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Call Me Madam (1953) More at IMDbPro »


Overview

User Rating:
6.9/10   438 votes
MOVIEmeter: ?
Down 36% in popularity this week. See why on IMDbPro.
Director:
Writers:
Russel Crouse (musical "Call Me Madam")
Howard Lindsay (musical "Call Me Madam")
(more)
Contact:
View company contact information for Call Me Madam on IMDbPro.
Release Date:
April 1953 (USA) more
Genre:
Plot:
Washington hostess Sally Adams becomes a Truman-era US ambassador to a European grand duchy. | add synopsis
Awards:
Won Oscar. Another 1 win & 4 nominations more
NewsDesk:
(4 articles)
Turner Classic Movies Has 360 Reasons To Tune In
 (From iCelebz. 7 December 2009, 9:18 PM, PST)

Call Me Madam Opens 9/26 At 42nd Street Moon
 (From BroadwayWorld.com. 3 September 2009, 9:35 AM, PDT)

User Reviews:
The Ultimate Ethel Merman Performance in a Movie more (39 total)

Cast

  (in credits order) (complete, awaiting verification)
Ethel Merman ... Sally Adams

Donald O'Connor ... Kenneth Gibson
Vera-Ellen ... Princess Maria
George Sanders ... General Cosmo Constantine
Billy De Wolfe ... Pemberton Maxwell
Helmut Dantine ... Prince Hugo
Walter Slezak ... August Tantinnin
Steven Geray ... Prime Minister Sebastian
Ludwig Stössel ... Grand Duke Otto (as Ludwig Stossel)

Lilia Skala ... Grand Duchess Sophie
Charles Dingle ... Sen. Brockway
Emory Parnell ... Sen. Charlie Gallagher
Percy Helton ... Sen. Wilkins
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Hannelore Axman ... Telephone switchboard operator (uncredited)
Leon Belasco ... Leader (uncredited)
Oscar Beregi Sr. ... Chamberlain (uncredited)
Ralph Brooks ... Soldier (uncredited)
Jack Chefe ... Soldier extra (uncredited)
James Conaty ... Guest extra at Sally's party (uncredited)
Heinie Conklin ... Townsman at fair (uncredited)
Charles J. Conrad ... Newspaper reporter (uncredited)
Sayre Dearing ... Ball extra (uncredited)
Helen Dickson ... Guest extra at Sally's party (uncredited)
Don Dillaway ... Newspaper reporter (uncredited)
Johnny Downs ... Cameraman (uncredited)
Fritz Feld ... Hat clerk (uncredited)
Eddie Firestone ... Reporter (uncredited)
Bess Flowers ... Carnival guest in box (uncredited)
Richard Garrick ... Supreme Court Justice (uncredited)
Frank Gerstle ... Newspaper reporter (uncredited)
Everett Glass ... Announcer at Sally's party (uncredited)
Kit Guard ... Townsman at fair (uncredited)
Sam Harris ... Townsman at fair (uncredited)
Stuart Holmes ... Ball extra (uncredited)
Walter Woolf King ... Secretary of State (uncredited)
Mike Lally ... Ball extra (uncredited)
Sidney Marion ... Beer Garden proprietor (uncredited)
Renny McEvoy ... First G.I. (uncredited)
Lal Chand Mehra ... Minister from Magrador (uncredited)
Torben Meyer ... Rudolph (uncredited)
Harold Miller ... Ball extra (uncredited)
Forbes Murray ... Ball extra (uncredited)
Roger Neury ... Doorman at ball (uncredited)
William J. O'Brien ... Doorman at ball (uncredited)
Nestor Paiva ... Miccoli (uncredited)
Manuel París ... Headwaiter at Sally's Party (uncredited)
Gene Roth ... Captain of Equerries (uncredited)
Jeffrey Sayre ... Ball extra (uncredited)
Olan Soule ... Clerk (uncredited)
Bert Stevens ... Ball extra (uncredited)
Hal Taggart ... Extra in newsreel (uncredited)
Charles Tannen ... Reporter (uncredited)
Dale Van Sickel ... Extra in newsreel (uncredited)
Ernö Verebes ... Music clerk (uncredited)

