I think the word to describe it is "unbelievable". Peter Finch is in it, an actor known for being rather picky. He was to win an Oscar for "Network" I wonder what this movie looked on paper. Robert Aldrich won his dues with films like "Attack", "The Big Knife" even "Whatever Happened To Baby Jane" another camp fest but with a brain and a real intention. Here, everything is in top gear without ever really moving. In short, a mystery. Poor Kim Novak. Even her make-up doesn't make any sense. Pale lips. It's pointless for me to go on, you have to see it. I had the chance, thanks to Turner Classic Movies. Kim Novak's character seems to be possessed by the spirit of Lylah Clare, the doomed star she's suppose to to play in a preposterous movie about her life. When she is under the influence of the spirit, she laughs and talks with the grave tones of a hybrid, part Lotte Lenya part Mercedes MacCambridge. Outrageous! Peter Finch playing the director and one of the former Lylah's lovers creates a monster without nuances. His debate with the studio head, played loudly by Ernest Borgnine, about films vs movies seems to be Aldrich's major preoccupation. Valentina Cortese's costume designer is a very brief delight, Rosella Falk's lesbian is in unintentional hoot but the prize goes to Coral Browne, playing a columnist as if she were Catherine The Great and with a wooden leg. I swear I'm not joking. As yo may very well suspect, I think this is one of the worst films I've ever seen and yes, I had a lot of fun. That's why a 5 out of 10 seem fair to me.
37 Reviews
This thing is a surrealist's dream
AlsExGal5 August 2021
On the surface - a once great and prolific director (Peter Finch) hasn't directed a film in 20 years, ever since his movie star wife died on their wedding day. He decides to get back in the game with a film about his late wife's life when he meets an aspiring actress (Kim Novak) who looks just like her. And no this is not Vertigo, though that word plays into things. And Ellen Corby shows up as a script "girl" in a bit part, and she was also in Vertigo. But James Stewart is definitely not here as this thing veers into David Lynch territory.
Director Aldrich quite deliberately peppers the first third with just enough intriguing moments and plot questions to make it just compelling enough that the viewer will be lured into sticking with it. Then a sort of Stockholm Syndrome sets in, where you know you should turn it off, but you just can't.
Then in the last two thirds, he throws enough crazy, off-the-wall stuff at you, that- in the grand tradition of M. Night Shyamalan- the viewer cannot walk away because you just can't believe that the film is this bad. You keep hanging in there because all of your principles are being challenged. You think they simply can't be going with this story, these performances, this dialogue - it must get better. But it just gets wilder and weirder and with a cast that was in demand at the time. Why did these stars agree to do this? And why is every actress in the film like Natasha from the old Rocky & Bullwinkle show doing a bad Greta Garbo imitation?
And then you end up watching the whole movie because you just want to see how they have the pure, unmitigated gall to end it....and also because there's a slight chance that there's information tacked on after the closing credits regarding how you can become a party in a class-action lawsuit aimed at the people who made it.
But no, the end just makes you realize that a doggie door is a potentially dangerous thing. So in the tradition of 1990's Night Killer, don't watch this looking for a good movie. Watch this for one that from beginning to end is completely messed up but is not boring.
Director Aldrich quite deliberately peppers the first third with just enough intriguing moments and plot questions to make it just compelling enough that the viewer will be lured into sticking with it. Then a sort of Stockholm Syndrome sets in, where you know you should turn it off, but you just can't.
Then in the last two thirds, he throws enough crazy, off-the-wall stuff at you, that- in the grand tradition of M. Night Shyamalan- the viewer cannot walk away because you just can't believe that the film is this bad. You keep hanging in there because all of your principles are being challenged. You think they simply can't be going with this story, these performances, this dialogue - it must get better. But it just gets wilder and weirder and with a cast that was in demand at the time. Why did these stars agree to do this? And why is every actress in the film like Natasha from the old Rocky & Bullwinkle show doing a bad Greta Garbo imitation?
And then you end up watching the whole movie because you just want to see how they have the pure, unmitigated gall to end it....and also because there's a slight chance that there's information tacked on after the closing credits regarding how you can become a party in a class-action lawsuit aimed at the people who made it.
But no, the end just makes you realize that a doggie door is a potentially dangerous thing. So in the tradition of 1990's Night Killer, don't watch this looking for a good movie. Watch this for one that from beginning to end is completely messed up but is not boring.
"Without a director you're just a vulgar little exhibitionist!"
brefane17 August 2005
Warning: Spoilers
"The Legend of Lylah Clare", directed by Robert Aldrich, demonstrates that even with a director it's possible to be a vulgar exhibitionist. Over the top acting is on prominent display in Aldrich's "The Big Knife", Autumn Leaves", "Whatever Happened to Baby Jane", "Hush...Hush, Sweet Charlotte" and "The Grissom Gang". Based on a 1963 teleplay that starred Tuesday Weld, "The Legend of Lylah Clare" was released the same years as "The Killing of Sister George", one of Aldrich's best. "The Legend of Lylah Clare" is over 2 hours long, and it's laborious, but it's a camp classic executed with apparently serious intentions making the results all the more jaw dropping. As his masterpiece Kiss Me, Deadly demonstrated, Aldrich is adept at using the wide-screen and he provides some arresting compositions here. DeVol's music is wonderfully inappropriate, cha! cha! cha!...and the bizarre ending is memorable, a comment perhaps on commercialism and the dog-eat-dog world of Hollywood.
As she did in "Vertigo", Kim Novak plays a dual role, and Lylah suffers from vertigo. Novak somehow manages to give an amusing performance, but as Lylah, she actually looks a little gross in some shots, and I have to agree with the poster who noted her resemblance to Dusty Springfield. As columnist Molly Luther, Coral Browne walks away with the acting honors, though the not-to-be-missed cat fight she and Novak have has no consequence or follow through. As the Svegali director who refuses to learn from the past, Peter Finch appears dazed, and for decadence Hollywood style, he lives with a druggie European lesbian whose Italian-accented Englsh is often incomprehensible. They live in a mansion with a wide staircase that is in serious need of a banister, a handrail or perhaps a diving board. The "girl" who falls off the staircase is former Miss America Lee Meriwether who played "Catwoman" in the movie "Batman"(1966).
The flashbacks on that infamous staircase do not so much contradict one another, as another poster indicated, but each successive version is altered to reveal the truth of what really happened on Lylah's wedding night. The script is a mixture of Vertigo, Baby Jane, Sunset Boulevard, and The Bad and the Beautiful. The supporting cast is inexplicable, the obvious dubbing of Novak is distracting and the animated blood in the flashbacks is ludicrous. MGM attempted to market it as camp. A film like this is difficult to rate on a 1-10 scale because it's so elaborately misconceived that it has to be experienced. Difficult to find, let's hope someone releases it on DVD complete with the back story and the trailer.
As she did in "Vertigo", Kim Novak plays a dual role, and Lylah suffers from vertigo. Novak somehow manages to give an amusing performance, but as Lylah, she actually looks a little gross in some shots, and I have to agree with the poster who noted her resemblance to Dusty Springfield. As columnist Molly Luther, Coral Browne walks away with the acting honors, though the not-to-be-missed cat fight she and Novak have has no consequence or follow through. As the Svegali director who refuses to learn from the past, Peter Finch appears dazed, and for decadence Hollywood style, he lives with a druggie European lesbian whose Italian-accented Englsh is often incomprehensible. They live in a mansion with a wide staircase that is in serious need of a banister, a handrail or perhaps a diving board. The "girl" who falls off the staircase is former Miss America Lee Meriwether who played "Catwoman" in the movie "Batman"(1966).
