“The Homecoming: A Christmas Story” for “The Waltons”

Patricia Neal gives one of her best performances as Olivia Walton in 1971's
"The Homecoming: A Christmas Story."

 

The Homecoming: A Christmas Story aired Dec. 19, 1971 as a TV holiday movie. The response from viewers and critics was so strong that the network gave creator Earl Hamner, Jr. the go-ahead for a series, without a pilot. The Waltons joined the 1972-3 CBS lineup and ran nine seasons. After that came six reunion TV movies!

"The Homecoming: A Christmas Story" was so popular
that it became a TV series, "The Waltons."

Based on Hamner’s fictionalized novel about his family, The Homecoming takes place Christmas Eve, 1933. John Walton works during the week, miles from his Virginia home, and returns each weekend. As the family prepares for the holiday, the adults anxiously await John’s arrival after hearing news of a bus crash. Finally, mother Olivia sends John-Boy out to look for him. Never fear, all’s well that ends well, but not without some twists along the way.

Richard Thomas became a breakout star with his role as John-Boy Walton.

I watched this Christmas movie as a small town Upper Michigan kid and enjoyed the rural family’s story so much.  I also loved The Waltons when it first aired, but was a bit disappointed when Patricia Neal didn't continue to play Olivia Walton. Michael Learned won three Emmys as Olivia, but I thought she played her as a bit of a stick in the mud. Now, though I still love Neal’s performance, you can see in certain scenes that she's dragging her leg. A weekly series for a nearly a decade would have been too much for the post-stroke star. Here, in The Homecoming, Neal is the heart of the story, and she received an Emmy nomination and a Golden Globe award. As Olivia, Patricia's strong, fierce, earthy, romantic, and sentimental. And I love Neal’s relaxed and raspy Kentucky drawl. 

Patricia Neal as Olivia Walton anxiously awaits the return of her husband
on Christmas Eve in "The Homecoming: A Christmas Story."

Richard Thomas’ career was launched as John-Boy Walton, winning an Emmy for Best Actor in a series for 1973, at age 22. His open face and earnest acting felt realistic and was a cut above the typical young TV stars. Also, Thomas was a dreamboat to both sensitive girls and boys.

Earl Hamner, Jr. with Richard Thomas. John-Boy Walton was Hamner's
fictionalized version of himself as a young man. 

The rapport between Neal’s staunch mother and Thomas’ dreamer son gives this movie resonance. Olivia is exasperated as to what John-Boy is up to behind locked doors, which leads her to pound on his bedroom door. As the no-nonsense mother, Neal’s changing reactions flicker across her face as Thomas’ son pours his heart out about his dreams as a writer. And Olivia’s firm but loving instructions as she sends John-Boy out to look for his father is also subtly strong. Thomas as John-Boy shines as he steels his courage and sets out to find his daddy, in the local lush’s crate of a car. John-Boy’s thoughts and his eventful evening while he seeks help are heartfelt and gently humorous.

Patricia Neal & Richard Thomas' scenes together give
"The Homecoming: A Christmas Story" its quiet strength.

Ellen Corby was an audience favorite as crusty Grandma Walton, and she reminded me of my tough-talking Grandma Alvera. Corby won a total of three Emmys for her role and she was fine from the get-go. Edgar Bergen played Grandpa Walton authoritatively and straightforwardly, and I must say that a little of the later Will Geer went a long way. 

Edgar Bergen & Ellen Corby play Grandpa & Grandma Walton subtly in
"The Homecoming: A Christmas Story."

All of the original Walton kids are here and they do a good job playing believable brothers and sisters. Thomas’ John-Boy has many good moments with his on-screen siblings, even when the big brother is tired of playing “mother hen.”

What would be Christmas Eve be without a visit to the Baldwin sisters,
candles on the tree and "the recipe" at the ready?

