The Notorious Landlady
Encyclopedia
The Notorious Landlady is a 1962
comedy/mystery American film starring Kim Novak
, Jack Lemmon
, and Fred Astaire
. The film was directed by Richard Quine
, with a script by Blake Edwards
.
, he rents part of Carly Hardwicke's (Novak) house from her and promptly begins to fall in love. Gridley doesn't know that many people think she killed Miles Hardwick, her British husband, as he has disappeared, but without a body, the police can do nothing.
Gridley's boss, the American ambassador (Astaire), learns about it and doesn't take this "lapse of judgment" lightly. Since Carly is also American, Gridley saves his job by introducing her to the ambassador, who is promptly smitten and promises to help her. When a Scotland Yard
detective arrives, wanting to get to the truth one way or another, they say they'll help him without letting Carly know they are investigating her.
Events take a surprising turn when Miles Hardwicke (Maxwell Reed
) shows up alive and is accidentally shot and killed in a struggle with his wife. Carly escapes prosecution due to the eyewitness testimony of her crippled neighbor's private nurse but a new mystery develops over a candelabra which Carly recently pawned and was the cause of the argument between the former married couple. It turns out the candelabra was stuffed with stolen jewels but the item disappears again when the pawnbroker is murdered and Gridley and Carlyle join forces to solve the crime, culminating in a confrontation with the real murderer at a lovely seaside resort and a chase sequence with tunes from The Pirates of Penzance
.
1962 in film
The year 1962 in film involved some significant events.-Events:*May - The Golden Horse Film Festival and Awards are officially founded by the Taiwanese government....
comedy/mystery American film starring Kim Novak
Kim Novak
Kim Novak is an American film and television actress. She began her career with her roles in Pushover and Phffft! but achieved greater prominence in the 1955 film Picnic...
, Jack Lemmon
Jack Lemmon
John Uhler "Jack" Lemmon III was an American actor and musician. He starred in more than 60 films including Some Like It Hot, The Apartment, Mister Roberts , Days of Wine and Roses, The Great Race, Irma la Douce, The Odd Couple, Save the Tiger John Uhler "Jack" Lemmon III (February 8, 1925June...
, and Fred Astaire
Fred Astaire
Fred Astaire was an American film and Broadway stage dancer, choreographer, singer and actor. His stage and subsequent film career spanned a total of 76 years, during which he made 31 musical films. He was named the fifth Greatest Male Star of All Time by the American Film Institute...
. The film was directed by Richard Quine
Richard Quine
Richard Quine was an American stage, film, and radio actor and film director.Quine was born in Detroit. He made his Broadway debut in the Jerome Kern/Oscar Hammerstein II musical Very Warm for May in 1939 and appeared in My Sister Eileen the following year...
, with a script by Blake Edwards
Blake Edwards
Blake Edwards was an American film director, screenwriter and producer.Edwards' career began in the 1940s as an actor, but he soon turned to writing radio scripts at Columbia Pictures...
.
Plot
When American diplomat William Gridley (Lemmon) arrives in LondonLondon
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, he rents part of Carly Hardwicke's (Novak) house from her and promptly begins to fall in love. Gridley doesn't know that many people think she killed Miles Hardwick, her British husband, as he has disappeared, but without a body, the police can do nothing.
Gridley's boss, the American ambassador (Astaire), learns about it and doesn't take this "lapse of judgment" lightly. Since Carly is also American, Gridley saves his job by introducing her to the ambassador, who is promptly smitten and promises to help her. When a Scotland Yard
Scotland Yard
Scotland Yard is a metonym for the headquarters of the Metropolitan Police Service of London, UK. It derives from the location of the original Metropolitan Police headquarters at 4 Whitehall Place, which had a rear entrance on a street called Great Scotland Yard. The Scotland Yard entrance became...
detective arrives, wanting to get to the truth one way or another, they say they'll help him without letting Carly know they are investigating her.
