Movie |
Hollywood | Psychological Thriller
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When Kim Novak walks along Hollywood Boulevard, a theater she passes by is playing The Dirty Dozen (1967), a film director Robert Aldrich made a year earlier, and whose commercial success made it possible for him to start his own production company and make movies like this.
To date, this is Kim Novak's last starring role in an American-made feature film.
In the original TV play, the Lylah Clare movie-star character, played by Tuesday Weld, was generally thought to be a veiled portrait of Marilyn Monroe, who had then died only recently. In this film version, however, "Lylah" seems rather more like Garbo or Marlene Dietrich, with the "Lewis Zarkan" character bearing a striking resemblance to Josef Von Sternberg.
For years after this film's release, Kim Novak refused to even discuss its making. When she finally spoke, she claimed that director Robert Aldrich had Novak's dialogue as Lylah dubbed by Hildegard Knef, without Novak's consent or knowledge. When she attended a screening and heard the dubbing, Novak said of the experience, "God, it was so humiliating!"
Although this was her first film in three years, due to a riding accident and a lack of interest in returning to films, Kim Novak found that she had little enthusiasm for her character. Director Robert Aldrich found it increasingly difficult to elicit a viable performance from her. Aldrich initially blamed her for the film's poor performance at the box office. But, he later stated it wasn't her fault, but his - as director and producer he felt he failed to communicate her character properly to the audience.
"Molly Luther: She's tame enough now, Lewis, but will she turn into a slut like the last one?"
"Becky Langner: Pure silk. That's all she'd ever wear, Bart said. Imagine that. Friends she had, straight from the gutter, but next to her skin - it had to be silk!"