John Wengraf ... Ronchin (uncredited)
Mack Williams ... Burton - Sally's butler (uncredited)
Allen Wood ... Cameraman (uncredited)
William Yetter Sr. ... Equerry (uncredited)
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Directed by
Walter Lang 
 
Writing credits
(in alphabetical order)
Russel Crouse  musical "Call Me Madam"
Howard Lindsay  musical "Call Me Madam"
Arthur Sheekman  screenplay

Produced by
Sol C. Siegel .... producer
 
Cinematography by
Leon Shamroy 
 
Film Editing by
Robert L. Simpson  (as Robert Simpson)
 
Art Direction by
John DeCuir  (as John De Cuir)
Lyle R. Wheeler  (as Lyle Wheeler)
 
Set Decoration by
Walter M. Scott 
 
Costume Design by
Irene Sharaff 
 
Makeup Department
Ben Nye .... makeup artist
 
Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Hal Klein .... assistant director
 
Sound Department
Bernard Freericks .... sound
Roger Heman Sr. .... sound (as Roger Heman)
 
Special Effects by
Ray Kellogg .... special photographic effects
 
Visual Effects by
Matthew Yuricich .... visual effects artist (uncredited)
 
Costume and Wardrobe Department
Sam Benson .... wardrobe (uncredited)
 
Music Department
Robert Alton .... dances and musical numbers staged by
Ken Darby .... vocal director
Earle Hagen .... orchestrator
Alfred Newman .... musical director
Herbert W. Spencer .... orchestrator (as Herbert Spencer)
Alfred Newman .... music supervisor (uncredited)
Carol Richards .... singing voice: Vera-Ellen (uncredited)
 
Other crew
Leonard Doss .... technicolor color consultant
Leland Hayward .... stage producer
 

Production CompaniesDistributors
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Additional Details

Also Known As:
Irving Berlin's Call Me Madam (USA) (complete title)
more
Runtime:
114 min
Country:
Language:
Color:
Color (Technicolor)
Aspect Ratio:
1.37 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
Mono (Western Electric Recording)
Certification:

Fun Stuff

Trivia:
One of the few major musical films of the 1950's which was never shown on one of the 'Big Three' networks, ABC, NBC, or CBS. It was, instead, sold directly to local stations, as most films used to be prior to 1956. more
Quotes:
Sally Adams: Call Me Madam.
Pemberton Maxwell: Madam...
Sally Adams: When you call me madam, smile.
more
Soundtrack:
Can You Use Any Money Today more

FAQ

This FAQ is empty. Add the first question.
7 out of 7 people found the following review useful.
The Ultimate Ethel Merman Performance in a Movie, 25 February 2004
Author: (darkinvader45210@yahoo.com) from Cincinnati, Ohio

I remember seeing Call Me Madam as a teenager when it first came out as a movie in 1953. There was the great Ethel Merman on the screen. I had never heard of her before as to who she was, but I saw the movie so many times that it is still very vivid in my mind. Always yelling "Hello Harry" every time the phone rang, when Billy De Wolfe tried to tell her that one of his jobs was to tell her how to dress, and she looked at him in his outfit with striped pants and quipped, "You're going to tell me how to dress? Your coat and pants don't even match!" But, the surprise of the movie was George Sanders singing especially his song "Marrying for Love". Who would have known that he had such a rich baritone voice. This was probably Vera Ellen's best movie including "Three Little Words" with Fred Astaire. She and Donald O'Connor were perfect in their dance numbers together. Ethel Merman's rendition of "The International Rag" was brassy and sassy the way only Ethel Merman could deliver it with the end of the song singing, "Oh, oh! Wiggle your personality!" and someone in the audience said, "She sure can wiggle it; can't she?" It was if as soon as you sat down to watch this wonderful musical, it was time to leave the theater. I understand that the film is finally going to be released on Video. It's about time. I'll buy one copy to look at and another to keep just in case. Wonderful entertainment. One of the best!

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