lady l movie reviews

Log in or sign up for Rotten Tomatoes

Trouble logging in?

By continuing, you agree to the Privacy Policy and the Terms and Policies , and to receive email from the Fandango Media Brands .

By creating an account, you agree to the Privacy Policy and the Terms and Policies , and to receive email from Rotten Tomatoes and to receive email from the Fandango Media Brands .

By creating an account, you agree to the Privacy Policy and the Terms and Policies , and to receive email from Rotten Tomatoes.

Email not verified

Let's keep in touch.

Sign up for the Rotten Tomatoes newsletter to get weekly updates on:

• Upcoming Movies and TV shows
• Rotten Tomatoes Podcast
• Media News + More

By clicking "Sign Me Up," you are agreeing to receive occasional emails and communications from Fandango Media (Fandango, Vudu, and Rotten Tomatoes) and consenting to Fandango's Privacy Policy and Terms and Policies . Please allow 10 business days for your account to reflect your preferences.

OK, got it!

• What's the Tomatometer®?
• Login/signup

Movies in theaters

• Opening this week
• Top box office
• Coming soon to theaters
• Certified fresh movies

Movies at home

• Fandango at Home
• Prime Video
• Most popular streaming movies
• What to Watch New

Certified fresh picks

• 82% Alien: Romulus Link to Alien: Romulus
• 77% Cuckoo Link to Cuckoo
• 97% Good One Link to Good One

New TV Tonight

• 96% Industry: Season 3
• 91% Bad Monkey: Season 1
• 100% Solar Opposites: Season 5
• -- Emily in Paris: Season 4
• -- Bel-Air: Season 3
• -- Rick and Morty: The Anime: Season 1
• -- SEAL Team: Season 7
• -- RuPaul's Drag Race Global All Stars: Season 1
• -- Star Wars: Young Jedi Adventures: Season 2
• -- Worst Ex Ever: Season 1

Most Popular TV on RT

• 56% The Umbrella Academy: Season 4
• 82% A Good Girl's Guide to Murder: Season 1
• 78% Star Wars: The Acolyte: Season 1
• 100% Supacell: Season 1
• 100% Women in Blue: Season 1
• 82% Mr. Throwback: Season 1
• 95% Batman: Caped Crusader: Season 1
• 77% Lady in the Lake: Season 1
• Best TV Shows
• Most Popular TV
• TV & Streaming News

Certified fresh pick

• 96% Industry: Season 3 Link to Industry: Season 3
• All-Time Lists
• Binge Guide
• Comics on TV
• Five Favorite Films
• Video Interviews
• Weekend Box Office
• Weekly Ketchup
• What to Watch

The 100 Best Movies of 2009, Ranked by Tomatometer

All Alien Movies, Ranked by Tomatometer

What to Watch: In Theaters and On Streaming

Awards Tour

Alien: Romulus First Reviews: The Best in the Franchise Since Aliens

Renewed and Cancelled TV Shows 2024

• Trending on RT
• Renewed and Cancelled TV
• Best Movies of 2024
• Popular TV Shows
• Re-Release Calendar

Lady L Reviews

Gary and Ustinov fail to be bogged down by the story's inherent banalities because they are quite outside it and its limitations.

Full Review | Jul 20, 2018

An artistic and commercial flop in which both Paul Newman and Sophia Loren are miscast.

Full Review | Original Score: C | Jul 19, 2009

Experiment of starting and ending this pic with Sophia Loren as an 80-year-old, an alleged aristocrat with a somewhat simpering tedious voice, doesn't come off.

Full Review | Jun 17, 2008

This is one of those cute little films made by a cute little cadre of actors with nothing much else to do.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/4 | Jun 17, 2008

A silly, forgettable sex comedy that is a star vehicle for Sophia Loren.

Full Review | Original Score: C | Jun 6, 2008

A glossy and very silly period costume piece.

Full Review | Feb 9, 2006

Whatever the causes of the minor disatisfactions inherent in this film, its major rewards are due to Peter Ustinov's sensitive conception and superb direction.

Full Review | Original Score: 4/5 | May 9, 2005

🙌 Awesome, you're subscribed!

Thanks for subscribing! Look out for your first newsletter in your inbox soon!

Get us in your inbox

Sign up to our newsletter for the latest and greatest from your city and beyond

By entering your email address you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy and consent to receive emails from Time Out about news, events, offers and partner promotions.

Awesome, you're subscribed!

The best things in life are free.

Sign up for our email to enjoy your city without spending a thing (as well as some options when you’re feeling flush).

Déjà vu! We already have this email. Try another?

Love the mag?

Our newsletter hand-delivers the best bits to your inbox. Sign up to unlock our digital magazines and also receive the latest news, events, offers and partner promotions.

• Things to Do
• Food & Drink
• Arts & Culture
• Time Out Market
• Coca-Cola Foodmarks
• Los Angeles

Time Out says

Release details.

• Duration: 124 mins

Cast and crew

• Director: Peter Ustinov
• Screenwriter: Peter Ustinov
• Sophia Loren
• Paul Newman
• David Niven
• Claude Dauphin
• Philippe Noiret
• Michel Piccoli
• Marcel Dalio
• Cecil Parker
• Peter Ustinov
• Jacques Dufilho
• Sacha Pitoeff

Been there, done that? Think again, my friend.

Discover Time Out original video

• Press office
• Investor relations
• Work for Time Out
• Editorial guidelines
• Privacy notice
• Do not sell my information
• Cookie policy
• Accessibility statement
• Terms of use
• Modern slavery statement
• Manage cookies
• Advertising

Time Out Worldwide

• All Time Out Locations
• North America
• South America
• South Pacific

Letterboxd — Your life in film

Forgotten username or password ?

• Start a new list…
• Add all films to a list…
• Add all films to watchlist

Add to your films…

Press Tab to complete, Enter to create

A moderator has locked this field.

Add to lists

Where to watch

Directed by Peter Ustinov

She's the only lady who ever got a boyfriend for a wedding present!

