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Madame Parkington

Original title: Mrs. Parkington
  • 1944
  • Approved
  • 2h 4m
IMDb RATING
7.0/10
2K
YOUR RATING
Greer Garson and Walter Pidgeon in Madame Parkington (1944)
A widowed matriarch reminisces about her family fortunes, including her romance with a financier/mine owner.
Play trailer2:22
1 Video
11 Photos
DramaRomance

A widowed matriarch reminisces about her family fortunes, including her romance with a financier/mine owner.A widowed matriarch reminisces about her family fortunes, including her romance with a financier/mine owner.A widowed matriarch reminisces about her family fortunes, including her romance with a financier/mine owner.

  • Director
    • Tay Garnett
  • Writers
    • Robert Thoeren
    • Polly James
    • Louis Bromfield
  • Stars
    • Greer Garson
    • Walter Pidgeon
    • Edward Arnold
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • IMDb RATING
    7.0/10
    2K
    YOUR RATING
    • Director
      • Tay Garnett
    • Writers
      • Robert Thoeren
      • Polly James
      • Louis Bromfield
    • Stars
      • Greer Garson
      • Walter Pidgeon
      • Edward Arnold
    • 30User reviews
    • 9Critic reviews
  • See production info at IMDbPro
    • Nominated for 2 Oscars
      • 4 wins & 3 nominations total

    Videos1

    Official Trailer
    Trailer 2:22
    Official Trailer

    Photos10

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    Top cast99+

    Edit
    Greer Garson
    Greer Garson
    • Susie Parkington
    Walter Pidgeon
    Walter Pidgeon
    • Major Augustus Parkington
    Edward Arnold
    Edward Arnold
    • Amory Stilham
    Agnes Moorehead
    Agnes Moorehead
    • Aspasia Conti
    Cecil Kellaway
    Cecil Kellaway
    • Edward, Prince of Wales
    Gladys Cooper
    Gladys Cooper
    • Alice, Duchess de Brancourt
    Frances Rafferty
    Frances Rafferty
    • Jane Stilham
    Tom Drake
    Tom Drake
    • Ned Talbot
    Peter Lawford
    Peter Lawford
    • Lord Thornley
    Dan Duryea
    Dan Duryea
    • Jack Stilham
    Hugh Marlowe
    Hugh Marlowe
    • John Marbey
    Selena Royle
    Selena Royle
    • Mattie Trounson
    Fortunio Bonanova
    Fortunio Bonanova
    • Signor Cellini
    Lee Patrick
    Lee Patrick
    • Madeleine
    St. Luke's Episcopal Church Choristers
    St. Luke's Episcopal Church Choristers
    • Carolers
    • (as Saint Luke's Choristers)
    Harry Cording
    Harry Cording
    • Humphrey
    Celia Travers
    • Belle
    Mary Servoss
    Mary Servoss
    • Mrs. Graham
    • Director
      • Tay Garnett
    • Writers
      • Robert Thoeren
      • Polly James
      • Louis Bromfield
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

    User reviews30

    7.01.9K
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    10

    Featured reviews

    7blanche-2

    Mrs. Parkington looks back on her marriage

    Greer Garson lived to be 91 years old, and she never looked as she did as the older Mrs. Parkington and the older Madame Curie - all white.

    In this 1944 film, the Parkington family meets for Christmas, just before they all learn of a scandal which will impact the family fortune and the reputation of the family.

    Thinking about her husband, Susie (Greer Garson), the matriarch, now 84, thinks back to meeting her husband Gus (Walter Pidgeon) at her family boarding house in Leaping Frog, Nevada. The major, as he was called, owned the mine where everyone worked.

    Susie had always dreamed of being in high society, and she knew all about it and would fantasize about what it would be like. She gets her wish when, after the loss of her mother when the mine caves in, the Major and Susie marry and go to New York.

    There she meets Aspasia (Agnes Moorhead), the Major's former mistress, who takes Susie in hand and helps her to buy clothes and learn the ways of society. Susie and the Major have children and encounter tragedy and separation. With the Major gone now, Susie reflects on how best to handle this situation by asking herself what the Major would do.

    Really lovely film, with fine performances by Moorhead, Pidgeon, and of course, Garson. In the beginning she sports a black wig; I kind of missed, even in black and white, her flaming red hair. Strangely, Gladys Cooper plays Garson's daughter when Mrs. Parkington was 84. Cooper was 16 years older in reality.

    In those days, it was more economical for studios to use actresses under contract than borrow someone (though lending actors out was incredibly lucrative). Possibly Cooper was under contract and available.

    The film also features Edward Arnold, Dan Duryea, Lee Patrick, Tom Drake, Hugh Marlowe, Hans Conried, with Peter Lawford in a tiny role.

    Good movie.
    9vincentlynch-moonoi

    A gem of performances, including a couple of surprises

    Greer Garson and Walter Pidgeon turn in fine performances here, in fact, they're as good here as in any of their films. Garson has long been a favorite of mine, and I particularly revere her performance in "Random Harvest". This film isn't quite that good, but it is a gem.

    Of particular interest here are two very unusual performances by supporting actors. When I read, in advance, that Agnes Moorehead played a French socialite...well, I just couldn't see it. But, she was wonderful, and this is an Agnes Moorehead you've never seen before! And Cecil Kellaway as Edward, Prince of Wales...again, a very different performance, and so well done.

