The Reluctant Debutante
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| The Reluctant Debutante | |
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| Directed by | Vincente Minnelli |
| Produced by | Pandro S. Berman |
| Written by | William Douglas-Home Julius J. Epstein |
| Starring | Rex Harrison Kay Kendall |
| Music by | Eddie Warner |
| Cinematography | Joseph Ruttenberg |
| Distributed by | Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer |
| Release date(s) | 1958 |
| Running time | 95 min. |
| Country | U.S.A. |
| Language | English |
| All Movie Guide profile | |
| IMDb profile | |
The Reluctant Debutante is a 1958 comedy film made by Avon Productions and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. It was directed by Vincente Minnelli and produced by Pandro S. Berman from a screenplay by Julius J. Epstein and William Douglas-Home based on Douglas-Home's play. The music score was by Eddie Warner and the cinematography by Joseph Ruttenberg.
The film stars Rex Harrison, Kay Kendall, John Saxon, Sandra Dee and Angela Lansbury.
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[edit] Plot
Jimmy and Sheila Broadbent (Rex Harrison and Kay Kendall), two of London's more attractive aristocrats invite Jimmy's teenage daughter Jane (Sandra Dee) from a previous marriage to visit them in London. Jane lives in America with her mother. Sheila has the idea to have Jane make her society "debut", so she can be introduced to the right kind of prospective husband -- an idea which Jane is opposed to. Sheila's cousin, Mabel Claremont (Angela Lansbury) is trying to get her own daughter Clarissa (Diane Clare) wed to wealthy David Fenner (Peter Myers), a lieutenant in Her Majesty's Royal Horse Guards, but Fenner immediately falls in love with Jane. Jane, however, is much more interested in the handsome musician David Parkson (John Saxon). David is a drummer with a somewhat shady reputation and Jimmy and Sheila spend much of their time trying to keep him away from Jane. After a series of misunderstandings, it is revealed that David is the heir to the recently deceased Duke of Positano and therefore, as the new Duke, the prize catch of the season.
[edit] Cast
- Rex Harrison as Jimmy Broadbent
- Kay Kendall as Sheila Broadbent
- John Saxon as David Parkson
- Sandra Dee as Jane Broadbent
- Angela Lansbury as Mabel Claremont
- Peter Myers as David Fenner
- Diane Clare as Clarissa Claremont
- Charles Cullum as English Colonel
- Sheila Raynor as Maid
- Ambrosine Phillpotts as Secretary
[edit] Trivia
- Rex Harrison and Kay Kendall were recently married (1957) when they made this film. They had previously appeared together in The Constant Husband (1955)
- Because of Harrison's tax problems, the film had to be made in Paris
- The film was remade as What a Girl Wants (2003), with Amanda Bynes and Colin Firth
