Lady L (1965)

Lady L is an elegant, elderly lady who recalls the past loves and lusty adventures she has lived through.

Director:

Peter Ustinov

Writers:

Romain Gary (novel), Peter Ustinov

Stars:

Sophia Loren, Paul Newman, David Niven

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Sophia Loren	...	Lady Louise Lendale / Lady L
Paul Newman	...	Armand Denis
David Niven	...	Dicky, Lord Lendale
Marcel Dalio	...	Sapper (as Dalio)
Cecil Parker	...	Sir Percy
Philippe Noiret	...	Ambroise Gérôme
Jacques Dufilho	...	Bealu
Eugene Deckers	...	Koenigstein
Daniel Emilfork	...	Kobeleff
Hella Petri	...	Madam
Jean Wiener	...	Krajewski
Roger Trapp	...	L'inspecteur de police Dubaron
Jean Rupert
Joe Dassin	...	Un inspecteur de police
Jacques Legras	...	Un inspecteur de police

Storyline

Today Lady Louise Lendale (Sophia Loren) is eighty-years-old and she tells her long time admirer, British poet Sir Percy (Cecil Parker), all about her eventful life. In the beginning, she was a young laundress working in "Le Mouton Bleu", a renowned Paris whorehouse. There, she met Armand (Paul Newman), both a charming man and a bomb-throwing anarchist, and it wasn't long before she became his mistress. One day, while Armand was away in Switzeland, working for a revolutionary movement aiming to murder a Russian Prince, Louise met the second man in her life, a British Lord she soon called Dicky (David Niven). The latter offered to marry her. In exchange, he would save Armand from the police's grip. She accepted on the condition she could still see Armand.

---

Plot Keywords:

anarchist | paris france | foreign language adaptation | love triangle | brothel | 

---

Taglines:

3 great stars get together . . . and make really big things happen to comedy!

---

Genres:

Comedy

---

Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Country:

UK France Italy

Language:

English

Release Date:

17 December 1965 (UK)

Also Known As:

Lady L

Filming Locations:

Fondation Ephrussie de Rothschild, Villa Ile-de-Frances, Cap Ferrat, Alpes-Maritimes, France

Company Credits

Production Co:

Compagnia Cinematografica Champion, Les Films Concordia, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

117 min 109 min (TCM print)

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Ironically, Sir Peter Ustinov later became present at an assassination himself. That of India's Prime Minister Indira Gandhi on October 31, 1984.

---

Quotes

Dicky, Lord Lendale: Louise, the world is not divided into the rich and the poor; it's divided into the helpers and the helped. You and I are both helpers.

---

Crazy Credits

The part of LENDALE CASTLE was played by CASTLE HOWARD, Yorkshire, thanks to the kindness of Mr. George HOWARD.

---

Connections

Featured in Film Preview: Episode #1.2 (1966)

---

Soundtracks

La Marseillaise
(uncredited)
Music and Words by Claude Joseph Rouget de Lisle

User Reviews

S is for Sophia, L is for Lady.

Shortly after winning her 1961 Oscar for her harrowing portrayal of a woman struggling to protect her daughter from the ravages of war-torn occupied Italy during the Second World War (some closest to Loren insist the film is semi-autobiographical) in "Two Women", Loren ably demonstrated to the critics of the world that she could not only handsomely dress a set but could be a force to reckon with as a serious actress. That being said, she was off to the races, figuratively speaking, selecting her next projects, again, "ably" assisted by her producer husband Carlo Ponti ("Doctor Zhivago"). It's not too surprising that she would choose a film in a lighter more comedic vein, for, just as every comic longs to play Shakespeare, every serious actor enjoys slipping on a banana peel every now and then. The ever versatile Peter Ustinov (two time Oscar winner, "Spartacus", "Topkapi") wrote and directed, adapting Romain Gary's novel to the screen with characteristic flare and panache, and, has a minor stint in the film as a befuddled crowned head of some remote principality or other, the target of a would-be assassin's bullet that of her anarchist husband Paul Newman (also, an Oscar winner, "The Color of Money"), and, wooed and romanced by her all too understanding entitled affluent husband (yep, you guessed it, yet another Oscar winner, "Separate Tables") David Niven. Personally, I'm a sucker for sumptuous elegant films and "Lady L" is mounted on fairly lavish scale, albeit, those exteriors and interiors which were obviously filmed on locations elsewhere, as well as, period costumes which are both stunning and ravishing to gawk at especially as worn by the curvaceous Loren.