A trash masterpiece, legend of lylah claire works so hard at vilifying the old hollywood theres even a vicious hedda hopper caricature that its. No one can touch robert aldrich when it comes to holding a mirror up to the selfabsorbed selfdeception of hollywood. The film stars peter finch, kim novak in multiple roles, ernest borgnine, michael murphy, and valentina cortese. The legend of lylah clare not available on your favorite video service. The legend of lylah clare 1968 the legend of lylah clare. The legend of lylah clare, aldrichs cyanidelaced 1968 valentine to hollywood, exists in the long, haunted shadow of faded stardom and abandoned dreams.
The legend of lylah clare 1968 the legend of lylah. The legend of lylah clare is over 2 hours long, and its laborious, but its a camp classic executed with apparently serious intentions making the results all the more jaw dropping. The legend of lylah clare 1968 official trailer kim novak, peter. Aldrichs 1962 classic what ever happened to baby jane. The legend of lylah clare 1968 16 08211968 us drama 2h 10m user score. Movieproducer barney sheean ernest borgnine hires elsa brinkmann, the living image of the late lylah, to star in a film based on ms. The legend of lylah clare 1968 robert aldrich, kim novak. The legend of lylah clare 1968 robert aldrich synopsis. The enhanced widescreen image restores the original compositions and the improved resolution gives us a better chance of recognizing the films long list of supporting and. Aldrich decided to make a long trailer for the film, a 20 minute short to encourage them to provide the money. She was known as the lavender blonde with a husky voice and a. In the hollywood melodramas of toughguy auteur robert aldrich kiss me deadly, the world of show business is a nefarious, ulcerinducing nest of vipers populated by parasites, the deluded, and the nakedly ambitious. No one can touch robert aldrich when it comes to holding a mirror.
The warner archive collection dvdr of the legend of lylah clare is a handsome remastered edition that finally returns this strange show to its proper metrocolor hues. Best movies like the legend of lylah clare bestsimilar. Remarkably, sheean manages to find elsa brinkmann also novak, a beautiful woman who looks just. The legend of lylah clare 1968 a renowned actress who died years earlier, lylah clare kim novak is the subject of a film masterminded by movie producer barney sheean ernest borgnine. Movieproducer barney sheean ernest borgnine hires elsa brinkmann kim novak, the living image of the late lylah, to star in a film based on ms. Among all of the sex symbols of the 1950s and 1960s, kim novak is one of the most interesting. A renowned actress who died years earlier, lylah clare kim novak is the subject of a film masterminded by movie producer barney sheean ernest borgnine. Remarkably, sheean manages to find elsa brinkmann also novak, a beautiful woman who looks just like lylah, and he sets about getting the movie off the ground. The legend of lylah clare dvdr 1968 warner archive. Other articles where the legend of lylah clare is discussed. Aldrich apparently began the movie without getting quite straight what he intended to do. Richard brody on robert aldrichs the legend of lylah clare 1968. The villainous studio head in the legend lylah clare is played by ernest borgnine, and hes every evil producer stereotype wrapped up into one particularly vile character a role that borgnine plays gleefully. Its never been released on dvd, laserdisc or even videotape.
The legend of lylah clare 1968 official trailer kim. The scarlett ohara war 1980, harlow 1965, black starlet 1974, the oscar 1966, the lonely lady 1983. The legend of lylah clare 1968 stream and watch online a renowned actress who died years earlier, lylah clare kim novak is the subject of a film masterminded by movie producer barney sheean. Alberts smirk betrays how much fun mitchum is having in the role, sneering at leonora, you look like more of a cow than my late wife. A sexy starlet resembles lylah clare, a flamboyant star of the thirties, who died mysteriously and tragically on her wedding night gets a chance to play her in a biographical film directed by lylahs reallife husband peter finch and history repeats. Kim novak was a trifle too old to play the unknown ingenue who is made over and virtually. Kim novak peter finch coral browne valentina cortese ernest borgnine. Peter finch and gabriele tinti in the legend of lylah clare 1968.
Abc were reluctant to finance the feature after the box office failure of aldrichs last film about hollywood, the legend of lylah clare. 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 aldrichs best. Notorious for being one of the first dramatic feature films greeted with outright laughter upon its premiere, mgm has taken great pains to bury the legend of lylah clare. The legend of lylah clare 1968 directed by robert aldrich. Deemed a classic of sublimely bad moviemaking, the legend of lylah clare also manages to be a bizarrely affecting demolition of the hollywood dream machine from. There are only a handful of actresses who can immediately establish the image of a movie star, he said. Film star lylah clare is dead, but her legend lives on. With kim novak, peter finch, ernest borgnine, milton selzer.
The legend of lylah clare 1968 stream and watch online. The legend of lylah clare 1968 overnight, she became a star. The legend of lylah clare 1968 the meanderings of scott. Ive seen this before in its entirety, but its been at least two years. The film ends with lylahs onetime housekeeper rosella falk, gun in hand, lying in wait for zarkan to return home while her tv blasts forth a grotesque and possibly symbolic dogfood commercial. A director peter finch puts an actress kim novak in the role of his dead moviequeen wife.
