Madame X (1966)

Director:

David Lowell Rich

Writers:

Jean Holloway (screenplay)
Alexandre Bisson (play)

Release Date:

3 March 1966 (USA)

Genre:

Drama

Tagline:

BROUGHT TO LIFE WITH ALL ITS SEX AND DRAMA!

Plot:

A woman married to a wealthy socialite, is compromised by the accidental death of a man who had been romantically pursuing her...

Plot Keywords:

Murder | Socialite | Mother In Law | Accidental Death | Trial

Awards:

1 win & 1 nomination

Cast

Lana Turner	...	Holly Parker
John Forsythe	...	Clay Anderson
Ricardo Montalban	...	Phil Benton
Burgess Meredith	...	Dan Sullivan
John Van Dreelen	...	Christian Torben
Virginia Grey	...	Mimsy
Warren Stevens	...	Michael Spalding
Carl Benton Reid	...	The Judge
Teddy Quinn	...	Clay Anderson Jr. as a Boy
Frank Maxwell	...	Dr. Evans
Kaaren Verne	...	Nurse Riborg (as Karen Verne)
Joe De Santis	...	Carter (as Joe DeSantis)
Frank Marth	...	Det. Combs
Bing Russell	...	Police Sgt. Riley
Teno Pollick	...	Manuel Lopez
Jeff Burton	...	Bromley
Jill Jackson	...	Police Matron
Constance Bennett	...	Estelle
Keir Dullea	...	Clay Anderson Jr.
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Paul Bradley	...	Nightclub Patron (uncredited)
Mathilda Calnan	...	The French Beautician (uncredited)
George Dega	...	Man (uncredited)
Neil Hamilton	...	Scott Lewis (uncredited)
Byrd Holland	...	Cronyn (uncredited)
Rodolfo Hoyos Jr.	...	Patrone (uncredited)
Brad Logan	...	Merchant Marine Sailor (uncredited)
Duncan McCleod	...	Official (uncredited)
Mark Miranda	...	Mexican Boy (uncredited)
Ruben Moreno	...	Man (uncredited)
Kris Tel	...	Danish Woman (uncredited)
Richard Tretter	...	Merchant Marine Sailor (uncredited)

Directed by
David Lowell Rich

Writing credits
Jean Holloway		(screenplay)
Alexandre Bisson		(play)

Produced by
Ross Hunter	....	producer

Original Music by
Frank Skinner

Cinematography by
Russell Metty		(director of photography)

Film Editing by
Milton Carruth

Art Direction by
Alexander Golitzen
George C. Webb		(as George Webb)

Set Decoration by
Howard Bristol
John McCarthy Jr.		(uncredited)

Costume Design by
Jean Louis		(gowns designed by)

Makeup Department
Larry Germain	....	hair stylist
Bud Westmore	....	makeup artist
Del Armstrong	....	makeup artist: Ms. Turner (uncredited)
Mary Hadley	....	makeup artist (uncredited)
Kay Reed	....	hair stylist (uncredited)
Thomas Tuttle	....	makeup artist (uncredited)
Helen Young	....	hair stylist (uncredited)

Production Management
John Morrison	....	unit production manager
Edward Muhl	....	in charge of production

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Douglas Green	....	assistant director
Charles R. Scott Jr.	....	assistant director (uncredited)

Art Department
Charles Chrisman	....	props (uncredited)
Anthony Lombardo	....	props (uncredited)
Gerald MacDonald	....	set coordinator (uncredited)

Sound Department
Clarence Self	....	sound
Waldon O. Watson	....	sound
Chic Borland	....	sound (uncredited)
Donald Cunliffe	....	sound (uncredited)
Victor Goode	....	sound (uncredited)

Special Effects by
Walter Hammond	....	special effects (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
Charles Cowie	....	grip (uncredited)
Ledge Haddow	....	assistant camera (uncredited)
Max Nippell	....	gaffer (uncredited)
Eddie Pyle	....	camera operator (uncredited)
Kenneth Smith	....	grip (uncredited)
Al St. Hilaire	....	still photographer (uncredited)

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Kathleen McCandless	....	wardrobe (uncredited)

Editorial Department
Richard Bracken	....	assistant editor (uncredited)