Lady L is an elegant 80-year-old woman who recalls her amorous life story, including past loves and lusty, scandalous adventures she has lived through.

Sophia Loren Paul Newman David Niven Peter Ustinov Marcel Dalio Michel Piccoli Claude Dauphin Cecil Parker Philippe Noiret Jacques Dufilho Eugene Deckers Daniel Emilfork Hella Petri Jean Wiener Roger Trapp Jean Rupert Joe Dassin Jacques Legras Mario Feliciani Sacha Pitoëff Arthur Howard Dorothy Reynolds Jacques Ciron Hazel Hughes Tanya Lopert

Director Director

Peter Ustinov

Producer Producer

Carlo Ponti

Writer Writer

Original writer original writer.

Romain Gary

Casting Casting

Margot Capelier

Editor Editor

Roger Dwyre

Cinematography Cinematography

Henri Alekan

Assistant Director Asst. Director

Paul Feyder

Camera Operator Camera Operator

Raymond Picon Borel

Set Decoration Set Decoration

Auguste Capelier Jean-André d'Eaubonne Maurice Barnathan

Special Effects Special Effects

Karl Baumgartner

Composer Composer

Jean Françaix

Sound Sound

William Robert Sivel

Costume Design Costume Design

Marcel Escoffier Jacqueline Guyot

Makeup Makeup

William Tuttle Michel Deruelle Giuseppe Annunziata

Hairstyling Hairstyling

Alex Archambault Amalia Paoletti

Les Films Concordia Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer

UK France Italy

Releases by Date

17 dec 1965, 22 dec 1965, releases by country.

• Theatrical TP
• Theatrical 16

117 mins   More at IMDb TMDb Report this page

Popular reviews

Review by Josh Gillam ★★

Sophia Loren, Paul Newman and David Niven star in Peter Ustinov’s period comedy about an elderly lady remembering back to her eclectic romantic exploits and adventures from years before.

Ustinov adds a lot of his typically witty sense of humour to the droll proceedings, bringing a level of class that helps to make the film as charming as it is. However, I think that more refined approach actually ends up weakening it overall, feeling almost too sedate for any of the screwball aspects to develop.

Despite always hinting at picking up the pace, the jolt of life needed never really comes, so the potentially madcap story ends up being done at a mild simmer instead; this eventually causes it to…

Review by pirateneckbeard ★★

Yeah it's fairly goofy story about an elderly esteemed woman's greatest love and I enjoyed it at parts but can't say it charmed me mainly because it never totally seemed to nail it's proper tone. This all be said it is a fun cast who do entertain but I never felt I was took along in this absurd journey. I guess you gotta admire the pomp and budget. reminded me very much of "The Assassination Bureau".

Review by kmeaston ★★½

Amid a sea of various European accents, Newman's flatlander twang makes him out to be a Midwesterner who got separated from his tour group.

Review by Zoë 🐝 ★★★

Peter Ustinov does his Peter Ustinov thing and writes a very weird and very political comedy. It's much better than his other comedy of similar mind, Romanoff and Juliet, mostly because it's actually funny. Lots of witty send up of aristocracy, the police, anarchists, you name it.

The second half is unfortunately very spare on jokes, making it a bit of a slog to get through, since the characters are pretty thin and Newman and Loren don't have much chemistry. I would have rather seen her end up with David Niven, who was still lookin sharp in '65.

Review by Jenna Ipcar ★★★ 2

A snappy little comedy that has some genuinely funny jokes and solid comedic editing until it just kinda... runs out of steam. It’s weird because you don’t notice it has until it does and then you can’t tell if it was your mistake or its mistake and then suddenly it’s a bizarre love triangle that seems more sensible than scandalous and... Ah I don’t know. Loren is so brilliant in comedies, I wish non-Italian directors would trust her a little more to carry the entire film on the merit of her wit alone instead of fluffing it all up with plot. 

As for Lady L , well it’s a little bit Tom Jones and a little bit  Candide  but it’s never sharply political enough or adventurous enough to be either. I kind of liked it though, even though it left to be desired.

Review by Wes Edwards ★★★

The ingredients are there, but they are not in quite the right amounts to make the movie work. It’s a shame too. This could have been quite funny and charming. It misses the mark but not by much.

Instead of enjoying the movie, I was watching and thinking about how it could have been scored or cut to get it closer to its potential.

It’s like that bland casserole you think you can salvage with one more type of seasoning.

Sometimes a little inspired effort can do the trick. Sometimes you just have to admit defeat and endure an edible but not-great dinner. Or throw it all out.

This is the kind of decision that directors probably have to…

Review by Adriana Scarpin ★★★½

Em honra do centenário de Peter Ustinov. Todo mundo sabe que o Ustinov era um baita ator, mas ele também dirigiu alguns filmes, dentre os quais a obra mestra Billy Budd, versão para cinema de 1962 do livrinho do Melville. Aqui ele não atinge a perfeição, mas é bem distante do ruim que muito gente clama, um elenco dos deuses tem suficiente apelo e charme para manter o interesse e a comédia, dos protagonistas aos coadjuvantes - não é todo mundo que tem como elenco de apoio gente como Piccoli e Noiret. Plus: Não percam a engraçadíssima participação do próprio Ustinov na dublagem e também em carne e osso. HDTVRip REGRET.

Review by ncgraham ★★½

okay but when will Paul Newman assassinate ME

Review by Maria Castro ★★★

Strange plot yet fun and another Newman watch 🫡😅😉

Review by 🥀 e m m é 🇵🇸 ★★

this reminded me of the assassination bureau , except kind of bad? strangely too lavish and honestly not enough paul newman, but also there was no chemistry between paul and sophia and i guess the biggest delight for me was seeing THE 1960s frenchmen marcel dalio, michel piccoli, and moustache 🤷‍♀️

Review by idgey ★★★½ 2

Kinda fun, kinda uneven, kinda bonkers, kinda charming, and I kinda ended up really enjoying it.

