Lady Chatterley’s Lover [L’Amant de Lady Chatterley] ** (1955, Danielle Darrieux, Leo Genn, Erno Crisa) – Classic Movie Review 8907

Director Marc Allégret’s 1955 black and white drama Lady Chatterley’s Lover [L’Amant de Lady Chatterley] is an early French adaptation of the once scandalous D H Lawrence novel about a high-born English lady, Lady Constance Chatterley (Danielle Darrieux), who is frustrated with her crippled, impotent husband Sir Clifford Chatterley (Leo Genn) and thrives on an extra-marital affair with their gamekeeper Oliver Mellors (Italian actor Erno Crisa).

Lady Chatterley’s Lover [L’Amant de Lady Chatterley] is an entirely tame and dull romantic melodrama that in no way matches the fascinating psychological insights of the novel and, unfortunately, there is no sex to spice things up either, with chaste love scenes instead. However, it is worthwhile for the cast, especially Darrieux and Genn, who are ideal, and it has a plush production, with fine black and white cinematography by Georges Périnal.

It runs 102 minutes but the 1959 re-edited, dubbed into English international version is cut to 90 minutes.

The screenplay written by Marc Allégret is based on a play version by Gaston Bonheur and Philippe de Rothschild.

Also in the cast are Berthe Tissen, Janine Crispin, Gérard Séty, Jean Michaud, Roland Bailly, Jacques Marin, Léon Daubrel, Christian Marquand and Jean Murat.

Lady Chatterley’s Lover [L’Amant de Lady Chatterley] is directed by Marc Allégret, runs 102 minutes or 90 minutes, is made by Orsay Films, La Régie du Film, is released by Columbia Films (1955) (France), Columbia Pictures Corporation (1956) (UK) (theatrical) (subtitled) and Kingsley-International Pictures (1959) (US), is written by Marc Allégret, based on a play version by Gaston Bonheur and Philippe de Rothschild, is shot in black and white by Georges Périnal, is produced by Gilbert Cohn-Séat and is scored by Joseph Kosma.

It is remade in 1981 as Lady Chatterley’s Lover, with Sylvia Kristel and Nicholas Clay, as the BBC TV serial Lady Chatterley by Ken Russell in 1993 with Joely Richardson, Sean Bean and James Wilby, and again as the 2015 TV movie Lady Chatterley’s Lover with Holliday Grainger, Richard Madden and James Norton.

© Derek Winnert 2019 Classic Movie Review 8907

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