The flashbacks on that infamous staircase do not so much contradict one another, as another poster indicated, but each successive version is altered to reveal the truth of what really happened on Lylah's wedding night. The script is a mixture of Vertigo, Baby Jane, Sunset Boulevard, and The Bad and the Beautiful. The supporting cast is inexplicable, the obvious dubbing of Novak is distracting and the animated blood in the flashbacks is ludicrous. MGM attempted to market it as camp. A film like this is difficult to rate on a 1-10 scale because it's so elaborately misconceived that it has to be experienced. Difficult to find, let's hope someone releases it on DVD complete with the back story and the trailer.
They Just Don't Make Bad Movies Like This Any More
bababear20 June 2010
Every once in a while Hollywood feels obligated to turn out cautionary tales to encourage young people in Iowa to stay at home instead of hopping a Greyhound to Los Angeles. People ignore them and keep on coming, but it's created a whole sub-genre of films. In a fairly short period of time we had this, VALLEY OF THE DOLLS, and BEYOND THE VALLEY OF THE DOLLS.
The film starts very well: Kim Novak, wearing glasses, walks around Hollywood Boulevard early in the morning. She passes Mann's Chinese Theater, where THE DIRTY DOZEN (director Robert Aldrich's previous film) is playing. Kim plays Elsa, a reserved, somewhat bookish young woman, who resembles Lylah Clare, an actress who died in the late 1940's after marrying Lewis Zarkan, the director who shaped her screen persona and made her a superstar.
An agent has found Elsa and thinks she'd be perfect to play Lylah. Soon the movie spirals into silliness that's fun to watch but not very rewarding.
Elsa changes her last name from Brinkmann to Campbell and work begins to transform her personality so that she can play Lylah in a filmed biography. Imagine putting MY FAIR LADY and VERTIGO in a blender: you'll get some idea what the project is like.
Finally Elsa is ready for her debut to the Hollywood press, especially the much feared gossip columnist Molly Luther- a dynamite performance by Coral Brown, who played the lead in THE KILLING OF SISTER GEORGE for Aldrich the same year.
Elsa descends the stair at Zarken's mansion, her hair and wardrobe perfect. She confronts Molly, and instead of submitting to Molly's questioning she suddenly starts speaking in a guttural voice with a thick German accent and humiliates Molly.
Bear in mind that the film comes from over forty years ago, and gossip columnists did wield tremendous power. Much goes into the buildup for the confrontation, it takes place, and........really, nothing. The story lurches on as if it never happens.
There are good performances here. Novak is looser and more relaxed in front of the camera than I remember ever seeing her. Ernest Borgnine as a hearty vulgarian studio chief, Rossella Falk as a drug addicted lesbian with a peripheral connection to the story (she seems to function with Zarken like a sidekick to a villain on an episode of Batman), and, of course, Coral Brown all gleefully overact so much I wondered if MGM wrote checks to them or vice versa.
The chickens all come home to roost in a circus scene that comes out of absolutely nowhere. There was no reference to any big top films with Lylah, but it does put the characters in place in a setting that possibly reminded someone at MGM of Fellini: the same mistake would be visited upon Robert Altman at the same studio when he made BREWSTER MCCLOUD two years later.
This film seems more antique than many others from the same time period. THE GRADUATE, BONNIE AND CLYDE, YOU'RE A BIG BOY NOW and EASY RIDER feel so much looser, more organic, more like real life caught on film. This feels very much studio bound, and watching it you appreciate the scenes under the opening titles mentioned in the second paragraph for their naturalness.
Case in point: an important scene takes place at the Brown Derby restaurant. The place is packed. During the dialog scenes there's no background noise at all: no conversations, no sound of people moving, no clink of silverware and plate. No ambient noise at all. It's as if the characters had entered a soundproof recording studio and closed the door.
This film takes Robert Aldridge into a dimension he'd never touched on before. He'd made dramas like AUTUMN LEAVES and THE BIG KNIFE, action films like KISS ME DEADLY, TEN SECONDS TO HELL, THE FLIGHT OF THE PHOENIX, and THE DIRTY DOZEN. THE LEGEND OF LYLAH CLARE just doesn't fit in his filmography. Like Mark Robson's VALLEY OF THE DOLLS, this seems to totter toward Camp.
Aldridge is one of the great directors of time, so this is definitely worth watching. And it's certainly not unwatchable: in fact, it's like watching a school bus go over a cliff- it's hard to tear your eyes away. You just can't help wondering if this was what Aldridge really intended it to be.
The film starts very well: Kim Novak, wearing glasses, walks around Hollywood Boulevard early in the morning. She passes Mann's Chinese Theater, where THE DIRTY DOZEN (director Robert Aldrich's previous film) is playing. Kim plays Elsa, a reserved, somewhat bookish young woman, who resembles Lylah Clare, an actress who died in the late 1940's after marrying Lewis Zarkan, the director who shaped her screen persona and made her a superstar.
An agent has found Elsa and thinks she'd be perfect to play Lylah. Soon the movie spirals into silliness that's fun to watch but not very rewarding.
Elsa changes her last name from Brinkmann to Campbell and work begins to transform her personality so that she can play Lylah in a filmed biography. Imagine putting MY FAIR LADY and VERTIGO in a blender: you'll get some idea what the project is like.
Finally Elsa is ready for her debut to the Hollywood press, especially the much feared gossip columnist Molly Luther- a dynamite performance by Coral Brown, who played the lead in THE KILLING OF SISTER GEORGE for Aldrich the same year.
Elsa descends the stair at Zarken's mansion, her hair and wardrobe perfect. She confronts Molly, and instead of submitting to Molly's questioning she suddenly starts speaking in a guttural voice with a thick German accent and humiliates Molly.
Bear in mind that the film comes from over forty years ago, and gossip columnists did wield tremendous power. Much goes into the buildup for the confrontation, it takes place, and........really, nothing. The story lurches on as if it never happens.
There are good performances here. Novak is looser and more relaxed in front of the camera than I remember ever seeing her. Ernest Borgnine as a hearty vulgarian studio chief, Rossella Falk as a drug addicted lesbian with a peripheral connection to the story (she seems to function with Zarken like a sidekick to a villain on an episode of Batman), and, of course, Coral Brown all gleefully overact so much I wondered if MGM wrote checks to them or vice versa.
The chickens all come home to roost in a circus scene that comes out of absolutely nowhere. There was no reference to any big top films with Lylah, but it does put the characters in place in a setting that possibly reminded someone at MGM of Fellini: the same mistake would be visited upon Robert Altman at the same studio when he made BREWSTER MCCLOUD two years later.
This film seems more antique than many others from the same time period. THE GRADUATE, BONNIE AND CLYDE, YOU'RE A BIG BOY NOW and EASY RIDER feel so much looser, more organic, more like real life caught on film. This feels very much studio bound, and watching it you appreciate the scenes under the opening titles mentioned in the second paragraph for their naturalness.
Case in point: an important scene takes place at the Brown Derby restaurant. The place is packed. During the dialog scenes there's no background noise at all: no conversations, no sound of people moving, no clink of silverware and plate. No ambient noise at all. It's as if the characters had entered a soundproof recording studio and closed the door.
This film takes Robert Aldridge into a dimension he'd never touched on before. He'd made dramas like AUTUMN LEAVES and THE BIG KNIFE, action films like KISS ME DEADLY, TEN SECONDS TO HELL, THE FLIGHT OF THE PHOENIX, and THE DIRTY DOZEN. THE LEGEND OF LYLAH CLARE just doesn't fit in his filmography. Like Mark Robson's VALLEY OF THE DOLLS, this seems to totter toward Camp.