Review by swany 🔆 ★★★ 1

“Jeremy was born a year after Dickie’s death, but there was no gossip. Thank goodness the English are never surprised by slowness.”

I never really know what to make of these old films before watching them because so few people have them logged/reviewed on Letterboxd. But I might just consider this one a hidden gem. I had so much fun watching it, and maybe it was because I didn’t take it too seriously though at the same time I don’t think the film purports itself to be highbrow. The plot was silly but Sophia Loren and Paul Newman are so funny and stunning to watch together, I wish we got more of them as unit.

Select your preferred backdrop

Select your preferred poster.

Experiment of starting and ending this pic with Sophia Loren as an 80-year-old, an alleged aristocrat with a somewhat simpering tedious voice, doesn't come off. Not till the Italian dish reverts to her own radiant, lush self will her followers settle down comfortably. David Niven is immaculately debonair and wittily amusing, but Paul Newman, though turning in a thoroughly competent performance, is not happily cast - his role calling out for the dependable mixture of solidity and lightness.

By Variety Staff

Variety Staff

Follow Us on Twitter

• BBC Olympics Commentator Corrects Co-Host Who Misgendered U.S. Shot Putter Raven Saunders Live on Air 7 days ago
• Variety Chief Correspondent Daniel D’Addario Digs Into Awards Season in New Novel 1 week ago
• Olympics Opening Ceremony Among IBC Innovation Awards Finalists 2 weeks ago

Experiment of starting and ending this pic with Sophia Loren as an 80-year-old, an alleged aristocrat with a somewhat simpering tedious voice, doesn’t come off. Not till the Italian dish reverts to her own radiant, lush self will her followers settle down comfortably. David Niven is immaculately debonair and wittily amusing, but Paul Newman, though turning in a thoroughly competent performance, is not happily cast – his role calling out for the dependable mixture of solidity and lightness.

Film, from Romain Gary’s novel, was originally planned as a straight drama, but things misfired. Ustinov was later brought in to do a doctoring job. But, despite the cost, he took on the chore only on the proviso that he could wipe the slate clean and start afresh. His nimble brain and characteristics have since clearly shaped the entire project.

Popular on Variety

Story, set in Paris and Switzerland at the turn of the century, has Loren as an aging, allegedly aristocratic mystery woman recounting her life story for the benefit of a biographer (Cecil Parker).

Ustinov weighs in with a choice cameo as the doddering Prince Otto.

• Production: M-G-M/Ponti. Director Peter Ustinov; Producer Carlo Ponti; Screenplay Peter Ustinov; Camera Henri Alekan; Editor Roger Dwyre; Music Jean Francaix
• Crew: (Color) Widescreen. Extract of a review from 1965. Running time: 124 MIN.
• With: Sophia Loren Paul Newman David Niven Claude Dauphin Philippe Noiret Michel Piccoli

More from Variety

Rachel maddow banner’s first documentary feature ‘from russia with lev’ to debut at ‘msnbc live: democracy 2024’, hollywood must define ai technical standards to prep for its future    , billie eilish, snoop dogg and red hot chili peppers to perform at summer olympics closing ceremony (exclusive), x suspends, then reinstates, ‘white dudes for harris’ account after group raises $4 million for her campaign: ‘we scared elon musk’, paramount+ biggest challenge: boosting subscriber engagement, paris olympics proceeds with triathlon swimming race after postponing due to e. coli-polluted seine river, more from our brands, katy perry ‘adhered to all regulations’ while filming at dunes in spain, says team, clint eastwood’s onetime seaside retreat in california is up for grabs at $21 million, ‘caitlin clark effect’ hits bottom line in indiana fever finance report, the best loofahs and body scrubbers, according to dermatologists, who wants to be a millionaire: ike barinholtz wins $1 million jackpot — watch.

• Now Playing
• Airing Today
• Popular People
• Discussions
• Leaderboard
• Alternative Titles
• Cast & Crew
• Release Dates
• Translations
• Backdrops 1
• Login to Add a Video
• Content Issues 0

Lady L (1965)

Login to use TMDB's new rating system.

Welcome to Vibes, TMDB's new rating system! For more information, visit the contribution bible .

She's the only lady who ever got a boyfriend for a wedding present!

Lady L is an elegant 80-year-old woman who recalls her amorous life story, including past loves and lusty, scandalous adventures she has lived through.

Peter Ustinov

Director, Writer

Romain Gary

Top Billed Cast

Sophia Loren

Lady Louise Lendale / Lady L

Paul Newman

Armand Denis

David Niven

Dicky, Lord Lendale

Prince Otto of Bavaria

Marcel Dalio

Michel Piccoli

Claude Dauphin

Inspector Mercier

Cecil Parker

Philippe Noiret

Ambroise Gérôme

Full Cast & Crew

• Discussions 0

A review by Bill Thompson

Written by bill thompson on march 28, 2019.

This is a comedy that really doesn't quite work. The casting is odd and Paul Newman never really looks comfortable in his role. Sophia is gorgeous as always however, and David Niven is pretty good. Peter Ustinov wrote the screenplay, is the director and has a cameo appearance as well.

Read All Reviews

• Most Popular

Status Released

Original Language English

• love triangle

Content Score 

Almost there...

Looks like we're missing the following data in en-US or en-US ...

Top Contributors

22 BenERubes

20 CormacJones

9 Antonio Salinas

8 Bigtycoon

View Edit History

Popularity Trend

Login to edit

Keyboard Shortcuts

Login to report an issue

You need to be logged in to continue. Click here to login or here to sign up.

Can't find a movie or TV show? Login to create it.

On media pages

On tv season pages, on tv episode pages, on all image pages, on all edit pages, on discussion pages.

Want to rate or add this item to a list?

Not a member?

