{"id":52334,"date":"2020-10-16T14:14:08","date_gmt":"2020-10-16T21:14:08","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=52334"},"modified":"2022-01-02T22:40:38","modified_gmt":"2022-01-03T05:40:38","slug":"lolita-1962","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=52334","title":{"rendered":"Lolita (1962)"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>&#8220;You and I, we have lots of fun &#8212; don&#8217;t we, Lolita?&#8221;<\/strong><\/p>\n<table>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/Lolita-Poster.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/Lolita-Poster-193x300.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"193\" height=\"300\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-52335\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/Lolita-Poster-193x300.png 193w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/Lolita-Poster-660x1024.png 660w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/Lolita-Poster-83x128.png 83w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/Lolita-Poster-174x270.png 174w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/Lolita-Poster.png 719w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 193px) 100vw, 193px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Synopsis:<\/strong><br \/>\nAfter killing a playwright named Clare Quilty (Peter Sellers), a professor (James Mason) recounts in flashback his saga of marrying a lonely widow (Shelley Winters) in order to gain access to her young daughter, Lolita (Sue Lyon).\n<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p>\n<strong>Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Black Comedy<\/li>\n<li>Flashback Films<\/li>\n<li>James Mason Films<\/li>\n<li>Obsessive Love<\/li>\n<li>Pedophiles<\/li>\n<li>Peter Sellers Films<\/li>\n<li>Shelley Winters Films<\/li>\n<li>Stanley Kubrick Films<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Response to Peary\u2019s Review: <\/strong><br \/>\nPeary writes that while &#8220;Stanley Kubrick&#8217;s ambitious black comedy about a high class of degenerates was initially blasted for being inferior to and taking liberties with <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Lolita\">Vladimir Nabakov&#8217;s much loved novel<\/a>,&#8221; it &#8220;looks better with every passing year.&#8221; He argues that &#8220;perhaps we&#8217;ve begun to accept Kubrick&#8217;s sophisticated cinematic techniques (use of visuals, music) as a storytelling alternative to Nabakov&#8217;s celebrated prose (i.e., use of language); we better appreciate the mannered comedy of Peter Sellers (this was before Kubrick&#8217;s <a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=51940\"><em>Dr. Strangelove<\/em><\/a>, <a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=52283\"><em>What&#8217;s New, Pussycat?<\/em><\/a> and <a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=32736\"><em>The Pink Panther<\/em><\/a>); and we have now seen enough Eric Rohmer films &#8212; in which sophisticated &#8216;gentlemen&#8217; can fall madly in love with bland, beautiful teenagers <a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=5025\">simply because they have tantalizing, dimpled knees<\/a> &#8212; to understand that [14]-year-old Lolita (Sue Lyon) need do absolutely nothing sexually provocative (other than sit around in a skimpy bikini and heart-shaped glasses) for nymphette-lover Humbert Humbert (James Mason) to be in uncontrolled heat.&#8221; <\/p>\n<p>In his description of the film&#8217;s narrative, Peary notes that after Winters (giving &#8220;a hilarious performance&#8221;) is &#8220;run over (conveniently), Humbert whisk[s] Lolita out of camp&#8221; (Camp Climax!) &#8220;and [takes] her on a lengthy trip, from one motel to the next&#8221;, becoming increasingly &#8220;possessive of Lolita and [forbidding] his young lover to date once they settle down and she [goes] to school.&#8221; However, Lolita has been &#8220;going out on the sly with the openly perverse Quilty [Sellers], the director of the school play in which she had the lead&#8221;, and eventually she runs &#8220;off with Quilty, whom she considered a genius.&#8221; Peary notes that &#8220;to this naive girl Humbert [is] normal&#8221; &#8212; though &#8220;of course, Humbert isn&#8217;t normal at all &#8212; and much humor comes from his difficult attempts to appear normal\/moral to the people he comes across (so they won&#8217;t suspect him of improprieties with Lolita) only to discover that those who judge him are as wacko as he is.&#8221;  <\/p>\n<p>Peary writes that the &#8220;picture is at times screamingly funny,&#8221; that &#8220;the performances by Sellers&#8230; and Mason &#8212; talking smart yet acting like a five-year-old, displaying a sickly smile &#8212; are marvelous,&#8221; and that &#8220;pretty Sue Lyon, only [14]&#8230; but looking sexy and 17, gives a very self-assured, naughty (notice that smile, indicating she <em>knows what Humbert&#8217;s up to<\/em>) Carroll Baker-like portrayal.&#8221; Indeed, Lyon&#8217;s performance is at the heart of this film&#8217;s success &#8212; she&#8217;s preternaturally able to embody this challenging role and convince us that events are playing out exactly as seen on screen. (It&#8217;s too bad Lyon had such a tough time with Hollywood, since her performance here indicates she was a natural.) Mason, of course, is stellar as always, and Sellers shows the genius for characterization he would demonstrate to greatest effect in <em>Dr. Strangelove<\/em> just two years later. While not for all tastes, Kubrick&#8217;s adaptation of Nabakov&#8217;s novel remains a provocative, well-made classic, worthy of at least one-time viewing. <\/p>\n<p><strong>Redeeming Qualities and Moments: <\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Sue Lyon as Lolita<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/Lolita-Lyon.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/Lolita-Lyon-1024x614.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"384\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-52338\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/Lolita-Lyon-1024x614.png 1024w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/Lolita-Lyon-300x180.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/Lolita-Lyon-128x77.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/Lolita-Lyon-768x461.png 768w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/Lolita-Lyon-450x270.png 450w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/Lolita-Lyon.png 1200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>James Mason as Humbert Humbert (nominated by Peary as one of the Best Actors of the Year in his <em>Alternate Oscars<\/em>)<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/Lolita-Mason.