''Kitty'' is a 1945 film, a costume drama set in London during the 1780s, directed by
Mitchell Leisen
James Mitchell Leisen (October 6, 1898 – October 28, 1972) was an American director, art director, and costume designer.
Film career
He entered the film industry in the 1920s, beginning in the art and costume departments. He directed his f ...
, based on the novel of the same name by
Rosamond Marshall (published in 1943), with a screenplay by
Karl Tunberg
Karl Tunberg (March 11, 1907 − April 3, 1992) was an American screenwriter and occasional film producer. His screenplays for ''Tall, Dark and Handsome'' (1941) and '' Ben-Hur'' (1959) were nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original ...
. It stars
Paulette Goddard
Paulette Goddard (born Marion Levy; June 3, 1910 – April 23, 1990) was an American actress notable for her film career in the Golden Age of Hollywood.
Born in Manhattan and raised in Kansas City, Missouri, Goddard initially began her career ...
,
Ray Milland,
Constance Collier
Constance Collier (born Laura Constance Hardie; 22 January 1878 – 25 April 1955) was an English stage and film actress and acting coach. She wrote hit plays and films with Ivor Novello and she was the first person to be treated with insul ...
,
Patric Knowles
Reginald Lawrence Knowles (11 November 1911 – 23 December 1995), better known as Patric Knowles, was an English film actor. Born in Horsforth, West Riding of Yorkshire, he made his film debut in 1932, and played either first or second fi ...
,
Reginald Owen
John Reginald Owen (5 August 1887 – 5 November 1972) was a British actor. He was known for his many roles in British and American films and television programs.
Career
The son of Joseph and Frances Owen, Reginald Owen studied at Sir Herbert ...
, and
Cecil Kellaway
Cecil Lauriston Kellaway (22 August 1890 – 28 February 1973) was a South African character actor. He was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor twice, for '' The Luck of the Irish'' (1948) and '' Guess Who's Coming to Dinner ...
as the English painter
Thomas Gainsborough
Thomas Gainsborough (14 May 1727 (baptised) – 2 August 1788) was an English portrait and landscape painter, draughtsman, and printmaker. Along with his rival Sir Joshua Reynolds, he is considered one of the most important British artists of ...
. In a broad interpretation of
George Bernard Shaw
George Bernard Shaw (26 July 1856 – 2 November 1950), known at his insistence simply as Bernard Shaw, was an Irish playwright, critic, polemicist and political activist. His influence on Western theatre, culture and politics extended from ...
's ''
Pygmalion'', the film tells the rags-to-riches story of a beautiful young
cockney
Cockney is an accent and dialect of English, mainly spoken in London and its environs, particularly by working-class and lower middle-class Londoners. The term "Cockney" has traditionally been used to describe a person from the East End, or ...
guttersnipe
Street children are poor or homeless children who live on the streets of a city, town, or village. Homeless youth are often called street kids or street child; the definition of street children is contested, but many practitioners and policymak ...
who is given a complete makeover by an impoverished aristocrat (Milland) and his aunt (Collier) in hopes of arranging her marriage to a
peer, thereby repairing their fortunes and their social status.
Plot
In 1783 London, a poor thief, Kitty, is caught picking the pocket of painter
Thomas Gainsborough
Thomas Gainsborough (14 May 1727 (baptised) – 2 August 1788) was an English portrait and landscape painter, draughtsman, and printmaker. Along with his rival Sir Joshua Reynolds, he is considered one of the most important British artists of ...
. Amused, he pays her to sit for a portrait. While posing, she attracts the attention of Sir Hugh Marcy, who offers her a job as a scullery maid and (later) his aunt's ward. Kitty later learns he is impoverished, having lost his post in the
Foreign Office. All the while, Gainsborough's portrait of Kitty, ''The Anonymous Lady'', creates a stir, as people try to guess the subject's identity. The Duke of Malmunster, who buys the painting, asks Gainsborough about the model. Sir Hugh interjects that she is his aunt's ward. So in exchange for an introduction to Kitty, the Duke offers to have Hugh reinstated in the Foreign Office. But the relationship goes no further than the promised introduction. Meanwhile, Kitty develops an attraction for Hugh—so much so, that when he is sent to
debtors' prison
A debtors' prison is a prison for people who are unable to pay debt. Until the mid-19th century, debtors' prisons (usually similar in form to locked workhouses) were a common way to deal with unpaid debt in Western Europe.Cory, Lucinda"A Histori ...
, Kitty charms wealthy industrialist Jonathan Selby into marriage, using her
dowry
A dowry is a payment, such as property or money, paid by the bride's family to the groom or his family at the time of marriage. Dowry contrasts with the related concepts of bride price and dower. While bride price or bride service is a payment ...
to free Hugh. But he and his aunt once again go broke. So when Kitty breaks into her husband's strongbox to bail them out of trouble, Selby beats her but then dies at the hands of Kitty's loyal maid.