Aldridge is one of the great directors of time, so this is definitely worth watching. And it's certainly not unwatchable: in fact, it's like watching a school bus go over a cliff- it's hard to tear your eyes away. You just can't help wondering if this was what Aldridge really intended it to be.
A carousel of deluded souls in lotus land...
moonspinner5510 August 2001
Another piece of yesterday from Robert Aldrich, filthied-up through his askew, slightly campy/slightly serious vision. We never know where we sit with an Aldrich movie; he enjoys setting up a comfortable scenario before wickedly pulling the rug out from under his audience. He also exposes the weaknesses of Kim Novak as an actress, rather cruelly allowing the puckered blonde to look silly (at her expense) and without ever giving her a fair shot at a meaty scene. The opening moments are richly evocative, but they don't last long: Kim (in a mousy brown wig) hangs out in a dingy apartment in Hollywood, surrounded by movie magazines and celebrity biographies. Turns out she resembles a long-deceased movie queen named Lylah Clare and is quickly tapped to star in a picture of the actress' doomed life--to be directed by Lylah's widower husband! Bits of satire, supernatural elements, trendy lesbianism and symbolism muddy up this potboiler, which is almost always overwrought but never boring. Peter Finch and Coral Browne are worth watching, and Novak's mere presence is tantalizing (even if her acting is not). Frank De Vol's background score is lush, and the finale is interesting if a tiny bit inscrutable. It is Aldrich's stamp as a filmmaker to go over-the-top; here, he goes over-the-edge as well. **1/2 from ****
The Legend Of Kim Novak
arichmondfwc7 August 2017
Well yes, it's compelling viewing in spite of, everything. So overwrought it's jarring and at the center of it all, Kim Novak. The swan of Picnic. James Stewart's obsession in Vertigo. She appears in The Legend Of Lylah Clare, but she's not really in it. Distant, cold, awkward. Pale, almost white lipstick. She has a death scene for goodness sake! It reminded me of that death that Goldie Hawn plays again and again in "Death Becomes Her", she watches it on TV as her arch rival, Meryl Streep, brilliantly plays an actress without talent - dies again and again strangled by Michael Caine. Meryl's Madeline Ashton even licks her lips before her death - Well, Kim Novak's Elsa Campbell/Lylah Clare doesn't lick her lips but almost.Peter Finch is the leading man. Peter Finch! Howard Beale in "Network" His dialogue here is not by Paddy Chayefsky, no, not by a long shot. Hysterically funny I must admit, specially because of the seriousness of the delivery. Then, surprise surprise a few genuine delights, Coral Browne plays a columnist with a wooden leg, Rosella Falk, a talkative lesbian and the glorious Valentina Cortese plays a costume designer. As I'm writing about it I feel an urge to see it again to make sure I didn't imagine the whole thing.
too competent to be camp
thomandybish16 August 2001
THE LEGEND OF LYLAH CLARE looks initially like some sort of camp classic. Don't expect a companion piece to VALLEY OF THE DOLLS, however. Kim Novak plays a mousy aspiring actress picked to portray Lylah Clare, a Marlene Dietrich/Greta Garbo-type screen goddess from Hollywood's golden era who died tragically 30 years before, in a screen version of her life. Under the tutelage of Peter Finch, Lylah's director and husband, Novak is transformed physically and psychologically into the screen star. Along the way, we're treated to three different versions of Lylah's death(kitschy flashbacks in watery black and white framed with lurid red borders, with Novak's close-up in the corner of the screen), a great bitch-out scene between Novak as Lylah and a crippled gossip-columnist hag based on Louella Parsons, a lesbian drama coach, and Novak spouting dubbed, throaty, German-accented dialogue. The make-up job on Novak to make her look like Lylah really doesn't reflect 1930s movie glamour; with her teased and bleached bob, frosted pink lips, and inch-thick eyeliner, she looks more like Dusty Springfield than Jean Harlow. Despite all this, the film isn't some out-of-control camp fest. Really. No scenery chomping, bad dubbed singing sequences, emotional breakdowns, down-and-dirty catfights, or the like. The only fault with a performance might be with Novak during her fits when she impersonates Lylah, throwing her head back to laugh maniacally in that throaty, faux-Garbo accent. Still, its the only real fault in an otherwise competent film. Aldrich is hardly subtle with his digs at the Hollywood system and corruption, but they come out during the course of his characters' conversations and aren't sensationalized. Too many good performances and sympathetic characters to keep it from being an all-out guilty pleasure, but still engaging
Kim Novak's Star Turn
AndersonWhitbeck9 September 2007
Kim Novak was a real Movie Star with hits such as "Picnic" "Pal Joey" "Bell Book and Candle" "Man With The Golden Arm" " Middle Of The Night", "Strangers When We Meet" and Alfred Hitchcok's masterpiece "Vertigo". After leaving Columbia Kim was offered and passed on "Breakfast At Tiffany's", "Days Of Wine and Roses", "The Hustler" and one that was created especially for her "The Sandpiper" Kim Novak made a few films in a row: "Boys Night Out" at MGM with James Garner, Billy Wilder's "Kiss Me Stupid" with Dean Martin at UA, the very fine remake of "Of Human Bondage" at MGM and Terence Young's frisky "Moll Flanders" at Paramount and was filming "Day of the Arrow" with David Niven for MGM and Filmways and fell of a horse, was injured, and had to leave that picture. Kim Novak then off the screen for 3 years in the mid-60'searching for a great return project thought she found one in a major MGM production as star and title character in "The Legend of Lylah Clare" directed by Robert Aldrich who had just had a sensational hit in MGM's "The Dirty Dozen". The combination of Robert Adrich, the gloss of an MGM super production, and the box office bonanza known as Kim Novak and a superb cast should have produced a major hit movie which sadly was a major failure.
Kim Novak headlines a great cast of two Oscar winners Peter Finch and Ernest Borgnine and they are given great support by Coral Browne, George Kennedy, Valentina Cortese, etc. The first part of the movie is fine, very fine. "The Legend of Lylah Clare" falls apart at the end and believe Robert Aldrich dubbed Kim Novak in some of the latter scenes-against her knowledge- (how could this happen to a major star?) and the film ends weirdly with a dog commercial to this day mystifies me.
Kim Novak astoundingly beautiful and as one reviewer noted 'was as close to perfection in the looks department' and gowned by a great costumer Renie Conley gave it her all and is very fine in this film. Robert Aldrich who knew the Hollywood scene and had a great hit at WB in"Whatever Happened to Baby Jane" fails here. (Aldrich would go on to make a worse movie than this if possible in "The Choirboys" which one sees wide eyed in astonishment on what Aldrich puts on the screen!)
"Legend of Lylah Clare" was supposed to be a great return project for Kim Novak and ended up being Kim Novak's finale as a superstar of the first rank.
Kim Novak headlines a great cast of two Oscar winners Peter Finch and Ernest Borgnine and they are given great support by Coral Browne, George Kennedy, Valentina Cortese, etc. The first part of the movie is fine, very fine. "The Legend of Lylah Clare" falls apart at the end and believe Robert Aldrich dubbed Kim Novak in some of the latter scenes-against her knowledge- (how could this happen to a major star?) and the film ends weirdly with a dog commercial to this day mystifies me.