Sign up and join the community

Dennis Schwartz Movie Reviews

• Top Ten Lists
• Post author: eenableadmin
• Post published: August 5, 2019
• Post category: Uncategorized

(director/writer: Peter Ustinov; screenwriter: based on the novel by Romain Gary; cinematographer: Henri Alekan; editor: Roger Dwyre; music: Jean Francaix; cast: Sophia Loren (Lady L), Paul Newman (Armand), David Niven (Lord Lendale), Cecil Parker (Sir Percy), Claude Dauphin (Inspector Mercier), Philippe Noiret (Ambroise Gerome), Michel Piccoli (Lecoeur), Marcel Dalio (Sapper), Peter Ustinov (Prince Otto); Runtime: 109; MPAA Rating: NR; producer: Carlo Ponti; MGM; 1965-France/Italy)

“A silly, forgettable sex comedy that is a star vehicle for Sophia Loren.”

Reviewed by Dennis Schwartz

A silly, forgettable sex comedy that is a star vehicle for Sophia Loren. It was originally made for a 150 minute film but the studio cut it to versions of 124 minutes and 109 minutes. Reportedly the cuts left the once lucid film as a mish-mash; at least producer Carlo Ponti-Sophia’s hubby-thought the unseen version was great. It’s based on the novel by Romain Gary and directed and written by actor-turned-director Peter Ustinov (“Romanoff and Juliet”/ “Hammersmith Is Out”/”Billy Budd”), who shoots on location (Paris, England and Switzerland) to give it an authentic feel but can’t keep it from lumbering along in a shapeless and sty-less manner.

During the turn of the 20th century Lady Lendale (Sophia Loren), a wealthy duchess, is celebrating her 80th birthday at her castle in Yorkshire and this gives her pause to reflect on her colorful life and rise from poverty to wealth. Lady L tells her biographer Sir Percy (Cecil Parker) that many years before, while known as Louise, she left her job as a laundress in Corsica for employment in a Paris brothel. Soon afterwards she met the one love in her life–Armand (Paul Newman), a thief and an anarchist, but instead married an English lord, Lord Lendale (David Niven). The Lord won her hand because he agreed to save Armand from arrest for attempting to assassinate the dotty Bavarian Prince Otto (Peter Ustinov) and he gave her a title and home to raise the child she’s pregnant with from Armand. The shock comes at the end, as Lady L startles Sir Percy by telling him that she continued to see Armand all those years, even using hubby’s money to finance his anarchism, and that all of her children are his; she married him in Switzerland, as Lord Lendale consented to an arrangement whereby Armand remained both her husband and lover while posing as the family chauffeur.

It was an absolute chore getting through this sloppily presented glossy period costume piece, a box-office flop. A busy Ustinov, besides his cameo role as Prince Otto, dubbed the voice of French actor Philippe Noiret. A miscast Newman gives one of his more unsatisfying performances, as only the debonair Niven seemed at home in this aristocratic setting.

REVIEWED ON 6/6/2008 GRADE: C   https://dennisschwartzreviews.com/

You Might Also Like

Out of time.

Great Movies

Classic, landmark films in cinematic history.

Lady L (1965)

Taglines: Bigany… British Style!

Lady L movie storyline. Today Lady Louise Lendale (Sophia Loren) is eighty-years-old and she tells her long time admirer, British poet Sir Percy (Cecil Parker), all about her eventful life. In the beginning, she was a young laundress working in “Le Mouton Bleu”, a renowned Paris whorehouse. There, she met Armand (Paul Newman), both a charming man and a bomb-throwing anarchist, and it wasn’t long before she became his mistress.

One day, while Armand was away in Switzeland, working for a revolutionary movement aiming to murder a Russian Prince, Louise met the second man in her life, a British Lord she soon called Dicky (David Niven). The latter offered to marry her. In exchange, he would save Armand from the police’s grip. She accepted on the condition she could still see Armand.

Lady L is a 1965 comedy film based on the novel by Romain Gary and directed by Peter Ustinov. Starring Sophia Loren, Paul Newman, David Niven and Cecil Parker, the film focuses on an elderly Corsican lady as she recalls the loves of her life, including an anarchist and a Parisian aristocrat. The film had its World Premiere at the Empire, Leicester Square in the West End of London on November 25, 1965.

Directed by: Peter Ustinov Starring: Sophia Loren, Paul Newman, David Niven, Marcel Dalio, Cecil Parker, Philippe Noiret, Jacques Dufilho Dufilho, Eugene Deckers, Daniel Emilfork, Hella Petri, Jean Wiener, Roger Trapp, Jean Rupert, Joe Dassin, Jacques Legras Screenplay by: Peter Ustinov Production Design by: René Fargeas, Pierre Laurent Cinematography by: Henri Alekan Film Editing by: Roger Dwyre Costume Design by: Marcel Escoffier, Jacqueline Guyot Music by: Jean Françaix MPAA Rating: None. Distributed by: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Release Date: November 25, 1965

Visits: 147

Stream & Watch Lady L

Cast & Crew

Featured news.

Movie Details

Similar movies.

Movie Reviews

Follow Moviefone

Latest trailers.

Not Available

Oh no! Turner Classic Movies isn't available in your region.

Welcome, DISH customer! Please note that we cannot save your viewing history due to an arrangement with DISH.

Watchlist and resume progress features have been disabled.

Lady L (1965)

Directed by peter ustinov.

• AllMovie Rating 4
• User Ratings ( 0 )
• Your Rating
• Overview ↓
• User Reviews ↓
• Cast & Crew ↓
• Streams ↓
• Related ↓

Description by Wikipedia

Lady L is a 1965 comedy film based on the novel by Romain Gary and directed by Peter Ustinov. Starring Sophia Loren, Paul Newman, David Niven and Cecil Parker, the film focuses on an elderly Corsican lady as she recalls the loves of her life, including an anarchist and a Parisian aristocrat.

The film had its World Premiere at the Empire, Leicester Square in the West End of London on 25 November 1965.

Official Site

Related movies.

