LOLITA

Sue Lyon and James Mason

LOLITA (1962). Director: Stanley Kubrick.

"Shut your mouth, you horrible little psychopath!"


Professor Humbert Humbert (James Mason) takes a room with widowed landlady Charlotte Haze (Shelley Winters of The Chapman Report) because he's smitten with Charlotte's teenage daughter, the "nymphet" Lolita (Sue Lyon of The Night of the Iguana). Marrying Charlotte seems like the only way for Humbert to get to the true object of his affection, but he has more than one rival: television personality Clare Quilty (Peter Sellers); and young Dick (Gary Cockrell). Will Humbert's obsession with Lolita be his undoing? I haven't read Vladimir Nabokov's novel since college, but it seems to me that this is a very watered-down version of the book -- Lolita was much younger for one thing -- while basically staying more or less true to its intentions (Nabokov himself wrote the screenplay). Mason, as usual, offers another excellent performance, and in fact is superior to the rather cheesy material. 16-year-old Sue Lyon. who was introduced in this picture, is fine and never seems intimidated by the great Mason. Shelley Winters does a nice job as Charlotte, whom we're clearly not meant to feel much sympathy for. The novel was entertaining and very well-written, but not every book should be filmed. This just comes off as lurid and trashy and its entertainment value runs out early on. Peter Sellers plays a strange character but plays it well.  Sue Lyon was a talented actress but aside from her first two credits her career was relatively undistinguished [The Astral Factor], although she did have several interesting if short-lived marriages. Remade in 1997 with Jeremy Irons as Humbert Humbert.

Verdict: Mason saves the picture but probably should have turned it down, although it did get a lot of attention upon its release. **.

THE NIGHT OF THE IGUANA

Deborah Kerr and Richard Burton

THE NIGHT OF THE IGUANA (1964). Director: John Huston. Based on the play by Tennessee Williams.

"Don't make me take steps, Dr. Shannon ..." -- Judith Fellowes.

The former minister T. Lawrence Shannon (Richard Burton), who was locked out of his church, is now guiding ladies on a tour bus through Mexico. Young Charlotte Goodall (Sue Lyon) can't keep her hands off Shannon, inspiring the ire of her formidable guardian Judith Fellowes (Grayson Hall). Shannon takes the gals to a small hotel run by an old friend, Maxine Faulk (Ava Gardner), whose husband died a short while ago. While some of the tourist ladies put up a fuss, Maxine reluctantly admits the impoverished artist Hannah Jelkes (Deborah Kerr) and her aged poet father, Nonno (Cyril Delevanti) to her hostel. As these characters interact and Shannon faces dismissal from the tour business, will the man finally find himself  "at the end of his rope," like one of the iguanas tied to the stairs? Like many Williams' adaptations The Night of the Iguana is a mix of the poetic and the pretentious, but it does have some very tender moments. Burton, Lyon and Delevanti walk off with the acting honors. Grayson Hall [House of Dark Shadows] is a bit overwrought, almost ridiculous at times, as Judith, but the whole idea of the fire-breathing repressed lesbian is terribly dated. Deborah Kerr [Edward, My Son] is good, but she doesn't quite get across the weary defeatedness of someone who is a caregiver to a man in his nineties [walking him around Mexico in the heat with little money could almost be considered elder abuse], and is apparently homeless besides -- where is the sheer desperation she would be feeling? Gardner [Seven Days in May] is not bad at all and suitably earthy; Bette Davis played the role on the stage. The poem that Nonno completes, written by Williams, of course, is beautiful. Despite its flaws, the movie casts a certain exotic and haunting spell.

Verdict: Imperfect but entertaining and well-acted, with some interesting characters. ***.

THE ASTRAL FACTOR / INVISIBLE STRANGLER

THE ASTRAL FACTOR (aka Invisible Strangler/1978). Director: John Florea.

Roger Sands (Frank Ashmore) is a psychotic who murdered his unloving, self-absorbed mother and while in prison has developed the ability to enter the astral plane, become invisible, and escape. Once out, he runs about strangling women who remind him of his mother and/or who testified against him. Lt. Charles Barrett (Robert Foxworth of Prophecy) is the chief detective on the case, assisted by Holt (Mark Slade); both do a fairly miserable job of protecting the victims, but the killer is highly unusual. The Astral Factor isn't a very good movie, its chief interest being its bizarre C-list cast: Stefanie Powers is Barrett's nutty girlfriend; Elke Sommer is one of the potential victims; Sue Lyon is Sands' mother; Leslie Parrish [Missile to the Moon] and Marianna Hill are two other victims; and Cesare Danova and  Percy Rodrigues also have small roles.  Elke Sommer [Deadlier Than the Male] actually gives a pretty good account of herself as a nervous lady all alone in a big mansion waiting for Roger to show while the cops stand by. The film meanders terribly but there is some suspense at the end. The scientific/paranormal aspects of the script are pretty much muddled.

Verdict: The poster is much better than the movie. **.