''The Reluctant Debutante'' is a 1958 American

comedy film A comedy film is a category of film which emphasizes humor. These films are designed to make the audience laugh through amusement. Films in this style traditionally have a happy ending (black comedy being an exception). Comedy is one of the ol ...

directed by

Vincente Minnelli Vincente Minnelli (born Lester Anthony Minnelli; February 28, 1903 – July 25, 1986) was an American stage director and film director. He directed the classic movie musicals '' Meet Me in St. Louis'' (1944), '' An American in Paris'' (1951), ' ...

and produced by

Pandro S. Berman Pandro Samuel Berman (March 28, 1905July 13, 1996), also known as Pan Berman, was an American film producer. Early life Berman was born to a Jewish family in Pittsburgh in 1905. His father Henry was general manager of Universal Pictures durin ...

from a screenplay by

William Douglas-Home William Douglas Home (3 June 1912 – 28 September 1992) was a British dramatist and politician. Early life Douglas-Home (he later dropped the hyphen from his surname) was the third son of Charles Douglas-Home, 13th Earl of Home, and Lady Lili ...

based on Douglas-Home's play of the same name. The music score is by Eddie Warner and the cinematography by

Joseph Ruttenberg Joseph Ruttenberg, A.S.C. (July 4, 1889 – May 1, 1983) was a Ukrainian-born American photojournalist and cinematographer. Ruttenberg was accomplished at winning accolades. At MGM, Ruttenberg was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Cinemat ...

. The film stars Rex Harrison and

Kay Kendall Kay Kendall (21 May 1927 – 6 September 1959) was an English actress and comedienne. She began her film career in the musical film '' London Town'' (1946), a financial failure. Kendall worked regularly until her appearance in the comedy film ...

— whom he had married in 1957 after they worked together on '' The Constant Husband'' (1955) — with featured performances by

John Saxon John Saxon (born Carmine Orrico; August 5, 1936 – July 25, 2020) was an American actor who worked on more than 200 film and television projects during a span of 60 years. He was known for his work in Westerns and horror films, often playing ...

Sandra Dee Sandra Dee (born Alexandra Zuck; April 23, 1942 – February 20, 2005) was an American actress. Dee began her career as a child model, working first in commercials, and then film in her teenage years. Best known for her portrayal of ingén ...

, and

Angela Lansbury Dame Angela Brigid Lansbury (October 16, 1925 – October 11, 2022) was an Irish-British and American film, stage, and television actress. Her career spanned eight decades, much of it in the United States, and her work received a great deal ...

. The setting is

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

's debutante season amidst the last presentation at Court in 1958. However, because of Harrison's tax problems, the film had to be made in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...

. Harrison had learned from Kendall's doctor that she had been diagnosed with myeloid leukemia, a fact that was kept from Kendall, who believed she was suffering from an

iron deficiency Iron deficiency, or sideropenia, is the state in which a body lacks enough iron to supply its needs. Iron is present in all cells in the human body and has several vital functions, such as carrying oxygen to the tissues from the lungs as a key ...

. The actor cared for Kendall until her death at the age of 32. She only completed one more film, '' Once More With Feeling'', before her death the following year. In 2003 the film was remade as '' What a Girl Wants'', starring Colin Firth and

Amanda Bynes Amanda Laura Bynes (born April 3, 1986) is an American actress, known for her work in television and film throughout the 1990s and 2000s. Bynes began her career as a child actress, working on the Nickelodeon sketch comedy series ''All That'' ( ...

Plot

When 17-year-old Jane Broadbent comes to London to live with her wealthy father Lord Jimmy Broadbent, her stepmother Lady Sheila feels compelled by her own social aspirations to introduce Jane to

society A society is a group of individuals involved in persistent social interaction, or a large social group sharing the same spatial or social territory, typically subject to the same political authority and dominant cultural expectations. Soci ...

. Jane is bored by the debutante balls she attends and the young men she is introduced to, but she becomes interested in a drummer named David Parkson who has a reputation for leading young women astray. To complicate matters, an upper-class man with perfect credentials, David Fenner, relentlessly pursues Jane although she openly detests him. Parkson's reputation is undeserved, but Sheila is convinced otherwise. She tries to keep him away from Jane while her garrulous friend Mabel schemes to secure David Fenner for her own daughter, Clarissa. Sheila's plans fail miserably. Jane and Parkson fall in love with each other and Parkson proposes to Jane. He also inherits an Italian dukedom which makes him a better "catch" than David Fenner and satisfies Sheila's concerns for Jane's social status.

Cast

* Rex Harrison as Jimmy Broadbent *

as Sheila Broadbent *

as David Parkson *

as Jane Broadbent *

as Mabel Claremont * Peter Myers as David Fenner *

Diane Clare Diane Clare (born Diane Dirsztay; 8 July 1938 – 21 June 2013) was an English film and television actress. Career Clare started acting at a very young age playing uncredited baby parts in films such as ''The Ghosts of Berkeley Square'' and ' ...

as Clarissa Claremont * Charles Cullum as English Colonel (uncredited) * Sheila Raynor as Maid (uncredited) *

Ambrosine Phillpotts Ambrosine Phillpotts (13 September 1912 – 12 October 1980) was a British actress of theatre, TV, radio and film. '' The Times'' wrote, "She was one of the last great stage aristocrats, a stylish comedienne best known for playing on stage a ...

as Miss Grey, Secretary (uncredited)

Production

It was the second of three movies Sandra Dee and John Saxon made together.

Reception

Box office

''The Reluctant Debutante'' was the 12th most popular film at the British box office in 1959. According to MGM records it earned $1,555,000 in the US and Canada and $1,425,000 elsewhere resulting in a loss of $355,000.

Critical

''Variety'' called it "refreshing and prettily dressed".Review of film
at Variety

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Reluctant Debutante, The 1958 films 1958 romantic comedy films American films based on plays Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer films Films directed by Vincente Minnelli Films set in London Films shot in Paris American romantic comedy films 1950s English-language films 1950s American films