Alternate Titles

Emanuel Levy

Cinema 24/7

• LEVY UNFILTERED
• POP CULTURE

Lady L (1966): Peter Ustinov’s Misfire of Romain Gary Novel, Starring Paul Newman and Sophia Loren

Lady L , the film version of the Romain Gary novel, had originally been scheduled as a starring vehicle for Tony Curtis and Gina Lollobrigida at MGM under the helm of George Cukor.   The sets have been built, but the script and other problems intervened, and the project was shelved.

In 1964, under a producing deal with Carlo Ponti, with MGM handling release, Sophia Loren and Paul Newman starred in the film under the direction of Peter Ustinov, who also wrote the screenplay.    The movie finally opened, after many delays, in 1966.

Newman was miscast: His persona seemed too American and modern for the part of a bomb-toting French anarchist at the turn of the century.   Sophia Loren fared slight better as the fey poseur Lady L, though the part was not particularly suited to her Italian temperament.   The film seemed too tame, genteel and lightweight, lacking the epic sweep and nostalgic glamour that its subject matter called for.  

The story opens with an eighty-year-old Dowager Duchess telling the story of her life to Sir Percy (Cecil Parker), her poet laureate friend, in the summer house of her magnificent English palace. The Duchess, who has been playing a joke on British society for decades, relates her humble beginnings as a Paris laundress who makes deliveries to a fashionable bordello, Le Moulin Bleu, presided over by LeCoeur (Michael Piccoli). Prominent officials, like French cabinet minister Philippe Noiret, frequent the house.

In short order, the future Lady L becomes the laundress for the house, and while she becomes friendly with the prostitutes and is admired by the male patrons, she remains chaste!   Enters Armand (Paul Newman), a roguish, Robin Hood-style bank robber, sought by the police and seeks refuge in the bordello where Lady L, now his mistress, protects him.

Subsequently Armand joins up with an underground revolutionary movement led by Koenigstein (Eugene Deckers). This band of petty anarchists, sought by the Parisian police head Inspector Mercier (Claude Dauphin), is planning the assassination of the visiting Prince Otto (Peter Ustinov), but Lady L foils the attempt. She meets Dicky, Lord Lendale (David Niven), a British aristocrat looking for a wife, who offers her a bargain: if she’ll marry him, he will save her lover from the police. Lord Lendale closes his eyes during the following years to his lady’s continuing affair with Armand.

Fifty years later, Lady L is a widowed Dowager Duchess and her son, the Duke, and her other noble children are the offspring of Armand, who now works as the Duchess’ chauffeur. It turns out that the ex-laundress, who had climbed to high estate isn’t a legitimate duchess and had never actually married Lord Lendale.

Sophia Loren Paul Newman David Niven Claude Dauphin

Philippe Noiret*

Michel Piccoli

Marcel Dalio

Cecil Parker

Jean Wiener

Daniel Emilfork

Eugene Deckers

Jacques Dufilho

Tanya Lopert

Catherine Allegret

Peter Ustinov

A Carlo Ponti Production presented and released by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. Directed by Peter Ustinov. Screenplay: Ustinov from the novel by Romain Gary.

Camera: Henri Alekan. Music: Jean Francaix. Film Editor: Roger Dwyre.

PROFESSOR / CRITIC / AUTHOR

• Coming Soon Theaters • Online
• Advanced Search
• Collections Top 500
• Film Awards
• Recommendations Movies • TV Shows
• Search by Name
• Popular Top 500
• My TV Shows
• My Calendar
• Coming Soon Premieres

Movie's ratings

• Kinorium 6.5 100+
• IMDb 5.5 1318
• Cast & Crew
• Technical Data

Lady L

• Based on Book

Stills Posters Filming Promo Covers

MGM spent $2 million on pre-production for the film before cancelling the project.

It was later restarted as an international co-production between France, Italy and the United Kingdom. Castle Howard in Yorkshire was used for the shooting of some scenes. Interiors were shot at the Victorine Studios in Nice.

Related Movies There are no related titles yet, but you can add them:

Peter Ustinov — Top Rated Movies

Add a short review

280 characters

Sign up and you will see here friends impressions of the movie.

Friends comments and ratings, movies by metro-goldwyn-mayer (mgm).

Trending movies

The best website for movie search and thoughts sharing with friends

• Browser extension

• Movies & TV
• Featured Categories

Sorry, there was a problem.

Image unavailable.

• Sorry, this item is not available in
• Image not available
• To view this video download Flash Player

• Prime Video $4.29 — $19.99
• DVD from $21.00
• VHS Tape from $8.00

Product Description

Comedy about an elegant, elderly lady who recalls the past loves and lusty adventures she's lived through.

Product details

• Aspect Ratio ‏ : ‎ 1.33:1
• Is Discontinued By Manufacturer ‏ : ‎ No
• MPAA rating ‏ : ‎ NR (Not Rated)
• Product Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 7.5 x 5.5 x 0.5 inches; 2.72 ounces
• Item model number ‏ : ‎ B00K6KII6C
• Director ‏ : ‎ Peter Ustinov
• Media Format ‏ : ‎ NTSC
• Run time ‏ : ‎ 1 hour and 48 minutes
• Release date ‏ : ‎ May 9, 2014
• Actors ‏ : ‎ Sophia Loren, Paul Newman, David Niven, Cecil Parker, Claude Dauphin
• Producers ‏ : ‎ Carlo Ponti
• Studio ‏ : ‎ Warner Archive Collection
• ASIN ‏ : ‎ B00K6KII6C
• Number of discs ‏ : ‎ 1
• #8,608 in Comedy (Movies & TV)

Customer reviews

• 5 star 4 star 3 star 2 star 1 star 5 star 62% 12% 13% 3% 10% 62%
• 5 star 4 star 3 star 2 star 1 star 4 star 62% 12% 13% 3% 10% 12%
• 5 star 4 star 3 star 2 star 1 star 3 star 62% 12% 13% 3% 10% 13%
• 5 star 4 star 3 star 2 star 1 star 2 star 62% 12% 13% 3% 10% 3%
• 5 star 4 star 3 star 2 star 1 star 1 star 62% 12% 13% 3% 10% 10%

Customer Reviews, including Product Star Ratings help customers to learn more about the product and decide whether it is the right product for them.

