The Legend of Lylah Clare (1968)
3.2 of 5 from 46 ratings
2h 10min
- General info
- Available formats
- Synopsis:
Agent Bart Langner (Milton Selzer) finds Elsa Brinkmann (Kim Novak), a would-be actress who looks and sounds just like Lylah Clare, a flamboyant star who fell to her death in suspicious circumstances 20 years ago. He persuades arrogant director Lewis Zarkan (Peter Finch), who had been married to Lylah, to see her. The two men then convince brash studio head Barney Sheean (Ernest Borgnine), who is equally struck, to back a picture with her as Lylah. Besides coping with the tyrannical Zarkan and easy access to alcohol and drugs, Elsa also has to contend with other hazards of Hollywood like malicious journalist Molly Luther and lesbian admirer Rossella (Rossella Falk). As filming continues, her identification with her rôle gets more intense. She also begins to fall in love with Zarkan, who is happy to sleep with her but his priority is to get his film finished. By the last day of shooting, her personality seems to have merged with that of the outrageous Lylah whose fatal fall, we learn, was prompted by the jealous Zarkan. To antagonise him, she first lets him find her in bed with the gardener. Then, as he directs her in a circus scene, she leaps to her death from the high-wire. The resulting publicity makes his film a huge success. A final sequence suggests that the world of Hollywood is literally one of dog eats dog. - Actors:
- Kim Novak, Peter Finch, Ernest Borgnine, Milton Selzer, Rossella Falk, Gabriele Tinti, Valentina Cortese, Jean Carroll, Michael Murphy, Coral Browne, Lee Meriwether, James Lanphier, Robert Ellenstein, Nick Dennis, Dave Willock, Peter Bravos, Ellen Corby, Michael Fox, Hal Maguire, Tom Patty
- Directors:
- Robert Aldrich
- Writers:
- Robert Thom, Edward DeBlasio
- Genres:
- Drama
- Collections:
- The Instant Expert's Guide to: Robert Aldrich
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