Production officially commenced on the film version of Auntie Mame in April 1958. There was a 56 day shooting schedule to complete principal photography.

All in all it was a smooth shoot, save for a minor hiccup or two along the way. For instance, actress Coral Browne, who portrays Mame's best friend Vera Charles, had an alarming hair mishap early on. "For me, the atmosphere became chaotic because the day before I was due on the set the hairdresser dyed my hair from dark brown to platinum blonde and it all fell out overnight on the pillow!" she recalled according to Richard Tyler Jordan's book But Darling, I'm Your Auntie Mame!. "I arrived on the set bald!" After Browne's head was treated by a doctor, a solution was assembled. "Costume designer Orry-Kelly had to quickly improvise a turban, and I played my first scene in this way," said Browne.

Director Morton DaCosta maintained a theatrical feel to the film's visual style throughout, including his choice to use the artistic touch of blacking out the set and fading out on Mame's face at the end of each scene. This technique was known, according to author Richard Tyler Jordan, as a "Flanagan Fade," named after chief electrician at Warner Bros. Frank Flanagan, who came up with the unique flourish. "The usual motion picture fadeout method is achieved during editing of a picture in the film laboratory, where they can blur out a scene or iris-out gradually with the camera lens during shooting," explains Jordan in his book. "The Flanagan Fade was even simpler, done on the spot, as the lights were faded out with each episode break, leaving the countenance of Rosalind Russell frozen in close-up. The system not only made clear the end of a sequence, but also kept Miss Russell the center of attention for the next scene."

Once completed, the film was heavily promoted by Warner Bros. and had its World Premiere at Radio City Music Hall on December 4, 1958 with a star-studded list of attendees. Auntie Mame was a smashing success. Audiences loved it, and critics heaped rave reviews on every aspect of the studio's highly anticipated Christmastime release. The film quickly became the highest grossing box office earner of the year.

The film's success gave Warner Bros. a healthy boost to its bottom line and helped put Rosalind Russell back on top at the box office. The film was honored with six Academy Award nominations including Best Picture and Rosalind Russell as Best Actress. It was Russell's fourth Academy Award nomination as Best Actress-her first in over a decade since Mourning Becomes Electra (1947). Director Morton DaCosta's name, however, was conspicuously absent from the list of nominees. Auntie Mame ultimately lost Best Picture to Vincente Minnelli's spectacular musical Gigi, and Russell lost to Susan Hayward for her work in I Want to Live!. After the awards ceremony, Russell reportedly said, "Well, I have to admit that nobody deserved it more than Hayward. If it had to be somebody else, I'm glad it was Susie."

The success of both play and film went on to spawn another blockbuster version of the Auntie Mame story in the form of Jerry Herman's triumphant 1966 Tony Award-winning Broadway musical Mame starring Angela Lansbury in the title role. A subsequent film version of the musical in 1974 starred Lucille Ball, which turned out to be a box office disappointment.

Rosalind Russell was originally asked to do the role of Mame in the 1966 stage musical before Angela Lansbury, but she turned it down. Russell, who would forever be associated with the character, said at the time, "It's not for me anymore. I've done it, I have to move along."

by Andrea Passafiume