To calculate the overall star rating and percentage breakdown by star, we don’t use a simple average. Instead, our system considers things like how recent a review is and if the reviewer bought the item on Amazon. It also analyzed reviews to verify trustworthiness.

• Sort reviews by Top reviews Most recent Top reviews

Top reviews from the United States

There was a problem filtering reviews right now. please try again later..

Top reviews from other countries

• About Amazon
• Investor Relations
• Amazon Devices
• Amazon Science
• Sell products on Amazon
• Sell on Amazon Business
• Sell apps on Amazon
• Become an Affiliate
• Advertise Your Products
• Self-Publish with Us
• Host an Amazon Hub
• › See More Make Money with Us
• Amazon Business Card
• Shop with Points
• Reload Your Balance
• Amazon Currency Converter
• Amazon and COVID-19
• Your Account
• Your Orders
• Shipping Rates & Policies
• Returns & Replacements
• Manage Your Content and Devices

• Conditions of Use
• Privacy Notice
• Consumer Health Data Privacy Disclosure
• Your Ads Privacy Choices

Movie Reviews

Tv/streaming, collections, chaz's journal, great movies, contributors, twilight of the warriors: walled in.

Now streaming on:

It’s hard to imagine that this summer will see a better crowd-pleaser than “Twilight of the Warriors: Walled In,” a nostalgic Hong Kong action spectacular featuring the year’s most thrilling action filmmaking. Unbound by physics or any sense of psychological realism, “Twilight of the Warriors: Walled In” is also probably the best comic book adaptation you’ll see this year, featuring a murderer’s row of Hong Kong stars like Louis Koo , Aaron Kwok and Sammo Hung , and featuring the sort of intricate maximalist production design that puts most other blockbusters to shame. 

On its face, “Twilight of the Warriors: Walled In” is a conventional us-against-them crime saga about Chan Lok-kwun ( Raymond Lam ), a luckless refugee who settles down in Kowloon, the dystopian-looking tenement city of the movie’s title. Chan’s allies treat each other like family despite some mischievous double-dealing and back-biting; his enemies only think of themselves. 

Chan’s story, all about a community’s triumph over mobbed-up individualism, has already found a receptive audience in Hong Kong, where “Twilight of the Warriors: Walled In” is already the most-watched local production of all time. The movie’s reputation will likely continue to grow thanks to its lyrical pulp fiction dialogue, credited to four screenwriters, and its over-the-top fight choreography. “Twilight of the Warriors: Walled In” was custom-made to knock you on your ass, and while it’s sometimes a little too desperate to please, it’s also hard to resist a genre movie that works so hard to impress all comers. 

The movie version of Kowloon resembles an animated M.C. Escher painting, filled with overlapping stairwells, choked with rebar, and overstuffed with low-drooping cables that bulge and creep over steam vents and crater-pocked concrete. Paint doesn’t peel off the walls so much as it accretes, one eggshell-thin layer on top of the other. Steam floats above the aluminum eaves but never seems to escape. 

This movie’s Kowloon is a haven for kind-hearted degenerates like Cyclone (Koo), a barber and the city’s revered crime boss, as well as supporting characters like the media-obsessed AV (German Cheung) and his stalwart companions Twelfth Master (Tony Tsz-Tung Wu) and Shin ( Terrance Lau ). Their messy but stable microcosm is threatened by Chan, a desperate loner who only wants to make enough money to buy a fake ID. Chan is followed by the greedy triad gang boss, Mr. Big (Hung), and his flamboyant second-in-command, King ( Philip Ng ). Everybody knows how to fight and they all have garish wigs and costumes that scream mid-to-late ‘80s.

Most of the first half of “Twilight of the Warriors: Walled In” sets up the inevitable clash between Mr. Big and Cyclone’s respective gangs. There’s a little mystery surrounding Chan’s identity, but it’s not as memorable as the movie’s action scenes, which feature the sort of manic energy that one might expect from a comic book movie. In an early scene, Cyclone flicks his cigarette into the air, executes some disarming moves, and then reclaims his butt before gravity can. This sort of fantastic establishing scene prepares viewers for later fights, including maneuvers like a “spirit shield” and beat-em-up video game-ready weapons like sledgehammers and lead pipes. 

The fights in “Twilight of the Warriors: Walled In” are so thrilling I had to double-check to confirm that action god Sammo Hung didn't choreograph them himself. That credit’s owed to Kenji Tanigaki , who also served as the action director for “ Sakra ,” last year’s Donnie Yen -helmed wuxia action fantasy. Here, Tanigaki and his stunt team are working on a bigger scale than their usual collaborations with Yen, and the results are even more exciting given the complementary efforts of director of photography Siu-Keung Cheng, production designer Kwok-Keung Mak, and a team of computer animators. 

Moreover, director Soi Cheang specializes in this sort of half-squalid, half-romantic city symphony, having previously directed both big-budget action fantasies, like “ The Monkey King ,” starring Donnie Yen, and its two sequels (which swap Yen out for Aaron Kwok), and gorgeous/seedy neo-noirs like “Dog Bite Dog” and “Limbo.” Cheang synthesizes his career’s work to date in “Twilight of the Warriors: Walled In,” the kind of movie where a man only credited as “Woman Beater” (Chu Pak Hon) attacks a prostitute ( Fish Liew ) and then gets aired out by Chan and his buddies, who each hold one of their opponent’s limbs and then repeatedly bash him into the ground like a dirty bedsheet.

The myth of the city as a kinder but not gentler home for outsiders is irresistible here, given the well-oiled collaboration between Cheang and his crew members, some of whom have been working together for years now. The filmmakers’ passion is infectious, and as a result, “Twilight of the Warriors: Walled In” is a once-in-a-while assembly of talent that will make even the most hardened skeptic agree—this one’s worth the hype.

