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Highly Overrated But Still Good

I cannot think of one single thing that I would change about this film. The acting is incomparable, the directing deft, and the writing poignantly brilliant.

The thing I enjoyed most about the film is the fact that it doesn't shy away from being a super-sized-cliche;

Story: It's very simple but honestly that is fine.

In her mid and later movie career, Vivien Leigh seemed to thrive in fading woman roles. Naturally, we think of her as Blanche, in 1951's "A Streetcar Named Desire." Her last film "Ship of Fools," she was also a fading starlet and 1961's "The Roman Spring of Mrs. Stone," she played a washed up actress desperately searching for a way out of her loneliness with a younger man, Warren Beatty with a great Italian accent.The 'Roman Spring' basically fails because it could be viewed in comic terms. Lotte Lenya's supporting Oscar nomination performance as a woman in charge of matching up young gigolos with older women is comic at best. I would have laughed heartily if I didn't realize that Lenya tried to be serious. As the Contessa looking for a quick buck, Lenya constantly came across as a Brooklyn or Bronx yenta constantly on the phone to drum up business. Lenya may have been talented but she was extremely homely. That ugliness served her better as Rosa Klebb in "To Russia With Love."Leigh's portrayal of Karen Stone presented one very sick woman with emotional ups and downs. The film is depressing at best, with an ending suitable for a Hitchcock thriller.

I'll say flat out right at the beginning, that if you don't appreciate the talents of Vivien Leigh -- you will not like The Roman Spring of Mrs. Stone. This is her penultimate film, which was really made as a vehicle for her talents, without much of an ensemble cast and she's in nearly every scene. But the great actress is certainly up to the task of making this material work, although she is let down at times by contrivances of plot and other aspects of believability.Taken from famous playwright Tennessee William's novella, the story concerns aging actress Karen Stone, who yearns to retire with her rich husband, who unfortunately expires while on their way to Rome for their extended getaway. Then the lonely widow starts dating a handsome young Italian guy who has an unusually close relationship with the sinister contessa who introduced them both.Vivien Leigh as Karen Stone "drifts" through the movie, an ethereal presence that's nearly translucent, extremely delicate and cautiously mannered. The machinations of the plot allow her many opportunities to overstate or exaggerate, which is something Leigh never does. Many have said that this source material is kind of second rate Tennessee Williams, but even if true, Vivien Leigh's work here makes the very best of it in an engaging style.And the movie has the added benefit of young future superstar Warren Beatty, making his second feature film. Needless to say, he looks fantastic, making it much more believable that Mrs. Stone would become so enamored with him. It's evident that Beatty clearly dove headfirst into an attempt to transform himself into an Italian gigolo. I find the Italian accent he attempted to be perhaps a little lacking at some points in the way of his hitting a few wrong pronunciations that sound artificial at very few and select times. Other than that minor detail, Beatty fills the role more than adequately, and his star power is in abundance.And no small mention must go to fabulous Lotte Lenya (who scored an Academy Award nomination for best supporting actress in this), as this unctuous Euro-trash "contessa" who deals in romantic relationships usually for women of a certain class, age and wealth. She's extremely creepy, and look for a frightening scene set inside a cavernous discotheque where the camera follows Lenya slithering through the crowd, making her way to the fragile Mrs Stone. Every scene with Lenya is a highlight in this movie, and also see how her intense love for her pet cat is expressed in the way Lenya artfully handles the willing feline.The Roman Spring of Mrs Stone, surely a "must-see" for devotees of Williams, Leigh, Beatty or Lenya, and anyone who enjoys colorful European settings, vivid characters and glossy romantic drama.**** out of *****