As with the TV series, The Homecoming: A Christmas Story has a great cast of supporting characters. The Baldwin sisters were played here by wonderful veteran actresses Josephine Hutchinson and Dorothy Pickney. The extended scene where John-Boy and the preacher visit the moonshine-making sisters on Christmas Eve is charming and bittersweet. And Cleavon Little is the preacher! From The Waltons to Blazing Saddles, that’s quite a stretch. He’s total charmer here as Hawthorne Dooley, who helps John-Boy polish his people skills, while trying to get gas for the boy’s vehicle. Prolific dramatic/comedic actor William Windom plays the local drunk who is also the Christmas bandit, and he’s terrific as always. David Huddleston is amusing as the sheriff who nabs him. Woodrow Parfrey portrays storekeeper Ike Godsey in a one-off performance. Parfrey was a prolific character actor in TV and movies. I must say that it's a jolt to see Andrew Duggan, who I remember as silvery-haired, turn up at the finale as Pa Walton with fluffy, reddish hair! 

Cleavon Little of "Blazing Saddles" fame is a charmer as preacher Hawthorne Dooley.

I feel The Homecoming is a bit grittier than The Waltons. The story is simple but filled with feeling, fascinating characters, and based in reality, which reminded me of Truman Capote's classic, A Christmas Memory. I felt a connection with John-Boy as both an aspiring writer and an atypical country boy. One of the sweetest scenes is when Pa Walton gives John-Boy a stack of Red Chief writing tablets for Christmas.

A sweet scene when Pa Walton acknowledges his son's writing dreams with this gift.

The Homecoming: A Christmas Story is set at the height of the Great Depression, nearly a century ago. This story could be a tonic for our current fraught times—so that modern viewers can see what hard times really looked like.

The exterior scenes of "The Homecoming: A Christmas Story" were actually filmed
in Jackson Hole, Wyoming.

Here's my look at another rural look back at Christmas, Truman Capote's A Christmas Memory, with the great Geraldine Page: 

https://ricksrealreel.blogspot.com/2018/12/a-christmas-memory-1966.html

 

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The only unnatural moment in "The Homecoming: A Christmas Story" is when Andrew Duggan shows up at the finish with fluffy red hair!

 

 

I’d Rather Love the Real Lucy

 

Lucille Ball & Desi Arnaz, when they first became Lucy & Ricky Ricardo.

The bongo drums are beating hard for Being the Ricardos, but I will pass. Top talent is involved, but they’re a mismatch to the material. After suffering through Feud in 2017, B.S. that was ballyhooed to restore the reputations of dueling divas Davis and Crawford, I swore never again to celebrity bios. 

Lucille Ball & Desi Arnaz, with Vivian Vance & William Frawley, in "I Love Lucy."

The thought of Aaron Sorkin 'splainin' about the real Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz, with his on the nose banter and op-ed speeches, makes me grimace like Lucy Ricardo. While I admire past performances by Nicole Kidman and Javier Bardem, they are 14 and 18 years older than Lucy and Desi when they became the Ricardos. And flashbacks? Shades of 70-ish Jessica Lange as Joan Crawford in Mildred Pierce! I don't expect impersonations, but I expect an actor playing an icon like Joan, Liz, or Lucy to at least superficially resemble them, and not look embalmed. The film is getting the kind of reviews I thought: fans of Kidman and Sorkin are raving, and others are giving it mixed reviews for the reasons I gave.

What interests me far more are topics brought up in regard to Lucy and Desi's legacy. They were indeed a fascinating couple personally and a trailblazing one, professionally. Like Ava & Frank and Liz & Dick, Lucy & Desi couldn't live with each other, but also couldn't live without each other. Like those other fabled duos, Lucy and Desi stayed cordial, and it was generally understood by friends and family that they had a bond that divorce didn't break.

Famous "I Love Lucy" scene when Lucy tells Ricky she's pregnant. Lucy & Desi mixed their on/off-screen lives, but scenes like this showed their great love was real.

Lucy always gave Desi credit as the unsung hero of their success. Some have questioned this as patronizing on Ball's part, but all you have to do is watch an interview with Lucy to see that she meant every word. It reminds me much of how Cher, though often sharp-tongued about her famous ex-husband's ways, ALWAYS gave Sonny credit for their success, and that he was much more than the good-natured clown. This was also much the way Desi as Ricky was perceived. Lucy claimed to be the muse and at home, the Mom, with Desi as the big picture guy who took care of business. Also like Cher, Lucy was surprisingly serious off-camera. Their men were the big personalities who got stuff done. In different ways, both men lost sight of their original vision, and lost their superstar wives in the process. With Sonny, it was womanizing and controlling behavior; with Desi, it was drinking, gambling, and womanizing. Both women didn’t take it well.