Kim Novak astoundingly beautiful and as one reviewer noted 'was as close to perfection in the looks department' and gowned by a great costumer Renie Conley gave it her all and is very fine in this film. Robert Aldrich who knew the Hollywood scene and had a great hit at WB in"Whatever Happened to Baby Jane" fails here. (Aldrich would go on to make a worse movie than this if possible in "The Choirboys" which one sees wide eyed in astonishment on what Aldrich puts on the screen!)
"Legend of Lylah Clare" was supposed to be a great return project for Kim Novak and ended up being Kim Novak's finale as a superstar of the first rank.
The awfulness becomes riveting - one of the great worst movies
grahamclarke28 August 2005
Robert Aldrich had a solid career which includes some extremely fine work such as "Kiss Me Deadly" and "The Big Knife" from his early period. He handled large action movies ("The Dirty Dozen") with the same craftsmanship as small .intimate pieces, ("The Killing of Sister George"). In both "Hush Hush Sweet Charlotte" and perhaps his most famous movie "What Ever Happened to Baby Jane", there is a definite camp touch which is carefully controlled in that it never derails the proceedings but only adds much to the general enjoyment of these films as a whole.
"The Legend of Lylah Clare" is a film that cannot be derailed, since from the very first frame it's clearly out of control. What proceeds is a very bumpy ride indeed. The question that remains is just how much of this was intentional. Can one consciously make actors perform so ludicrously, and if so, just what is the point ? It's seems totally unfeasible that a director with Aldrich's record should allow these poor actors to humiliate themselves in having to deliver the most preposterous dialog imaginable. Perhaps it's his hate letter to Hollywood. Aldrich who steered clear of the tyranny of Hollywood by establishing his own production company, paints a truly crass portrait of the movie industry. The point is that this is not an intelligent, witty or biting take on the industry, it's simply a grotesque movie which really has to be seen to be believed. Actors with vast experience such as Peter Finch and Ernest Borgnine are made to look like total amateurs in the business. And then there's Kim Novak. (One can only wonder what Tuesday Weld made of the role in the original television version.) Perhaps one should not be too surprised that this was her last American movie, and the signal of the beginning of the end of her somewhat shaky career.
Novak was apparently thrust into stardom far too fast. Her radiant screen presence may have been captivating but there was little real talent behind the looks. What she did exude was a vulnerability which seems to be founded on her justified lack of confidence as an actress. Columbia groomed her as a potential new Marilyn Monroe. But no matter what dark complexes were lurking beneath Monroe's screen presence, she always made us believe she was having a ball. That was her genius. Novak always seems uncomfortable and decidedly awkward. It's something that at times may have worked in her favor, but ultimately her lack of having what it really takes could not be disguised. Lylah Clare is a role that many a Hollywood actress of the time could really have sunk their teeth into. Novak simply does not have a clue what to do with it and director Aldrich leaves her stranded.
The awfulness of this movie becomes riveting in itself. You'll probably want to see it through to the end. One of the greatest worst movies of all time.
"The Legend of Lylah Clare" is a film that cannot be derailed, since from the very first frame it's clearly out of control. What proceeds is a very bumpy ride indeed. The question that remains is just how much of this was intentional. Can one consciously make actors perform so ludicrously, and if so, just what is the point ? It's seems totally unfeasible that a director with Aldrich's record should allow these poor actors to humiliate themselves in having to deliver the most preposterous dialog imaginable. Perhaps it's his hate letter to Hollywood. Aldrich who steered clear of the tyranny of Hollywood by establishing his own production company, paints a truly crass portrait of the movie industry. The point is that this is not an intelligent, witty or biting take on the industry, it's simply a grotesque movie which really has to be seen to be believed. Actors with vast experience such as Peter Finch and Ernest Borgnine are made to look like total amateurs in the business. And then there's Kim Novak. (One can only wonder what Tuesday Weld made of the role in the original television version.) Perhaps one should not be too surprised that this was her last American movie, and the signal of the beginning of the end of her somewhat shaky career.
Novak was apparently thrust into stardom far too fast. Her radiant screen presence may have been captivating but there was little real talent behind the looks. What she did exude was a vulnerability which seems to be founded on her justified lack of confidence as an actress. Columbia groomed her as a potential new Marilyn Monroe. But no matter what dark complexes were lurking beneath Monroe's screen presence, she always made us believe she was having a ball. That was her genius. Novak always seems uncomfortable and decidedly awkward. It's something that at times may have worked in her favor, but ultimately her lack of having what it really takes could not be disguised. Lylah Clare is a role that many a Hollywood actress of the time could really have sunk their teeth into. Novak simply does not have a clue what to do with it and director Aldrich leaves her stranded.
The awfulness of this movie becomes riveting in itself. You'll probably want to see it through to the end. One of the greatest worst movies of all time.
Kim is beautiful, the background music isn't.
sudiniup22 May 2020
"The Legend of Lylah Clare," shows a beautiful Kim Novak, asked to "become" a dead movie star.
I don't know what to make of the movie, it needed minimal background music and a better script editor, but I think Kim Novak was wonderful.
The background music was absolutely, 100% horrible.
If you were to write a movie with "spoiler alert" in the music, this is the perfect example.
The actors were hardly given a chance to have their finished work presented as they acted it, because the overbearing, dramatic, campy, awful music might as well had comic bubbles with captions:
Attention: Knowing glance over the shoulder coming up in 2 seconds.
Attention: Angry person stomping off stage.
The music is a big problem with so many movies, a semi-decent script that could be ok, it has good actors - but is doomed with the kiss of death: background music from hell.
A must-see for aficionados of bad films!
Maciste_Brother22 March 2000
Warning: Spoilers
Words alone cannot express how wonderfully awful THE LEGEND OF LYLAH CLARE is. I'm surprised it hasn't attain cult status. It's a super strange combo of VERTIGO + THE EXORCIST + SUNSET BOULEVARD + REBECCA + and the film careers of either Garbo or Dietrich. Lylah Clare predates THE EXORCIST. It's also obvious Kim Novak was chosen because of her double role in VERTIGO. And like another Hitchcock classic, REBECCA, LOLC is about a girl living in the shadow of a deceased, more powerful and subsequently beloved/hated woman.
The film doesn't make one iota of sense. The story is about a washed-up director who wants to make a movie of the life of legendary Bavarian actress Lylah Clare, who died in sordid, mysterious circumstances on her wedding night. The director is inspired to do the "Lylah Clare: Film Star" motion picture after meeting a woman who looks exactly like her (they're both played by Kim Novak. How clever!).
As I already mentioned, Kim Novak plays both Lylah Clare and Elsa Brinkmann/Campbell. A too young Peter Finch plays the director, Lewis. There's a woman, Rosalla (played by Rosalla Falk with a super heavy Italian accent. She's my favorite character in the film), who's a lesbian/heroin addict, and then there's Bart, the wanna-be producer who's dying of liver cancer! I call Lewis, Rosalla and Bart the "trio of terror" because they bitch nonstop! Every word is an insult or a sharp put-down. From the moment Elsa walks in the gaudy mansion, the trio of terror abuse her incessantly. Most would have left in a New York minute but because the film's narrative is illogical, Elsa stays with the sordid bunch.
LOFC revolves around the idea that in recreating the Lylah Clare legend for a film, Elsa inadvertently becomes caught up by the aura and legend of the famous star, which includes her 'unfortunate' past. Elsa gradually loses her identity, being Elsa one second and Lylah the next. We see three flashbacks (or reveries?) throughout the movie showing what happened on that pivotal night when Lylah died. The three flashbacks contradict each other. Finch actually looks older in the flashbacks!!! They're almost impossible to describe and they have to be seen to be believed! I have to admit that they are my favorite part of the movie, mainly because they're total baroque nonsense.
