The Mating Season (film)

The Mating Season
French film poster
Directed by	Mitchell Leisen
Produced by	Charles Brackett
Written by	Charles Brackett Richard Breen Walter Reisch Caesar Dunn (play)
Starring	Gene Tierney John Lund Miriam Hopkins Thelma Ritter
Music by	Joseph J. Lilley
Cinematography	Charles Lang
Editing by	Frank Bracht
Distributed by	Paramount Pictures
Release date(s)	1951
Running time	101 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English

The Mating Season is a 1951 classic farce with elements of screwball comedy. A film made by Paramount Pictures, it was directed by Mitchell Leisen and produced by Charles Brackett from a screenplay by Charles Brackett, Richard Breen and Walter Reisch, based on the play Maggie by Caesar Dunn. The ensemble cast stars Gene Tierney, John Lund, Miriam Hopkins, and Thelma Ritter.

Plot

Ellen McNulty (Thelma Ritter) is forced to sell her hamburger stand, so she decides to visit her son Val (John Lund), who lives in another city. Val has recently married a socialite, Maggie (Gene Tierney). To help her out, her husband hires a maid and promises to send her over right away. In the meantime, Ellen arrives. Maggie, her daughter-in-law, mistakes her for the maid. Ellen begins to tell Maggie who she really is, but she is worried that saying anything might cause Maggie embarrassment, so she doesn't reveal who she is and decides to pretend to be a maid. The next morning Ellen arrives with her things. She wakes Maggie up and when she realizes that her son didn't explain everything yet, she keeps pretending to be a maid. She tells him that she will only be underfoot if she lives in the house as a mother-in-law. She eventually talks him into the idea but he doesn't like it very much.

Maggie's mother (Miriam Hopkins) decides to come for a visit and she is nothing like Maggie. She is a snob and she doesn't like Val one bit. While helping Mr. Kalinger (Larry Keating), Ellen realizes that his son, Kalinger Jr. (James Lorimer), is taking credit for work actually done by Val and tells Mr. Kalinger the truth.

Mr. Kalinger then invites Val and Maggie to the party. At the party, Maggie gets into an argument with an important female guest (Cora Witherspoon) after the woman insults her, and Maggie storms out. Val, realizing that this woman carries a lot of influence, forces Maggie to call the party to apologize to the woman. She does so unwillingly, leading to another fight.

The next morning, Val and Maggie make up and steal away in a closet for a kiss. Ellen's friends are at the door and ask to speak to "Mrs. McNulty". At this point it is revealed that Ellen is Val's mother. Maggie is furious with Val for hiding his mother's identity from her. She and her mother leave for a hotel. Maggie later confronts Val at his office. Val tries to explain himself but Maggie won't listen. She tells him that he has become a snob and that she is moving to Mexico.

Mr. Kalinger decides to get Val and Maggie together. He convinces Maggie to come to the hotel bar with him for a good-bye drink, knowing that Val will be there for a party. When Maggie sees Val, she again scolds him for trying to hide his mother and leaves the bar. Val leaves the party and rushes to retrieve his mother. He brings her back to the party and begins introducing her to the 'snobs'. Maggie, who has come back to the bar, witnesses Val introducing his mother to the woman who had insulted her at the earlier party. Ellen tells Maggie's mother that it is time for both of them to leave the apartment. Ellen lands on her feet, however, as Mr. Kalinger decides to marry her.

Cast

• Gene Tierney as Maggie Carleton McNulty
• John Lund as Val McNulty
• Miriam Hopkins as Fran Carleton
• Thelma Ritter as Ellen McNulty
• Jan Sterling as Betsy Donaldson
• Larry Keating as George Kalenger, Sr.
• James Lorimer as George C. Kalenger, Jr.
• Gladys Hurlbut as Natalie Conger
• Cora Witherspoon as Mrs. Owen Williamson
• Malcolm Keen as Owen Williamson
• Ellen Corby as Annie
• Billie Bird as Mugsy

Awards

Won

• Berlin International Film Festival - Bronze Berlin Bear (Comedies)

Nominated

• Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress (Thelma Ritter)

External links

• The Mating Season at the Internet Movie Database
• The Mating Season at AllRovi
• Senses of cinema: Mitchell Leisen