Kitty

Having just sat through Otto Preminger's expensive but bloated and rather po-faced "Forever Amber" I was pleased to be better entertained by this slightly earlier and lighter period drama movie on the similar subject of a lowly London street-girl's rags to riches rise through the ranks.In fact the story here is sort of a cross between "Pygmalion" and "Oliver Twist" as Paulette Goddard's title character picks just the right person from whom to attempt to steal his shoes (while he's actually still wearing them!

If you have not seen this film, you are missing a great classic film. Director Mitchell Leisen's skill with art design, his precise handling of actors, and an attention to detail are quite obvious.

Some 20 years ago, I left my VCR recording late at night, there used to be good movies on TV at 3 or 4 a.m.

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.

Paulette Goddard is "Kitty" in this delightful 1945 film directed by Mitchell Liesen for Paramount. The film also stars Ray Milland, Constance Collier, Cecil Kellaway, Patric Knowles, and Reginald Owen.

This delightful movie fits in a category that I call caper-comedies. "Kitty" is billed only as drama and history, but that does short shrift to this highly entertaining film.

Another melodrama by a master of the genre who made such classics as "to each his own" "no man of her own" or "hold back the dawn" (also with Paulette Godard)."Kitty" is more tongue-in-cheek ,and,in spite of tragic scenes (death of Selby),there are echoes of Shaw's play "Pygmalion " (remade as a musical as "My fair lady" ).

This film is one of my favorites---just a whole heck of a lot of fun, but how I wish it were in COLOR! The costumes are beautiful.

This movie is one of Paulette Goddard's best. It shows the versatility of her acting from comedic, to dramatic, to almost making herself a martyr for the man she truly loved.