As a result, Kitty inherits a large fortune. She desires happiness with Hugh, but he is determined instead that she marry the Duke of Malmunster and reclaim his career. Kitty gives in, and after the honeymoon, the duke makes it known that Kitty is pregnant (though the father is actually the late Selby). After the birth of the boy, the old duke dies, leaving Kitty extremely wealthy. After a respectable mourning period, Hugh attempts to arrange a third marriage for Kitty, this time to the Prince of Wales. Kitty, however, confesses to Hugh she married twice out of love for him. Unimpressed, Hugh replies that he considers their relationship a business arrangement, nothing more. Meanwhile, Kitty becomes engaged to Hugh's close friend, the Earl of Carstairs. Seeing them together, Hugh realizes he actually ''is'' in love with Kitty. The Earl, ever the gentleman, chooses not to stand in the way of Hugh's happiness. So in the end, Hugh and Kitty are free to affirm their mutual devotion.
Cast
*
Paulette Goddard
Paulette Goddard (born Marion Levy; June 3, 1910 – April 23, 1990) was an American actress notable for her film career in the Golden Age of Hollywood.
Born in Manhattan and raised in Kansas City, Missouri, Goddard initially began her career ...
as Kitty. To acquire a Cockney accent, Goddard shared a room for a time with the mother of actress
Ida Lupino
Ida Lupino (4 February 1918Recorded in ''Births Mar 1918'' Camberwell Vol. 1d, p. 1019 (Free BMD). Transcribed as "Lupine" in the official births index – 3 August 1995) was an English-American actress, singer, director, writer, and producer. T ...
, who had a very pronounced one. She learned upper-class
diction
Diction ( la, dictionem (nom. ), "a saying, expression, word"), in its original meaning, is a writer's or speaker's distinctive vocabulary choices and style of expression in a poem or story.Crannell (1997) ''Glossary'', p. 406 In its common meanin ...
from Constance Collier. Upon seeing this film, the director
Jean Renoir decided to cast Goddard in his film ''
The Diary of a Chambermaid''.
*
Ray Milland as Sir Hugh Marcy
*
Patric Knowles
Reginald Lawrence Knowles (11 November 1911 – 23 December 1995), better known as Patric Knowles, was an English film actor. Born in Horsforth, West Riding of Yorkshire, he made his film debut in 1932, and played either first or second fi ...
as Brett, Earl of Carstairs
*
Reginald Owen
John Reginald Owen (5 August 1887 – 5 November 1972) was a British actor. He was known for his many roles in British and American films and television programs.
Career
The son of Joseph and Frances Owen, Reginald Owen studied at Sir Herbert ...
as Duke of Malmunster
*
Cecil Kellaway
Cecil Lauriston Kellaway (22 August 1890 – 28 February 1973) was a South African character actor. He was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor twice, for '' The Luck of the Irish'' (1948) and '' Guess Who's Coming to Dinner ...
as
Thomas Gainsborough
Thomas Gainsborough (14 May 1727 (baptised) – 2 August 1788) was an English portrait and landscape painter, draughtsman, and printmaker. Along with his rival Sir Joshua Reynolds, he is considered one of the most important British artists of ...
*
Constance Collier
Constance Collier (born Laura Constance Hardie; 22 January 1878 – 25 April 1955) was an English stage and film actress and acting coach. She wrote hit plays and films with Ivor Novello and she was the first person to be treated with insul ...
as Lady Susan Dowitt, Sir Hugh's aunt
*
Dennis Hoey
Dennis Hoey (born Samuel David Hyams, 30 March 1893 – 25 July 1960) was a British film and stage actor, best known for playing Inspector Lestrade in six films of Universal's Sherlock Holmes series.
Early life
Hoey was born Samuel David ...
as Jonathan Selby
*
Sara Allgood
Sarah Ellen Allgood (30 October 1880 – 13 September 1950), known as Sara Allgood, was an Irish-American actress. She first studied drama with the Irish nationalist Daughters of Ireland and was at the opening of the Irish National Theatre Soc ...
as Old Meg, the head of the thieving band to which Kitty belongs at the beginning
*
Eric Blore
Eric Blore Sr. (23 December 1887 – 2 March 1959) was an English actor and writer. His early stage career, mostly in the West End of London, centred on revue and musical comedy, but also included straight plays. He wrote sketches for and appe ...
as Dobson, Sir Hugh's servant
*
Gordon Richards as Sir
Joshua Reynolds
*
Michael Dyne as
H. R. H. The Prince of Wales
*
Edgar Norton
Edgar Norton (born Harry Edgar Mills; August 11, 1868 – February 6, 1953) was an English-born American character actor.
