[5]

At her sister’s funeral, an eccentric woman meets her uptight nephew and takes him globe-trotting to find an old flame. The combination of the great George Cukor and the ever-acerbic Maggie Smith doesn’t add up to anything compelling in this Auntie Mame wannabe. The screenplay, based on Graham Green’s novel, is distractedly episodic and Smith’s performance is over-the-top even for her. The tone is muddled and the score is overly precious, but if you look for a silver lining you’ll find some marvelous sets and some surprisingly good makeup effects that make 1972 Maggie Smith look pretty much the way she does today! With Louis Gossett Jr and Cindy Williams.

Academy Award: Best Costume Design (Anthony Powell)

Oscar Nominations: Best Actress (Maggie Smith), Best Cinematography (Douglas Slocombe), Best Art Direction