Cluny Brown - DaaVeeDee

Cluny Brown (DVD) (*)

~~$26.99~~ $23.98

Language Selections:
English ( Dolby Digital 2.0 )
Spanish ( Dolby Digital 2.0 )
Spanish ( Subtitles )

Product Origin/Format:
Spain ( PAL/Region 0 )

Running Time:
96 min

Aspect Ratio:
Fullscreen

Special Features:
Interactive Menu
Scene Access
Black & White

Movie filmed in 1946 and produced in:
United States ( USA, Canada )

Directed By:
Ernst Lubitsch

Written By:
Samuel Hoffenstein (screenplay) and
Elizabeth Reinhardt (screenplay)

Actors:
Charles Boyer ..... Adam Belinski
Jennifer Jones ..... Cluny Brown
Peter Lawford ..... Andrew Carmel
Helen Walker ..... Betty Cream
Reginald Gardiner ..... Hilary Ames
Reginald Owen ..... Sir Henry Carmel
C. Aubrey Smith ..... Colonel Duff Graham (as Sir C. Aubrey Smith)
Richard Haydn ..... Mr. Wilson
Margaret Bannerman ..... Lady Alice Carmel
Sara Allgood ..... Mrs. Maile
Ernest Cossart ..... Syrette
Florence Bates ..... Dowager
Una O'Connor ..... Mrs. Wilson

Synopsis:

The time is just prior to World War II. Lovely Cluny Brown (Jennifer Jones) is the niece of a London plumber; when her uncle is indisposed, Cluny rolls up her sleeves and takes a plumbing job at a society home, where she meets a handsome refugee Czech author (Charles Boyer). Hoping to advance herself socially, Cluny accepts a position as a maid in a fancy country home, where she once more meets the Czech author, who is a house guest. Though romanced by the wealthy but mother-dominated owner of the estate (Richard Haydn), Cluny chooses love over security and weds the impoverished author. Cluny Brown is directed by the matchless Ernst Lubitsch.

Cluny Brown is another charming Ernst Lubitsch satire on the aristocracy and, aided by a wonderful script, Lubitsch fills the story with light (but well-aimed) social observations. While Lubitsch's primary targets are the upper classes, and their ostrich-like approach to the world around them, he is also critical of the provincialism that opts for ignorance and the unquestioning allegiance of servants to a class system that keeps them on the lowest rung. As always with Lubitsch, there is a steady stream of sexual innuendo, not the least of which is Cluny's fascination with plumbing (she repeatedly boasts of how she loves to 'bang the pipes'). This culminates in a wonderful scene in which Cluny's obsession for plumbing shocks her prudish suitor, Wilson, and his friends and family. The funny lines come fast and with an expertise of delivery that makes them feel impromptu. Among the best: 'Where's your sense of adventure? Are you the type of man who puts on his pants before he answers the telephone?' and 'When the lower classes start throwing away pound notes, the upper classes better look out.' Only in a Lubitsch film could you find a dapper-looking Charles Boyer being confused for a plumber, and among the other throwaway gags are the recurring sights of Boyer taunting Wilson by ringing his doorbell and running away before detection. Boyer and Jennifer Jones are fine in the leads, but Cluny is the sort of character that, a decade later, Audrey Hepburn or Leslie Caron would have turned into a more layered personality. Richard Haydn steals most of his scenes as the prissy Wilson, and Una O'Connor gives a terrific turn as his mother in a performance that contains no dialogue, only grunts.

Amateur plumber Cluny Brown gets sent off by her uncle to work as a servant at an English country estate. While there, she becomes friendly with Adam Belinski, a charming Czech refugee. She also becomes interested in a dull shopkeeper named Mr. Wilson. Belinski soon falls in love with Cluny and tries to keep her from marrying Wilson.

This product was added to our catalog on Sunday 29 October, 2006.

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