In late September, the Classic Movie Blog Association is having a blogathon devoted to guilty pleasures–that is, those films of questionable technical quality, but those we love nonetheless. I jumped at this opportunity. There are so many films that I adore but are…let’s face it…really bad (hello, half of Judy Garland’s filmography! I love every movie she has ever made, but Everybody Sing? That movie sucks, and I adore it), and I have never been able to declare my love publicly for them. For the purposes of the blogathon, I chose to profile the terrible and deliciously campy Mame, made in 1974 with Lucille Ball, Bea Arthur, and Robert Preston. Both Ball and Arthur publicly denounced the movie after it was made. Lucille Ball can’t sing. No one will ever accept anyone other than Rosalind Russell or Angela Lansbury as Mame Dennis, so it was really doomed from the start. But it is SO FUN TO WATCH.
So please be sure to tune in on September 18 when Backlots will profile Mame! To pique your interest, here are some gems from the film. Enjoy!
Seriously, listen to that! IT’S SO BAD! I love it so much!
REVIEWS FOR MAME:
“The movie spans about 20 years, and seems that long in running time . . .”
-TIME Magazine
“After forty years in movies and TV, did [Lucille Ball] discover in herself an unfulfilled ambition to be a flaming drag queen?”
-Pauline Kael, New Yorker Magazine
“Hopelessly out-of-date musical … will embarrass even those who love Lucy. Calling Fred and Ethel Mertz!”
–Leonard Maltin, Movie Guide
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Backlots 