MovieChat Forums > Lili (1953) Discussion > The other Lili

The other Lili

posted 18 years ago by whitelion43
4 replies | jump to latest

did anybody else notice the play Canival and the movie Lili had the same plotline? This had bothered me until I noticed that they were both written by Helen Deutsch. Helen wrote Lili first then I guess you would call it adapted it fore broadway in 1961 and she was nominated but lost to her co-writer for the play. here is the link to The Internet Broadway Database so you can read it yourself http://www.ibdb.com/production.asp?ID=2302.
signed
David G
"Thats alright,my dog found the chainsaw!"

[–] eve_arden 17 years ago

Lili is based on a book by Paul Gallico; I've read it and the film's plot is similar apart from the fact that Mef Ferrer's character is even crueller to Lili in the book, to the point of raping her. So Deutsch didn't write it, she just adapted it for the screen (and softened it for Hollywood).

[–] filmfan86 17 years ago

I'm glad they didn't go as far as the book - i can't imagine how they'd make the mel ferrer character redemible if her rapes her - geez! I loved Mel Ferrer in Lili - I thought his character was complex - and even though he was a moody jerk most of the time - it was because he was justifibly (bad spelling sorry) bitter about not being able dance and because the girl he loves likes someone else. Plus I loved the way he would comfort her as the puppets - that was so sweet.

"Everything in this room is eatable. Even I'm eatable. But that’s called cannibalism."

[–] le_chaton_rouge05 17 years ago

I agree. He was not able to woo her as himself so he used the puppets as an excuse. Man do I love this movie.

[–] lae21 17 years ago

The very first version was called "The Man Who Hated People" and was loosely based on a very popular early television puppet show called Kukla, Fran and Ollie. The short story was published in Look magazine in the early '50s. I guess Gallico fleshed out the story, took it out of the television studio and put it in a carnival and it became For the Love of Seven Dolls.
I was just watching an interview with Leslie Caron (who just had her 76th birthday) and she said that MGM was ashamed of this film, and that people laughed at her for playing the part.
It is a shame that Lili has not been released on DVD yet, as three of its stars (Caron, Ferrer and Gabor) are still with us and they could do a little background documentary on the film. I recorded it yesterday so I could watch it later on, until I get an official DVD.