Cluny Brown
Cluny Brown is a 1946 American romantic comedy film made by Twentieth Century-Fox, directed and produced by Ernst Lubitsch. The screenplay was written by Samuel Hoffenstein and Elizabeth Reinhardt, based on a novel by Margery Sharp. The music score is by Cyril J. Mockridge. The film, starring Charles Boyer and Jennifer Jones, is a satire on the smugness of British high society. It is the last film Lubitsch completed.
| Cluny Brown | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Directed by | Ernst Lubitsch |
| Produced by | Ernst Lubitsch |
| Screenplay by | Samuel Hoffenstein Elizabeth Reinhardt |
| Based on | Cluny Brown (novel) by Margery Sharp |
| Starring | Charles Boyer Jennifer Jones Peter Lawford |
| Music by | Cyril J. Mockridge |
| Cinematography | Joseph LaShelle |
| Edited by | Dorothy Spencer |
Production company | |
| Distributed by | Twentieth Century Fox |
Release date |
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Running time | 100 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Box office | $1 million[1] |
Synopsis
A working-class girl (Jennifer Jones) and a Czech refugee (Charles Boyer) meet in England before World War II. Cluny Brown (Jennifer Jones) is a free spirit, who lives in the moment. She has been told she has to learn her place, and in 1938 England, there is much protocol and there are rules to follow. She has a difficult time not being able to be herself until she meets Adam Belinski (Charles Boyer) who finds her spontaneity intoxicating and refreshing. A plumber's niece, she has a fascination with plumbing and pipes which gets her into trouble, as it is not ladylike, and her uncle decides to send her into domestic service. From there, things get even more fun.
Cast
- Charles Boyer as Adam Belinski
- Jennifer Jones as Cluny Brown
- Peter Lawford as Andrew Carmel
- Helen Walker as Betty Cream
- Reginald Gardiner as Hilary Ames
- Reginald Owen as Sir Henry Carmel
- C. Aubrey Smith as Colonel Charles Duff Graham
- Richard Haydn as Jonathan Wilson
- Margaret Bannerman as Lady Alice Carmel
- Sara Allgood as Mrs. Maile
- Ernest Cossart as Syrette
- Florence Bates as Dowager at Ames' Party
- Una O'Connor as Mrs. Wilson
- Billy Bevan as Arn Porritt, Cluny's uncle (uncredited)
- Charles Coleman as Constable Birkins (uncredited)
- Michael Dyne as John Frewen (uncredited)
- Christopher Severn as Master Ronald Snaffle (uncredited)
Reviews
A New York Times review in 1946 called the film a "delectable and sprightly lampoon" and "among the year's most delightful comedies.[2] A reviewer for Variety wrote "Cluny Brown is in the best Lubitsch tradition of subtle, punchy comedy, and his two stars make the most of it. It is a satire on British manners, with bite and relish."[3]
Radio adaptation
Cluny Brown was presented on Star Playhouse on November 15, 1953. The adaptation starred Celeste Holm.[4]
See also
References
- Aubrey Solomon, Twentieth Century-Fox: A Corporate and Financial History Rowman & Littlefield, 2002 p 221
- "Movie Review - - THE SCREEN; 'Clany Brown,' New Picture at the Rivoli, a Whimsical Film in Which Jennifer Jones Has Role as a Flighty Servant" - NYTimes.com". www.nytimes.com. Retrieved 2017-06-28.
- "Review: 'Cluny Brown'". Variety. 1946-01-01. Retrieved 2017-06-28.
- Kirby, Walter (November 15, 1953). "Better Radio Programs for the Week". The Decatur Daily Review. p. 50. Retrieved July 7, 2015 – via Newspapers.com.
External links
- Cluny Brown at IMDb
- Cluny Brown at AllMovie
- Cluny Brown at the TCM Movie Database
- Cluny Brown on Screen Directors Playhouse: November 23, 1950
- Cluny Brown at the American Film Institute Catalog
- Cluny Brown: The Joys of Plumbing an essay by Siri Hustvedt at the Criterion Collection
