Lady L

1965 "She's the only lady who ever got a boyfriend for a wedding present!"
5.5| 1h57m| en| More Info
Released: 17 December 1965 Released
Producted By: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Country: United Kingdom
Budget: 0
Revenue: 0
Official Website:
Synopsis

Lady L is an elegant 80-year-old woman who recalls her amorous life story, including past loves and lusty, scandalous adventures she has lived through.

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Reviews

Baseshment I like movies that are aware of what they are selling... without [any] greater aspirations than to make people laugh and that's it.
FuzzyTagz If the ambition is to provide two hours of instantly forgettable, popcorn-munching escapism, it succeeds.
Ezmae Chang This is a small, humorous movie in some ways, but it has a huge heart. What a nice experience.
Gary The movie's not perfect, but it sticks the landing of its message. It was engaging - thrilling at times - and I personally thought it was a great time.
Michael_Elliott Lady L (1965) ** (out of 4) Lady Louise Lendale (Sophia Loren) recounts her younger years and the relationship she had with two different type of men (Paul Newman, David Niven).LADY L was a box office flop when it was released and it's never really been beloved by fans of any of the three leads or director Peter Ustinov. Later in life Ustinov blamed a lot of different things for the film's failure including the fact that the Loren and Newman apparently didn't get along and the director also said the budget was simply too big for the type of film it was.I actually agree with both of those statements. For starters, the story itself is extremely flat and there's just no energy, no spark or any real point to anything we're watching. Loren and Newman sleepwalk through their roles and I'd agree that there's not an inch of chemistry between the two. The first portion of the film is like a bad comedy but when Niven enters the picture is just becomes boring and flat. I really don't recall too many times where the three leads were as bland as they are here.Another major problem with the film is that it looks terrific but there's no substance to it. Perhaps this is why the director blamed the budget. I'm going to guess that his main focus was on making the picture look like a big budget instead of getting anything better on the page. LADY L certainly didn't destroy the leads careers but at the same time it's easy to see why the film has pretty much been forgotten.
bkoganbing Sophia Loren is cast in the title role of Lady L whom we first see like Jeanette MacDonald as an 80+ woman who with some prodding from her dear friend poet Cecil Parker is about to tell her scandalous life story. Believe me this woman has seen things and done things that would shock the proper British society that she's married into. MacDonald in Maytime had a story to tell in flashback and come to think of it so did James Stewart in The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance.Back in the day Sophia was a laundress and one of her main clients was a prominent French brothel and it was there she met thief and anarchist Paul Newman and her later husband David Niven who provided a title and the good life in the United Kingdom. How both effect her life and story is the basis of Lady L.Loren while in old lady character sounds a lot like Martita Hunt, I wouldn't be surprised if she dubbed her, if not Sophia does a real good imitation. Newman is not quite right for the part, they should have gotten someone really French like Yves Montand.As for David Niven he just saunters through the film as David Niven. His good friend Peter Ustinov both wrote and directed Lady L and Code restraints being what they were Niven if it were done today would be more explicitly gay. That would far better explain his position and the relationship that develops afterward between all three of the principal characters.Lady L is not bad, but it suffers from some miscasting and too much Code imposed discretion.
macpet49-1 First, I am a fan of Loren's but never when she plays ladies! She belongs in the world of Fellini and Italia. She is Mother Earth, the masses, Roma after the war. She has no business playing women courting royalty. She looks like a gay man playing a woman in these pictures that Hollywood and Pinewood placed her. I'm just sorry she didn't realize it herself, but I'm assuming she did some for money and others for friends like Ustinov. The distressing thing is everyone else is awful around her as well. These films like 'A Countess from Hong Kong' 'The Millionairess' all exhibit this yearning for the upper classes which I find detestable. It is anti human. She behaves and nothing is more boring than watching Loren behave! Gone are the tirades in Italian that endear her to us all, the larger than life gestures that say, "Pay attention, I'm talking here, and I represent the people!" It's sad that she finally became this caricature of a fine lady and lost her humanness. BTW, Paul Newman played Paul Newman in this.
appleita This movie is a "bit of fluff" but a very lovely "bit of fluff". The costumes are wonderful and Sophia Loren makes them look even better. Entertaining story told in vignettes about a pretty racy lady who may, or may not, be even racier than intimated. Also, she has a chauffeur to die for. Yum!!!