edwagreen
You will certainly be reminded of "My Fair Lady" when you see this film. Paulette Goddard has an authentic cockney-ed accent for the main role. She gets wonderful support by Reginald Owen, Ray Milland, Patric Knowles and Sara Allgood.This is another rags to riches story with Kitty starting out as a street urchin,kept by Allgood until she literally stumbles into the orbit of painter Cecil Kellaway and rises through two marriages to a ladyship. It is almost comic the way that Kitty goes through those marriages and is widowed accordingly each time.Milland is excellent in the role of the man who works with Kitty to make her a lady, while never realizing that she loves him until she almost ready to take husband #3 in the form of the Knowles character.This basic story of social class in 1783 England is unique and quite memorable.
st-shot
This Pygmalion/Grifters hybrid set in 18th Century England does Paramount proud with its sumptuously designed and photographed story of romance greed and deceit. It is the romance (one sided as that might be for most of the film) however that predominates with the opulent costumes, set design and the charm of its stars Paulette Goddard and Ray Milland as bawdy and immoral partners in crime that gives Kitty a ribald charm.Sir (sic)Hugh Marcy (Milland), a penniless Henry Higgins with character of even less worth browbeats Cockney Kitty into being a lady which later will get him out of debtors prison and allowing herself to be wife and widow to two wealthy husbands in under a year. All the while she loves the execrable Marcy who remains condescending, yearning for a life of pimpdom ("If I had twelve like you I'd be rich").Goddard leads the cast with a convincing transition in both nuance and voice even if at first the Eliza Dolittle takes a little getting use to. Milland is an excellent cad with his selfish disdain also beautifully inflected and postured.There's a half dozen supporting performances worth noting with special mention to Reginald Owen and Cecil Kellaway as the artist Thomas Gainsborugh who aides and abets the scam artists. Who would have thought. Everyone does their job well on Kitty and it shows in the sum of its parts that are all all excellently honed by this excellently assembled team.
allans-7
I can add little more to the other comments that have been made. This is a fantastic movie and well worth a proper DVD release - it is superior to a lot of other stuff that is commercially available. I'm sure its relatively low IMDb rating is because so few people have seen it.The acting is superb (my favourite being Cecil Kellaway's Gainsborough), the art direction and period recreation exquisite, and Mitchell Leisen keeps the story moving right along. The script has absorbing dramatic moments counterbalanced by humour (especially Kitty's training as a lady). An especially good moment is the Duke of Malmunster's reaction to the birth of his first born and his walk along the corridor/stairs which is inspired direction.A true 1940s classic.
parthenos69
I also remember watching this film on AMC and loved it to death, it is a twist on the Pygmalian story with lots more sass, and gritty, but in a total Old Hollywood glamor. Which seems to make no sense but that is why this is such a gem of a film. Eliza Doolittle would not last two seconds with Kitty in the room, she's a lot more earthy than most heroines and reminds me in some respects of Becky Sharp from Vanity Fair in her single minded climb to the top. All in all a great actress playing a part that is the best of some great female characters all in one juicy and sassy package. This film is well worth preserving, and bring into the modern format of DVD, hopefully with restored picture and sound.
AD
