The Lonely Lady (1983)

User Rating:

2.6/10   

Director:

Peter Sasdy

Writers:

Harold Robbins (novel)
Ellen Shepard (adaptation)
(more)

Release Date:

30 September 1983 (USA)

Genre:

Drama

Tagline:

From the sensual world of Harold Robbins comes the story of a woman's struggle for fame in Hollywood.

Plot:

A young screenwriter allows others to exploit her in the hopes of "making it" in Hollywood.

Plot Keywords:

Screenwriter | Screenplay | Hollywood | Writer | Party

Awards:

6 wins & 7 nominations

Cast

Pia Zadora	...	Jerilee Randall
Lloyd Bochner	...	Walter Thornton
Bibi Besch	...	Veronica Randall
Joseph Cali	...	Vincent Dacosta
Anthony Holland	...	Guy Jackson
Jared Martin	...	George Ballantine
Ray Liotta	...	Joe Heron
Carla Romanelli	...	Carla Maria Peroni
Olivier Pierre	...	George Fox
Kendal Kaldwell	...	Joanne Castel
Lou Hirsch	...	Bernie
Kerry Shale	...	Walt Thornton Jnr
Sandra Dickinson	...	Nancy Day
Shane Rimmer	...	Adolph Fannon
Nancy Wood	...	Janie
Ed Bishop	...	Dr. Baker
Gianni Rizzo	...	Gino Paoluzzi (as Giovanni Rizzo)
Mickey Knox	...	Tom Castel
Kenneth Nelson	...	Bud Weston
Jay Benedict	...	Dr. Sloan
Robyn Mandell	...	Kim
Cicely Browne	...	Mrs. Stone (as Cecily Browne Laird)
Billy J. Mitchell	...	Gross
Glory Annen	...	Marion
Harrison Muller Jr.	...	Martin
David Mills	...	Kirk Anderson
Mary D'Antin	...	Margaret Ballantine
Carolyn De Fonseca	...	Joanna Smythe
Cyrus Elias	...	Nick Rossi
Kieran Canter	...	Gary James
Joe Murphy	...	John Casey
Beverly Skelton	...	Stacey Ryan
Melissa Corkel	...	Helen
Daphna Kastner	...	Annette
Cindy Leadbetter	...	Carol
Richard McNamara	...	Kick's Host (as Richard MacNamara)
Edward Mannix	...	Awards MC
Kate Harper	...	Actress in Film
Colette Hiller	...	Actress in Restaurant
Mario Viggiano	...	Actor in Restaurant
Russel Case	...	1st Man in Restaurant
Maurizio Fardo	...	2nd Man in Restaurant
Lee De Barriault	...	Agent's Receptionist
Eve Slatner	...	Nurse Receptionist
Ted Rusoff	...	Preacher (as Ted Russov)
Dino Scandiuzzi	...	Maitre D'
Ian Danby	...	Man in Kicks (as John Danby)
Adele Miller
Jason Klassi
Jack Gilling
Leslie Rothwell
Craig Kelly
Van Earl Patterson
Richard Oneto
John E. Gartmann
David Traylor		(as D. Zed)
Eleonor J. McDonald
Denise Elland
Susan Telford
Antonio Maimone
Achille Brugnini		(as Achille Brunini)
Persiano Pasquale
Lisa Treadway
Robert Sommer
Victoria Zinny
Philomena Lonergan

Directed by
Peter Sasdy

Writing credits
Harold Robbins		(novel)
Ellen Shepard		(adaptation)
John Kershaw		(writer) &
Shawn Randall		(writer)

Produced by
Tino Barzie	....	associate producer
Robert R. Weston	....	producer

Original Music by
Charlie Calello

Cinematography by
Brian West

Film Editing by
Keith Palmer

Production Design by
Enzo Bulgarelli

Art Direction by
Adriana Bellone
Luciano Spadoni

Costume Design by
Giorgio Desideri

Makeup Department
Rino Carboni	....	makeup artist: Pia Zadora
Ennio Cascioli	....	hair stylist
Iole Cecchini	....	hair stylist
Corrado Cristofori	....	hair stylist: Pia Zadora
Bette Iverson	....	hair stylist: second unit
Luigi Rocchetti	....	makeup artist
Ray Sebastian	....	makeup artist: second unit
Gabriella Trani	....	makeup artist