Events take a surprising turn when Miles Hardwicke (Maxwell Reed
Maxwell Reed
Maxwell Reed was a British actor who became a matinee idol during the 1950s with the Rank Organisation in Britain....
) shows up alive and is accidentally shot and killed in a struggle with his wife. Carly escapes prosecution due to the eyewitness testimony of her crippled neighbor's private nurse but a new mystery develops over a candelabra which Carly recently pawned and was the cause of the argument between the former married couple. It turns out the candelabra was stuffed with stolen jewels but the item disappears again when the pawnbroker is murdered and Gridley and Carlyle join forces to solve the crime, culminating in a confrontation with the real murderer at a lovely seaside resort and a chase sequence with tunes from The Pirates of Penzance
The Pirates of Penzance
The Pirates of Penzance; or, The Slave of Duty is a comic opera in two acts, with music by Arthur Sullivan and libretto by W. S. Gilbert. The opera's official premiere was at the Fifth Avenue Theatre in New York City on 31 December 1879, where the show was well received by both audiences...
.
Cast
- Kim NovakKim NovakKim Novak is an American film and television actress. She began her career with her roles in Pushover and Phffft! but achieved greater prominence in the 1955 film Picnic...
as Carlyle 'Carly' Hardwicke - Jack LemmonJack LemmonJohn Uhler "Jack" Lemmon III was an American actor and musician. He starred in more than 60 films including Some Like It Hot, The Apartment, Mister Roberts , Days of Wine and Roses, The Great Race, Irma la Douce, The Odd Couple, Save the Tiger John Uhler "Jack" Lemmon III (February 8, 1925June...
as William 'Bill' Gridley - Fred AstaireFred AstaireFred Astaire was an American film and Broadway stage dancer, choreographer, singer and actor. His stage and subsequent film career spanned a total of 76 years, during which he made 31 musical films. He was named the fifth Greatest Male Star of All Time by the American Film Institute...
as Franklyn Ambruster - Lionel JeffriesLionel JeffriesLionel Charles Jeffries was an English actor, screenwriter and film director.-Early life and career:Jeffries attended the Queen Elizabeth Grammar School, Wimborne Minster, Dorset. In 1945, he received a commission in the Oxford and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry...
as Inspector Oliphant - Estelle WinwoodEstelle WinwoodEstelle Winwood was an English stage and film actress who moved to the United States in mid-career and became celebrated for her longevity.-Early life and early career:...
as Mrs Dunhill - Maxwell ReedMaxwell ReedMaxwell Reed was a British actor who became a matinee idol during the 1950s with the Rank Organisation in Britain....
as Miles Hardwicke - Philippa Bevans as Mrs Agatha Brown
- Doris LloydDoris LloydHessy Doris Lloyd was an English actress.She appeared in over 150 films between 1920 and 1967, including the 1933 low-budget Monogram Pictures version of Oliver Twist, in which she played Nancy...
as Lady Fallott - Henry DaniellHenry DaniellHenry Daniell was an English actor, best known for his villainous movie roles, but who had a long and prestigious career on stage as well as in films....
as the Stranger - Ronald LongRonald LongRonald Long , was a British actor who appeared principally in American television shows of the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s...
as Coroner - Richard Peel as Sergeant Dillings
- Dick CrockettDick CrockettDick Crockett , born Richard DeHart Crockett, was an American television and film actor, stunt performer, stunt coordinator, producer, and director....
as Detective Carstairs - Ottola NesmithOttola NesmithOttola Nesmith was an American actress. She appeared in over 115 films and television shows between 1913 and 1969.-Selected filmography:* Three Men on a Horse * Television Spy...
as Flower Woman - Bess FlowersBess FlowersBess Flowers was an American actress. By some counts considered the most prolific actress in the history of Hollywood, she was known as "The Queen of the Hollywood Extras," appearing in over 700 movies in her 41 year career....
as Courtroom Spectator - Scott Davey as Henry
- Ross Brown as Boy
- Mary O'Brady as Mrs Oliphant