This delightful movie fits in a category that I call caper-comedies. "Kitty" is billed only as drama and history, but that does short shrift to this highly entertaining film. It also has comedy, romance and some skullduggery in good doses throughout. And all of that is set in 1780s London.
The comedy isn't in snappy dialog or zany antics. It's in humorous situations and frequent subtle lines of dialog. The skullduggery isn't outright crime, but mostly in the deceptive intents of the principals here. The drama and some crime elements are present including pilfering of a cash box and a couple of deaths.
There also seems to be some light satire of the classes and poking fun at the gentry. That's clear in the closing lines of the prince of Wales and Thomas Gainsborough. Their exchange sums up the film beautifully. (See the dialog in the quotes below). The genteel society all knew Hugh Marcy for what he was - a social cad and misfit. But no one could think that Kitty, then the widow and Duchess of Malmunster, was anything but the finest example of proper breeding and upbringing.
The film has a clever and engaging plot. The production and direction are superb. The period sets, costumes and staging are precise and considerable. And the acting is excellent, with a cast of some of the top British actors of the day. American Paulette Goddard plays Kitty, but the rest of the cast are all from the UK.
The male leads are Ray Milland as Sir Hugh Marcy and Cecil Kellaway as Thomas Gainsborough, the prominent English painter. Several others give wonderful performances. Eric Blore, Reginald Owen, Constance Collier, and Sara Allgood provide plenty of humor. Gordon Richards plays Sir Joshua Reynolds, another English painter and real-life rival of Gainsborough. And, Patric Knowles and Dennis Hoey have very good mostly straight roles.
Most reviewers can see close similarities between "Kitty" and "Pygmalion," which has had several renditions made into movies. Some can see similarities or significant borrowed parts or ideas from other stories. Most notable among these is the character, Old Meg, who correlates to the part of Fagin in "Oliver Twist."
I would add another story and film with some strong similarities. "The Law and the Lady" of 1951 stars Greer Garson and Michael Wilding. It was based on a 1925 play, "The Last of Mrs. Cheney," by British playwright Frederick Lonsdale.
In that movie, Garson is a lady's maid who impersonates a woman of title and prestige. The idea for the ruse came from her accomplice (played by Wilding), who is a true titled gentleman but without estates. The two travel about the globe fleecing the wealthy.
Rosamond Marshall may indeed have borrowed some ideas from Bernard Shaw's 1913 play, Pygmalion. And, she may have borrowed ideas from Charles Dickens and others for some of her plot and characters. But, her 1943 novel, by the same title as this film, offers a whole new and different plot. And, it's a delightful one.
"Kitty" did very well at the box office, with $3.5 million in the U.S. It fell $1 million short of making the top 10 box office draws in 1946. And, it received an Oscar nomination for the splendid period set.
Yet, the film had a curious release. The premier was Oct. 16, 1945, after the end of World War II. And It's general release was on January 25, 1946. It was made by Paramount, but I couldn't find out why there was such long delay of more than three months in the film's release. Perhaps something was changed and edited into or cut from the film.
Here are some favorite lines from the film. For more dialog, see the Quotes section on this IMDb Web page of the movie.
Dobson, "Here, take this tea up to her ladyship." Kitty, "How do I find her?" Dobson, "Drunk, as usual."
Thomas Gainsborough, "They're guessing everything from duchess to a baroness... I hope you won't tell anyone the truth, Hugh." Sir Hugh Marcy, "I never tell the truth."
Sir Joshua Reynolds, "They... they're not admiring the work. They're merely trying to guess who it is."
Sir Hugh Marcy, "What would you do if you had to choose between the duke and going back to Houndsditch?" Lady Susan Dowitt, "Oh, well, I'd pick the duke. But then, I'm a lady. I've an idea our little guttersnipe is above that sort of thing."
Dobson, "You mean you're going to entertain him by yourself?" Kitty, "I ain't going to entertain him. I'm going to marry him."
Duke of Malmunster, "Well, am I going to get tea?" Lady Susan Dowitt, "Sir, you're going to get everything you want."
Sir Hugh Marcy, "I think I should be complimented, Thomas." Thomas Gainsborough, "For what, please?" Sir Hugh, "For turning a little gutterbag into a duchess - a neat trick." Lady Susan Dowitt, "The trick was having me around. Kitty could never have passed for a lady without my examples to guide her." Thomas, "Permit me to remind you that if I hadn't found Kitty in the first place, and painted her portrait, none of this would even have happened. She wouldn't be a duchess and you wouldn't be in the foreign office..." Sir Hugh, "I think we should all congratulate each other."
Brett Harwood, "It's a lovely evening. How did it happen you're not working, Tom? I thought you preferred to paint by candlelight." Thomas Gainsborough, "Yes, I do. But I'm not in the mood tonight. Besides, I was strolling with the duchess. But I have no intention of leaving her to you." Brett Harwood, "Testy old genius, aren't you?"
Prince of Wales, "Gad, how extraordinary. Why does such a charming creature throw herself away on such a bounder?" Thomas Gainsborough, "I don't know sir. He's so far beneath her."