    The story itself is interesting, with Garson as an old family institution reflecting on her life. If there's a criticism about this film, it's that Garson looks too young even in her elderly makeup. But, for much of the movie, she's her usual alluring self. Is it a sentimental melodrama? Yes. But a delightful one.
    hrd1963

    Disappointing

    Greer Garson and Walter Pigeon were one of the great romantic teams of the 1940s but both were too old (particularly Pigeon) for their roles in this disappointing film version of the popular Louis Bromfield novel. Pigeon is simply miscast; he is too much the gentleman to ever be convincing as the boorish, philandering Major "Gus" Parkington. As his wife, Susie, Garson, wearing a dark wig (and looking rather like Yvonne DeCarlo), ages from a naive young woman to the crusty, 84 year old family matriarch. The characterization is never believable but her scenes as the elderly Mrs. Parkington are especially objectionable (she's too arch). Neither Garson or Pigeon is particularly well-aided by a meandering script that fails to adequately clarify the relationships among the family members or takes the time to develop the various characters. Consequently, one simply doesn't care what happens to the members of the Parkington dynasty. The supporting cast...among them, Edward Arnold, Lee Patrick, Dan Duryea, Cecil Kellaway, Frances Rafferty and Tom Drake...is competent but only Agnes Moorehead, in a rare sympathetic turn as Pigeon's ex-mistress, and Gladys Cooper, as Pigeon and Garson's dypsomaniacal daughter, manage to make a significant impression.
    6ldeangelis-75708

    Good But Flawed

    This was an entertaining movie, told in both contemporary time and flashback, as Susie Parkington (Greer Garson) recalls her life with her late husband, Augustus (Walter Pidgeon), while dealing with a family crisis that involves all her self-centered children, grandchildren, in-laws and her beloved great-granddaughter, who adds substance to the shallow brood.

    Greer is terrific and the character she plays is admirable and likeable, but the same can't be said for Walter, as Augustus can't be called admirable. He's got an ego to match his bank account as well as a vengeful streak that borders on obsessive. Despite being a young, innocent woman (as well as his social inferior) when they wed (he felt responsible for her, as the mining accident he indirectly caused resulted in her mother's death) she manages to hold her own against this strong, often domineering man, like when she confesses to lending financial help to the family of a business rival he sought to destroy. She also stands her ground when it comes to Aspasia (Agnes Moorehead), Augustus's former mistress, who becomes Susie's friend, though still in love with her husband. Later down the road, after a year's separation caused by a family tragedy, Susie follows Augustus to Europe, where she wins him back from another woman, with help from the Prince of Wales! She's more than a match for the husband who called her "Sparrow"!

    There are other familiar faces here: Edward Arnold, Dan Duryea, Cecil Kellaway, that add to the story, though I would have been just as happy had the present-day clan been left out altogether.
    8Keedee

    It Was Like Watching A Fairy Tale Come To Life.....

    Oh, why couldn't this film have been longer? I was taken in from the very beginning and was fascinated watching the lives of the Parkingtons. Greer Garson was exceptional as we watched her age from a young lady to a family matriarch in her 80's. I must agree that the pairing of she and Walter Pidgeon was superb and Agnes Moorehead's performance was remarkable. Gladys Cooper always stands out in any cast and with costumes of such splendor and the storylines that ranged from tragic to tremendous, there was no way to lose with this movie. Perhaps now, I'll go purchase the novel and see if I can get any more from this tale that didn't make it to the big screen. As they always say, "the book was better than the movie". I intend to try and find out. I can hardly imagine it, but I can only hope to find more and more delight from the adventures of the Parkingtons. This was one of my favorites with the pairing of Garson and Pidgeon. It's a truly entertaining movie and I recommend it highly!

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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      Unusual for a film even today, the movie was shot in chronological order.
    • Goofs
      The gypsy fiddler plays Johann Strauss's "Roses from the South" on violin in a scene set in 1872, but that music was written in 1880.
    • Quotes

      Susie 'Sparrow' Parkington: Why did you marry me?

      Major Augustus Parkington: Life was too simple without you.

    • Alternate versions
      In the European released version, Cecil Kellaway was replaced by 'Hugo Haas' and the role was changed to "Balkan King." Also, Tala Birell's character was changed to simply "Countess" instead of "Lady Norah Ebbsworth." Three actors in casting call lists but who were not in the U.S. print (Ann Codee, George Davis and Frank Reicher may also have been in this version (see the trivia section.)
    • Connections
      Featured in Twenty Years After (1944)
    • Soundtracks
      I'll Take You Home Again, Kathleen
      (1876) (uncredited)

      Music by Thomas Payne Westendorf

      Played extensively in the score, mostly as a love theme

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    FAQ

    • How long is Mrs. Parkington?Powered by Alexa

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • June 4, 1948 (France)
    • Country of origin
      • United States
    • Language
      • English
    • Also known as
      • La señora Parkington
    • Filming locations
      • Morrison Ranch, Agoura, California, USA(fox hunt sequence)
    • Production company
      • Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Tech specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      2 hours 4 minutes
    • Color
      • Black and White
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.37 : 1

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