The L-Shaped Room (1962)

Director:

Bryan Forbes

Writers:

Lynne Reid Banks (novel)
Bryan Forbes (written for the screen by)

Release Date:

20 November 1962 (UK)

Genre:

Drama

Tagline:

"Sex is not a forbidden word!"

Plot:

Jane, a young French woman, pregnant and unmarried, takes a room in a seedy London boarding house, which is inhabited by an assortment of misfits...

Plot Keywords:

Abortion | Pregnant | Hyphen In Title | Black Cat | Expectant Mother

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar. Another 4 wins & 3 nominations

Cast

Leslie Caron	...	Jane Fosset
Anthony Booth	...	Youth in Street
Avis Bunnage	...	Doris
Patricia Phoenix	...	Sonia
Verity Edmett	...	Jane II
Tom Bell	...	Toby
Cicely Courtneidge	...	Mavis
Harry Locke	...	Newsagent
Ellen Dryden	...	Girl in Newsagent's
Emlyn Williams	...	Dr. Weaver
Jennifer White	...	Monica
Brock Peters	...	Johnny
Gerry Duggan	...	Bert
Joan Ingram	...	Woman in Park
Mark Eden	...	Terry
Stanley Morgan	...	Waiter in Club
Gerald Sim	...	Doctor in Hospital
Pamela Sholto	...	Nurse
Ruth Burns	...	Nurse
Diane Clare	...	Nurse
Arthur White	...	Milkman
Bernard Lee	...	Charlie
Nanette Newman	...	Girl at End
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Kay Walsh	...	Prostitute (uncredited)

Directed by
Bryan Forbes

Writing credits
Lynne Reid Banks		(novel)
Bryan Forbes		(written for the screen by)

Produced by
Richard Attenborough	....	producer
Jack Rix	....	associate producer
James Woolf	....	producer
John Woolf	....	producer (uncredited)

Cinematography by
Douglas Slocombe		(photographed by)

Film Editing by
Anthony Harvey

Casting by
Jenia Reissar

Art Direction by
Ray Simm

Set Decoration by
Peter James

Costume Design by
Beatrice Dawson

Makeup Department
Harry Frampton	....	makeup artist
Barbara Ritchie	....	hairdresser

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Gerry O'Hara	....	assistant director (as Gerald O'Hara)
John Quested	....	assistant director

Art Department
Martin Atkinson	....	assistant art director
Ted Ambrose	....	draughtsman (uncredited)
Percy Godbold	....	property buyer (uncredited)
Basil Mannin	....	scenic artist (uncredited)

Sound Department
Red Law	....	sound recordist
Terry Rawlings	....	dubbing editor
George Stephenson	....	sound recordist
Jack Davies	....	boom operator (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
Chic Waterson	....	camera operator
Ray Jones	....	grip (uncredited)
Laurie Ridley	....	still photographer (uncredited)

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Laurel Staffell	....	wardrobe
May Walding	....	wardrobe
Ben Foster	....	wardrobe master (uncredited)

Editorial Department
Eunice Mountjoy	....	second assistant editor (uncredited)

Music Department
John Barry	....	composer: jazz sequences
Muir Mathieson	....	conductor
Muir Mathieson	....	music arranger: Brahms
Sidney Margo	....	music contractor (uncredited)

Other crew
Penny Daniels	....	continuity
Ann Skinner	....	production secretary
Arthur Cleaver	....	production accountant (uncredited)
Diana Hawkins	....	publicist (uncredited)
Michael Hyatt	....	film restoration (uncredited)

Production Companies

• British Lion Film Corporation
• Romulus Films

Distributors

• British Lion Film Corporation (1962) (UK) (theatrical)
• Columbia Pictures (1963) (USA) (theatrical)
• Warner Home Video (1989) (UK) (VHS)

Also Known As:

Runtime:

126 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Argentina:13 | Chile:14 | Finland:K-16 | Sweden:15 | UK:X (original rating) | UK:15 (video rating)

Filming Locations:

4 St Luke's Road, Notting Hill, London, England, UK

Company:

British Lion Film Corporation

Trivia:

The Smiths open their album 'The Queen Is Dead' with the scene of the character Mavis leading a chorus of "Take Me Back To Dear Old Blighty."

Goofs:

Continuity: Toby and Jane wait to cross a road as marchers go by. Toby is smoking a fresh cigarette. When they cross, his cigarette is gone and his hand is in his pocket.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Mary Tyler Moore: The Square-Shaped Room (#2.13)" (1971)

Soundtrack:

Take Me Back To Dear Old Blighty

Odd, life-like characters--rich, textured script

The characters in the oddly appealing drama are so deliciously flawed and the texture is so utterly British art. Leslie Caron is underrated as a dramatic actor--having made a name for herself in musicals--but she shines in this one. Her performance is reminiscent of the character she played in "The Subterraneans." She is perfect as the tortured free-spirit who stumbles. Another standout is Brock Peters. You feel the closeness of his room when he is lying in bed, talking to Jane through the wall. In fact, the whole boarding house feels real, seedy and full of dashed hopes. You ache for the pain and loneliness each person on the

house endures--I felt myself like a resident in this menagerie. The direction is taut, spare and real. I would have liked to have learned more about Toby's background, what drove him to this place. But I suppose a good film is supposed to leave a place for the viewers imagination.