What's really amazing is when Elsa is possessed by the real spirit of the deceased movie star, a la EXORCIST. From time to time, Elsa/Lylah bursts into brazen, loutish rants, always at the right dramatic moments. In fact, even when Elsa enters the Lylah Clare mansion for the very first time, she's taken over momentarily by the ghost of Lylah. And to make things even more weird, whenever Elsa is possessed by Lylah's spirit, her voice changes. It takes on a terrible German accent and becomes very manly! In the flashback scenes, Lylah's voice is that of a man ("keep your filthy hands off me").
This idea of having Elsa possessed by the spirit of Lylah and dub Novak's voice was a last minute decision made during post-production. Kim Novak wasn't even aware of this decision, which apparently totally embarrassed her at the film's premiere. The reason why the director did this was because for Elsa to know so many personal and private things about Lylah didn't make any sense whatsoever. The director tried to correct this by having Elsa become possessed by Lylah during those crucial shouting scenes. But because the decision to dub her voice and make Elsa appear she was possessed was done AFTER the film was shot, the whole thing created even more problems than it was supposed to rectify. The possession scenes create such a surreal effect that's so subtle that if you don't pay any attention, you won't notice it. But it's there and it's very bizarre and, imho, gives this movie its unique surreal quality.
The dialogue is priceless! "We're moving like a deeply offended Tibetan yak!" Lewis says to Elsa as he inspects her walking down the mansion's ridiculously designed staircase on their first meeting.
"I've never seen a woman yet who hasn't got a whore locked-up inside of her somewhere!" Lewis notes to Elsa.
The dialogue is reason alone for watching LOLC. Combine all of this with the confusing film-within-a-film storyline with the artificial direction by Aldrich, the overacting all-star cast (only Coral Browne and Falk survive unscathed), the bad and often inappropriate music by DeVol, the cheap look of the film and Novak, ill-fitted in tacky clothes and looks terrible throughout (well, except when she's in her black bra and underwear), and you have one deliriously bad film. The film wants to be a parody of Hollywood but the very slow, dream-like pacing and the heavy-handedness of it destroy all those intentions. And because the parody doesn't work and because it certainly doesn't work as a standard drama, LYLAH CLARE is doubly awful. In other words, it's fantastic! It's my top best worst film ever. As a standard drama 1/10. As a it's-so-bad-it's-good flick, it's a perfect 10/10! What can you say about a movie that effectively killed Kim Novak's career? Maybe it's because she dies 5 times on screen?
And I haven't even mentioned anything about the brain-numbingly ridiculous multiple faux endings: at the circus set; finale of movie projected on big screen; movie premiere itself; Rossala with gun; and (phew) dog food ad. The plethora of inconsistencies and hard to swallow aspects (when Elsa dies, the director keeps filming. Aha!). The opening credits mentioning the infamous dog food ad. Or the hilarious brush-your-hair-like-Lylah scene. A truly amazing film!
The film doesn't make one iota of sense. The story is about a washed-up director who wants to make a movie of the life of legendary Bavarian actress Lylah Clare, who died in sordid, mysterious circumstances on her wedding night. The director is inspired to do the "Lylah Clare: Film Star" motion picture after meeting a woman who looks exactly like her (they're both played by Kim Novak. How clever!).
As I already mentioned, Kim Novak plays both Lylah Clare and Elsa Brinkmann/Campbell. A too young Peter Finch plays the director, Lewis. There's a woman, Rosalla (played by Rosalla Falk with a super heavy Italian accent. She's my favorite character in the film), who's a lesbian/heroin addict, and then there's Bart, the wanna-be producer who's dying of liver cancer! I call Lewis, Rosalla and Bart the "trio of terror" because they bitch nonstop! Every word is an insult or a sharp put-down. From the moment Elsa walks in the gaudy mansion, the trio of terror abuse her incessantly. Most would have left in a New York minute but because the film's narrative is illogical, Elsa stays with the sordid bunch.
LOFC revolves around the idea that in recreating the Lylah Clare legend for a film, Elsa inadvertently becomes caught up by the aura and legend of the famous star, which includes her 'unfortunate' past. Elsa gradually loses her identity, being Elsa one second and Lylah the next. We see three flashbacks (or reveries?) throughout the movie showing what happened on that pivotal night when Lylah died. The three flashbacks contradict each other. Finch actually looks older in the flashbacks!!! They're almost impossible to describe and they have to be seen to be believed! I have to admit that they are my favorite part of the movie, mainly because they're total baroque nonsense.
What's really amazing is when Elsa is possessed by the real spirit of the deceased movie star, a la EXORCIST. From time to time, Elsa/Lylah bursts into brazen, loutish rants, always at the right dramatic moments. In fact, even when Elsa enters the Lylah Clare mansion for the very first time, she's taken over momentarily by the ghost of Lylah. And to make things even more weird, whenever Elsa is possessed by Lylah's spirit, her voice changes. It takes on a terrible German accent and becomes very manly! In the flashback scenes, Lylah's voice is that of a man ("keep your filthy hands off me").
This idea of having Elsa possessed by the spirit of Lylah and dub Novak's voice was a last minute decision made during post-production. Kim Novak wasn't even aware of this decision, which apparently totally embarrassed her at the film's premiere. The reason why the director did this was because for Elsa to know so many personal and private things about Lylah didn't make any sense whatsoever. The director tried to correct this by having Elsa become possessed by Lylah during those crucial shouting scenes. But because the decision to dub her voice and make Elsa appear she was possessed was done AFTER the film was shot, the whole thing created even more problems than it was supposed to rectify. The possession scenes create such a surreal effect that's so subtle that if you don't pay any attention, you won't notice it. But it's there and it's very bizarre and, imho, gives this movie its unique surreal quality.
The dialogue is priceless! "We're moving like a deeply offended Tibetan yak!" Lewis says to Elsa as he inspects her walking down the mansion's ridiculously designed staircase on their first meeting.
"I've never seen a woman yet who hasn't got a whore locked-up inside of her somewhere!" Lewis notes to Elsa.
The dialogue is reason alone for watching LOLC. Combine all of this with the confusing film-within-a-film storyline with the artificial direction by Aldrich, the overacting all-star cast (only Coral Browne and Falk survive unscathed), the bad and often inappropriate music by DeVol, the cheap look of the film and Novak, ill-fitted in tacky clothes and looks terrible throughout (well, except when she's in her black bra and underwear), and you have one deliriously bad film. The film wants to be a parody of Hollywood but the very slow, dream-like pacing and the heavy-handedness of it destroy all those intentions. And because the parody doesn't work and because it certainly doesn't work as a standard drama, LYLAH CLARE is doubly awful. In other words, it's fantastic! It's my top best worst film ever. As a standard drama 1/10. As a it's-so-bad-it's-good flick, it's a perfect 10/10! What can you say about a movie that effectively killed Kim Novak's career? Maybe it's because she dies 5 times on screen?
And I haven't even mentioned anything about the brain-numbingly ridiculous multiple faux endings: at the circus set; finale of movie projected on big screen; movie premiere itself; Rossala with gun; and (phew) dog food ad. The plethora of inconsistencies and hard to swallow aspects (when Elsa dies, the director keeps filming. Aha!). The opening credits mentioning the infamous dog food ad. Or the hilarious brush-your-hair-like-Lylah scene. A truly amazing film!
Interesting Metafilm
joelburman22 February 2002
This movie surprised me a whole lot. It is about a movie production about a former Superstar actress named Lylah Clare both the role as Lylah and the actress portraying her is played by the stunning Kim Novak.
