Women in war were just as important as the men off in combat, even if these women were at home. This is the story of one of those women, an American who has gained a noble title, and is utilizing it to give her all to the causes of protecting the home in England she has come to love.
An American millionaire (Frank Morgan) has come to England with his daughter (Irene Dunne) for a holiday, and due to lousy weather (and boiled potatoes), pops is in a bad mood. But thanks to a British nobleman (C. Aubrey Smith), Dunne gets to go to a local ball, where she meets the man of her dreams (Alan Marshal) and agrees to marry him much to daddy's dismay. But can an American fit in with British society? After a shaky start, Dunne comes to love her new family, especially her kind-hearted mother-in-law (the very gracious Gladys Cooper) and the family retainer, nanny/nurse/companion Dame May Witty. Through World War I (during which she is widowed) through the onslaught of World War II, she perseveres, becoming as legendary a lady as those in the portraits which hang on her country home's corridor walls.
Roddy McDowall plays the young son (who grows up to be Peter Lawford), paired with a freckle-faced youngster named Elizabeth Taylor for a youthful romance. Van Johnson appears in several scenes as an American attracted to Dunne, while scenes between Morgan and Smith offer a comical running gag concerning a priceless chessboard which was obtained in a very amusing way.
Sweetly sentimental, this is a love story, not only of man and woman, but humanity and tradition, beautifully directed by Clarence Brown, one of MGM's greatest directors. It is poignant yet entertaining. In fact, fans of BBC's popular "Downton Abbey" will appreciate this as it covers similar territory with similar themes, particularly Gladys Cooper's more gentle version of Maggie Smith's family matriarch.
An American millionaire (Frank Morgan) has come to England with his daughter (Irene Dunne) for a holiday, and due to lousy weather (and boiled potatoes), pops is in a bad mood. But thanks to a British nobleman (C. Aubrey Smith), Dunne gets to go to a local ball, where she meets the man of her dreams (Alan Marshal) and agrees to marry him much to daddy's dismay. But can an American fit in with British society? After a shaky start, Dunne comes to love her new family, especially her kind-hearted mother-in-law (the very gracious Gladys Cooper) and the family retainer, nanny/nurse/companion Dame May Witty. Through World War I (during which she is widowed) through the onslaught of World War II, she perseveres, becoming as legendary a lady as those in the portraits which hang on her country home's corridor walls.
Roddy McDowall plays the young son (who grows up to be Peter Lawford), paired with a freckle-faced youngster named Elizabeth Taylor for a youthful romance. Van Johnson appears in several scenes as an American attracted to Dunne, while scenes between Morgan and Smith offer a comical running gag concerning a priceless chessboard which was obtained in a very amusing way.
Sweetly sentimental, this is a love story, not only of man and woman, but humanity and tradition, beautifully directed by Clarence Brown, one of MGM's greatest directors. It is poignant yet entertaining. In fact, fans of BBC's popular "Downton Abbey" will appreciate this as it covers similar territory with similar themes, particularly Gladys Cooper's more gentle version of Maggie Smith's family matriarch.