La madre dello sposo

The other review of this movie got the plot wrong. Thelma Ritter is the MOTHER-IN-LAW of Gene Tierney, not her MOTHER. Ms. Ritter's son in the film, played by John Lund is the pretentious one. When his mother arrives to attend his wedding to the gently brought up Ms. Tierney, who is actually a sweetheart and a lady in the best sense of the word, he hands Thelma some cash to get a makeover, noting that she should especially purchase GLOVES, to hide her hands that have worked hard at a hamburger stand to put him through a fancy college. This guy is a real stinker!! Thelma ends up not going to the ceremony, fearful she will embarrass her jerk of a son. She then gets some jobs to buy a fantastic outfit so she can drop in on the newlyweds. When Ms. Ritter gets there, Gene Tierney thinks she is the cook she wanted, and latches on to her because Ms. Tierney is having her first dinner party, and she is in a state of panic and disaster. The plot revolves around the fact that Thelma stays on to help out, and swears her son to secrecy about who she is. There are absolutely SOLID GOLD performances by Miriam Hopkins, as Gene's snooty mother, and Larry Keating, as John Lund's down-to-earth boss. The best part of this movie is when Gene discovers the masquerade and tells her insensitive husband off, defending his mother as a wonderful, honorable woman. DO NOT MISS THIS MOVIE !!

"The Mating Season" is a 1951 film that stars Gene Tierney, Thelma Ritter, John Lund, Jan Sterling, Miriam Hopkins and Larry Keating. Tierney and Lund play newlyweds Maggie and Val McNulty - she's a blue blood but broke, and he's up and coming in the corporate world. Val's mom Ellen (Ritter) owns a hamburger place but loses it and comes to see her son, only to find out he's getting married. Ellen makes her excuses and works until she has enough money for a new outfit. Then she calls on her new daughter-in-law - only to be mistaken as a maid hired to help with a party the couple is throwing. Ellen is a big hit, and, swearing her son to secrecy, stays on in the house. Then Maggie's arrogant, spoiled mother (Miriam Hopkins) comes to town to stay with Maggie and Val. Four becomes a crowd.

This is a very sweet, funny film with wonderful ensemble acting and great characters. Tierney has her familiar hairdo (which around this time she didn't always have) and looks gorgeous. She's totally charming as Maggie. Lund does a good job as her harried husband, who wants to make good and has just a touch - a slight touch - of being a jerk. It's a weakness that we forgive him for later on. Of course, Ritter steals the show as Ellen, doing a role very familiar to her - a mouthy servant. Hopkins is bigger than life as Maggie's totally obnoxious mother, and Larry Keating is a delight as Val's boss' father, who has better values than his son will ever have. Jan Sterling has a small part as Val's former girlfriend. As usual, she looks cheap and acts cheaper.

Lots of fun - don't miss it.

Mitchell Leisen directed three wonderful movies, one very good one, may fine ones, and some that weren't successful. No matter what one thinks of the hauteur theory, he was a fine stylist and that's not a bad track record.

The three beauties include this one. Also there are "Midnight," one of the most glamorous and charming of all screwball comedies, and "Easy Living." That may have been Jean Arthur at her very best (and most lovable.) (The very good one, in my view, is "Death Takes A Holiday.") Thelma Ritter carries this one. So, as she might say with a flip of a dust rag, "what else is new?" Indeed, she is one of the treasures of American movie history.

Here she is the mother of John Lund, who is not very appealing. She's as blue collar as blue collar can be. Lund has fallen for and married Gene Tierney. Her mother is played very stylishly by Miriam Hopkins. Well, which one would you want as a mother? Or a mother-in-law? Thing is, Thelma is mistaken for a maid when she arrives the day of Lund and Tierney's wedding and carries on this charade for most of the movie. It's sad, really. That part is rarely played for laughs and it is indeed far more poignant than funny.

Larry Keating is good as Lund's ultimate boss. The actor playing his son is a cipher and looks almost Keating's age.

But this is Ritter's movie. Does she steal scenes? Not discernibly, though I've heard her accused of doing that in other films. She steals the picture. And our hearts.

This one has the distinct virtue of allowing Thelma Ritter more than a few brief scenes and, as her fans will tell you, she's the best reason for seeing this well-scripted, smoothly directed comedy of manners.

The beautiful Gene Tierney and handsome John Lund make a convincingly in-love married couple, though this role probably sealed John's fate as a "stuffed shirt" in the roles he later accepted. Miriam Hopkins is devastatingly effective as a wretchedly spoiled woman and Larry Keating is just fine as a feet-on-the-ground boss.

If you can catch this one, its dated elements shouldn't detract from a very enjoyable viewing experience.

"The Mating season" is definitely, though unexpectedly, a beautiful movie. The plot relies on a simple but original idea: the mother-in-law is a positive character, in some sense the actual heroine of the movie. The misfit between the low-class Ellen McNulty (Thelma Ritter) and the upper-class folks surrounding her, with her son (John Lund) as a link, is a source of continuous fun. Thelma Ritter gives a first-class performance.

Also the rest of the cast works beautifully, especially Larry Keating. The whole movie is a pattern of good taste. What about Gene Tierney? We see her in short-pants... later she sings a French song. This would be enough to recommend the film, isn't it? Now, forget Gene Tierney's beauty for a moment (that's hard, I know): she acted in comedies, dramas, misteries, thrillers, film-noirs, westerns, adventure and historical movies, and so on. She always enters into her role with perfect ease and versatility. She is a great actress, this is the true point. Gene adds further class to "The Mating Season", a little jewel not to be missed.