IMDb > The Legend of Lylah Clare (1968)

The Legend of Lylah Clare (1968) More at IMDbPro »

Overview

User Rating:
5.9/10   349 votes
MOVIEmeter: ?
Down 19% in popularity this week. See why on IMDbPro.
Director:
Robert Aldrich
Writers:
Hugo Butler (writer)
Edward DeBlasio (writer)
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Contact:
View company contact information for The Legend of Lylah Clare on IMDbPro.
Release Date:
15 November 1968 (West Germany) more
Genre:
Drama more
Tagline:
OVERNIGHT A STAR...OVER MANY NIGHTS A WOMAN! more
Plot:
A dictatorial film director (Finch) hires an unknown actress (Novak) to play the lead role in a planned movie biography of a late, great Hollywood star. full summary | add synopsis
Plot Keywords:
more
User Comments:
A carousel of deluded souls more (14 total)

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)

Kim Novak ... Lylah Clare / Elsa Brinkmann / Elsa Campbell

Peter Finch ... Lewis Zarken aka Louie Flack

Ernest Borgnine ... Barney Sheean
Milton Selzer ... Bart Langner
Rossella Falk ... Rossella
Gabriele Tinti ... Paolo
Valentina Cortese ... Countess Bozo Bedoni
Jean Carroll ... Becky Langner

Michael Murphy ... Mark Peter Sheean

Lee Meriwether ... Young girl
James Lanphier ... Legman #1
Robert Ellenstein ... Mike
Nick Dennis ... Nick
Dave Willock ... Cameraman
Coral Browne ... Molly Luther
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Additional Details

Parents Guide:
Add content advisory for parents
Runtime:
130 min
Country:
USA
Language:
English
Color:
Color (Metrocolor)
Sound Mix:
Mono
Certification:
West Germany:16 (f) | Finland:K-16 | Sweden:15 | USA:Approved | USA:R
Filming Locations:
Grauman's Chinese Theater - 6925 Hollywood Blvd., Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA more
Company:
Associates & Aldrich Company, The more

Fun Stuff

Trivia:
When Kim Novak walks along Hollywood Blvd, a theater she passes by is playing The Dirty Dozen (1967), a film Robert Aldrich made a year earlier, and whose commercial success made it possible for the director to start his own production company and make movies like this. more
Quotes:
Lewis Zarken: Don't forget the Tibetan yak. more
Movie Connections:
Referenced in Midnight Cowboy (1969) more
Soundtrack:
Lylah more

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User Comments

   (Comment on this title)
11 out of 13 people found the following comment useful.
A carousel of deluded souls, 10 August 2001
5/10
Author: moonspinner55 from redlands, ca

Another piece of yesterday from Robert Aldrich, filthied-up through his askewed, slightly campy/slightly too-serious vision. We never know where we sit with an Aldrich movie--he enjoys setting up a comfortable scenario, then wickedly pulls the rug out from under his audience. He exposes all the weaknesses of Kim Novak as an actress, brutally letting the puckered blonde look silly (at her expense) and without ever giving her a fair shot at a meaty scene. The opening moments, with Kim (in a mousy wig) surrounded by movie magazines in a dingy Hollywood apartment, are richly evocative. Turns out Novak resembles a long-deceased movie queen and is tapped to star in a picture of the actress' life--to be directed by the woman's real-life husband! Bits of satire, supernatural elements, and symbolism muddy up this stew--but I admit to being engrossed by it all. Peter Finch, as always, is worth watching, and Novak's mere presence is tantalizing (even if her acting is not). DeVol's background score is lush, and I loved some of the set-pieces and overwrought melodrama. As for the ending, I would have a tough time explaining it to anyone, except to say that it is Aldrich's stamp as a director to go over-the-top. Here, he goes a little bit over-the-edge as well. ** from ****

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