Like Lucy and Desi, Sonny and Cher first were thrilled to be in a weekly show for CBS because it got them off the road. But working together and going home every night for both couples made their problems even more apparent. Ironically, both couples’ shows played off and romanticized their personal lives. When Cher went solo, she immediately called Lucy, as they were friendly. Here’s Lucy's response to Cher's fears: "Get out there and work your ass off!" 

I don't know about Cher's love life, but Lucy gave her some career advice.

The biggest difference between Lucy and Desi was her workaholic, perfectionist personality and his laissez-faire charm. To a certain extent, they rubbed off on each other for the better. But once I Love Lucy led to a Desilu empire, the pressure was enormous.

Keeping an eye on Desi Arnaz took its toll on Lucille Ball, and their marriage.

Why was Lucy so uptight, some fans have wondered, disappointed that she wasn't fun-loving Lucy Ricardo. Well, Lucy's rise to the top in showbiz was very slow, and filled with obstacles. At the beginning of her career, Lucy went to acting school in NYC. Ball struggled hard, but came back home, rejected and defeated. In Hollywood, one reason given that Lucy's contract was sold by RKO was that she was too old to become a movie star. Lucy was then 31, the same age as top RKO star Ginger Rogers. Though Lucy and Ginger both arrived in Hollywood about the same time, Rogers quickly ascended from Busby Berkeley musicals to starring with Fred Astaire, while Ball toiled away in mostly B movies. Even after personal raves for 1942’s The Big Street, with top critic James Agee praising Lucy, saying she was born for the parts that fellow star Ginger Rogers sweated over, no dice. At MGM, Lucy didn't fare much better, though Ball dyed her hair famously red. Nobody seemed to know what to do with this obviously talented lady.

Lucille Ball & Desi Arnaz at the beginning of their life together, beautiful & in love.
But it wasn't a rose garden, right from the start.

Some say that Lucy's beauty and comedy persona didn't mix for audiences. Yet, the '30s were the screwball comedy heyday as were romantic comedies of the war years, which made stars of Ginger, Kate Hepburn, Claudette Colbert, Barbara Stanwyck, and especially Carole Lombard, who befriended Ball.

I think decades of Ball trying to make it as an actress, to no great effect, made Lucy not just strong, but gradually bitter—and scared. Once she hit the jackpot with I Love Lucy, Ball was 40, when many of her contemporaries were fading. But once Lucy was finally at the top, I think she was scared of losing it all, and having a careless husband didn't help. And once she went solo in the '60s, with more hit variations of her “Lucy” character, Desi's warmth was much missed. Lucy's comedic energy later seemed more like frantic tension. 

Desi Arnaz & Lucille Ball near the end of their being the Ricardos... and married.

Desi gradually phased out of Desilu and Lucy took over. Though Lucy claimed she didn’t enjoy being a boss, Ball sure loved bossing people around. Even great stars were run roughshod over. Richard Burton dished in his diaries about life with Lucy; Elizabeth Taylor, not one to tell tales out of school, when Rosie O' Donnell innocently asked if she had fun working with Lucy, ET looked at her in mock horror. Rosie pressed on and Taylor demonstrated, as if grabbing someone by the shoulders, barking, "You! Over here!" 

I think what everyone close to Lucy understood and this was expressed in the great TV documentary, Lucy and Desi: A Home Movie, was that Lucy operated on tension, and everyone wished she could have just relaxed. 

Aside from their love, Lucille Ball & Desi Arnaz stayed close because they both
adored their two children, who came in the last half of their 20 year marriage.

But Lucy pressed on, going from Here's Lucy to the ill-advised Mame, dated TV dramatic appearances, and one last attempt at being “Lucy” in the '80s. Lucy revealed herself on latter day talk show appearances to be a rather tough cookie. Daughter Lucie told Joan Rivers that Ball was a control freak. Despite all this, Lucy's decades of good will with the public overrode all of this. The TV talk show appearances indeed revealed that Lucy wasn't a picnic. But Ball wasn't a phony either, and never hid behind a fake persona. What you saw was what you got.

