Jimmy Broadbent (Harrison), who has a daughter Jane (Dee) by first wife, an American, is now married to fellow Britisher Sheila (Kendall). When the comely Jane comes to live with them in London, Sheila is so jealous of her friend Mabel's (Angela Lansbury) braggadocio about introducing daughter Clarissa (Diane Clare) to society that she decides to hold a debutante ball for Jane, who is less than thrilled with the idea.
What follows is an often amusing, sometimes boring, comedic exposé of the British society of the time, beautifully rendered by Director Vincente Minnelli, cinematographer Joseph Ruttenberg, Art Director Jean d'Eaubonne (because of Harrison's tax troubles, Pandro S. Berman had to produce it in Paris), and Costume Designer Helen Rose.
Much of the comedy stems from misunderstandings - Kendall's Sheila is deliciously confused -mostly due to the fact that both of Jane's would-be suitors are named David: the debonair Italian-American drummer Parkson (played by John Saxon), with a questionable reputation, and the monotonous Brit Fenner (Peter Myers), a Palace Guard. Clarissa adores David Fenner, but he prefers the bright virginal American, whom he pursues with repugnant abandon despite Mabel's scheming and Jane's repeated rejections.
The film's best scenes are between Harrison and Saxon, whose characters come to an understanding in part because of Jimmy's insight and then knowledge of Parkson's past and, subsequently, his future. It is weakest in the middle, when the repetitious high society debutante ball season is overplayed to emphasize the exhaustive nature of it. The bedroom door staging near the end approaches being overdone as well, but the movie is saved by Jimmy's manipulation of his wife, whom he silences with a kiss at its close.
What follows is an often amusing, sometimes boring, comedic exposé of the British society of the time, beautifully rendered by Director Vincente Minnelli, cinematographer Joseph Ruttenberg, Art Director Jean d'Eaubonne (because of Harrison's tax troubles, Pandro S. Berman had to produce it in Paris), and Costume Designer Helen Rose.
Much of the comedy stems from misunderstandings - Kendall's Sheila is deliciously confused -mostly due to the fact that both of Jane's would-be suitors are named David: the debonair Italian-American drummer Parkson (played by John Saxon), with a questionable reputation, and the monotonous Brit Fenner (Peter Myers), a Palace Guard. Clarissa adores David Fenner, but he prefers the bright virginal American, whom he pursues with repugnant abandon despite Mabel's scheming and Jane's repeated rejections.
The film's best scenes are between Harrison and Saxon, whose characters come to an understanding in part because of Jimmy's insight and then knowledge of Parkson's past and, subsequently, his future. It is weakest in the middle, when the repetitious high society debutante ball season is overplayed to emphasize the exhaustive nature of it. The bedroom door staging near the end approaches being overdone as well, but the movie is saved by Jimmy's manipulation of his wife, whom he silences with a kiss at its close.