THE UNSINKABLE MOLLY BROWN
DIRECTED BY CHARLES WATERS
PRODUCED BY ROGER EDENS/ LAWRENCE WEINGARTEN
METRO-GOLDWYN-MAYER (M.G.M.)
1657372143-the-unsinkable-molly-brown-1964.jpg
Photo with the courtesy of lasbugas
Information from IMDb
Plot Summary
Majestic mountains are in the background and a waterfall in the foreground.
Is that a canoe on the river? No it's a cradle with a baby.
The buoyant Molly Brown has survived the first crisis of her life -- a flood.
Sixteen years later she sets out to make her way in the world.
Can she sing and play the piano?
She assures the Leadville saloon keeper that she can and learns quickly.
Soon she is the bride of Johnny Brown, who in a few years
will be able to replace the original cigar wrapper wedding ring
with a replica in gold and gemstones.
But it takes more than a few million dollars to be accepted by
Denver society.
The Browns head for Europe and bring a few crowned heads
back to Denver for a party that turns into a ballroom brawl.
Molly goes to Europe alone, returning on the Titanic.
She didn't survive a flood as a baby for the story to end here.
Written by Dale O'Connor
Full Cast
Debbie Reynolds ... Molly Brown
Harve Presnell ... 'Leadville' Johnny J. Brown
Ed Begley ... Shamus Tobin
Jack Kruschen ... Christmas Morgan
Hermione Baddeley ... Buttercup Grogan
Vassili Lambrinos ... Prince Louis de Laniere
Fred Essler ... Baron Karl Ludwig von Ettenburg
Harvey Lembeck ... Polak
Lauren Gilbert ... Mr. Fitzgerald
Kathryn Card ... Mrs. Wadlington
Hayden Rorke ... Malcolm Broderick
Harry Holcombe ... Mr. Wadlington
Amy Douglass ... Mrs. Fitzgerald
George Mitchell ... Monsignor Ryan
Martita Hunt ... Grand Duchess Elise Lupavinova
Vaughn Taylor ... Mr. Cartwright
Anthony Eustrel ... Roberts
Audrey Christie ... Mrs. Gladys McGraw
Grover Dale ... Jam
Brendan Dillon ... Murphy
Maria Karnilova ... Daphne
Gus Trikonis ... Joe
Maria Andre ... Countess Feranti (uncredited)
Gertrude Astor ... Denver Party Guest (uncredited)
Eleanor Audley ... Mrs. Cartwright (uncredited)
Robert Banas ... Dancer (uncredited)
Pat Benedetto ... Count Feranti (uncredited)
Martin Bolger ... Denver Stock Society (uncredited)
Peter Camlin ... French Waiter (uncredited)
Phyllis Coghlan ... Passenger (uncredited)
Cathleen Cordell ... Passenger (uncredited)
Jennifer Crier ... Passenger (uncredited)
Beppie De Vries ... Simonetta (uncredited)
George Dega ... Maitre d' (uncredited)
James Drake ... Denver Party Guest (uncredited)
Minta Durfee ... Denver Party Guest (uncredited)
Charles Giorgi ... French Waiter (uncredited)
Clive Halliday ... Passenger (uncredited)
Chuck Hamilton ... Party Guest (uncredited)
Ramsay Hill ... Lord Simon Primdale (uncredited)
James W. Horan ... Minor Role (uncredited)
Anna Lee ... Titanic Passenger in Lifeboat (uncredited)
Moyna MacGill ... Lady Prindale (uncredited)
Scott McCartor ... Ben (uncredited)
Sheila Menzies ... Passenger (uncredited)
Pat Moran ... Denver Party Guest (uncredited)
Ottola Nesmith ... Courtiere (uncredited)
George Nicholson ... Hotchkiss (uncredited)
Mary Ann Niles ... Dance-Hall Girl (uncredited)
Maruja Plose ... Model (uncredited)
Joe Ploski ... Miner (uncredited)
Michael St. Clair ... Man at Tiller (uncredited)
Herb Vigran ... Denver Tour Spieler (uncredited)
Kathryn Wilson ... Denver Party Guest (uncredited)
Writing Credits
Helen Deutsch
Richard Morris play
Original Music
Leo Arnaud (uncredited)
Alexander Courage (uncredited)
Calvin Jackson (uncredited)
Cinematography
Daniel L. Fapp
Trivia
MGM's original choice for the role of Molly Brown was Shirley MacLaine.
This is Debbie Reynolds's personal favorite of her movies.
The original Broadway production of "The Unsinkable Molly Brown" opened at Winter Garden Theater on November 3, 1960 and ran for 532 performances. Harve Presnell recreated his stage role in the movie version.
Film debut of Harve Presnell.
Shirley MacLaine, the producers' original choice for the title role, later played a character based on Debbie Reynolds in Postcards from the Edge.
In real life, Margaret Brown was never called "Molly." She was called "Maggie" or "Mrs. Brown." Composer Meredith Willson changed her name to Molly Brown for the Broadway musical because he thought "Molly" sounded better than "Maggie."
The story of J.J. Brown accidentally burning his money after Molly hid it in the stove didn't really happen. It was made up by a Denver journalist after Molly Brown became a hero on the Titanic. When asked by her daughter why she didn't refute the false story, Molly Brown supposedly replied, "It's better that they write *something* about me than nothing." (Kathy Bates, as Molly Brown, repeats the story in James Cameron's Titanic.) Molly Brown is also said to have reported the story with a slightly different ending. Molly did hide money in the potbelly stove in their Leadville cabin, and Johnny unknowingly started a fire on a particularly cold night. That's in keeping with the other version, but the end of the story, as told by Molly and reported in newspapers interviews during her lift, was a little different. Her addition was "Just think if it had been paper money!" The "money" was gold and silver coin which melted and melted to the stove. Miners didn't trust paper money in those years. The stove had to be broken apart and resmelted to separate the iron, gold and silver.
Goofs
Anachronisms
When Molly first meets John, in the 1880s, they look at some picture postcards she has with her. The picture occupies one entire side of each card, but postcards of this type were not available in the USA until 1907.
Beside the wood stove are two chairs that were made out of barrels, but they have seats and backs of 1960's-style red molded plastic.
Continuity
When the Duchess is coming down the staircase at Molly's party, Molly elbows Gladys and tells her to curtsey. In the next shot, which is from farther back and takes in the guests and the staircase, the same exchange between Molly and Gladys is shown again.
When Buttercup Grogan is drinking beer with Molly, Johnny and Shamus, the level of beer in her glass goes from nearly full to nearly empty and back to nearly full.
Factual errors
The Molly Brown House in Denver is actually quite small. Only one room had a smidgen of red wallpaper (she also thought too much red to be gauche). Her parties were well-attended (although the orchestra played from the balcony outdoors and serenaded the whole neighborhood), and she was accepted by her peers even before the Titanic. The larger house, which she named Avoca, was at the time outside of Denver. Both houses are restored and open to the public.
Filming Locations
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios - 10202 W. Washington Blvd., Culver City, California, USA
Black Canyon, Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park, Gunnison, Colorado, USA
The story of the 'Real'