''Mrs. Delafield Wants to Marry'' is a 1986 American

made-for-television A television film, alternatively known as a television movie, made-for-TV film/movie or TV film/movie, is a feature-length film that is produced and originally distributed by or to a television network, in contrast to theatrical films made fo ...

romantic comedy Romantic comedy (also known as romcom or rom-com) is a subgenre of comedy and slice of life fiction, focusing on lighthearted, humorous plot lines centered on romantic ideas, such as how true love is able to surmount most obstacles. In a typica ...

film directed by George Schaefer and starring Katharine Hepburn and

Harold Gould Harold Vernon Goldstein (December 10, 1923 – September 11, 2010), better known as Harold Gould, was an American character actor. He appeared as Martin Morgenstern on the sitcom ''Rhoda'' (1974–78) and Miles Webber on the sitcom ''The Golden ...

which premiered on

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainm ...

Easter Sunday Easter,Traditional names for the feast in English are "Easter Day", as in the ''Book of Common Prayer''; "Easter Sunday", used by James Ussher''The Whole Works of the Most Rev. James Ussher, Volume 4'') and Samuel Pepys''The Diary of Samuel P ...

, March 30, 1986. It tells the story of a widow who shocks her upper-class, Anglo-American family when she announces that she has fallen in love with her Jewish doctor. His family is equally unhappy with the news, and both individuals have to fight the prejudices of their families.

Plot

Margaret Delafield, a rich elderly lady and widow of Spaulding 'Spud' Delafield (an

unseen character An unseen character in theatre, comics, film, or television, or silent character in radio or literature, is a character that is mentioned but not directly known to the audience, but who advances the action of the plot in a significant way, and w ...

),is rushed to hospital. She is not expected to survive, and her two sons and daughter gathering at her bedside are more concerned with their expected inheritance. Her doctor, Dr Marvin Elias, encourages her to fight. Margaret makes a full recovery and returns home to a welcome party for family and friends. Her sons Horton and Chipper and daughter Doreen are concerned that Margaret and Marvin seem to be spending more time together than might be expected for a doctor/patient relationship. They are devastated when Margaret and Marvin announce their impending wedding, and see their inheritance slipping away. They try to persuade her to change her mind, and Marvin's children are equally doubtful. Margaret's favourite church refuses to perform a mixed marriage (Marvin is Jewish) and Marvin's rabbi is equally unwilling. They decide on a small country church and invite all family and friends. The wedding is a mixture of Jewish and Christian symbolism, with a monastic chorus, harp music and medieval minstrels. The families are reconciled and the newlyweds leave for a honeymoon in Hawaii. The goings-on are observed by George, Margaret's neighbour and best friend, who

breaks the fourth wall The fourth wall is a performance convention in which an invisible, imaginary wall separates actors from the audience. While the audience can see through this ''wall'', the convention assumes the actors act as if they cannot. From the 16th cen ...

to comment on proceedings.

Cast

* Katharine Hepburn as Margaret Delafield *

as Dr. Marvin Elias * Bibi Besch as Doreen Delafield *

Denholm Elliott Denholm Mitchell Elliott, (31 May 1922 – 6 October 1992) was an English actor, with more than 125 film and television credits. His well-known roles include the abortionist in '' Alfie'' (1966), Marcus Brody in ''Raiders of the Lost Ark'' (19 ...

as George Parker *

Brenda Forbes Brenda Forbes (14 January 1909 – 11 September 1996) was a British-born American actress of stage and screen. Personal life Born as Dorothy Brenda Taylor in Wandsworth, London, the daughter of Ernest John and Ethel Louise Taylor. Her m ...

as Gladys Parker *

Charles Frank Charles Reser Frank (born April 17, 1947) is an American actor noted for playing Bret Maverick's cousin Ben Maverick in the 1978 TV-movie ''The New Maverick'' with James Garner and Jack Kelly, and in the short-lived 1979 television series '' ...

as Chipper Delafield * Suzanne Lederer as Shirley Elias *

John Pleshette John Pleshette (born July 27, 1942) is an American actor and screenwriter, best known for his role as Richard Avery on the television drama ''Knots Landing'', and for portraying Lee Harvey Oswald in the TV movie '' The Trial of Lee Harvey Oswald ...

as David Elias *

David Ogden Stiers David Allen Ogden Stiers ( ; October 31, 1942 – March 3, 2018) was an American actor and conductor. He appeared in numerous productions on Broadway, and originated the role of Feldman in '' The Magic Show'', in which he appeared for fou ...

as Horton Delafield *

Kathryn Walker Kathryn Walker is an American theater, television and film actress. Biography Walker was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. She is a Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Wells College in Aurora, New York, and was a Fulbright Scholar in music and dra ...

as Sarah

Award nominations

The film was nominated for three Primetime Emmy Awards: Outstanding Drama/Comedy Special, Outstanding Lead Actress in a Miniseries or a Special (Katharine Hepburn) and Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Miniseries or a Special (Harold Gould). George Schaefer was also nominated for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Dramatic Specials at the Directors Guild of America Awards.

References

External links

* {{George Schaefer 1986 television films 1986 films 1986 romantic comedy films American romantic comedy films CBS network films Films directed by George Schaefer 1980s American films