Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Fun Family Fare, December 5, 2008
I saw The Notorius Landlady for the first time December 2008.It's a breezy,even-paced,smart little funny film with Fred Astaire,Kim Novak and Jack Lemmon, and a host of English stars comprising a wonderful cast. The film takes place in England. It begins like a Hitchcock film with people going about their business when a shot rings out in a house,and next we see a body being dragged into a garage and a car with the body in it emerges and speeds away.The main protagonists are Kim Novak as a landlady(zingingly gorgeous throughout the movie) who is suspected of killing her husband,but no body can be found;Jack Lemmon as a State Department lackey and sometimes angstful bumbler(as some of his roles were) who immediately falls in love with the landlady; and Fred Astaire as the State Department boss(straight actor,sans dancing.)The film then proceeds to establish a quickly developed romantic relationship between Kim and Jack although he is warned by his boss not to get involved with her because of her reputation as a suspected murderer.Then the film develops an air of mystery with weird organ music in the house at night,suspicious meetings in the London Fog,pesky neighbors who peer through windows and over balconies,listen, and spy on the couple's every movement within the rooms/house that Kim has rented to Jack,Scotland yard visiting the State department,creepy noises in the house,strange notes under the door and all kinds of twist and turns in the plot that will keep you guessing about what's going on and how things will turn out.Blake Edwards wrote the script and you kind of get a sense of what will come later in his PINK PANTHER films because slapstick is embedded throughout and appears unexpectedly amidst moments that should be suspenseful or as people try to solve the murder. The film kept my interest because I am a big fan of all three stars. Novak is delightful throughout to watch as she has to express a wide gamut of emotions.Lemmon is a bit cloying as a romantic lead. He is better when he plays it straight.Fred Astaire dresses classy and and acts classy with some funny moments for him thrown in.Overall I like the film. It is filled with hijinks and fun.
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2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
Delightful comedy, horrible copy, December 23, 2008
I bought this copy of "The Notorious Landlady", which is one of my favourite movies, fully conscious it would probably have been totally unwatchable and unlistenable and I must admit I wasn't disappointed.
It is unwatchable and unlistenable.
I waited ten years (ever since I bought my first DVD) hoping sooner or later the production company would publish a remastered version of this film, starring Kim Novak, Jack Lemmon (at the peak of their careers) and Fred Astaire, but to no avail.
For some obscure reason they don't seem interested, so the only way to finally see it, after the first time at the theatre, 46 years ago, was to buy this copy, by Hollywood's Attic...
Nothing wrong with that, but the problem is that whoever mastered this version had serious problems with his declining eyesight, since the black and white images are so blindingly brilliant and lacking contrast that I had to reduce brightness on my Sony Bravia TV to 0 (zero) to watch it!!!
Of course, this didn't help in any way the dirt, scratches and assorted defects of the copy used for mastering the DVD.
Audio quality is on a par with video quality, that is, horrible.
At times, especially at the start, when Ms.Novak attempts a fake-sounding British accent, you have to strain your ears to try and catch the words.
A real pity, because even after all these years, the film is still very funny, romantic and pleasing, thanks to the beauty of Kim Novak, the acting skills of Jack Lemmon and the sophisticated humour of the master of modern slapstick comedy, Blake Edwards, who wrote the script and fine direction by Richard Quine (Bell, Book and Candle).
Extras and subtitles are totally absent and the screen is slightly cut at the sides, like a partial pan and scan.
Do I need say more?
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5.0 out of 5 stars
Funny!, December 12, 2008
This is an old charmer of a movie. It's has lots of good supporting cast, laughs and action....Jack Lemmon at his prime.
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