Aldrichs acidic drama also lives in the harsh, unflattering shadow of two films similar enough to invite unkind comparisons. The legend of lylah clare 1968 was a failure in the sense of a box office hit it could have been, even with the collaboration of novaks star quality, the studio mgms money machine, the successes aldrich had with the dirty dozen in 1967 and the stellar casting, it came across as an convoluted oddity. The legend of lylah clare 1968 official trailer kim novak, peter finch movie hd a dictatorial film director finch hires an unknown actress novak to play the lead role in a planned movie. The legend of lylah clare 1968 official trailer kim novak, peter finch movie hd a dictatorial film director finch hires an unknown actress. Trailer for the 1968 psychological thriller the legend of lylah clare, directed by robert aldrich and starring kim novak, peter finch and ernest borgnine. The legend of lylah clare 1968 robert aldrich, kim novak, peter finch, ernest borgnine january 9, 2017 a sexy starlet resembles lylah clare, a flamboyant star of the thirties, who died mysteriously and tragically on her wedding night gets a chance to play her in a biographical film directed by lylahs reallife husband peter finch and. A sexy starlet resembles lylah clare, a flamboyant star of the thirties, who died mysteriously and tragically on her wedding night gets a chance to play her in a biographical film directed by lylahs reallife husband peter finch and history repeats itself as he falls for her reincarnation. Deemed a classic of sublimely bad moviemaking, the legend of lylah clare also manages to be a bizarrely affecting demolition of the hollywood dream machine from typically unruly director robert aldrich.
The legend of lylah clare 1968 the movie database tmdb. Like the burtontaylor boom, it provides its own grisly satisfaction. Barney hires director lewis zarkan peter finch, lylahs former husband, to transform the talentless elsa into a facsimile of the deceased screen queen. The legend of lylah clare, dvd, full frame, remastered, manufactured on demand, dramaclassics, 883316381816. Kim novaks hair and costumes look correct once more. In this film, producer barney sheean hires elsa brinkmann to star in a movie about the late actress lylah clare. One response to legend of lylah clare, the 1968 david csontos, on may 5th, 2012 at 7. Kim novak was a trifle too old to play the unknown ingenue who is made over and virtually brainwashed to play the lead in a big hollywood biopic about a dead movie star, lylah clare. I tuned in tcm last night 926 to catch the final 20 minutes or so of the legend of lylah clare, starring peter finch, kim novak and ernest borgnine the most notable stars. The legend of lylah clare 1968 fantastic movie musings.
She was known as the lavender blonde with a husky voice and a notquitethere quality, yet she had more of a presence than other blondes of the era. The legend of lylah clare 1968 robert aldrich allmovie. The legend of lylah clare as an early example of hollywood gothic camp, on the same level as something like mommy dearest. Novak plays a sexy starlet who gets a chance to play a flamboyant star of the 1930s who died mysteriously on her wedding night. A dictatorial film director peter finch hires an unknown actress kim novak to play the lead role in a planned movie biography of a late, great hollywood star. The film was based on a 1962 dupont show of the week tv drama cowritten by wild in the streets creator robert thom a satire on hollywood, full of references to. Jan 16, 20 richard brody on robert aldrichs the legend of lylah clare 1968. At some point in the filming of lylah clare it was apparently decided to turn it into a spoof of those hollywooden melodramas about moviemaking, like the carpetbaggers or harlow. A sexy starlet resembles lylah clare, a flamboyant star of the thirties, who died mysteriously and tragically on her wedding night gets a chance to play her in a biographical film directed by lylahs reallife husband peter finch and history. A dictatorial film director finch hires an unknown actress novak to play the lead role in a planned movie biography of a late, great hollywood star.
The legend of lylah clare is a 1968 american drama film released by metrogoldwynmayer and directed by robert aldrich. Justin stewart is a writer whose work has appeared in brooklyn magazine, reverse shot and elsewhere. The legend of lylah clare, aldrichs cyanidelaced 1968 valentine to hollywood, exists in the long, haunted shadow of faded stardom and abandoned. Dec, 2011 tagline for the legend of lylah clare 1968. The legend of lylah clare script spotlights the making of a film about lylah clare, a world famous pic star who died some time before under mysterious circumstances. The controversial the killing of sister george 1968 is an adaptation of the frank marcus play about an aging. Tagline for the legend of lylah clare kim novak returned to the screen after a threeyear absence with the 1968 gothic drama, the legend of lylah clare, making up for lost time by taking on two roles, a longdead hollywood sex symbol and the novice actress hired to play her.
Most everything that happens in the show has some basis in hollywood lore ive. Aldrich casts his scathing eye towards the hierarchy of the business michael murphy plays borgnines slimy son, itching to produce. The film was based on a 1962 dupont show of the week tv drama cowritten by wild in the streets creator robert. I was reminded of how bad tlolc really isimo its kim novaks worst film. Original italian four sheet poster 79x55 for the robert aldrich romantic drama, the legend of lylah clare 1968 starring kim novak, peter finch, and ernest borgnine. The legend of lylah clare film by aldrich 1968 britannica. Mar 09, 2018 secret ceremony and the legend of lylah clare air on march 9 and 16 on tcm. Opinions about the legend of lylah clare that run the gamut, including some from aldrich biographers that consider the film a masterpiece. The legend of lylah clare 1968, which offered a harsh look at hollywood, was widely panned, though it later developed a cult following for its campiness. The legend of lylah clare, in which kim novak plays both a fictional dead silentfilm star named lylah clare and elsa brinkmann, a young actress who looks remarkably like her, was made just as the studio system and its watchdog, the production code administration, were crumbling. Kim novak plays a double role in robert aldrichs the legend of lylah clare.