The Stripper (1963)

User Rating:

6.9/10   

Director:

Franklin J. Schaffner

Writers:

William Inge (play)
Meade Roberts (writer)

Release Date:

14 June 1963 (West Germany)

Genre:

Drama | Romance

Tagline:

The story of a girl...And the Men who led her to become "The Stripper"

Plot:

Lila Green is an insecure and aging showgirl for Madame Olga's stage shows. When her boyfriend, Rick...

Plot Keywords:

Teenager | Coming Of Age | Love | Beautiful Woman | Small Town Life

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar. Another 1 nomination

Cast

Joanne Woodward	...	Lila Green
Richard Beymer	...	Kenny Baird
Claire Trevor	...	Helen Baird
Carol Lynley	...	Miriam Caswell
Robert Webber	...	Ricky Powers
Louis Nye	...	Ronnie Cavendish
Gypsy Rose Lee	...	Madame Olga
Michael J. Pollard	...	Jelly
Sondra Blake	...	Edwina
Susan Brown	...	Mrs. Mulvaney
Marlene De Lamater	...	Sandra Mulvaney
Gary Pagett	...	Dizzy
Ralph Lee	...	Sonny
Bing Russell	...	Mr. Mulvaney

Also Known As:

A Woman in July (USA) (working title)
A Woman of July (USA) (pre-release title)
Celebration (USA) (working title)
Woman of Summer (UK)

Runtime:

95 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Certification:

Finland:K-12 | Sweden:15 | West Germany:16 (f)

Company:

Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation

Trivia:

The role of Lila, washed-up showgirl of the title, was originally intended for Marilyn Monroe, who was replaced by Joanne Woodward upon Marilyn's death. The ironic opening sequence (undoubtedly rewritten after Miss Monroe's death) has the bleached blonde title character, upon her arrival in Hollywood, being mistaken for Jayne Mansfield by a tourist.

Quotes:

Lila Green: I don't need you, Ricky, because someone has just shown me that he cares enough about me to make me care about myself. I've got me and me can take me wherever me wants to go!

Soundtrack:

Something's Gotta Give

Growing up

The Woodward/Beymer team does not work very well because there are only eight years between them whereas the writers wanted us to believe that she could be his mother.Woodward plays some kind of Blanche Du Bois (a woman with a racy past) wearing an awful Monroe-like wig.They say that the movie was "remade" by the producer: the scenes Kenny/Miriam were imposed on Schaffner whereas the suicide of Lila was ruled out .

It's not uninteresting though.Both Kenny and Lila are immature adults.His mother treats him like a kid -a handsome boy she is proud of ,but still a kid: do not forget your coat,you could catch a cold! - whereas Lila really strips bare -more than she will do later- in the marvelous scene in the old school when she talked about her first day in first grade.Woodward is so talented an actress we see the whole scene without any flashback.