Cluny Brown


Cluny Brown is a 1946 American romantic comedy film made by Twentieth Century-Fox, directed and produced by Ernst Lubitsch. The screenplay was written by Samuel Hoffenstein and Elizabeth Reinhardt, based on a novel by Margery Sharp. The music score is by Cyril J. Mockridge. The film, starring Charles Boyer and Jennifer Jones, is a satire on the smugness of British high society. It is the last film Lubitsch completed.

Synopsis

A working-class girl and a Czech refugee meet in England before World War II. Cluny Brown is a free spirit, who lives in the moment. She has been told she has to learn her place, and in 1938 England, there is much protocol and there are rules to follow. She has a difficult time not being able to be herself until she meets Adam Belinski who finds her spontaneity intoxicating and refreshing. A plumber's niece, she has a fascination with plumbing and pipes which gets her into trouble, as it is not ladylike, and her uncle decides to send her into domestic service. From there, things get even more fun.

Cast

A New York Times review in 1946 called the film a "delectable and sprightly lampoon" and "among the year's most delightful comedies. A reviewer for Variety wrote "Cluny Brown is in the best Lubitsch tradition of subtle, punchy comedy, and his two stars make the most of it. It is a satire on British manners, with bite and relish."

Radio adaptation

Cluny Brown was presented on Star Playhouse on November 15, 1953. The adaptation starred Celeste Holm.