The Mother-In-Law Face-Off:

We could have happily watched Maggie Smith and Shirley MacLaine spar all night long. (“I’m afraid the war has turned us both into old women!”) These two are really representatives of their countries at the time, though.

MacLaine, while wealthy, is a modern American woman, and her flashy, trendy fashions make this very clear. The Countess’s duds, while regal and super sparkly, are sort of stuck in Edwardian times.

The pair at Lady Mary's wedding.