Lady L
1965 French film
- 25 November 1965 (1965-11-25)
Running time
Italy
United Kingdom
Lady L is a 1965 comedy film based on the novel by Romain Gary and directed by Peter Ustinov. Starring Sophia Loren, Paul Newman, David Niven and Cecil Parker,[2] the film focuses on an elderly Corsican lady as she recalls the loves of her life, including an anarchist and an English aristocrat. The ending of the film is very different from the ending of the novel.[3]
Plot
As she approaches her 80th birthday, the sophisticated and still attractive Lady Lendale (widely known as "Lady L") recounts to her biographer, Sir Percy, the story of her life.
Fleeing her humble origins in Corsica, she travels to Paris, where she finds work in a brothel. There she falls in love with a thief and anarchist, Armand, and becomes pregnant by him. But before he can use a bomb to assassinate a Bavarian prince, she meets the wealthy Lord Lendale, who is so enchanted by the young woman that he offers to help her and Armand escape if she will agree to marry him. He explains that several of his high society relatives are mad and he wants new blood in his family.
Lady L becomes a woman of means, moving in high society, and together she and Lord Lendale raise a large family and many of their children achieve high class positions. In the end, however, she reveals her secret: with Lord Lendale's help, she has continued to be the lover of Armand, who has fathered all their children while posing as the family's chauffeur.
Cast
- Sophia Loren as Lady Louise Lendale / Lady L
- Paul Newman as Armand Denis
- David Niven as Dicky, Lord Lendale
- Marcel Dalio as Sapper
- Cecil Parker as Sir Percy
- Philippe Noiret as Ambroise Gérôme
- Jacques Dufilho Dufilho as Bealu
- Eugene Deckers as Koenigstein
- Daniel Emilfork as Kobeleff
- Hella Petri as Madam
- Jean Wiener as Krajewski
- Roger Trapp as police inspector Dubaron
- Jean Rupert
- Joe Dassin as a police inspector
- Jacques Legras as a police inspector
- Mario Feliciani as Italian anarchist
- Sacha Pitoëff as Bomb-throwing revolutionary
- Arthur Howard as Butler
- Dorothy Reynolds
- Jacques Ciron
- Hazel Hughes
- Michel Piccoli as Lecoeur
- Claude Dauphin as Inspector Mercier
- Catherine Allégret as Pantoufle
- France Arnel as Brunette
- Dorothée Blank as Blonde girl
- Jean-Paul Cauvin as The Little Orphan
- Lo Ann Chan as the Chinese girl
- Sylvain Levignac
- Laurence Lignières as High society girl
- Tanya Lopert as Agneau
- Moustache as Delcour
- John Wood (uncredited) as the Photographer
- Jenny Orléans as Blonde girl
- Peter Ustinov as Prince Otto of Bavaria
- Janet Wilson as an extra
Production
MGM spent $2 million on pre-production for the film before cancelling the project.[4]
It was later restarted as an international co-production between France, Italy and the United Kingdom. Castle Howard in Yorkshire was used for the shooting of some scenes. Interiors were shot at the Victorine Studios in Nice.
Release
The film had its world premiere at the Empire, Leicester Square in the West End of London on 25 November 1965.[5]
References
- ^ "Big Rental Pictures of 1966", Variety, 4 January 1967 p 8
- ^ https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0059377/ [user-generated source]
- ^ Gary, Romain (1959). Lady L., a novel. Internet Archive. New York, Simon and Schuster.
- ^ "Proxy Battle-Scarred Joe Vogel, Of Metro No-Fun Era, Is Dead". Variety. 5 March 1969. p. 4.
- ^ The Times 25/11/65, page 2
External links
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Lady L.
- Lady L at IMDb
- Lady L at AllMovie
- Lady L at the TCM Movie Database
- Lady L at the AFI Catalog of Feature Films
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Films directed by Peter Ustinov
- School for Secrets (1946)
- Vice Versa (1948)
- Private Angelo (1949)
- Romanoff and Juliet (1961)
- Billy Budd (1962)
- Lady L (1965)
- Hammersmith Is Out (1972)
- Memed, My Hawk (1984)
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