Early years
Norton was born in Islington in London, England, on August 11, 1868, as Harry Edgar Mills, one of eight childr ...
as Earl of Campton
*Patricia Cameron as Elaine Carlisle
*Percival Vivian as Dr. Holt
*
Mary Gordon as Nanny
*
Anita Sharp-Bolster as Mullens (credited as Anita Bolster)
*
Heather Wilde
Heather Wilde is an English actress who was active in stage and screen productions in both England and the United States between the late 1930s and 1950s."English actress' Height Is 4 Feet 11", ''The Philadelphia Inquirer'', December 8, 1940, p. 62 ...
as Lil
*
Charles Coleman as Majordomo
*
Mae Clarke
Mae Clarke (born Violet Mary Klotz; August 16, 1910 – April 29, 1992) was an American actress. She is widely remembered for playing Henry Frankenstein's bride Elizabeth, who is chased by Boris Karloff in ''Frankenstein'', and for being o ...
as Molly
*
Al Ferguson as Footman (uncredited)
*
Gibson Gowland
Gibson Gowland (4 January 1877 – 9 September 1951) was an English film actor.
Biography
Gowland was born in Spennymoor, County Durham. He started work as a sailor and later became the mate on a ship. For several years from the age of 25 ...
as Prison Guard (uncredited)
*
Douglas Walton as Philip (uncredited)
Production
The film was based on a novel by
Rosamond Marshall. Film rights were bought by Paramount prior to the novel's publication for a reported $50,000.
In October 1943, Paramount announced they would make the film with Paulette Goddard and Ray Milland, with Karl Turnberg and Darrell Ware to write and produce. The novel was published that month. ''The New York Times'' described the released film as being "robust entertainment". By January 1946, the book had sold almost 900,000 copies.
In the original novel, Kitty was a prostitute. The
Breen Office, who handled censorship at the time, ruled if this was to be kept in the film version, Kitty would have to die at the end for punishment. The story was changed so Kitty was a pickpocket.
In March 1944, Mitchell Leisen was announced as the director and
Cecil Kellaway
Cecil Lauriston Kellaway (22 August 1890 – 28 February 1973) was a South African character actor. He was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor twice, for '' The Luck of the Irish'' (1948) and '' Guess Who's Coming to Dinner ...
was cast as Gainsborough.
Director Leisen worked very hard with the set and costume designers to create a historically correct picture of 18th-century England. The California portrait painter
Theodore Lukits
Theodore Nikolai Lukits (November 26, 1897 – January 20, 1992) was a Romanian American portrait and landscape painter. His initial fame came from his portraits of glamorous actresses of the silent film era, but since his death, his Asian-inspir ...
served as technical adviser for the film's artistic scenes and painted the portrait of Kitty that is seen in the film. Lukits knew Ray Milland because he had painted his wife's portrait in 1942.
Goddard was coached in her cockney accent by Connie Lupino, mother of
Ida Lupino
Ida Lupino (4 February 1918Recorded in ''Births Mar 1918'' Camberwell Vol. 1d, p. 1019 (Free BMD). Transcribed as "Lupine" in the official births index – 3 August 1995) was an English-American actress, singer, director, writer, and producer. T ...
.
In May 1944, before filming began, Goddard signed a new contract with Paramount to make two films a year over seven years.
Filming started in May 1944. Leisen reportedly spent over $25,000 on recreations of Gainsborough portraits. Goddard made the film after returning from entertaining the troops in India and Burma. Milland made it immediately prior to ''
The Lost Weekend''.
The ending of the film was re-shot in December 1944.
Reception
Box office
The film earned over $3 million at the North American box office.
Awards
The film was nominated for one
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 Art Direction-Interior Decoration, Black-and-White (
Hans Dreier,
Walter H. Tyler
Walter H. Tyler (March 28, 1909 – November 3, 1990) was an American art director. He won an Academy Award and was nominated for eight more in the category Best Art Direction. He was born in Los Angeles, California and died in Orange Cou ...
,
Samuel M. Comer,
Ray Moyer).
Radio adaptation
''Kitty'' was presented on ''Hollywood Players'' on
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainm ...
November 5, 1946. The adaptation starred
Paulette Goddard
Paulette Goddard (born Marion Levy; June 3, 1910 – April 23, 1990) was an American actress notable for her film career in the Golden Age of Hollywood.
Born in Manhattan and raised in Kansas City, Missouri, Goddard initially began her career ...
.
[ ]
References
External links
*
theodorelukits.org
{{Thomas Gainsborough
1945 films
1945 romantic drama films
1940s historical romance films
American historical drama films
American romantic drama films
American black-and-white films
Cultural depictions of George IV
Films scored by Victor Young
Films based on American novels
Films based on romance novels
Films directed by Mitchell Leisen
Films set in 1783
Films set in London
Paramount Pictures films
Thomas Gainsborough
1940s historical drama films
American historical romance films
1940s American films