Unsinkable Molly Brown, The (1964)

A fictionalised account of the life of Margaret ‘Molly’ Brown adapted from the Broadway musical of the same name.

The story begins with Molly (Debbie Reynolds) at six months of age surviving a flood of the Colorado River and being raised by impoverished Irish woodsman Shamus Tobin (Ed Begley).

Sixteen years later, Molly moves to Leadville where she is wooed by virile young prospector Johnny J. Brown (Harve Presnell).

The two eventually marry and, when Johnny strikes gold, they become fabulously wealthy and move into one of the most lavish mansions on Pennsylvania Avenue in Denver, where Molly longs to be part of the elite ‘sacred 36’.

Unfortunately, the 36 are not ready to accept the flamboyant, rough-talking Molly Brown. Uneducated and lacking polish, Molly and JJ are rejected by Denver’s socialite families and head off to Europe to become cultured.

They achieve this as Molly mingles with the elite of European society but Johnny wants to go home. Molly’s dreams are larger than JJ’s and it causes their parting.

The title of the movie – and the Broadway musical before it -comes from the real-life Molly Brown’s experience in surviving the Titanic disaster on her return from Europe to the USA.

Margaret ‘Molly’ Brown
Debbie Reynolds
Johnny J. Brown
Harve Presnell
Shamus Tobin
Ed Begley
Christmas Morgan
Jack Kruschen
Buttercup Grogan
Hermione Baddeley
Prince Louis de Laniere
Vassili Lambrinos
Baron Karl Ludwig von Ettenburg
Fred Essler
Polak
Harvey Lembeck
Mr Fitzgerald
Lauren Gilbert
Mrs Wadlington
Kathryn Card
Malcolm Broderick
Hayden Rorke
Mr Wadlington
Harry Holcombe
Mrs Fitzgerald
Amy Douglass
Monsignor Ryan
George Mitchell
Grand Duchess Elise Lupavinova
Martita Hunt

Director
Charles Walters

Video