February 8, 2012

Thoroughly Modern Millie

by MovieMaker Staff | Published March 20, 2007

Fifty years ago today Thoroughly Modern Millie hit U.S. theaters nationwide. Set in the 1920s, the musical stars Julie Andrews as the titular Millie Dielmount, Mary Tyler Moore as Miss Dorothy Brown, the unsuspecting woman in distress, and a supporting cast of Carol Channing, James Fox and John Gavin.

When Millie moves from small-town Kansas to the center of New York City, she changes her appearance and her occupation to score herself a wealthy husband. Her new home, at the Priscilla Hotel, turns out to be the cover for a white slavery ring, which Millie discovers just in time to save Miss Brown. The movie went on to receive seven Academy Award nominations in 1968, ultimately winning for Elmer Bernstein’s original score. Screenwriter Richard Morris also received an award for the Best Written Musical from the Writers Guild of America.

Connections: Before working together on Thoroughly Modern Millie, director George Roy Hill and Julie Andrews released Hawaii in 1966. Elmer Bernstein received his fifth career nomination for the same movie at that season’s Academy Awards, but it was with Thoroughly Modern Millie that he brought home his one and only trophy.