Lucille Ball & Desi Arnaz, with children Desi Jr. & Lucie.

Some were shocked when Lucy referred to Desi as a loser to Barbara Walters in a 1977 interview. It wasn't said as an insult. Lucy lauded Desi as a talent who made their success possible and put up with a lot of crap regarding his race and role in their careers. By loser, Lucy said Desi couldn't control the urge to throw away all his success with drinking, gambling, and other women. And despite nearly two decades, a devoted second husband at her side, it was painfully obvious that Lucy was still very hurt by the memories.

Desi seemed to drift in retirement, but like Lucy, he had a great second great spouse, who even met with exacting Lucy’s approval. Arnaz occasionally surprised everybody, as with his excellent memoirs and a memorable appearance on SNL.

Lucille Ball & Desi Arnaz at a family affair.

As Lucy and Desi appeared together at milestones in their adult children's lives, it was obvious that there was still great affection between them. If you get a chance to see Lucy and Desi: A Home Movie, the final scene with them in the pool with their baby grandson is a tearjerker. You can watch this 1993 TV doc on Amazon Prime or IMDB TV here:

https://www.amazon.com/Lucy-Desi-Movie-Lucille-Ball/dp/B07QDPP86F

And for an excellent account of their lives and career, read Desilu: The Story of Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz, by Coyne S. Sanders and Tom Gilbert. Go here:

https://www.amazon.com/Desilu-Story-Lucille-Ball-Arnaz/dp/0062020013

There are many great interviews with Lucy and Desi, and also their family and friends, on YouTube. I would much rather see the real Lucy and Desi, than an imitation of their life together.

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Lucille Ball & Desi Arnaz, in happier times.

Natalie Wood’s Farewell in “Brainstorm” 1983

Natalie Wood completed all but two scenes in "Brainstorm" before her untimely demise.

While 1983’s Brainstorm is not flawless filmmaking, the sci-fi film was made with good intentions, talented artists, and some intriguing ideas. Given the circumstances that Brainstorm was made under—the battling director and studio plus the death of a star—it’s a miracle that the resulting movie nearly two years later was even completed.

Christopher Walken plays the scientist husband of Natalie Wood in "Brainstorm."

Brainstorm is about research scientists who devise a system that allows people to experience recorded events, thoughts, and feelings of others—virtual reality. The military wants in on this government project and they don’t want to use the innovation for good, of course. The two lead scientists are Christopher Walken as Michael Brace and Louise Fletcher as Lillian Reynolds. Natalie Wood is Walken’s estranged wife, Karen, who is the project’s designer. Cliff Robertson is their boss, Alex Terson, who gives in to the government.

Christopher Walken and Natalie Wood play an estranged couple in "Brainstorm."

Though Natalie Wood had done some fine work in television after her return to acting, The Cracker Factory and a mini-series remake of From Here to Eternity, Wood sought to make her mark again on the big screen. Two prior efforts, Meteor and The Last Married Couple in America, despite good directors and co-stars, could not elevate the weak material. Though Wood had kept her face and figure, Natalie was acutely aware that she was now over 40, tough for golden era stars.

Natalie Wood hoped "Brainstorm" would be a step in the right direction
for her film career, but admitted the special effects were the real star.

Christopher Walken was then a hot young star, on the verge of becoming a leading man, like DeNiro or Pacino. Instead, Walken became a quirky star character actor. Did the Wood scandal taint Walken and give his odd looks and peculiar persona an even more sinister edge?

There's times when Christopher Walken's nerd scientist looks like Dwight Schrute.

First time director Douglas Trumball was prior a special effects director on classics like 2001: A Space Odyssey, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, and Blade Runner. Trumball had a vision for the film, with use of a new process called Showscan. This was a high-speed, large-screen process that would show a picture with absolute clarity. The process would also require theaters to be retrofitted to accommodate this film. MGM was a studio that seemed to be strapped for cash many times over the years, and not the studio to foot the bill. But that’s never stopped a problematic production from getting the green light in Hollywood.

Louise Fletcher, excellent as Walken's co-scientist, Lillian Reynolds, in "Brainstorm."

