The Unsinkable Molly Brown

Released Jun 11, 1964

2h 8m

Musical

Comedy

List

78%

Tomatometer

9 Reviews

70%

Audience Score

5,000+ Ratings

Molly Brown (Debbie Reynolds) is determined to rise from her country roots and marry a rich man. She finds one in Johnny Brown (Harve Presnell), who's just sold off his lucrative claim on a Colorado silver mine. With the cash hidden in a stove, Molly accidentally burns it. But Johnny soon strikes it rich in gold, making the pair Denver royalty. But money doesn't ensure happiness and, with their union on the rocks, Molly travels to Europe -- before making an eventful return trip on the Titanic.

Read More

Read Less

Watch on Fandango at Home

Premiered May 14

Buy Now

Fandango at Home

Prime Video

Rent The Unsinkable Molly Brown on Fandango at Home, Prime Video, or buy it on Fandango at Home, Prime Video.

Joan Didion

Vogue

Molly Brown is lively and fun, an exercise in those homely sentiments we learned as children, thrived upon, and, sometimes to our regret, outgrew.

Mar 16, 2020

Full Review

Renee Schonfeld

Common Sense Media

Debbie Reynolds is center stage in spirited 1964 musical.

Rated: 4/5

Feb 7, 2017

Full Review

Emanuel Levy

EmanuelLevy.Com

Debbie Reynolds received her only Oscar nomination for playing the title role of this artistically mediocre but commercially popular musical comedy about the rags to riches of the Denver heroine who was also a passenger on the Titanic.

Rated: B-

Jul 4, 2008

Full Review

Daniel Eagan

Film Journal International

Razzle-dazzle biopic kept afloat by a determined Reynolds.

Rated: 3/5

Oct 10, 2005

Full Review

Michael Szymanski

Zap2it.com

Rated: 2/5

Sep 21, 2005

Full Review

Dan Marcucci and Nancy Serougi

Broomfield Enterprise

Rated: 3/5

Jun 11, 2004

Full Review

Read all reviews

Audience Member

Debbie Reynolds plays the titular role as Molly Brown, a poor woman who comes into money and has to deal with the pitfalls and pressures of having " new money." I could not help but compare this role to that of Annie Get Your Gun. The acting was superb and the choreography perfect. The songs were okay, but definitely not of the caliber of some of the more well known musicals. Harve Presnell and Debbie Reynolds played off of each other well, and both characters were likable, realistic and well-formed. Highly recommended.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

02/19/23

Full Review

Liam D

It's light and bubbly with a great lead performance and some enjoyable musical numbers

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

03/11/22

Full Review

robert p

A genuine heartfelt movie, first Molly Brown comes back from the sinking of the Titanic to the animosity of her neighbors but then she has a Party inviting all of the wealthy and influential friends that shows up her neighbors as stuck up prudish people!!!!

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

03/31/23

Full Review

jordan m

This reminded me of a few other movies I'd seen where the main character is portrayed as horrendously greedy for money & popularity but done in a way that's not apparently intended to disqualify her from empathy. It's as though the people involved in the movie industry are so used to seeing that type of personality (it's surely partly necessary if one is ever to become a movie star) that they don't realize how alienating it is to a standard audience member, who finds it mildly insulting that she's so desperate to leave the type of life that the audience is generally living. We end up sitting through over two hours of an undeserving woman going on an unbroken streak of life victories with almost none of the movie's focus going toward the primary points of interest for me, namely some song/dance numbers & her surviving the Titanic sinking. Debbie does an excellent job here not just at portraying Molly but also doing so in a peculiar way that didn't leave me thinking that she was like that in real life; she seemed to shine brightest in the scenes where her character draws on her inner strength, much unlike Bette Midler did in the atrocious 2000 movie, Isn't She Great. She deserved her Oscar nomination, as did the cinematographer for the excellent color palette & establishing shots.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

03/31/23

Full Review

steve d

Didn't work at all despite the always entertaining Debbie Reynolds.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

03/30/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Lively MGM musical based on a true story with an energetic, Oscar-nominated performance from Debbie Reynolds; Harve Presnell made his film debut and sings Meredith Willson's score beautifully.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

02/27/23

Full Review

Read all reviews

Post a rating

Charles Walters

Director

Debbie Reynolds

Molly Brown

Harve Presnell

John J. 'Johnny' Brown

Ed Begley

Shamus Tobin

Jack Kruschen

Christmas Morgan

Hermione Baddeley

Buttercup Grogan

Show Less Cast & Crew

Show More Cast & Crew

83%

82%

High Society

100%

68%

Silk Stockings

91%

74%

It's Always Fair Weather

83%

45%

It Happened in Brooklyn

100%

83%

The Harvey Girls

Discover more movies and TV shows.

View More

Classic Film Catch-Up: Seven Hidden-Gem Classic Musicals

View more photos

Synopsis

Molly Brown (Debbie Reynolds) is determined to rise from her country roots and marry a rich man. She finds one in Johnny Brown (Harve Presnell), who's just sold off his lucrative claim on a Colorado silver mine. With the cash hidden in a stove, Molly accidentally burns it. But Johnny soon strikes it rich in gold, making the pair Denver royalty. But money doesn't ensure happiness and, with their union on the rocks, Molly travels to Europe -- before making an eventful return trip on the Titanic.

Director: Charles Walters
Screenwriter: Helen Deutsch
Distributor: Warner Home Vídeo, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, MGM/UA Home Entertainment Inc.
Production Co: Metro Goldwyn Mayer
Genre: Musical, Comedy
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Jun 11, 1964, Original
Release Date (Streaming): Jan 1, 2009
Runtime: 2h 8m

Most Popular at Home Now