The film has a complicated structure that is hard to follow sometimes. The ending is especially good and I will not give it away but it will probably surprise most of you. Kim Novak looks better than ever in some scenes and she shows that she can act. However, she is more or less portraying the same role that she played for the rest of her career. You may wonder how much she really acted? Sometimes it feels like she played herself in her movies.
The film has a complicated structure that is hard to follow sometimes. The ending is especially good and I will not give it away but it will probably surprise most of you. Kim Novak looks better than ever in some scenes and she shows that she can act. However, she is more or less portraying the same role that she played for the rest of her career. You may wonder how much she really acted? Sometimes it feels like she played herself in her movies.
a great old romantic classic - on DVD
BradJul17 March 2011
The Legend of Lylah Clare... I watched this 1968 film starring Kim Novak, Peter Finch and Ernest Borgnine some 30 years ago, and would love to see it again... I recall it being a low budget style film, but was mystically involving and I find still unforgettable. And so have often sought where I could purchase a copy, particularly since DVDs became commonplace. I noticed a question on this site: 'will it ever be available on DVD?' But in order to answer, credit card details, etc. were required... Anyhow, in January 2008 I found the following: www.cinemasirens.com/lylah_clare.html. To me, this film is worth seeing.
Channeling Lylah
bkoganbing7 September 2010
I'm sure that when Robert Aldrich thought of doing The Legend Of Lylah Clare he would be doing another one of those acid exposes of Hollywood like The Bad And The Beautiful or his own The Big Knife. I don't think Aldrich set out with the idea of making a bad movie.
But I guess if you're going to do a bad one, make it so stupefyingly bad that it acquires a reputation, a legend if you will. Borrowing in no small measure on the alleged symbiotic relationship of Marlene Dietrich and Josef Von Sternberg, The Legend Of Lylah Clare was so bad that neither Dietrich or Von Sternberg would bother to sue.
The arrogant and dictatorial Peter Finch years earlier had plucked the woman who became Lylah Clare whom he married and then who died on their wedding night most mysteriously. Now agent Milton Selzer who was Lylah Clare's agent comes to Finch with the idea of making a biographical film of the late star. As he purportedly knew her best, he's just the guy. And Selzer who wants to produce this film has a young starlet in Kim Novak who is the spitting image of the late movie legend.
After this work on the project starts with studio boss Ernest Borgnine overseeing the film. Novak starts becoming more and more like the late Lylah Clare as she immerses herself in the character. Pretty soon everyone treats her just like Lylah including Finch.
When he was making his film about Andy Kauffman, Jim Carrey told the press he felt the late comedian taking over his persona, but no one laughed at that because Carrey turned out a good film. The Legend Of Lylah Clare is a treatise of overacting. Everyone here knew this one was going to be a Thanksgiving special with all the trimmings and acted accordingly. They all must have had a really good time on the set, knowing how bad this was. And director Aldrich gave his cast free reign.
This one should be seen to see that even with a top director and a really good cast one can still turn out a stinker.
But I guess if you're going to do a bad one, make it so stupefyingly bad that it acquires a reputation, a legend if you will. Borrowing in no small measure on the alleged symbiotic relationship of Marlene Dietrich and Josef Von Sternberg, The Legend Of Lylah Clare was so bad that neither Dietrich or Von Sternberg would bother to sue.
The arrogant and dictatorial Peter Finch years earlier had plucked the woman who became Lylah Clare whom he married and then who died on their wedding night most mysteriously. Now agent Milton Selzer who was Lylah Clare's agent comes to Finch with the idea of making a biographical film of the late star. As he purportedly knew her best, he's just the guy. And Selzer who wants to produce this film has a young starlet in Kim Novak who is the spitting image of the late movie legend.
After this work on the project starts with studio boss Ernest Borgnine overseeing the film. Novak starts becoming more and more like the late Lylah Clare as she immerses herself in the character. Pretty soon everyone treats her just like Lylah including Finch.
When he was making his film about Andy Kauffman, Jim Carrey told the press he felt the late comedian taking over his persona, but no one laughed at that because Carrey turned out a good film. The Legend Of Lylah Clare is a treatise of overacting. Everyone here knew this one was going to be a Thanksgiving special with all the trimmings and acted accordingly. They all must have had a really good time on the set, knowing how bad this was. And director Aldrich gave his cast free reign.
This one should be seen to see that even with a top director and a really good cast one can still turn out a stinker.
"Legend" won't die.
Poseidon-325 January 2007
Warning: Spoilers
Legendary for being "flamboyantly awful", as Leonard Malton put it, this outrageously rotten film entertains for all the wrong reasons. It's hard to believe that this psychedelic piece of dreck came from the same director who helmed the comparatively stark and tense "Flight of the Phoenix", among other fine films. Novak plays a mousy, rather backward and shy actress who is recruited by agent Selzer and introduced to reclusive director Finch to play the title figure, a phenomenally successful actress who died an untimely and mysterious death. Finch hasn't been able to direct again since the star married him and died soon after, but is intrigued enough by Novak (who plays both roles) to give the project a try. Soon, Novak is transformed completely and is paraded out before the press where she has an unfortunate run-in with bitter, crippled columnist Browne and suddenly takes on the persona (and guttural German voice!) of the deceased legend. Lylah is an amalgamation of Dietrich, Monroe, Harlow and any number of other famed screen goddesses. As work on the film progresses, Novak continues to fall under the dead woman's spell, eventually beginning to shrink behind a harsher, more bravura facade, to the point where her own life is at stake. Novak, though her face and figure are in stunning condition, is made to look quite awful at times during the film. She's given a blonde wig with a wall of low-riding bangs that obscure her eyebrows and some of her eyes. Oddly, since it was not flattering, it's a look that Novak would keep for virtually the remainder of her life! She also has nude lips throughout the film, something the 1930's dead actress would never have had and something that does Novak no favors in any case. Some of the costumes are attractive, but many of them are ghastly. Her performance is truly bad on its own, but is hampered even further by atrocious overdubbing whenever she is taken by the spirit of Lylah Clare. There was nowhere to go but up after this startling debacle, but, except for "The Great Train Robbery" and, much later, "The Mirror Crack'd" along with a few other projects, Novak never did much on the big screen again. Finch fares a little bit better, though he leans more towards over-the-top. He's appealingly fit and tan for his age and it's surprising to know that he'd be dead within a decade of this. Borgnine plays a blowhard studio chief and offers his customary bombastic, yet still interesting to watch, brand of acting. Falk plays a lesbian hanger-on and former dialogue coach of the dead actress. When she can be understood, her performance isn't bad. Cortese hams it up amusingly as a flashy costume designer. She's another of many foreign actors who dot the cast roster. She and Borgnine would be reunited years later in an even bigger turkey than this: "When Time Ran Out"! Sprinkled into the film are Borgnine and Finch's "Phoenix" co-stars Tinti (as a swarthy gardener) and Bravos (as the butler.) "The Waltons" fans may enjoy viewing Corby in modern dress as a script girl. Anyone who's ever wanted to see former Miss America Meriwether (briefly) playing a knife-wielding, cross-dressing, lesbian has finally found his Holy Grail. Walking away, so to speak, with the acting honors of the film is Browne who confidently and condescendingly plays an aging and handicapped gossip monger in the mold of Louella Parsons. The film could certainly have used more of her acid presence, but what there is is fascinating. It would be hard to find a more day-glo colored, bizarre MESS of a drama than this concoction, but, even though it is overlong, it's compulsively watchable. Check out Novak's stroll along the Hollywood Walk of Fame in which, during the span of less than a block, she traipses upon one tragic film star case after another (yet she still goes to Finch's house!) Then there's her garden scene in which she languidly walks through the grass wearing only long navy trousers, a bra, and a sweater around her neck! Keep an eye out also for the many instances of prodding. People are forever using fingers, canes, etc... to poke and prod or otherwise intrude upon one another. A series of flashbacks to Lylah and her death are infamously insane. Dreamy soft-focus photography shows her dress being torn off as the characters speak in a warped slow-motion while a little circle in the lower left corner displays Novak's present day face. The whole film is a matter of taste. Those who enjoy a good cackle at audacious badness should lap it up. Others beware.
