Press Release Warner Archive Press Release: The Reluctant Debutante (1958) (Blu-ray) (1 Viewer)

[Matt Hough]

I ordered this today. Looking forward to receiving it on Monday.

 

[Will Krupp]

I ordered this today. Looking forward to receiving it on Monday.

Great minds think alike! After all the good words I read about it yesterday, I also ordered it for Monday delivery. Amazon just sent me a text that it's arriving TODAY (that still freaks me out) so I'm looking forward to it!

 

[Matt Hough]

Great minds think alike! After all the good words I read about it yesterday, I also ordered it for Monday delivery. Amazon just sent me a text that it's arriving TODAY (that still freaks me out) so I'm looking forward to it!

I'm jealous! If mine had come today, I definitely would have watched it this evening. But my shipping notice once again reiterated Monday delivery.

 

[Will Krupp]

I'm jealous! If mine had come today, I definitely would have watched it this evening. But my shipping notice once again reiterated Monday delivery.

It really is a lovely disc and a great job by the Archive. I forgot how much I enjoyed the movie as I don't think I've seen it since the 90's. I WILL say that I found the sitcom style misunderstandings a tad tiresome in the middle (Kay Kendall was a treasure but I didn't find her slapstick-y falling down in doorways to be particularly funny) but its not a deal breaker in any way shape of form and the whole thing is lighter than air and really delightful. It LOOKS terrific, too!

 

[lark144]

It really is a lovely disc and a great job by the Archive. I forgot how much I enjoyed the movie as I don't think I've seen it since the 90's. I WILL say that I found the sitcom style misunderstandings a tad tiresome in the middle (Kay Kendall was a treasure but I didn't find her slapstick-y falling down in doorways to be particularly funny) but its not a deal breaker in any way shape of form and the whole thing is lighter than air and really delightful. It LOOKS terrific, too!

So glad you liked it Will. Of course, when you're dealing with Minnelli, the way a film LOOKS, is, on a very deep level, what the film is about.

While some of Ms. Kendall's pratfalls may falter, the visual design of the film never does, and the specificity of the way those doorways look, and the wallpaper around them, for me, makes those pratfalls all the more poignant.

Then again, I love "The Reluctant Debutante" and also Ms. Kendall, who can do no wrong as far as I am concerned, and even if the screenplay insists upon her making a fool of herself, she does it with such a "what the hell" sense of absurdity, out of character but not out of bounds, I find it charming.

Speaking of wallpaper, there's Minnelli's "The Cobweb" which one of my dearest friends won't watch because..."it's a melodrama about choosing wallpaper"..except for Minnelli, and this is expressed in every one of his films, choosing wallpaper is a deeply moral act.

 

[Matt Hough]

I received my copy of this today and watched it tonight. Gorgeous transfer. Kay's first two red gowns just popped off the screen and looked absolutely stunning on her. red was definitely her color. The film is a lighter-than-air souffle with some tiresome notions of propriety: a drummer not good enough for their daughter; a rich lecher seen as a more desirable match even though he was a drip in addition to his disgusting behavior toward women, etc. Lansbury's affectations and motormouth were a hoot.

 

[Matt Hough]

I also meant to mention that I got a kick out of the use of MGM's greatest hit songs that served as the background score of the film. "Easy to Love" was used most often, but I heard "You Are My Lucky Star," "How About You," "The Boy Next Door," "Love," and even "Rock Around the Clock" as music cues for dancing and other activities.

 

[AnthonyClarke]

A totally gorgeous movie. My English teacher taught me to eschew the word 'gorgeous' as being just too sweet. But it does apply here. It is indeed a lovely movie.I will seek out a copy when (if) it gets released here.