The Legend of Lylah Clare (1968)

Regista:

Robert Aldrich

Writers:

Hugo Butler (writer)
Edward DeBlasio (writer)
(ancora)

Data di uscita:

15 novembre 1968 (West Germany)

Genere:

Drama

Slogan:

OVERNIGHT A STAR...OVER MANY NIGHTS A WOMAN!

Plot:

A dictatorial film director (Finch) hires an unknown actress (Novak) to play the lead role in a planned movie biography of a late, great Hollywood star.

Plot Keywords:

Beautiful Woman | Lesbianism | Lesbian | Possession | Actress

Recensioni degli utenti:

The awfulness becomes riveting - one of the great worst movies

Cast

Kim Novak	...	Lylah Clare / Elsa Brinkmann
Peter Finch	...	Lewis Zarken
Ernest Borgnine	...	Barney Sheean
Milton Selzer	...	Bart Langner
Rossella Falk	...	Rossella
Gabriele Tinti	...	Paolo
Valentina Cortese	...	Countess Bozo Bedoni
Jean Carroll	...	Becky Langner
Michael Murphy	...	Mark Peter Sheean
Lee Meriwether	...	Young girl
James Lanphier	...	Legman #1
Robert Ellenstein	...	Mike
Nick Dennis	...	Nick
Dave Willock	...	Cameraman
Coral Browne	...	Molly Luther
Peter Bravos	...	Butler
Ellen Corby	...	Script girl
Michael Fox	...	Announcer
Hal Maguire	...	Legman #2
Tom Patty	...	Bedoni's escort
Vernon Scott	...	Himself
Queenie Smith	...	Hairdresser
Sidney Skolsky	...	Himself
Barbara Ann Warkmeister	...	Aerialist
Mel Warkmeister	...	Aerialist
resto del cast in ordine alfabetico:
William Aldrich	...	Assistant M.C. (uncredited)
Danny Borzage	...	Clown (uncredited)
Joe Gray	...	(uncredited)
George Kennedy	...	Matt Burke (uncredited)
Dick Miller	...	Reporter (uncredited)

Regia di
Robert Aldrich

Scritto da (in ordine alfabetico)
Hugo Butler		writer
Edward DeBlasio		writer
Jean Rouverol		writer
Robert Thom		writer

Prodotto da
Robert Aldrich	....	producer

Musiche originali di
Frank De Vol

Fotografia di
Joseph F. Biroc

Montaggio di
Michael Luciano

Architetto-scenografo
George W. Davis
William Glasgow

Arredatore
F. Keogh Gleason
Henry Grace

Costumi di
Renié

Trucco
Agnes Flanagan	....	hair stylist
Sydney Guilaroff	....	hair stylist
Robert J. Schiffer	....	makeup artist
William Tuttle	....	makeup artist

Direttore di produzione
George Tobin	....	production manager
Lindsley Parsons Jr.	....	assistant production manager: MGM (uncredited)

Aiuto regista
Clifford C. Coleman	....	assistant director
Lynn Guthrie	....	second assistant director (uncredited)

Sonoro
Franklin Milton	....	sound

Effetti speciali
Alan Burke	....	special effects

Controfigure
John Indrisano	....	stunts
Fritz Ford	....	stunts (uncredited)
William Graeff Jr.	....	stunts (uncredited)
Joe Gray	....	stunts (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
Doug Byers	....	electrician

Production Companies

• Associates & Aldrich Company, The
• Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Distributors

• Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) (1968) (USA) (theatrical)
• CBS Television (1972) (USA) (TV) (broadcast premiere)
• Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) (1968) (West Germany) (theatrical)

Other Companies

• American International Video Search Inc.  video

Alias:

Quando muore una stella (Italy) [it]

Durata:

130 min

Nazionalità:

USA

Lingua:

Inglese

Colore:

Colore (Metrocolor)

Sonoro:

Mono

Divieti:

West Germany:16 (f) | Finland:K-16 | Sweden:15 | USA:Approved | USA:R

Luoghi delle riprese:

Grauman's Chinese Theater - 6925 Hollywood Blvd., Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Associates & Aldrich Company, The

Curiosità:

Based on an earlier TV production of the same material.

Citazioni:

Molly Luther: She's tame enough now, Lewis, but will she turn into a slut like the last one?

Movie Connections:

Rifacimento di "The DuPont Show of the Week: The Legend of Lylah Clare (#2.17)" (1963)

Colonna sonora:

Lylah

The awfulness becomes riveting - one of the great worst movies

Robert Aldrich had a solid career which includes some extremely fine work such as "Kiss Me Deadly" and "The Big Knife" from his early period. He handled large action movies ("The Dirty Dozen") with the same craftsmanship as small .intimate pieces, ("The Killing of Sister George"). In both "Hush Hush Sweet Charlotte" and perhaps his most famous movie "What Ever Happened to Baby Jane", there is a definite camp touch which is carefully controlled in that it never derails the proceedings but only adds much to the general enjoyment of these films as a whole.

"The Legend of Lylah Clare" is a film that cannot be derailed, since from the very first frame it's clearly out of control. What proceeds is a very bumpy ride indeed. The question that remains is just how much of this was intentional. Can one consciously make actors perform so ludicrously, and if so, just what is the point ? It's seems totally unfeasible that a director with Aldrich's record should allow these poor actors to humiliate themselves in having to deliver the most preposterous dialog imaginable. Perhaps it's his hate letter to Hollywood. Aldrich who steered clear of the tyranny of Hollywood by establishing his own production company, paints a truly crass portrait of the movie industry. The point is that this is not an intelligent, witty or biting take on the industry, it's simply a grotesque movie which really has to be seen to be believed. Actors with vast experience such as Peter Finch and Ernest Borgnine are made to look like total amateurs in the business. And then there's Kim Novak. (One can only wonder what Tuesday Weld made of the role in the original television version.) Perhaps one should not be too surprised that this was her last American movie, and the signal of the beginning of the end of her somewhat shaky career.

Novak was apparently thrust into stardom far too fast. Her radiant screen presence may have been captivating but there was little real talent behind the looks. What she did exude was a vulnerability which seems to be founded on her justified lack of confidence as an actress. Columbia groomed her as a potential new Marilyn Monroe. But no matter what dark complexes were lurking beneath Monroe's screen presence, she always made us believe she was having a ball. That was her genius. Novak always seems uncomfortable and decidedly awkward. It's something that at times may have worked in her favor, but ultimately her lack of having what it really takes could not be disguised. Lylah Clare is a role that many a Hollywood actress of the time could really have sunk their teeth into. Novak simply does not have a clue what to do with it and director Aldrich leaves her stranded.

The awfulness of this movie becomes riveting in itself. You'll probably want to see it through to the end. One of the greatest worst movies of all time.