Daisy,von,Sherler,Mayer,directed,this,family,film,,an,adaptation,of,the,famed,book,series,that,Austrian-born,writer-illustrator,Ludwig,Bemelmans,(1898-1962),launched,in,1939,with,the,opening,lines,,\"In,an,old,house,in,Paris,that,was,covered,with,vines,lived,twelve,little,girls,in,two,straight,lines.,In,two,straight,lines,they,broke,their,bread,and,brushed,their,teeth,and,went,to,bed.,They,smiled,at,the,good,and,frowned,at,the,bad,and,sometimes,they,were,very,sad.,They,left,the,house,at,half,past,nine,in,two,straight,lines,in,rain,or,shine,--,the,smallest,one,was,Madeline.\",This,live-action,film,interpretation,,set,during,the,mid-1950s,,expands,on,plot,elements,found,throughout,several,books,in,the,series.,Lord,Covington,(Nigel,Hawthorne),plans,to,sell,the,small,French,boarding,school,where,the,young,orphan,Madeline,(nine-year-old,British,actress,Hatty,Jones),lives,with,other,girls,under,the,supervision,of,sympathetic,schoolmistress,Miss,Clavel,(Frances,McDormand).,Hospitalized,after,an,appendectomy,,Madeline,wanders,down,the,hospital,hallway,and,meets,Covington‘s,dying,wife,,Lady,Covington,(Stephane,Audran),,an,encounter,which,becomes,an,asset,in,Madeline‘s,efforts,to,save,the,school.,Moving,into,the,house,adjacent,to,the,school,is,the,family,of,the,Spanish,Ambassador,(Arturo,Venegas),,including,his,young,son,Pepito,(Kristian,de,la,Osa),,who,spends,a,good,deal,of,time,wheeling,about,on,his,Vespa,,so,noisy,it,serves,to,irritate,possible,buyers,of,the,school.When,Madeline,falls,into,the,Seine,,she,is,rescued,by,a,dog,,Genevieve,,who,immediately,becomes,the,school‘s,mascot,and,pet,,despite,the,\"no,pets\",rule,and,Miss,Clavel‘s,allergy,to,dogs.,Pepito‘s,somewhat,sinister,British,tutor,Leopold,(Ben,Daniels),engineers,a,plan,that,leads,to,the,county,fair,kidnapping,of,Pepito,and,Madeline.,First,filmed,by,UPA,in,the,early,‘50s,as,the,Oscar-nominated,animated,cartoon,short,,Madeline,(1952),,decades,passed,before,other,adaptations,appeared:,the,23-minute,Madeline‘s,Rescue,and,Other,Stories,(1990,,available,from,Facets,Video),,narrated,by,Louise,Roberts;,and,the,1989-1993,series,of,half-hours,narrated,by,Christopher,Plummer,--,Madeline,,Madeline,and,the,Bad,Hat,,Madeline,and,the,Gypsies,,Madeline,in,London,,Madeline‘s,Christmas,,and,Madeline‘s,Rescue.,MGM‘s,1945,Fred,AstaireVincente,Minnelli,film,Yolanda,and,the,Thief,also,adapted,Bemelmans.,Daisy,von,Scherler,Mayer‘s,earlier,Party,Girl,(1995),was,the,first,feature,film,seen,in,its,entirety,on,the,Internet.,~,Bhob,Stewart,,All,Movie,Guide
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