Just awful, awful, awful
milliefan27 September 2010
Sorry to those reviewers who claim to find some redeeming qualities in this utter mess, but The Legend of Lylah Clare is a truly pointless, relentlessly bad picture. If it was intended as satire, it fails. If it was intended as drama, it fails. If it was intended to be in any way clever, engrossing, funny, or - most important of all - entertaining, it FAILS. I can scarcely believe the great Robert Aldrich produced this wretched disaster. Poor Kim Novak, looking lost and confused as she spends scene after scene with no dialogue whilst Peter Finch rambles on and on and on about nothing: poor Peter Finch, at least twenty years too young for his role and overacting like crazy in an attempt to bring meaning to the meaningless and stupid dialogue. As bad as anything are the innumerable flashbacks in which Finch wears a mustache and goatee and succeeds in actually looking older than he does whilst recounting events of twenty-odd years earlier. And it all drags on FOREVER - a good hour could have been cut without any discernible loss (or improvement). Don't waste your time.
Ghoulish...
JasparLamarCrabb24 July 2010
Warning: Spoilers
Robert Aldrich directed this ghoulish film. Kim Novak, who resembles a long dead movie queen, is discovered by agent Milton Selzer and brought to the attention of director Peter Finch. Finch is smitten and decides to make her a star by having her portray the dead movie queen in a biopic. It's difficult to tell what this movie's point is. Is it a cautionary tale about man making the same mistake over and over? Is it a satire? Either way, it's not very good, in fact it's a mess. Aldrich interjects several odd and meaningless touches: the German accented voice that emanates from Novak from time to time (clearly the voice of another actress); cartoon blood splattering on the screen during one flashback; the switching from color to B&W. The actors scream at each other and Finch looks like he's about to burst. Rossella Falk is Finch's butch assistant and Valentina Cortese appears as Countess Bozo Bedoni, a costume designer who looks a bit like Edith Head and a bit like Valentina Cortese. They're wasted in nothing roles. Worst of all is Ernest Borgnine as a lunatic studio head named Barney Sheean. On the plus side, Aldrich gets props for slapping Sheean's initials (BS) on every piece of equipment in sight. It's a clever gag. He also scores points for casting Coral Browne as a very bitchy Hollywood gossip columnist and he somehow pulls a fairly animated performance out of the usually stiff Novak. Frank De Vol contributes an appropriately creepy music score.
Soul Crushing Refuse
davedrawsgood15 August 2018
Fascinating
beyondtheforest23 January 2007
It's flawed, yes. It's too long, too slow, and some of the lines and situations are just incomprehensible. On the other hand, its daring in a way most films are not. It dares you to think, imagine, and just relish in the glory if this fictionally great old star. The character of Lylah Clare is based on what seems to be an amalgamation of 1930s icons, not the least of which may include Crawford, Bankhead, Dietrich, Garbo, and Harlow. Then again, she is her own creation. A great subplot concerns the battle of the studio for money-making films and the battle of the director for art. As Ernest Borgnine as the studio head says in one scene, "I don't want to make films. I want to make movies. What do you think we're making here, art?" Kim Novak is well cast and turns in a surprising star turn in a double role, as Lylah Clare and the actress who plays her in a biopic helmed by her late director and husband. The story behind Lylah's death is mysterious and the stuff of legend. Only the director, eager to make a comeback after a 20 year absence from films, seems to know the truth about what happened to Lylah, and he is silent. There are two other superb subplots to the film: one concerns the actress and her possession by the spirit of the late Lylah Clare, and the other subplot concerns the romance between the actress and the director.
The end is shocking. You might not see the eventual conclusion coming. There is terrific symbolism in the dog food advertisement at the end of the film, and the score by DeVol is appropriately lush and atmospheric.
Some of the performances are a bit stilted, as is some of the camera work. The costumes are not always historically correct, but are fetching just the same. The direction is hit-or-miss. The film is way too slow. What holds the film together is the fascinating story and Aldrich's ambition in telling it. He doesn't stop with Lylah's death, but goes on to make a broad and cynical statement about the whole movie industry as a whole. Notice how, when the Lylah's director finally has something deep and heartfelt to say to the reporter, he is cut off. And for what? A dog food commercial. Get it?
Aldrich excelled at dark Hollywood portraits, and this is one of the most intriguing and controversial. No wonder it's so hard to find.
The end is shocking. You might not see the eventual conclusion coming. There is terrific symbolism in the dog food advertisement at the end of the film, and the score by DeVol is appropriately lush and atmospheric.
Some of the performances are a bit stilted, as is some of the camera work. The costumes are not always historically correct, but are fetching just the same. The direction is hit-or-miss. The film is way too slow. What holds the film together is the fascinating story and Aldrich's ambition in telling it. He doesn't stop with Lylah's death, but goes on to make a broad and cynical statement about the whole movie industry as a whole. Notice how, when the Lylah's director finally has something deep and heartfelt to say to the reporter, he is cut off. And for what? A dog food commercial. Get it?
Aldrich excelled at dark Hollywood portraits, and this is one of the most intriguing and controversial. No wonder it's so hard to find.
I'll never get this time back.
madatem26 October 2019
Vertigo redux?
hawktwo17 August 2001
I just caught this yesterday, home with the flu. It certainly reminded me of Vertigo. Kim Novak takes someone's breath away because she reminds someone mysteriously of Lylah. Kim agrees to take the lead in a movie about Lylah. She is then made into Lylah's image -- recorded for all time in a painting. The difference from Vertigo: in Vertigo you eventually find out Kim is acting in a con; in this movie, the viewer is left to wonder if Lylah's ghost is taking over Kim. In Vertigo, the lead male suffers from vertigo; in this movie, Kim Novak suffers from Vertigo.
When Kim's voice becomes Lylah, it's laughable. The whole movie is so bad, it's almost good.
When Kim's voice becomes Lylah, it's laughable. The whole movie is so bad, it's almost good.
Legend of Lulus in Hollywood
macpet49-116 June 2010
This film truly marked the end of Kim Novak's career. Unfortunately, I think it was a combination things--the end of the studios, the end of the Hollywood dream era and the end of any kind of illusion of naivete in America at that time. The Kennedys, King assassinations, Vietnam. The bubble had burst. The films of this time when good were brutal and realistic and negative. The films that were bad were bloody, carnal and usually sadistic/masochistic in new ways for film. Sex was for the first time visual. Soft porn in PG rated films wasn't unusual. A breast of butt shot was the norm for most films. Lylah/Kim becomes the epidomy of the Hollywood actor--a confabulated doll, puppet really, who generates dollars at the box office and is of no importance to the studios than the money it receives. Follow the money. Money grubbing marked the end of any art able to be produced. The Jewish maxim "it's only business" ruled. You can snuff people on screen live and it is just what you do to get bread. This is a poorly written film, but does mark in a perverted (appropriately) way the beginning of the end of the dream of what film could be. The 1960s was both the apex and death of culture and civilization. We are now living in the decline period. All film produced now is either voyueristic or masturbatory.
mostly boring with some hilariously bad
SnoopyStyle30 October 2019
Lylah Clare (Kim Novak) was a Hollywood star who fell to her death 20 years earlier. Her husband director Lewis Zarkan (Peter Finch) is convinced to make her biopic with newcomer Elsa Brinkmann (Kim Novak). Barney Sheean (Ernest Borgnine) is the scheming studio head.