Music Department
Joseph Gershenson	....	music supervisor

Other crew
Betty A. Griffin	....	dialogue coach (as Betty Abbott)
Ben Kahn	....	furs
David Webb	....	jewels
Wayne Fitzgerald	....	title designer (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Universal Pictures (as A Universal® Picture)
• Ross Hunter Productions (presents) (as Ross Hunter Productions, Inc.)
• Eltee

Distributors

• Universal Pictures (1966) (USA) (theatrical)
• Universal (1966) (France) (theatrical) (as Universal Film Inc.)
• National Broadcasting Company (NBC) (1968) (USA) (TV)
• MCA Home Video (1985) (USA) (VHS)
• Universal Filmverleih (1966) (West Germany) (theatrical)
• MCA/Universal Home Video (????) (USA) (VHS)
• Universal Studios Home Entertainment (2008) (USA) (DVD)
• Universal Studios Home Video (2008) (Canada) (DVD) (2 film set)

Also Known As:

Runtime:

100 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Spanish | German

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Certification:

Finland:K-16 | Sweden:15 | West Germany:16 | UK:A (original rating) | USA:Approved | Australia:PG

Filming Locations:

Playboy Mansion - 10236 Charing Cross Road, Holmby Hills, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Universal Pictures

Trivia:

The exteriors of the Anderson estate were filmed at 10236 Charing Cross Road, Los Angeles, California. Six years later this mansion would become famous as The Playboy Mansion, though at that time it was owned by an engineer named Louis Statham.

Goofs:

Factual errors: Although the movie covers a 25-30 year span ending in the mid-Sixties, all of the women are dressed and coiffed in the height of mid-sixties fashions in scenes set in the late thirties/early forties.

Quotes:

Clayton 'Clay' Anderson:[to his mother while decorating Christmas tree] Mother, there aren't enough icicles on your side.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Primetime Glick: Bill Maher/Steve Martin (#1.1)" (2001)

Soundtrack:

Swedish Rhapsody

old melodrama gets gloss treatment at the hands of Ross Hunter

The old chestnut "Madame X" has had something like 9 screen versions, not to mention a play and the book. There's an occasional change here and there but the plot remains basically the same: A young woman is thrown out of her home and separated from her child. She hits the skids, and 20 years later, the child defends her on a murder charge.

So goes this version of "Madame X" as well, with a nice roster of stars: Lana Turner, Keir Dullea, John Forsythe, Ricardo Montalban, Constance Bennett, and Burgess Meredith. Turner is the unfortunate woman, happily married to Clayton Anderson (John Forsythe) a man with a good political future, and she's the mother of a young son. But the marriage becomes strained when Clayton is away too much, and Holly starts fooling around. When her husband comes home and she realizes how much she loves him, she tries to break it off with a roué (Ricardo Montalban). During an argument, he falls down the stairs to his death. Holly's mother-in-law, played by Constance Bennett, arranges for her to disappear with a new identity. In Europe, Holly meets a wealthy musician who falls in love with her, but she runs out on him - a big mistake - and ends up turning to alcohol and easy sex. When she murders a blackmailer (Meredith) who is going to tell her son who she is, she ends up on trial - defended by her son.

Well, the pot doesn't boil any better than this, and Hunter gives it a big, expensive production and sets Lana Turner loose in what is probably her best performance. Although the age/dissipation makeup is a little over the top, Turner gives the degenerate Holly a great, hard edge and a lot of frailty. It's a nice juxtaposition to the earlier sweetness and buoyancy of her character. Turner was one of those movie stars whose beauty, glamor, and private life often had critics not paying much attention to her performances, but she gave some good ones nonetheless. The other standout in the cast is Bennett, who's as slender as she was in the '30s and a lot tougher. Her voice has dropped a couple of octaves and her hair is a strange brown (this was perhaps in deference to the blond Lana). Toward the end of the film, she gets white hair softly styled and looks beautiful - even with the age makeup that needed to be added to the 60-year-old. The role of Forsythe's manipulative, protective mother is perfect for her -- a fitting last film for one of the great and prolific stars of the 1930s. She died before the film was released. Keir Dullea is appealing as the son, and Forsythe is pleasant though he doesn't have a huge role.

Try as they might, Madame X is from another time and by 1966 just wasn't great movie material. It is however, entertaining and engrossing. The most jaded person can't help but to be moved by the ending, though you may hate yourself for it.