Woman of Summer (1963)
"The Stripper" (original title)

Lila Green is an insecure and aging showgirl for Madame Olga's stage shows. When her boyfriend, Rick, runs off with the shows money, Madame Olga and Ronny let Lila go. Lila goes to stay ... See full summary »

Director:

Franklin J. Schaffner

Writers:

William Inge (play), Meade Roberts

Stars:

Joanne Woodward, Richard Beymer, Claire Trevor

Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview:
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

Storyline

Lila Green is an insecure and aging showgirl for Madame Olga's stage shows. When her boyfriend, Rick, runs off with the shows money, Madame Olga and Ronny let Lila go. Lila goes to stay with her old neighbours, Helen Bard and her teenage son, Kenny. Lila decides to go out and get a regular job and try and live a normal life. All seem well until, Lila and Kenny stop fighting their attraction for one another.

---

Plot Keywords:

theatrical manager | sexuality | coming of age | teenage boy | love | 

---

Taglines:

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

---

Genres:

Drama | Romance

---

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

14 June 1963 (West Germany)

Also Known As:

A Woman in July

Company Credits

Production Co:

Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation

Technical Specs

Runtime:

95 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

'Pat Boone' reportedly rejected the lead on moral grounds.

---

Quotes

Kenny: Hey Lila! When I was a kid, did you used to kiss me goodnight?
Lila Green: You're not a kid anymore.
Kenny: You kissed me last night.
Lila Green: Like I was your big sister!

---

Connections

Referenced in American Pickers: Fill'er Up (2010)

---

Soundtracks

"Something's Gotta Give"
Sung by Joanne Woodward

User Reviews

Misleading title, miscast Woodward

William Inge play "A Loss of Roses", originally written with Marilyn Monroe in mind, becomes showy dramatic vehicle for Joanne Woodward playing Lila Green, low-rent actress passing through her hometown in Kansas, ditched by her manager and boarding with an old girlfriend and her teenage son. The screenplay is entirely too straightforward, too rounded off; it should be more mercurial, mysterious, but instead it's routine soapy business. The character of Lila is an unconvincing creation: full of stories of users and hangers-on, she's a dreamer at the dead-end, hopeful but pathetic. Lila has been divorced, yet she's a little naive around men--it's never established how much of a tramp she is or where her reputation stands (as shown, she's more smoke than fire, more sad than sex-driven). It's to Woodward's credit the film is still quite interesting, yet the actress is too innately refined to be convincing as a kittenish tart. She is entirely serviceable, yet one can only watch and think what a more appropriate actress might have done with this material, weak as it is. This is one cleaned-up "Stripper" (awful title!), a film which never sinks to the sordid levels depicted, but remains a tidy middle-of-the-road tale. **1/2 from ****