A mild-mannered banker is whisked away by his eccentric aunt on a globetrotting adventure.
Travels With My Aunt is based on the novel of the same name by esteemed British writer Graham Greene, whose works (dealing with topics as varied as religion, espionage, crime, and politics) inspired many successful screen adaptations. George Cukor was one of Hollywood's most beloved directors, responsible for classics like The Philadelphia Story, Holiday, Born Yesterday, Little Women, A Star Is Born, and perhaps his biggest success, My Fair Lady, which won him an Academy Award.
Cukor began this project with longtime friend and collaborator Katharine Hepburn in the lead role, but the actress had issues with the screenplay (written by Jay Presson Allen, who had worked for Hitchcock and recently completed the script for Cabaret), and ultimately a clash with the studio's head of production forced her to leave, with recent Oscar-winner Maggie Smith taking her place. Ironically, Hepburn's own rewrite of the script wound up being shot, though guild rules prevented her from receiving a screen credit.
In addition to Smith, the cast features Alec McOwen (fresh from Hitchcock's Frenzy), Louis Gossett Jr (ten years away from his big success in An Officer and a Gentleman, Smith's real-life husband Robert Stephens, and newcomer Cindy Williams (who would appear next year in George Lucas' American Graffiti).
While Cukor was known as an "actor's director", primarily for his work with actresses, the advent of the widescreen cinemascope frame found him adept at staging and designing his shots for the larger canvas. The film was shot by veteran cinematographer Douglas Slocombe on location in London, Paris, Spain, Italy, Turkey, and Morocco, in addition to opulent, elaborate studio sets. The costumes were designed by Anthony Powell, who would become a friend of Smith's and work with her again on numerous occasions.
The film received mostly positive reviews and was a modest success at the box office. It received Academy Award nominations for Smith's performance, Powell's costumes, the art direction, and Slocome's cinematography, with Powell winning his first of three eventual Oscars.
Running time is approx. 1 hr, 45 min.
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