The first hour is a waste of time. The movie crawled along like a snail. This should be a movie about the director obsessing about Lylah Clare. It takes an hour before they are able to spend time alone together and for some reason, she is proudly showing off her bra in the most insane outfit ever. When the men are having verbal combat, Novak looks lost and disinterested. Sometimes, her voice is wrong and then, I find out some of her lines got dubbed by another actress. The first hour is a terrible grind that is difficult to sit through. The second hour has more Kim Novak which is fascinating in its own way. It's more soapy and more interesting. The melodrama has its own fun campiness. The filmmaking is bad. There are just lots of bad ideas. The recollection of the incident is laughable. Her fall is hilarious. Yes, this is a bad movie.
The first hour is a waste of time. The movie crawled along like a snail. This should be a movie about the director obsessing about Lylah Clare. It takes an hour before they are able to spend time alone together and for some reason, she is proudly showing off her bra in the most insane outfit ever. When the men are having verbal combat, Novak looks lost and disinterested. Sometimes, her voice is wrong and then, I find out some of her lines got dubbed by another actress. The first hour is a terrible grind that is difficult to sit through. The second hour has more Kim Novak which is fascinating in its own way. It's more soapy and more interesting. The melodrama has its own fun campiness. The filmmaking is bad. There are just lots of bad ideas. The recollection of the incident is laughable. Her fall is hilarious. Yes, this is a bad movie.
Overwrought camp is beyond belief...perfectly awful in every which way possible...
Doylenf22 January 2007
KIM NOVAK's screen career came to an abrupt halt after this disaster and it's easy to see why. Despite direction from Robert Aldrich (who was experienced at camp classics), this one is so incredibly off the mark as believable entertainment that it's no wonder it has the reputation that puts it in the same class with horrors like VALLEY OF THE DOLLS. Bad dialog and a dull script are a fatal combination.
PETER FINCH is the has-been director who fashions a model (Novak) into the image of his dead wife in order to do a screen bio of the woman. (Shades of VERTIGO with Stewart doing the same to Novak). But execution of this plot is so staggeringly inept, with performances either over-the-top (Finch and ERNEST BORGNINE) or extremely underplayed by Novak who seems to be sleepwalking through most of the film.
The dialog is priceless. After someone breaks a window in Peter Finch's living room he calmly says: "I take it you're trying to capture my attention." And even then, it takes the man endless pages of dialog to get to the point. VALENTINA CORTESE is lucky in that most of her dialog is buried beneath a thick accent--and she's supposed to have been Lylah's dialog coach.
Too much exposition destroys whatever pace the film might have had. Endless talk about Lylah and her background, as well as aspiring actress Novak, before she even appears. And when she does appear, the plot becomes even more absurd with Novak suddenly assuming a German accent when Lylah's personality overtakes her. Ridiculous.
Another example of a behind-the-scenes lowdown on Hollywood that has no credibility whatsoever--a mess of a film from beginning to end, though the story idea itself had potential. Even deVol's music does nothing to establish mood or atmosphere. Ironically, the film within a film that director Finch has been shooting, is every bit as bad as the main story and yet when the film is released, it's supposed to be the director's masterpiece. Too bad life couldn't imitate art, in the case of Aldrich's film.
Summing up: Do yourself a favor and skip this one.
PETER FINCH is the has-been director who fashions a model (Novak) into the image of his dead wife in order to do a screen bio of the woman. (Shades of VERTIGO with Stewart doing the same to Novak). But execution of this plot is so staggeringly inept, with performances either over-the-top (Finch and ERNEST BORGNINE) or extremely underplayed by Novak who seems to be sleepwalking through most of the film.
The dialog is priceless. After someone breaks a window in Peter Finch's living room he calmly says: "I take it you're trying to capture my attention." And even then, it takes the man endless pages of dialog to get to the point. VALENTINA CORTESE is lucky in that most of her dialog is buried beneath a thick accent--and she's supposed to have been Lylah's dialog coach.
Too much exposition destroys whatever pace the film might have had. Endless talk about Lylah and her background, as well as aspiring actress Novak, before she even appears. And when she does appear, the plot becomes even more absurd with Novak suddenly assuming a German accent when Lylah's personality overtakes her. Ridiculous.
Another example of a behind-the-scenes lowdown on Hollywood that has no credibility whatsoever--a mess of a film from beginning to end, though the story idea itself had potential. Even deVol's music does nothing to establish mood or atmosphere. Ironically, the film within a film that director Finch has been shooting, is every bit as bad as the main story and yet when the film is released, it's supposed to be the director's masterpiece. Too bad life couldn't imitate art, in the case of Aldrich's film.
Summing up: Do yourself a favor and skip this one.
Sure it's bad but it's fun to watch!
preppy-330 July 2010
Director Lewis Zarken (Peter Finch) was married to beautiful actress Lylah Clare (Kim Novak). Lylah died (in 1948) under mysterious circumstances and he vowed never to direct again. Twenty years later he meets Elsa Brinkman (Novak again) and becomes obsessed with remaking her as Lylah while directing a movie on her life.
This has become infamous as one of the worst movies ever made. I don't think it's even close to being the worst but it certainly isn't good. The plot is silly and some of the dialogue is REALLY dumb but it's never dull and is a LOT of fun to watch! I THINK this is supposed to be a satire on Hollywood but it seems like they're taking it seriously! Most of the acting is over the top matching the script. Finch chews the scenery but is clearly enjoying it; Ernest Borgnine yells his whole role; Coral Browne shows up as an incredibly vicious columnist and a very young Michael Murphy walks around looking bewildered. Only Novak and Rossella Falk give restrained performances. Novak is very good in a dual role and Falk plays a lesbian--very daring for 1968.
It's a really silly film but I enjoyed every stupid line and revelled in the performances. Good luck finding it--I don't think it was ever released on DVD (small wonder). TCM does show it every once in a while. Ignore the R rating this has (probably because of the mild lesbian content)--it would get a PG-13 today. And can ANYONE tell me what that dog commercial is about at the end? I give it an 8.
This has become infamous as one of the worst movies ever made. I don't think it's even close to being the worst but it certainly isn't good. The plot is silly and some of the dialogue is REALLY dumb but it's never dull and is a LOT of fun to watch! I THINK this is supposed to be a satire on Hollywood but it seems like they're taking it seriously! Most of the acting is over the top matching the script. Finch chews the scenery but is clearly enjoying it; Ernest Borgnine yells his whole role; Coral Browne shows up as an incredibly vicious columnist and a very young Michael Murphy walks around looking bewildered. Only Novak and Rossella Falk give restrained performances. Novak is very good in a dual role and Falk plays a lesbian--very daring for 1968.
It's a really silly film but I enjoyed every stupid line and revelled in the performances. Good luck finding it--I don't think it was ever released on DVD (small wonder). TCM does show it every once in a while. Ignore the R rating this has (probably because of the mild lesbian content)--it would get a PG-13 today. And can ANYONE tell me what that dog commercial is about at the end? I give it an 8.
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