Simon Abrams

Simon Abrams is a native New Yorker and freelance film critic whose work has been featured in  The New York Times ,  Vanity Fair ,  The Village Voice,  and elsewhere.

Now playing

Family Portrait

Brian tallerico.

Dance First

Glenn kenny.

Crumb Catcher

Robert daniels.

Sheila O'Malley

Tomris Laffly

The Instigators

Film credits.

Twilight of the Warriors: Walled In (2024)

125 minutes

Louis Koo as Cyclone

Sammo Hung as Mr. Big

Raymond Lam as Chan Lok Kwan

Terrance Lau as Shin

Richie Jen as Dik Chau

Philip Ng as Wong Gau

• Tai-lee Chan

Latest blog posts

Apple TV+'s Bad Monkey Struggles to Find Its Voice

The Box Office is Everything: In Praise of the Window at the Front of the Theater

The Fairy Tale Shoes: Interview With the Cast and Crew of Cuckoo

On the Trail: India Donaldson on Good One

Join or Sign In

Sign in to customize your TV listings

By joining TV Guide, you agree to our Terms of Use and acknowledge the data practices in our Privacy Policy .

TV Listings

• Cast & Crew
• 2 hr 4 mins

An 80-year-old woman recalls her amorous adventures in flashback, from when she worked as a laundress who fell for an anarchist who gets mixed up with an inept group of assassins, to her marriage to a suave aristocrat.

Loading. Please wait...

My cable/satellite provider:

There are no TV airings over the next 14 days. Add it to your Watchlist to receive updates and availability notifications.

Cast & Crew See All

Sophia Loren

Lady louise lendale/lady l.

Paul Newman

Armand denis.

David Niven

Lord lendale, latest news see all, popular movies see all movies.

The Notebook

My Dreams of You

The Age of Adaline

The Family Plan

The Fabulous Four

Trailers & videos.

Lady L (1965)

Approved | Comedy

Review: For a murder mystery, ‘Bad Monkey’ sure knows how to have a good time

• Copy Link URL Copied!

There is a monkey in “Bad Monkey,” a new miniseries premiering Wednesday on Apple TV+ and based on the book of the same name by Carl Hiaasen , but apart from one affectionate bite on an ear and an inability — or perhaps a refusal — to do tricks, it doesn’t do anything bad.

In fact, the monkey, named Driggs, is quite adorable. (It is less, admittedly, adorable on the page.) In any case, “Bad Monkey” is a more arresting title than “Adorable Monkey,” and better suited to a story of fraud and murder under a tropical sun.

Set in Hiaasen’s customary South Florida sloshing grounds, with trips to the Bahamas, it stays mostly true to the author’s genial spirit, following his main plot, with the usual adjustments and interpolations, building out minor characters and throwing in some anomalous magical realism to soften the blow of one of its several intertwined story lines. Developed by “Scrubs” creator and “Ted Lasso” co-creator Bill Lawrence , it’s like three or four episodes of an episodic television series mashed into one, in a generally tasty, unfussy way — not so much a meat and potatoes production as fried shrimp and beer.

It’s a comedy, mostly, with folksy, tall-tale narration by Tom Nowicki and enough banter to fill all six “Thin Man” movies, whose combined length this 10-episode series nearly equals — though you couldn’t exactly call it banter, as it’s mostly laconic chatterbox hero Andrew Yancy ( Vince Vaughn ) doing the talking. Yancy is a former police detective in the Florida Keys, on suspension for having used his car to push his girlfriend’s husband’s golf cart — with her husband — into the sea. Bonnie Witt, played by Michelle Monaghan, is the girlfriend, a sexy, slightly dangerous bibliophile whose real name is not Bonnie Witt.

Vehicular assault, adultery and his creative attempts to sabotage the sale of a monstrous yellow spec house next door notwithstanding, Yancy is 97% a good guy, upright where it matters, dogged in a way he can’t help — the sort of hero who remains at least outwardly unruffled in any situation and whose company, in the appealing person of Vaughn, is strangely relaxing. Sensitive to nature, he enjoys his beautiful ocean view and the wildlife that comes to his property and more than once points out that the streetlights are red so just-hatched baby turtles don’t confuse them with the moon and head away from the sea rather than into it. And he really hates that big yellow house.

Vince Vaughn and Bill Lawrence have a gift for gab. In ‘Bad Monkey,’ they finally join forces

Vince Vaughn and Bill Lawrence were once poker buddies trying to make their way in Hollywood. As they both ascended, they never had the chance to work together, until now.

Aug. 14, 2024

Meanwhile, in the Bahamas, on the island of Andros, young fisherman Neville Stafford (Ronald Peet, charming), the proprietor of the eponymous monkey, has a parallel problem — the seaside shack his father left him, and in which he would be content to spend the rest of his days, is being threatened by the development of a resort. Neville is being more immediately threatened by the developer’s local thug, Egg (David St. Louis), completely amoral and frightening but with a lovely singing voice.

A severed human arm, reeled in by a fishing tourist, comes into Yancy’s keeping when the local sheriff tasks him with transporting it to the Miami police in hopes that it will relieve him of that headache. This brings him into contact with medical examiner Rosa Campesino (Natalie Martinez, sparky, spunky), who, you know and I know, will end up in some sort of relationship with our hero. (They bond over mango popsicles.)

Yancy comes to believe that what looks like an accident — shark? propellor? — may just be murder, especially after meeting Eve Stripling (Meredith Hagner), the widow of the identified owner of the severed arm. And with no official standing, he sets out to investigate, towing Rosa in his wake, much to the exasperated concern of his best friend and former partner, Rogelio Burton (John Ortiz), whom Yancy constantly encourages to be more emotionally expressive.

