Can anyone explian what this line even means?
My family and I love this movie and we watch it every Christmas Eve. We always laugh at that woman and how she delivers her lines! She reminds me of the woman from Singing in the Rain.
It is the reply to a pleasantry that in this case is unspoken, it goes like this,person number one says "pleased to meet you" and person number two says "mutual, I'm sure"
shareAnd the "Mutual, I'm sure." is, itself a shortened form of the response. The implied full sentence would be "The feeling is mutual, I'm sure."
sharethere is a Spanish idiom "igualmente" used in the same social pleasantry which means the same thing, meaning "equally" "pleased to meet you",
reply- igualmente
well, actually in this scene her use of the phrase makes no sense. the man says, "how do you do?" and she replies, "mutual, I'm sure," as if he had said "nice to meet you." I could be wrong, but I believe this line was supposed to emphasize the fact that the girl wasn't too bright.
shareI'm quite sure that was exactly what the line was meant to do! I was wondering if anyone was going to comment to this effect. The idea was that the showgirl was being depicted as someone with little training in the social graces but who very much wanted to impress the men she perceived as being able to advance her career. So she attempted to use what she considered upscale vernacular to try and appear more intelligent or sophisticated than she was.
shareI've heard that line elsewhere. I think Bugs Bunny may have uttered it - if not originated it. I'm almost sure it predates this movie - which is why it might even be funnier if the viewer knows where it comes from. It's an empty comment, if you think about: "I'm sure that I feel about you the way you feel about me" - huh? If I don't know how you feel, then how could possibly feel that way???
"Don't call me 'honey', mac."
"Don't call me 'mac'... HONEY!"
It's the same as saying 'likewise.' That's all. No big.
Brother, yoµ can believe in stones, as long as yoµ don't throw them at me.
There is an important line missing from the conversation, possibly intentionally omitted to make the blonde look even more ditzy.
Typically, one would say upon an introduction...
"How do you do? It is a pleasure to meet you."
"Mutual, I'm sure."
By the first conversationalist posing a question instead of a compliment, the lady replying "Mutual, I'm sure" makes her look like even more of an airhead.
She looks and sounds like Barbara Nichols, but her name isn't listed. I wonder who the actress is because she has the very same delivery as the reliable Ms. Nichols, who excelled at playing flashy blondes, from cigarette girls to chorus girls.
*** The trouble with reality is there is no background music. ***
The actress is Barrie Chase. I always thought she looked much better as a brunette. Check out her IMDb, Wikipedia, and Glamour Girls of the Silver Screen pages. Especially the latter. She has led an interesting life.
shareI know Barrie Chase, but I never would have guessed her as the girl delivering that line. I don't recall her having that sort of voice, but maybe it's been a long time since I've seen her in anything.
*** The trouble with reality is there is no background music. ***
Per her biography, she was born in New York. I would guess that was where she learned the accent and mannerisms necessary for the role.
shareCheck out the 3-part interview w. Barrie Chase on youtube (I think the story about WHITE CHRISTMAS is in part 2 or 3, but it's all worth watching.): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=taiPPdGRIhU. (And keep in mind, she was apparently 78 when the interview was done--remarkable.) She got offered this part by chance, because of visiting a friend who was in the movie, during a rehearsal, and despite being a very intelligent brunette. The director had been looking all over for the right "dumb blonde," but somehow knew to have Miss Chase read for the part, and offered it to her on the spot. It's also worth looking at some of her dancing videos, especially those with Fred Astaire. She was his primary dancing partner from the late '50s on, doing many TV specials with him.
Multiplex: 100+ shows a day, NONE worth watching. John Sayles' latest: NO distribution. SAD.
The actress speaking the "mutual I'm sure" line is Barrie Chase. In later years she became Fred Astaire's girl friend. Here she is dancing with Astaire in 1966.....
http://youtu.be/K6U140S_x_o
I'm watching the Joan Crawford classic "Mildred Pierce" (1945).
There is a scene where Joan as "Mildred" goes to visit her runaway daughter "Veda," played by Ann Blythe.
Veda is working at a seedy nightclub as an "entertainer" when Mildred goes to meet her.
Veda and another female blonde "entertainer" named "Miriam" are backstage in the dressing rooms. Miriam has a semi-Brooklyn accent and her overall brash demeanor suggest that she has rough edges - along with the fact that she may not be too bright.
When Mildred enters the room and finds both girls there, Veda introduces Mildred to Miriam.
Mildred says "Oh - I'm glad to know you."
To which Miriam replies "Oh it's mutual, I'm sure."
So there you have it: what the fully-detailed exchange would sound like.
That fact that it was used in a 1945 movie and again 9 years later in "White Christmas" documents its popular use - at least among Hollywood scriptwriters.
As I've said before on this messageboard, I'm almost sure I heard Bugs Bunny use that phrase somewhere - and now I'm even more certain since both "Mildred Pierce" and the "Looney Tunes"/"Merrie Melodies" cartoons were made at the Warners Brothers Studio. The animators there like Tex Avery and Chuck Jones often took great delight in parodying characters, scenes and dialogue from popular Warner Brothers films.
"Don't call me 'honey', mac."
"Don't call me 'mac'... HONEY!"
Mildred says "Oh - I'm glad to know you."
To which Miriam replies "Oh it's mutual, I'm sure."
It's a bimbo trying to sound sophisticated.
share