spades!" ''

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

'' praised the film as a "literate musical" with Merman "at her robust best with a tune," though "in a few spots the editing could have been tighter." ''

Harrison's Reports ''Harrison's Reports'' was a New York City-based motion picture trade journal published weekly from 1919 to 1962. The typical issue was four letter-size pages sent to subscribers under a second-class mail permit. Its founder, editor and publisher ...

'' called it "as entertaining a musical comedy as has been seen on the screen in many seasons."

John McCarten John McCarten (September 10, 1911, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania – September 25, 1974, New York City) was an American writer who contributed about 1,000 pieces for ''The New Yorker'', serving as the magazine's film critic from 1945 to 1960 and B ...

of ''

The New Yorker ''The New Yorker'' is an American weekly magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. Founded as a weekly in 1925, the magazine is published 47 times annually, with five of these issues ...

'' was mostly favorable, writing: "There is no point at this late date in commenting on any performance of Miss Merman's. On this occasion, as usual, her voice is as big as all outdoors, her manner confidently low-down, and her sense of comedy remarkable. I'm not so sure, though, that the book of 'Call Me Madam' is varied enough to harness all her energy." Orval Hopkins of ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...

'' wrote: "This is one you ought to see. There may have been better musicals, with better dancing, better books and better songs (there are a couple of Irving Berlin scores that beat this one, in my opinion). But they didn't have Ethel Merman." ''

The Monthly Film Bulletin ''The Monthly Film Bulletin'' was a periodical of the British Film Institute published monthly from February 1934 to April 1991, when it merged with ''Sight & Sound''. It reviewed all films on release in the United Kingdom, including those with a ...

'' called the film "a disappointment," writing that Berlin's tunes were "not among his best" and that Merman "lacks variety. Probably she was better on the stage, for her fairly inflexible theatrical technique emphasizes, in a film, her limitations."

Awards and nominations

Soundtrack

All written by

: * "The Hostess with the Mostess" * "Lichtenburg" * "Can You Use Any Money Today" * "Marrying for Love" * "

It's a Lovely Day Today "It's a Lovely Day Today" is a popular song written by Irving Berlin for his successful musical ''Call Me Madam'' (1950) when it was introduced by Russell Nype and Galina Talva. The musical was adapted as a movie in 1953 and the song "It's a Love ...

" * " That International Rag" * " You're Just in Love" * "The Ocarina" * "What Chance Have I with Love?" * "Something to Dance About" * " The Best Thing for You (Would Be Me)" * " You're Just in Love" * "Mrs. Sally Adams" * " You're Just in Love"/"Something to Dance About"

References

External links

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Call Me Madam 1953 musical comedy films 1953 romantic comedy films 1953 films 1953 musical films 20th Century Fox films American musical comedy films American romantic comedy films American romantic musical films Films based on musicals Films directed by Walter Lang Films featuring a Best Musical or Comedy Actress Golden Globe winning performance Films produced by Sol C. Siegel Films scored by Alfred Newman Films scored by Irving Berlin Films set in Europe Films that won the Best Original Score Academy Award 1950s English-language films 1950s American films