Ironically, the studio's attempt to stop the film maker parallels Brainstorm's major plot point, when the scientists get their project taken away. When Natalie Wood died, MGM had already gotten cold feet over this expensive production. Even though all but two of Wood’s scenes were shot, they seized on her tragedy as an excuse to shut down production. The studio even locked the sets, much like when Brainstorm’s scientist gets locked out of his lab.

Cliff Robertson, as Alex, the smiling bad guy, in "Brainstorm."

Insurance company Lloyds of London offered to pay out for the completion of the film, instead of the whole write-off that MGM wanted. Trumball's fight with the studio to finish embittered him from directing again, and the studio dumped the film after the fact. Ultimately, the standoff was a lose-lose, but along the way, Brainstorm became a bit of a cult classic.

The premise is fascinating; the effects are terrific and imaginative for their time. The fine cast does what they can with the film's biggest problem: a script and characters that feels like a sketch, not a full-bodied portrait. The dialogue, especially in some of the crucial scenes, feels very flat-footed. There's a lot of short-hand for characterization, like Cliff Robertson's old-school rich alpha male wardrobe, Louise Fletcher's incessant smoking, and Chris Walken's absent minded professor routine. Natalie Wood has nothing to work with, but the star is warm, sincere, and beautiful, so that's something. More than a few film stars have gone out with far less fanfare.

Christopher Walken's scientist "sees" a sad memory via his wife in "Brainstorm."

Louise Fletcher has a beautiful death scene, elegantly depicted by the actress and director. Robertson’s got the smiling villain down pat, since Three Days of the Condor. Walken is perfectly cast as the brilliant but tunnel vision scientist. The actor plays his part well, not afraid to look like a nerd or a jerk in flashbacks.

The supporting cast is particularly good. Note that one of the “food fantasy” girls is 19-year-old Lana Clarkson, who would come to her own tragic end, murdered by Phil Spector in 2003.

Lana Clarkson, center, was just 19 in this food fantasy scene in "Brainstorm."

Trumball was admired by his stars, gave his all to the produce a breakthrough in special effects, fought the good fight with the studio, and he deserves great credit for that. I can only fault Trumball for not paying as much attention to the script as the special effects. Yes, the final result falls short of the original vision. But the story still has resonance. 

In happier times: Christopher Walken and Natalie Wood in "Brainstorm."

Natalie Wood was having better luck on television than film, and that is probably where she would have ultimately worked. Would Nat have settled for quality work on TV or would she have ended up as a guest star on one of the ‘80s many night time soaps? Wood was also exploring theater; Anastasia was to be her stage debut in early 1982.

Like other stars that died young, Natalie's death has kept her in the public eye. Sadly, that tragedy at times overshadows the legacy of Natalie Wood. And while Brainstorm is no classic, at least Natalie exited the big screen with her class intact.

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Encouraged by friend Elizabeth Taylor's success in "The Little Foxes,"
Natalie Wood had planned to make her stage debut in 1982 with "Anastasia."

 

 

“The Legend of Lylah Clare” 1968

Kim Novak as Elsa Brinkmann, facing the press in "The Legend of Lylah Clare." 
The scene is afternoon, but the window's view always says sunset in Transylvania!

Robert Aldrich, one of the least subtle directors ever, made one of his most outlandish and personal films in 1968, The Legend of Lylah Clare. The 130 minute Tinseltown tale was taken from a 60 minute ‘63 TV drama. Aldrich loved showbiz gothic—imagine The Big Knife, Whatever Happened to Baby Jane?, and The Legend of Lylah Clare in a triple feature.

How many camp classics feature the star madly slashing away at a portrait?!

This type of hothouse Hollywood story was out of style by the late '60s, when gritty new movie realism had taken hold. What we have here is a Sunset Boulevard-esque show biz mystery: What Really Happened to Lylah Clare?

Those Kim as Elsa portrays '30s star "Lylah Clare," Novak's style says '60s, baby!

