blanche-2 Paulette Goddard is "Kitty" in this delightful 1945 film directed by Mitchell Liesen for Paramount. The film also stars Ray Milland, Constance Collier, Cecil Kellaway, Patric Knowles, and Reginald Owen. Goddard plays a young guttersnipe who steals for a living. As she's trying to steal the gold buckle off of a footman's shoe, she is noticed by none other than Thomas Gainsborough, who cleans her up and paints her. She comes to the attention of Sir Hugh Marcy (Milland) but when he finds out she's a guttersnipe, he loses interest.Once her beautiful portrait is on display, the Duke of Malmuster buys the portrait and prevails upon Sir Hugh for an introduction to the subject. Since Sir Hugh is flat broke, he and his tipsy aunt (Collier) try to turn Kitty into a lady so they can introduce her to the Duke, who is in a position to get Hugh his job back. Things, however, take a turn. Not only does Kitty have other plans, but fate steps in.A very good movie, inspired by Shaw's Pygmalion, that has a wonderful, lively performance by Goddard, who goes from Cockeny spitfire to lady and falls back on her Cockney roots when she loses her temper. Milland is good and not very likable as the conniving Sir Hugh, and Constance Collier is a riot as Aunt Susan. Handsome Patric Knowles is on hand as a friend of Sir Hugh's who, like a lot of other men, is captivated by Kitty.I was a little disappointed in the ending. I frankly would have liked to have seen Kitty go off into the sunset with someone else.I agree with one of the posters here that this would have been a beautiful film in color. But I'll take Goddard any way I can get her; she's always been a favorite of mine.

audrey m i've always been a huge fan of 'my fair lady'. when i had the opportunity of experiencing 'kitty'1945, i couldn't believe how unoriginal 'my fair lady'1964 became. scenes, lines, specific training sequences (eg when goddard aka kitty was told to stop dropping her 'h's)all a repeat. not to take anything away from 'my fair lady'...but it does act as a testament to how great 'kitty' is. 'my fair lady' has always been said to be based on 'Pygmalion'. what ever happened to giving credit to this movie? of course the music in my fair lady is sensational....by the way. i found it on DVD!!! go to www.ashfaultsclassicmovies.com

Neil Doyle Mitchell Leisen was at the top of his form as a director in the mid-'40s and KITTY is a high point in his career, as it is for Paulette Goddard. This is the tale of a sharp-tongued guttersnipe (Goddard) who rises to become a Duchess in society thanks to the manipulations of the scheming Ray Milland and Constance Collier. It's a variation of the Pygmalion tale, a 'My Fair Lady' without music, sumptuously photographed in glorious B&W photography, although it's one of those costume films that would have looked even more ravishing in technicolor.As for any further comment on the film, here's what I wrote in a recent article on the career of PAULETTE GODDARD:"When Paramount failed to make a successful bid for 'Forever Amber', they decided to make their own costume drama about a poor wench from 18th century London who rises from guttersnipe to society woman. Paulette gives undoubtedly one of her best performances in a lavish period film that should have been in color. The N.Y. Times noted: 'Paulette Goddard has worked up blazing temperament to go with her ravishing beauty in the title role. If she is less fetching as a late 18th century duchess, it is because the script runs thin on humor and drama. In any case, she gives the work the correct touch of wry romanticism.'"

AnnieP I remembered this one from TV a hundred years ago. Paulette Goddard has the title role, and she is quite beautiful and completely convincing. Real-er than Eliza Doolittle, she slips in and out'a Houndsditch slang, but she is never comic or plays it broad. She is a lady long before she marries into royalty.Her persistent love of Hugh (played at his caddish-sexy best by Ray Milland) is the engine that drives the story. Plenty of good supporting roles, including Sara Algood, Cecil Kallaway (playing Gainsborough),Eric Blore, and that divinely handsome eternal man-who-loses-the-girl, Patric Knowles.I loved it - and though I am not a great Ray Milland fan, I find he can be very convincing as a lover. His only better example of it is "Golden Earrings" with Miss Marlene Dietrich. And as for Miss Goddard, we never saw enough of her to type-cast her - feisty, spirited, yes, but a little unexpected in the depth of her performance, and a very lovely lady to boot.This is what movies used to be - good characters (somebody to root for), an intelligent story, and Glamour. I recommend this picture highly!