Wonderland Burlesque's Let's All Go To The Movies: She's A Lady! - Part XXXVII

Wonderland Burlesque's

Let's All Go To The Movies

She's A Lady!

Part XXXVII

Yes, sometimes? It takes a lady.

And sometimes, that lady takes a lover!

Or so these films would have us believe.

They promise lots of drama, the occasional comedy or musical, and a little bit of dirt!

Let's take a walk down Hollywood Blvd. and shine a light on these magnificent classic films.

This way, if you please. But remember...

Ladies first!

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Lady Chatterley's Lover

(1955)

AKA: L'Amant de lady Chatterley

An adaptation of D.H. Lawrence's classic risqué novel about an aristocratic wife who has a passionate affair with her gamekeeper.

Based on the 1928 novel by D. H. Lawrence, this French drama was directed by Marc Allégret who co-wrote screenplay with Philippe de Rothschild and Gaston Bonheur, and stars Danielle Darrieux, Leo Genn, and Erno Crisa.

Italian actor Erno Crisa, playing the gamekeeper, acted all his scenes in French but ended up being dubbed in by Julien Bertheau, a distinguished French stage actor from the prestigious Comédie Française.

British actor Leo Genn, playing Sir Clifford Chatterley, also acted all his scenes in French and was not dubbed, as it was the practice back then: his actual voice can be heard throughout the film. Naturally, he sports a strong English accent but as the film is set in England, it fits the story line well.

In 1955, the film was banned in New York because it "promoted adultery", but it was released in 1959 after the U.S. Supreme Court reversed a lower court's decision, dubbing it no longer obscene.

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Fanny Hill Meets Lady Chatterly

(1967)

A bawdy sexploitation film combining the classic stories of John Cleland's Fanny Hill and D.H. Lawrence's Lady Chatterley.

This sexploitation film was directed by Barry Mahon and George Matsui, and stars Susan Evans Alex Keen and Sally Singer.

The producers avoided any litigation on the part of D.H. Lawrence's estate by leaving the final 'e' out of Lady Chatterley's name in the title of the film. This is the first of three films in which Susan Evans plays Fanny Hill, who later meets meets Dr. Erotico and then The Red Baron.

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Lady Chatterly Versus Fanny Hill

(1971)

AKA: Games That Lovers Play

In the 1920s, two rival brothel madams have a bet on who has the sexiest girls.

This British softcore comedy was written and directed by Malcolm Leigh and stars Joanna Lumley, Penny Brahms, Richard Wattis, Jeremy Lloyd and Diane Hart.

Jeremy Lloyd and Joanna Lumley married during the making of the film.

In 2018, Joanna Lumley revealed she felt pressured to strip for this movie. Speaking to the Sunday Mirror, the star said: "In those days if you were an actress you had to take you top off or they would have said you're not a real actress. I got my top off. We had to. Look, Diana Rigg has done it. Julie Christie has done it.'

While filming, Diane Hart was also campaigning in the General Election in the UK. She stood as an Independent in the constituency of Lewisham South.

The Monthly Film Bulletin wrote: "Hardly a plea for sexual tolerance, this lightweight sex comedy derives its humour largely from double entendre and sexual deviations, notably transvestism. On the premise that if one man in drag is funny then forty will be hilarious, a Drag Ball is staged – to the detriment of Jeremy Lloyd who, unlike the other guests (played by authentic drag queens) merely looks like a man dressed up as a woman and can do nothing with a part that makes him a prude as well as a lecher. The sense of period, conscientiously attempted by means of every style of décor from antique to art nouveau, is broken by the contemporary look of the actors which adds a final veneer of unreality to an already vacuous story."

Joanna Lumley

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Young Lady Chatterley

(1977)

Cynthia inherits her aunt's large estate and moves in. She reads her aunt's diary and finds out (and graphically imagines) how she was taught in the ways of love by her gardener in 1901 at the age of 21. She decides to continue the tradition and gets it on with the handsome young gardener herself!

This American softcore pornographic film was directed by Alan Roberts and stars Harlee McBride, Peter Ratray, and Lawrence Montaigne.

There is an unrated video version which contains more sex that was cut from the wide release in order to earn an 'R' rating.

The film was followed by a sequel in 1985, Young Lady Chatterley II, also starring McBride.

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Lady Chatterley's Lover

1981

A film adaptation of D.H. Lawrence's novel. After a crippling injury leaves her husband impotent, Lady Chatterly is torn between her love for her husband and her physical desires. With her husband's consent, she seeks out other means of fulfilling her needs.

This erotic romantic drama was directed by Just Jaeckin,and stars Sylvia Kristel and Nicholas Clay.

Marlon Brando was attached to Marc Allégret's version in the late 1950s, and in 1964 Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor were briefly mentioned for a possible remake in the UK. Ken Russell had considered filming the book, but lost the rights. When he heard who was making it he said, "unless the director has turned over a new leaf, Lady Chatterly's Lover is going to be a glossy facile romp in the woods, romp after romp after romp." When the film was first announced by Cannon producers Menahem Golan and Yoram Globus, Oliver Reed and Sarah Miles were the proposed stars.

Actress Sylvia Kristel and director Just Jaeckin, after making Emmanuelle (1974), had not spoken to each other for a few years until this film project came along. The rift had developed after each had spoken publicly about the other while doing press publicity for Emmanuelle (1974).

Producer André Djaoui and star Sylvia Kristel were romantically involved during filming. When Kristel cut her hair short after her last scene was shot, Djaoui didn't like her new look and ended the affair.

Sylvia Kristel mandated that written into her contract was a clause that stipulated that this movie would be made tastefully and discretely enough for it to receive the equivalent of an A- rating in the UK (= PG in the USA and Australia). The movie ended up with an R Classification in Australia and the USA and an 18/X Classification in the UK. She also had last word when it came to who would play the Oliver Mellors role. Kristel once said that this film was the best movie she had ever made.

Sylvia Kristel once said in an interview: "I'm self-conscious without my clothes on. I am truly modest, so I think I must be a masochist to do so many nude scenes. But I felt a little better about myself when I got a letter from one of the nuns in the convent saying she liked my work in Emmanuelle. Isn't that something? Imagine, a nun going to see that picture."

The character of Oliver Mellors was originally going to be played by Ian McShane who was a former boyfriend of lead star Sylvia Kristel. McShane pulled-out of the film when his wife objected to him doing sex scenes with his ex-girlfriend.

Oliver Reed was offered the role of Oliver Mellors but turned it down. Reed had appeared in a lead role in Ken Russell's filmed adaptation of D.H. Lawrence's Women in Love (1969).

The film was not as popular as the filmmakers expected and Cannon Films ended up recording a loss. However, the film later became more popular in the home video market, as well as constant late night showings on premium cable channels such as Cinemax and Showtime in the mid to late 1980s.

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And that's all for now, folks!

Tune in next time...

Same place, same channel.

Lady Chatterley's Lover - Movie Trailer

(1981)