I recall seeing this film in NYC in the early morning hours on some strange cable channel. I remember its haunting quality, Novak´s beauty and the parallels between Lylah Clare and Fedora, the heroine in Billy Wilder´s film of the same name.Both films moved along the same lines, both featuring Garbo-esque fictional actresses impersonated in rather far-fetched plots by "insignificant" girls.
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This MGM movie had the great gloss of that studios films during its heydey and Miss Novak heads a long and very able cast of players. She placed her career in the hands of Robert Aldrich who had made Whatever Happened to Baby Jane, and The Dirty Dozen, etc. In fact he made so much money on Dirty Dozen he bought his own little studio lot and called it the Aldrich Studio. What he also did is make a mess of Lylah Clare and it was not even released overseas; MGM correctly knew it would not be understood. The last reel is unfathomable, and I agree not only should have Kim Novak been irked at Robert Aldrich but
I hope she slapped his face --at the very least--for what he did with her career. After this movie her years as a superstar were over.
Fedora is a great movie, a gem, and should be seen.
shareThis is very similar to FEDORA which came around about a decade later, I guess it's appropiate that Wilder knocked off this movie considering this one is obviously heavily influenced by SUNSET BLVD (the movie even acknowledges it with a comment at one point!) FEDORA, however, is absolutely boring - LYLAH is intriguing but still a very unsuccessful picture.
shareFedora is unbelievably bad, considering the talent involved. The source, Tom Tryon's CROWNED HEADS is a masterpiece, and the Fedora story could make a great film. BUT, what was Wlder thinking? The MIchael York addition is ridiculous, two actresses playing Fedora cuts away the mystery and the magic. Marthe Keller could easily have handled playing the older Fedora, and twenty Years earlier Heldegarde Knef , could have played the younger as well.
But back to Lylah, horrible film that somehow still intrigues me. The Kurt Weill sounding theme music is beautiful.
Williliwaw: The Legend of Lylah Clare was released overseas, at least in several European countries.
shareDear Willi...Kim's days as a superstar had ended a number of years previously. "Lylah" was her first film in two years. "The Amorous Adventures of Moll Flanders" saw success based on the much bigger success of a similar film, "Tom Jones."
However, her box-office had been declining for a while. ""Bell Book and Candle" "Middle of the Night" "Strangers When We Meet" "The Notorious Landlady" and "Of Human Bondage" all "underperformed" as it is delicately phrased.
She remained a "big name" however. And I happen to think she is superb in ""Strangers When We Meet" and "Middle of the Night." But Kim's assertions that she left Hollywood at "the height of my career" are rather exaggerated. Had that been the case, she would have left Hollywood in 1958.
The only conection I see between Fedora en Lylah Clare, is the decadence and wickedness in movie business. And please, be careful with spoilers.
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I guess "Simone" is the third part of the trilogy.The virtual movie star.
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