Through a number of twists and turns, Yancy’s quest will lead to Andros, where Eve turns up alongside the resort’s developer, Christopher Grunion (Rob Delaney), and where Neville, encouraged by friends, has turned to the mysterious, imperious woman known as the Dragon Queen (Jodie Turner-Smith), a practitioner of Obeah , for magical help in keeping his house.

The Bahama scenes, especially the Dragon Queen’s expanded story — she’s a major character here — are tonally distinct from the rest of the series. They run closer to straight drama, shaped and powered by Turner-Smith’s commanding performance — indeed, hers is the only thread in the series that might be called moving, the rest being interesting, amusing, exciting or fun. As we get nearer to a reckoning, bad characters get worse, desperation ramps up the danger, and there’s a hurricane. But this is not the sort of series that will leave evil unpunished or afflict the good with senseless tragedy. It believes in happiness.

Famous faces in the large and universally impressive cast include Zach Braff “as you’ve never seen him” as a pill-popping Medicare fraudster and Scott Glenn as Jim, Yancy’s spiritually inclined father. Bob Clendenin is funny as a needy, talkative pilot, and Gonzalo Menendez earns his hisses as a crooked cop. L. Scott Caldwell as the Dragon Queen’s grandmother; Charlotte Lawrence as Eve’s stepdaughter, a Christian hipster; and Nina Grollman, as Madeline, a young woman on whom Yancy keeps a watchful eye after her boyfriend is murdered, all make the most of their screen time. Alex Moffat plays the glad-handing developer behind the big yellow house; he doesn’t care what happens to the baby turtles.

Even the small parts, of which there are many more, are more than usually substantial, as if Lawrence felt it would be unfair to give any actor too little to do.

What makes “Bad Monkey” special is that there is nothing special about it. It’s a little wayward at times, what with its huge cast of characters and myriad plot lines, some of which are, strictly speaking, unnecessary, but it gets the job done in a good old-fashioned colorful way. Where many streaming mysteries make a fetish of style, depth, sociopolitical relevance and formal novelty, aiming to become conversation starters, the conversation around “Bad Monkey” might run simply like this:

“Seen that show ‘Bad Monkey’?”

“Yeah, it’s good.”

More to Read

A reimagined ‘Time Bandits’ takes viewers on a delightful historical adventure

July 24, 2024

‘Sunny,’ led by a powerful Rashida Jones, is best when focused on personal relationships

July 10, 2024

Jake Gyllenhaal leads ‘Presumed Innocent,’ a stretched-out courtroom drama

June 11, 2024

The complete guide to home viewing

Get Screen Gab for everything about the TV shows and streaming movies everyone’s talking about.

You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.

Robert Lloyd has been a Los Angeles Times television critic since 2003.

More From the Los Angeles Times

Walz agrees to an Oct. 1 vice presidential debate on CBS. Vance hasn’t responded

Arrows fly, nevertheless Mariko persists

20 years ago at the Emmys: ‘The Sopranos’ takes the top prize for the first time

Hiroyuki Sanada — a master of his craft

Advertisement

Supported by

Critic’s Pick

‘Cuckoo’ Review: Never Has a Movie Been More Aptly Named

Dan Stevens and Hunter Schafer face off in this unexpectedly fun and undeniably nutty horror-comedy about cross-species pollination.

• Share full article

By Jeannette Catsoulis

“Is this normal?” a bewildered hotel guest in “Cuckoo” inquires after witnessing a fellow guest stagger, vomiting, into the lobby. Viewers might be wondering the same thing about a movie whose title could reveal as much about the sensibility of its director as the nature of its plot.

Possessed of a singular, at times inexplicable vision, the German filmmaker Tilman Singer proves once again — after his experimental debut, “Luz” (2019) — that he’s more drawn to sensation than sense. Liberated from logic, his pictures dance on the border between bewitching and baffling, exciting and irksome. Sidling several steps closer to an identifiable plot, “Cuckoo” flaps around Gretchen (an excellent Hunter Schafer), a grieving, unsettled 17-year-old whose mother has died and whose father (Marton Csokas) has brought her to live with his new family in a resort in the Bavarian Alps.

From the moment she arrives, nothing seems quite right. Missing her mother and her life in America, Gretchen is slow to connect with her brisk stepmother (Jessica Henwick) and her much younger half sister, Alma (Mila Lieu), who is mute and suffers from unexplained seizures. Adding to Gretchen’s uneasiness is the resort’s touchy-feely owner, Herr König (Dan Stevens), who seems weirdly fixated on Alma. Strange screechings fill the woods, and a frightening figure in white appears to be stalking Gretchen as she walks home from her job at the resort’s reception desk. Maybe that switchblade we saw her unpack will come in handy, after all.

A tale of human-avian experimentation with phantasmagoric flourishes, “Cuckoo” is unsubtle and frequently unhinged. The narrative may be blurred, but the mood is pure freak show, and Stevens, bless him, immediately grasps the comic possibilities of the movie’s themes and the nuttiness of his character. Reprising his flawless German accent from the charming 2021 sci-fi romance “I’m Your Man,” he gives König a seductive creepiness that’s less mad scientist than horny ornithologist. Obsessed with replicating — in unspeakable ways — the breeding behaviors of the titular bird, König requires the cooperation of willing young women. Gretchen is not eager to become one of them.

Shooting on 35-millimeter film, Paul Faltz, backed by Simon Waskow’s whining, fidgety score, leans into the surreality of Gretchen’s predicament with bizarre close-ups. Ears jerk and twitch in response to mysterious calls; throats flutter with a rapid, stuttering pulse; slimy secretions are passed from one woman to another. And as the resort’s dangers escalate and Gretchen’s injuries multiply, the film’s bonkers, body-horror ambitions become the means by which she will overcome her grief and heal her emotional dislocation.

We are having trouble retrieving the article content.

Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.

Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and  log into  your Times account, or  subscribe  for all of The Times.

Thank you for your patience while we verify access.

Already a subscriber?  Log in .

Want all of The Times?  Subscribe .