Kim Novak plays the legendary title character AND wannabe Elsa Brinkmann. Lylah’s agent, Bart Langner, who discovered the late star, comes across the dead ringer starlet. Thinking he’s struck lightning twice, Bart takes her to Lewis Zarken, Lylah’s late director—and husband, for a day! Skeptical, he runs roughshod over Elsa, though she turns out to be a diamond in the rough. Soon, the starlet is groomed to play Lylah in a big screen bio epic. Along the way, Elsa starts channeling Lylah that borders on obsession…or possession? To describe the byzantine plot any further would require many spoilers and a flow chart.

Tuesday Weld at 20 played Lylah as a fragile Monroe-type starlet.

While Tuesday Weld played TV’s Lylah as a Marilyn Monroe-esque type, Kim's movie Lylah is written as a Garbo/Dietrich-esque icon. Both Lylahs are controlled by a domineering director and claustrophobic Hollywood mindset. The TV version focuses on what Hollywood does to fragile personalities, having been filmed a year after Marilyn Monroe's sudden and shocking death. The expanded movie version gives director Aldrich ample opportunity to take his pot shots at Hollywood, both old and new. Some criticisms are still relevant today, like moviemaking as a mainly tie-in venture, the public's acceptance of anything that's dished up to them as truth, etc. And old Hollywood gets skewered with their crass moguls, bitchy gossip columnists, and movie legends with lurid off-screen lives. 

Kim Novak at 35 played Lylah ala Dietrich/Garbo, here portraying "Anna Christie."

With the exception of Kim Novak, the cast cannot be faulted for the mind-bending awfulness of The Legend of Lylah Clare. It's the absurd, literal screenplay. Robert Thom wrote the original teleplay, but some Aldrich associates with slim resumes wrote the film screenplay, along with Bob’s heavy hand, no doubt.

Elsa/Lylah gives the hunky Italian gardener the Hollywood handshake 
in "The Legend of Lylah Clare, as the Svengali director looks on.

The supporting cast plays types, often stereotypes, but they get the job done. Peter Finch has great fun as the egotistical director, based on Svengali-types of Hollywood past like Josef von Sternberg, Mauritz Stiller, and Erich von Stroheim. Peter's at his most rugged, silver fox best, and he's quite convincing in this cartoonish role. Notice how Peter Finch in flashback as the evil genius sports the same goatee as Kenneth Branagh in his flashbacks from Dead Again. Finch has the film’s most absurd lines and relishes every one of them! Yet, in the few moments of melancholy, Finch is genuinely touching.

In one of the many absurd flashbacks, Peter Finch as the mad director sports a goatee.

...which reminded me of Kenneth Branagh
in HIS maestro flashbacks from "Dead Again!"

 

Everyone assumed that Coral Browne as Molly Luther was playing a mix of Louella Parsons, with her grumpy cat face, and Hedda Hopper, all queen bee snappishness. Perhaps, but it's also a takeoff on lesser-known columnist Radie Harris, who had a wooden leg due to a childhood riding accident, and was usually in a wheelchair. Ironically, Browne was sued by Harris years prior, when she publicly asked Radie how it felt to have showbiz at her FOOT. Browne lost, but got her revenge later!

Coral Browne does a take-off on imperious columnist Radie Harris in "Lylah Clare."

Rossella Falk is quite convincing as ... Rossella! The drug addict lesbian loves Lylah, but seems to have a love/hate feeling toward Zorken, is an interesting character. Why does she stick around and put up with the director’s abuse—the drugs, their secrets? Falk makes this all very believable and empathetic.

Rossella Falk plays imaginatively named Rossella in "The Legend of Lylah Clare."

Ernest Borgnine has a ball hamming it up as the forever shouting movie mogul, Barney Sheean. His exact opposite, mild-mannered Michael Murphy, plays the son, who wants to make films! Aldrich fave George Kennedy has a cameo as Lylah's co-star in a movie within a movie of Anna Christie. 

Ernest Borgnine as the loud studio head, bargaining with Peter Finch's director,
with demurely dressed Kim Novak looking on.

Of the huge cast, the one big problem is Kim Novak. As mousy Elsa Brinkmann, Kim is vulnerable and awkward in the Vertigo mold. Kim's face and figure found her aging far more beautifully than such screen beauties as Rita, Ava, and Liz. However, Kim was 35 and a bit long in the tooth to be playing an aspiring actress. Sharon Tate, a decade younger, might have been a better choice. But that's the least of Kim's problems as Lylah Clare.