Production Management
Giuseppe Auriemma	....	production manager
Sanford Hampton	....	unit production manager
Jefferson Richard	....	production manager: second unit
Gianni Sarago	....	production supervisor

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Jacques De Longeville	....	second assistant director
George 'Buck' Flower	....	assistant director: second unit (as Buck Flower)
Gerald Morin	....	first assistant director
Gil Rossellini	....	second assistant director

Art Department
Fabrizio Alvaro	....	set dresser
Carlo Cascioli	....	property master
Mario Gentilini	....	property master
Luigi Marchione	....	set dresser
Luigi Sergianni	....	set constructor

Sound Department
Michael Crouch	....	dubbing editor
Claude Hitchcock	....	sound engineer
Gerry Humphreys	....	dubbing mixer
Giulio Viggiani	....	boom operator

Camera and Electrical Department
Alberto Altibrandi	....	gaffer
Deborah Imogen Beer	....	still photographer
Brad Bush	....	camera operator: second unit
Maurizio Calvesi	....	assistant camera
Fabio Conversi	....	assistant camera
Trevor Coop	....	camera operator
Michael Mileham	....	director of photography: second unit
Agostino Pascarella	....	key grip
Morgan Renard	....	still photographer
Franco Vitale	....	still photographer
Ronald Woodward	....	key grip: second unit
Romolo Eucalitto	....	still photographer (uncredited)

Casting Department
Phyllis Kasha	....	casting: New York
Rose Tobias Shaw	....	casting: London

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Bianca Erba	....	seamstress
Luciana Mancini	....	seamstress: Pia Zadora
Adalgisa Mosca	....	wardrobe assistant
Mary Lou Reinbold	....	wardrobe: second unit
Alberto Tosto	....	wardrobe master

Editorial Department
Giorgio De Vincenzo	....	assistant editor
Len Tremble	....	assistant editor
Giorgio Venturoli	....	assistant editor

Music Department
Ira Hearshen	....	orchestrator

Other crew
David Amiri	....	financial coordinator
Rosalba Di Bartolo Tonti	....	production secretary
Lyda Garozzo	....	accounting secretary
Marco Giannoni	....	production assistant
Leila Kirkpatrick	....	secretary to director: London
Lynn J. Lewin	....	assistant to producer
Dorina Mari	....	cashier
Marion Mertes	....	continuity
Chuck Painter	....	unit publicist
Gina Pietralunga	....	secretary to director: Rome
Claudio Sabatilli	....	cashier
Gregory Kent Simmons	....	production assistant: second unit
Pippo Spoletini	....	crowd marshall
Stefano Trani	....	production assistant

Production Companies

• Harold Robbins International Company
• KGA
• Universal Pictures

Distributors

• National Broadcasting Company (NBC) (1987) (USA) (TV) (broadcast premiere)
• Universal Pictures (1983) (USA) (theatrical)

Other Companies

• GSE  titles and opticals
• Scotti Brothers  music coordination
• Studios CTS  music recording

Also Known As:

Harold Robbins' The Lonely Lady (USA) (complete title)

Runtime:

92 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Iceland:14 | USA:R | Australia:M

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Harold Robbins International Company

Trivia:

This film is listed among the Top Ten Best Bad Films ever made in Golden Raspberry Award founder John Wilson's book THE OFFICIAL RAZZIE MOVIE GUIDE.

Quotes:

Jerilee: [reading a review] : 'Sensitive and perceptive stories which vividly demonstrate the inadequacy of liberal values in the face of evil.' What does that mean, Walter?
Walter: It means your stories vividly demonstrate the inadequacy of liberal values in the face of evil!

Movie Connections:

References Reds (1981)

Soundtrack:

THE FANATIC

Absolute zero

Immediately after renting and watching this movie several years ago, a friend and I decided that it defined the absolute zero on the movie scale. There was nothing about the movie that could have been done worse than it was. To this day we still rate movies, even very bad ones, by how much better than "The Lonely Lady" they are.

A long time ago I saw an interview with Eleanor Perry, who wrote the screenplays for, among other things, "Last Summer" and "Diary of a Mad Housewife," and she related that she had been asked to write a screenplay for the Harold Robbins' book "The Lonely Lady." She said that she sent in a treatment and it was rejected because they didn't think she understood the difficulties of a female screenwriter in Hollywood. She then said "I think they got someone else to write it." The interview was filmed before the movie was released. She died in 1981, and I bet the first thing she did on arrival in heaven was personally thank God for saving her from involvement in the result.