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/Lolita-Mason-1024x614.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"384\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-52336\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/Lolita-Mason-1024x614.png 1024w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/Lolita-Mason-300x180.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/Lolita-Mason-128x77.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/Lolita-Mason-768x461.png 768w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/Lolita-Mason-450x270.png 450w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/Lolita-Mason.png 1200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>Peter Sellers as Quiltey<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/Lolita-Sellers.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/Lolita-Sellers-1024x614.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"384\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-52337\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/Lolita-Sellers-1024x614.png 1024w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/Lolita-Sellers-300x180.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/Lolita-Sellers-128x77.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/Lolita-Sellers-768x461.png 768w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/Lolita-Sellers-450x270.png 450w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/Lolita-Sellers.png 1200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>Shelley Winters as Charlotte<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/Lolita-Winters.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/Lolita-Winters-1024x614.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"384\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-52339\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/Lolita-Winters-1024x614.png 1024w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/Lolita-Winters-300x180.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/Lolita-Winters-128x77.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/Lolita-Winters-768x461.png 768w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/Lolita-Winters-450x270.png 450w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/Lolita-Winters.png 1200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>Oswald Morris&#8217;s cinematography<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/Lolita-Cinematography.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/Lolita-Cinematography-1024x614.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"384\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-52340\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/Lolita-Cinematography-1024x614.png 1024w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/Lolita-Cinematography-300x180.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/Lolita-Cinematography-128x77.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/Lolita-Cinematography-768x461.png 768w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/Lolita-Cinematography-450x270.png 450w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/Lolita-Cinematography.png 1200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/Lolita-Cinematography2.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/Lolita-Cinematography2-1024x614.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"384\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-52341\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/Lolita-Cinematography2-1024x614.png 1024w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/Lolita-Cinematography2-300x180.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/Lolita-Cinematography2-128x77.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/Lolita-Cinematography2-768x461.png 768w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/Lolita-Cinematography2-450x270.png 450w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/Lolita-Cinematography2.png 1200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Must See? <\/strong><br \/>\nYes, as a cult classic by a master director. <\/p>\n<p><strong>Categories<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Cult Movie<\/li>\n<li>Important Director<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p> (<span style=\"color:red;font-weight:bold;\">Listed in <a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-static\/1001Movies.htm\"><em>1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die<\/em><\/a><\/span>) <\/p>\n<p><strong>Links: <\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt0056193\/\">IMDb entry<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/1962\/06\/14\/archives\/screen-lolita-vladimir-nabokovs-adaptation-of-his-novelsue-lyon-and.html\">NY Times Original Review<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.tcm.com\/tcmdb\/title\/282\/lolita#articles-reviews\">TCM Articles<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.filmsite.org\/loli.html\">FilmSite Review<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;You and I, we have lots of fun &#8212; don&#8217;t we, Lolita?&#8221; Synopsis: After killing a playwright named Clare Quilty (Peter Sellers), a professor (James Mason) recounts in flashback his saga of marrying a lonely widow (Shelley Winters) in order to gain access to her young daughter, Lolita (Sue Lyon). Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors: Black Comedy Flashback Films James Mason Films Obsessive Love Pedophiles Peter Sellers Films Shelley Winters Films Stanley Kubrick Films Response to Peary\u2019s Review: Peary writes&#8230;<\/p>\n<p class=\"read-more\"><a class=\"btn btn-default\" href=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=52334\"> Read More<span class=\"screen-reader-text\">  Read More<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-52334","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-responses-to-peary"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/52334","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=52334"}],"version-history":[{"count":15,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/52334\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":79801,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/52334\/revisions\/79801"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=52334"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=52334"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=52334"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}