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Call Me Madam Overview:

Call Me Madam (1953) was a Musical - Comedy Film directed by Walter Lang and produced by Sol C. Siegel.

SYNOPSIS

Love is in the air in this Berlin musical about an extroverted Washington, D.C. socialite modeled on Perle Mesta, the self-proclaimed "hostess with the mostess." When she suddenly finds herself named ambassador to the tiny European hamlet of Lichtenburg, she takes her show on the road and launches a romantic coup d'etat, falling in love with the Lichtenburg foreign minister, and match-making her press attache with a genuine princess.

(Source: available at Amazon AMC Classic Movie Companion).

Academy Awards 1953 --- Ceremony Number 26 (source: AMPAS)

AwardRecipientResult
Best Costume DesignIrene SharaffNominated
Best Music - ScoringAlfred NewmanWon
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Call Me Madam BlogHub Articles:

FAVOURITE MOVIES: Call Me Madam, 1953

on Feb 9, 2020 From Caftan Woman

Irving Berlin's Call Me Madam opened on Broadway on October 12, 1950, and closed on May 3, 1952. A hit with audiences and critics, the show won the Tony Award for Berlin for Best Original Score, for Ethel Merman for Best Actress in a Musical, for Russell Nype as Best Featured Actor in a Musical, and... Read full article

Call Me Madam (1953)

By Cameron on Apr 25, 2018 From The Blonde At The Film

via: https://cometoverhollywood.com/2014/03/24/musical-monday-call-me-madam-1953/  Unless otherwise noted, all images are my own. Buckle up for Call Me Madam (1953), an Irving Berlin musical starring the one and only Ethel Merman! Merman had recently wowed in another show by Berlin, Annie Get Your ... Read full article

Merman, O'Connor, Ellen, and Sanders stun in... Call Me Madam (1953)

By Michaela on Jun 1, 2016 From Love Letters to Old Hollywood

Call Me Madam is a film I can't believe isn't more well-known. Let me list some of its features: Ethel Merman, Donald O'Connor, Vera-Ellen, gorgeous costumes, beautiful dancing, Irving Berlin tunes, and oh yeah, George Sanders singing and making me fall madly in love with him. Aren't you mad this fi... Read full article

Call Me Madam (1953)

By Beatrice on Oct 26, 2015 From Flickers in Time

Call Me Madam Directed by Walter Lang Written by Arthur Sheekman from the musical comedy by Russell Crouse and Howard Lindsay 1953/USA Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation First viewing/Netflix rental This movie gives viewers the unique opportunity to see Ethel Merman in a role she created on B... Read full article

Musical Monday: “Call Me Madam” (1953)

on Mar 24, 2014 From Comet Over Hollywood

It’s no secret that the Hollywood Comet loves musicals. In 2010, I revealed I had seen 400 movie musicals over the course of eight years. Now that number is over 500. To celebrate and share this musical love, here is my weekly feature about musicals. This week’s musical: “Call Me Madam” ... Read full article

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Call Me Madam Quotes:

Congressman: Sally, you wouldn't like me to make a little farewell speech tonight?
Sally Adams: That's right. I wouldn't!
Sally Adams: Call Me Madam.
Pemberton Maxwell: Madam...
Sally Adams: When you call me madam, smile.
Congressman: When will you arrive at your post?
Sally Adams: I'm not sure. Hey, boss, where the heck is Lichtenburg?
Grand Duke: Tell me - How does this reception differ from your famous Washington parties?
Sally Adams: Well we have a good time!
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Call Me Madam Facts
Instead of loaning out Ethel Merman to RCA Victor for the original-cast album of "Call Me Madam" (Dinah Shore replaced her), Decca made their own album with Merman, Dick Haymes and Eileen Wilson. On it, Merman sings the song "Washington Square Dance," which is heard in the movie only as background music in the opening party scene in Washington, D.C.
Lichtenburg is actually a fictionalized name for Luxembourg. The character of Sally Adams is based on the real-life Perle Mesta (although the plot of the film is entirely fictional), and Perle Mesta was named Ambassador to Luxembourg by President Truman.
Before pre-recording the song "You're Just in Love", Donald O'Connor felt that a better result would be achieved if he sang it with Ethel Merman in a recording studio accompanied by the orchestra. Musical Director Alfred Newman agreed and let them sing together. It turned out that Merman's legendary loud singing voice was too deafening for O'Connor. In the end, they had to record the song with O'Connor in an isolation booth. When filming the musical number accompanied by the pre-recorded playback, O'Connor had to wear ear plugs.
While Alfred Newman took home the Oscar for Scoring of a Musical Picture, he had failed to garner a nomination that same year in the dramatic category for The Robe, a score considered by film-music scholars to be one of Mr. Newman's finest compositions.
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.
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