I think Kim Novak is actually prettier as "plain" Elsa Brinkmann
than as bleached blonde Lylah Clare.

Once Kim gives up Elsa's dowdy clothes and long brownish wig, Novak gets the Hollywood makeover and is transformed into the late, great Lylah Clare. Kim Novak also seems to have her own version of Wigstock going on in Lylah Clare. Kim looks fab in the Renié wardrobe and sports a variety of puffy platinum wigs and falls, accented with Novak's trademark black eyeliner and frosted lipstick. Oh, wait, isn't Kim supposed to be playing an old-time Hollywood star? Novak's about as convincing a '30s star as Carroll Baker was as Harlow. Authenticity apparently wasn’t “in” during the '60s.

Kim as Elsa starring in a Lylah Clare bio pic, got all that? With Peter Finch.

Kim Novak's 60s's style reminded me of another star
who loved wigs, black eyeliner, and frosted lipstick!

Though Kim looks more like Dusty Springfield than Hollywood golden era, Novak handles the gorgeous part, but doesn't have the flair to play the flamboyant film diva. As Lylah seems to possess Elsa, Kim throws her head back to laugh so far and wide, that you can see all of her fillings. And out from her mouth spouts a baritone German accent that sounds more like Mercedes McCambridge in The Exorcist than Hildegard Knef mimicking Marlene Dietrich. The dubbing comes off especially bad because it seems broadcast in Stereophonic sound compared to Kim’s whisper! The excruciating dialogue makes the accent sound even more absurd: "Keep your FEEL-THEE hands off me!" And her bwah-hah-hah laugh makes me think of Rocky and Bullwinkle's Natasha Badenov! Finally, in the flashbacks, the voices are slowed down, making the dubbed baritone sound especially bizarre. It’s all insane, and instantly undercuts Novak, who looks helpless as the late volatile screen siren.

Photographer Richard Avedon took a series of pictures of Kim Novak as Lylah Clare,
which are more subtle than anything in the film!

Elizabeth Taylor and Bette Davis dished up over the top self-parodies in Boom! and The Anniversary in ’68. Lana Turner and Jennifer Jones were oblivious in their late '60s camp misadventures, The Big Cube and Angel, Angel, Down We Go. But Kim seems painfully aware that she's out of her depth in Lylah Clare. She doesn't just cruise along in like Lana and Jen, or ride the wheels off like Liz and Bette. Novak looks like she wants to leap out of her vehicle!

The finale of "Lylah Clare" is a circus scene. Why? Don't ask! And don't look down!

The last act of Lylah Clare takes the cinema cake. The circus climax that “explains” Lylah’s mysterious death is beyond absurd. The film within a film finale at the premiere is a major eye roll. And the gun-wielding Rossella watching a deranged dog food commercial in the last scene is beyond “what the hell?!”

Kim Novak as Lylah Clare in her swan song... dive. Lylah dies with her tiara intact!

Gossip girl Molly Luther asks Zorken, “Aren't you borrowing from Sunset Boulevard?” Yes, and Vertigo, and Baby Jane, too. And as usual, Aldrich’s film is at least 15 minutes too long.

Rossella and director Louis' reaction to Lylah's bio pic! Bingo to the "BS" logo!

That insane soundtrack by DeVol, especially the theme, is like being put on hold by ‘60s showbiz hell. The music seems more suitable for a sitcom or romantic comedy, not a Hollywood horror story.

I loved all the paintings of Kim as Lylah Clare, which makes me wonder if artist Novak got to keep any mementos. Jaroslav Gebr is the same artist who did the paintings for the Night Gallery pilot, including the famous Joan Crawford painting, and the nostalgic title cards for The Sting.

Artist Jaroslav Gebr with his collection of Kim as Lylah Clare paintings.

Director Robert Aldrich deserves credit for owning up to this debacle and for his mishandling of Kim Novak. Classic film fans will probably find The Legend of Lylah Clare fascinating to watch. More casual movie fans will probably reach for the remote!

Kim at the "Lylah" premiere, channeling more Lylah than Elsa!

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Like many movie paintings, I wonder who owns Kim's "Lylah Clare" portrait now?