The Notorious Landlady (1962)

An American junior diplomat in London rents a house from, and falls in love with, a woman suspected of murder.

Director:

Richard Quine

Writers:

Larry Gelbart (screenplay), Blake Edwards (screenplay),

Stars:

Kim Novak, Jack Lemmon, Fred Astaire

1 nomination.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Kim Novak	...	Mrs. Carlyle 'Carly' Hardwicke
Jack Lemmon	...	William 'Bill' Gridley
Fred Astaire	...	Franklyn Ambruster
Lionel Jeffries	...	Inspector Oliphant
Estelle Winwood	...	Mrs. Dunhill
Maxwell Reed	...	Miles Hardwicke
Philippa Bevans	...	Mrs. Agatha Brown
Henry Daniell	...	Stranger
Ronald Long	...	Coroner
Richard Peel	...	Police Sgt. Dillings
Doris Lloyd	...	Lady Fallott

Storyline

When William Gridley arrives from the US in London, he rents part of Carly Hardwicke's house from her and promptly begins to fall in love. Gridley doesn't know that many people think she killed her husband but his boss, the American ambassador, knows and doesn't take this "lapse of judgement" lightly. Since Carly is also American, Gridley saves his job by introducing her to the ambassador, who is promptly smitten and promises to help her. So when a Scotland Yard detective arrives, wanting to get to the truth one way or another, they say they'll help him. And then the comedic complications really begin.

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Plot Keywords:

diplomat | murder suspect | rolls royce | landlady | misunderstanding | 

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Taglines:

Did she...or did she?

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Genres:

Comedy | Mystery

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

April 1962 (Austria)

Also Known As:

Noch Zimmer frei

Company Credits

Production Co:

Columbia Pictures Corporation

Technical Specs

Runtime:

123 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound Recording)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Carter DeHaven's last film to work on.

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Quotes

Franklyn Ambruster: You're at a level where you can only afford one mistake. The higher up you go, the more mistakes you're allowed. Right at the top, if you make enough of them, it's considered to be your style.

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Connections

Referenced in My Favorite Martian: Our Notorious Landlady (1966)

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Soundtracks

"I Am the Very Model of a Modern Major General"
(uncredited)
from "The Pirates of Penzance"
Music by Arthur Sullivan
Played by band at Wessex Hotel

User Reviews

Brief description of film

Pleasant mystery/comedy with a young energetic Jack Lemmon and an attractive Kim Novak developing a love interest (as expected) while trying to solve the problem of the apparent murder of her husband. Some intriguing plot twists and surprising jumps. Light film provides a nice diversion for an hour and a half especially with the presence of Fred Astaire and Lionel Jefferies.

Unfortunately it does not appear to be available on video tape at the present time.