In a film that, perhaps, would lose some of its meaningfulness were one not aware of the condition of its leading lady, the subjects of loneliness and exploitation are explored. Leigh plays a celebrated, but fading, stage actress who, after suffering a humiliating premiere, flees to Rome to escape the world. Though her devoted husband isn't able to join her as planned, she stays on, secluded in her luxury apartment, occasionally venturing out wearing dark glasses. Enter the troll-like, but somehow captivating, local procurer Lenya who introduces Leigh to her latest prize, the handsome Beatty, who is eager to make some money off of his own tender flesh. Though Leigh takes more than a little wearing down, eventually she and Beatty become heavily acquainted, with Leigh becoming more attached than she ought to. Beatty feels he no longer needs Lenya, which leads to a scenario that spells despair for Leigh. Leigh, who grappled with physical and mental ailments for a large part of her life, was incredibly fragile during the filming of this movie, having lost the love of her life, Laurence Olivier, to Joan Plowright. Looking every bit and then some of her age (thanks in part to a relentless smoking habit), she nonetheless projects loveliness and grace and sports some chic Balmain clothes. She is hampered, particularly in the first half, by wigs of ill-judged color and style, but overcomes this to deliver a captivating and sympathetic performance. Her voice is low and lacking the ability to intone with the same nuance and she can't seem to leave certain of her clothes alone in some scenes, but the magic is still there. Beatty is really quite awful, apart from the inherently challenging attempt of playing Italian. Though he definitely looks good, he gives a self-conscious and, at times, overly emphatic performance that comes close to being laughable at times. Lenya is to die for. She handily steals the scenes she's in with her lascivious expressions and crafty ways. The cast includes Browne as Leigh's vaguely lesbian good friend and St. John as a hot, young starlet whose career trajectory is the opposite of Leigh's. Filmed partly on location in Rome, it's typically pretty obvious when the locales switch to British soundstages, but generally the look is sumptuous whether in Leigh's elegantly appointed home or Lenya's garish one. Interestingly, especially considering the time it was made, the notion of homosexual prostitution is not ignored. While it isn't necessarily blatant, keen viewers will see it presented matter-of-factly (even leeringly, as one gigolo draws attention to a bauble he has acquired from a sugar daddy.) It's been noted that author Williams use Leigh's character as an extension of his own feelings and fears and that comes through rather strongly despite the fact that he is not the one who wrote the screenplay. Languidly paced, it's not a movie that will appeal to all tastes, but fans of the author and of Miss Leigh will want to check it out, certainly.

" And when the time comes when nobody desires me for myself:I would rather not be desired at all"As with all Tenessee Williams adaptations it's the characters that keep the viewer interested, always intriguing and seemingly fractured with personal demons. The Roman Spring of Mrs. Stone is no different, and much like the other adaptations the actors on show here come up trumps to realise the heavy dialogue driven story. This film centres on an ageing actress whose husband dies and leaves her to face her fears whilst holidaying in beautiful Rome. Here she is pimped a male companion for company and the film then fleshes out the respective characters to a craftily ambiguous ending. But it's the journey that each characters psyche takes that lifts the film above average.The back story to the film is a belter and knowing this back story helped me to enjoy the film much more than perhaps I would have. Vivien Leigh is here as the scared and alone ageing actress who falls in love with a much younger man, in real life Leigh's husband Sir Laurence Olivier had just left her for a younger woman. You can't help believing that the wonderfully tragic performance she gives here is really from the heart. The character of Karen Stone is actually based on Tenessee Williams himself, all the fears and stresses of the title character are how he felt has he penned this novella. Warren Beatty is a fine choice as the gigolo of the piece, he looks the part and actually looks like an Italian man, but I really can't vouch for his accent because during scenes where he gets angry he actually sounds more Soviet! That aside tho, he gives a well solid performance that didn't deserve the negative reviews that it got on release. Lotte Lenya {who later on would thrill me as the villainess Rosa Kleb in From Russia With Love} is brilliant here, in fact she almost steals the film as high society pimp, Contessa, all devilish charm with money signs sparkling in her eyes.Great writing, fine acting, and poignant to the last with a cracking and worth waiting for ending. 7/10.