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Editorial Reviews
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Vivien Leigh, so stirringly memorable as Blanche in Tennessee Williams's A Streetcar Named Desire, stars in this 1961 adaptation of Williams's only novella, giving a nuanced, slightly neurotic performance that is haunting and all the more tragic by its being one of the actress's last performances before her sad death at age 53. Leigh plays Karen Stone, a 50-ish theater actress whose comeback vehicle never gets off the ground; en route to Rome for a brief escape, she's devastated by the sudden death of her beloved husband. She decides to stay in Rome, and there, her loneliness takes root against the spectacular backdrop of the city. Lotte Lenya plays a viperous contessa who pimps young men to older rich ladies, and introduces the handsome Paolo (played with dissolute perfection--though his Italian accent is shaky--by Warren Beatty) to Mrs. Stone. Leigh's performance is unnervingly raw, though one wonders why a woman with a long, happy marriage and at least one very real friend (played by Coral Browne) should be doomed to such relentless loneliness--surely she and her hubby had some pals back in New York? But with Williams, you simply must go along for the ride, and the journey through the emotional dark spaces of Mrs. Stone's life is gripping. The location shots of the glorious, decaying beauty of Rome are fabulous, as are the costumes. Extras include a featurette, Mrs. Stone: Looking for Love in All the Dark Corners. --A.T. Hurley
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
19 of 20 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
"But we are all drifting Mrs. Stone",
By M. J Leonard "MikeonAlpha" (Silver Lake, Los Angeles, CA United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)
This review is from: The Roman Spring of Mrs. Stone (DVD)
The Roman Spring of Mrs. Stone is a film about need and seduction and the fear of being all-alone in the world. Legendary New York stage actress Karen Stone (the legendary Vivian Leigh) is unhappy with her latest performance, and is even more distraught when the play turns out to be a flop. She decides to retire from acting, telling everyone she needs a holiday to take care of her ailing husband.
However, when he dies on board a jetliner on the way to Rome, she decides to stay in the City and book herself into a lavish rooftop apartment. She wonders the streets, drifting in a haze of expensive loneliness, wondering what to do with her life now that acting is over for her. She soon falls in with the Contessa (Lotte Lenya), a female pimp, and a sharp procuress of handsome young men for forlorn wealthy old widows. The Contessa hooks her up with the young Paolo di Leo (Warren Beatty). The sexy Paolo thinks nothing of acquiring money out of rich, older women, and with the Contessa's encouragement, he wines and dines Karen. Karen, however, isn't your typical widow. At around fifty, she's is still very beautiful, although she worries about getting older, she's obviously enamored of Paolo and she's desperate for affection, but she's determined that Paolo's need for money will not triumph her need for love. They eventually become lovers. Karen showers gifts upon Paolo and they take a trip to Tangier. The Contessa becomes furious that Paolo isn't "cutting her fifty-fifty on the deal." Karen also doesn't heed the warnings of her friend, journalist Meg (Coral Browne) that she has "a disease" that can't be fulfilled. When Paolo begins to make the movies on younger starlet Barbara Bingham (Jill St. John), Karen begins to see Paolo for what he really is. Based in Tennessee Williams novella, Roman Spring of Mrs. Stone is full of his trademark themes of desperation and isolation of fearful people aching to connect. There's no doubt that Paolo is an attractive man, but he's also selfish, spoilt and petulant and he thinks nothing of two-timing Karen. Karen is an intelligent and intuitive woman, and she's well aware of Paolo's agenda, but it's as though she's observing life through a looking glass, and is ultimately seduced by the gigolo lifestyle. Director Jos? Quintero bathes the movie soft hews of gold and orange and he makes the most of Rome's stunning surrounds. Vivien Leigh remains a rather downcast presence - she's plays Karen with a fascinating mixture of neurosis and foreboding, she knows the relationship with Paolo will probably lead nowhere but she just can't help herself. When their romance starts to sour, she and her young and deceitful companion trade sharp words but there no extravagant theatrical exchanges. Likewise Beatty plays down the truculent Paolo - much has been made of his Italian accent, but I found it perfectly suitable, and he's totally convincing as a manipulative pretty-boy Italian gigolo. The Romance of Mrs. Stone was probably pretty sensational when it was released in 1961; and it's moral ambiguities - paying for sex and high-class prostitution, quite shocking to some. The film as aged well, although it dances around the more intimate aspects of the relationship - there's only one short love scene, which fades to black - the film certainly does a good job of highlighting the trials and tribulations of poor lonely women with bags of money who find themselves at a loss, living in exotic places and desiring to connect with someone. Mike Leonard May 06.
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Imperfect, yet deeply poignant,
This review is from: The Roman Spring of Mrs. Stone (DVD)
The Roman Spring of Mrs. Stone is a magnificent failure of a film: it addresses the themes of fear, self-loathing and the decay of age more sensitively than any other Hollywood film which springs to mind, but ultimately feels a bit cramped and over-done at times. Based on a Tennesee Williams novel, it tells the story of Karen Stone, an aging actress known for her light, comedic performances, who, after a failed turn in Shakespeare's As You Like It begins to fret that her career is over. She makes the decision to set off for Rome with her husband, who dies on the plane taking them there. She meets up with a handsome young money-hungry gigolo, played by an out-of-his-league Warren Beattie, whose terrible faux-Italian accent threatens to turn this film into camp. It contains one of Vivien Leigh's darkest and most autobiographical turns as the miserable Mrs. Stone, who shacks up with Beattie to try to bring some meaning to her life. She is as beautiful and sensitive here as she ever was. Two excellent performances by Lotte Lenya and Coral Browne help to bolster the film's quality. Lotte Lenya's lends a superb performance as the witch-like Contessa whose stable of handsome boys entertain the bored, wealthy American expatriates, both male and female. The always-engaging Coral Browne is brilliant as Karen's close friend, Meg, who attempts to help her and pull her out of the downward spiral of decay in which she is so clearly headed. A bonus featurette on the DVD discusses the troubled making of the film, it is particularly poignant in its discussions of the insecurities that Williams, Leigh and Beattie faced at the time of the film's creation.
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Touching and Heart-breaking,
By A Customer
This review is from: Roman Spring of Mrs Stone [VHS] (VHS Tape)
It is the most wonderful moment to enjoy Vivien's outstanding performance. The role suits her very much. She could touch those hearts who are also losing their youth. This film is just as good as Katherine Hepburn's "Summertime".
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