User Reviews

I was going to give this film kudos for doing something well that is typically botched by Hollywood. There are dramas with humor. There are comedies with drama. But rarely is a comedy/drama film very successful in mixing the two genres. This film did up till the last 15 minutes, when, in my view, it blew it all with slapstick. Shame, shame.

In the early part of the film it seems like a light comedy as US embassy rep in London, Jack Lemmon, rents a flat and falls in love with a landlady (Kim Novak) whom he doesn't know has a notorious reputation of murdering her husband. Throughout most of the film there's a fine element of suspense, and it becomes a fine whodunit for a while...until the slapstick at the end when it just gets silly. The slapstick would have worked fine in a Red Skelton flick, but not here.

The other problem with this film is the presence of Fred Astaire. Now I like Fred Astaire, and have enjoyed him in many musicals. But in this straight role (sort of), well it just doesn't quite work. Oh, it doesn't ruin the film by any means, but I didn't find him particularly believable as the head of the American embassy. I noted in the message boards that one of our reviewers felt Astaire stole every scene he was in. With all due respect, that's just an Astaire fan's viewpoint.

I did tire of the background music throughout the film being almost exclusively "A Foggy Day In London Town". Too cheap for a real score? And, by the way...one thing that is never answered is who was the body being dragged into the basement early in the film.

Despite all that criticism, this is mostly a pretty enjoyable film, nicely done for the most part, and quite entertaining. There's no question that Kim Novak and Jack Lemmon have film chemistry. Lionel Jeffries is good as a Scotland Yard inspector.

Good film, but the foolish slapstick kept it from being a notch above.

What a pedigree this movie has:

It's written by Blake Edwards (the director of Operation Petticoat, Breakfast at Tiffany's, Days of Wine and Roses, the Pink Panther movies, 10, Victor/Victoria, Micki & Maude, Blind Date) and Larry Gelbart (A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, Tootsie and the creator of the M*A*S*H* TV show), and was directed by Richard Quine, who also made Bell, Book and Candle; How to Murder Your Wife).

Hwo about this cast? Jack Lemmon as diplomat Bill Gridley, Fred Astaire* as his boss Franklyn Ambruster and an effervescent Kim Novak as Carly Hardwicke, the titular landlady, a woman who all of her neighbors believe killed her last husband, Miles. Sure, there was no body, but there's plenty of evidence.

You can excuse Bill, who falls for Carly immediately, because Novak is just so charming in this movie. Everyone man that meets her falls under her spell. Yet is she a killer? That's why Scotland Yard wants Bill to spy on Carly, but there's no way he can stay objective.

How weird is it that every time Lemmon and Novak teamed up on screen - Phffft! And Bell, Book and Candle**would be two other examples - she played a landlady?

And keep your eyes open, TV fans, as this was shot on the so-called Columbia Ranch, the same location as the fountain from the beginning of the show Friends.

*As a former performer in movie musicals, Quine has some smart direction here, as every time Astaire appears, he walks to the camera, much as if he's getting the opportunity to dance. While he was retired from dancing movies, he still does his own stunts in the scene where his character follows Novak through the bad side of town.

**There are a ton of references to this movie throughout The Notorious Landlady.

I saw this film for one reason--it starred Jack Lemmon. Lemmon was a very fine actor and I'd see him in just about anything. "The Notorious Landlady" must surely qualify as 'in just about anything'! The movie starts off very well but then just seems to drag on and on--becoming quite dull. Frankly, by the time it was over, I was more than ready.

The film begins with a low-level American diplomat in London looking for an apartment. He happens upon a flat owned by an American--and it's odd, because practically EVERYONE in London seems to be an American in this film. Lemmon is thrilled to move in, as the landlady (Kim Novak) is very sexy. Soon they fall in love. However, things do NOT go smoothly, as he then is informed by his boss and Scotland Yard that she is suspected in the murder of her husband! What's to happen next? Well, although the film was very good at this point, the exact solution to the problem just never hit home for me. I wish that instead they had kept the film a romance--as the mystery and comedy seemed a bit thin. Overall, the actors tried but the script just wasn't very interesting.

This is an entertaining spoof on Hitchcock style,long before Mel Brooks' "high anxiety" (1978),and much more subtile at that.Diplomat Lemmon rents a room in a mansion whose owner(Novak) might be a man-eater.After a slow start,the movie quickly reaches its cruising speed and will keep it till the end.

Many scenes in Novak's desirable mansion are nods in the direction of "rear window".All the neighbors are looking out their windows,secretly waiting for something to happen.A kid warns Lemmon:"My mother says you're next",and he later adds "And my father says so too".And the final is some kind of cross between the chase movies like" north by norwest" and the "symphonic" scenes of a " man who knew too much"(1956) in miniature,as the characters are in search for an old lady among many wheelchairs,during an outdoor concert .Jack Lemmon is wonderful,his comical expressions have influenced a lot of actors,Jim Carrey owes him a lot.Richard Quine's final crazy chase is much more successful than that of "sex and the single girl" ,two years later.

POSSIBLE SPOILER********************Possible spoiler A small flaw:the scene between Kim Novak and her husband is so dramatic that it jars with the light tongue-in -cheek atmosphere of the rest of the show.The same goes for the pawnbroker's scene.

Jack Lemmon plays an American diplomat, Bill Gridley, attached to the embassy in England. On his first day in London he rents a flat from a very attractive new landlady, Carly Hardwicke played by Kim Novak. But unknown to him his new landlady has a "reputation" but for what. The dialogue sparkles from Lemmon's comment to Carly's query. you don't seem to harbor any prejudices, to which Lemmon responds; no, after all he is a Democrat from Massachusetts. And from the get-go it's clear Gridley is attracted to Carly but is she single, married,or divorced.

On Gridley's second day he is grilled by his station chief Frank Ambruster, Fred Astaire, who informs him that his landlady murdered her husband. Suddenly Gridley finds himself recruited by Scotland Yard Inspector Oliphant, Lionel Jeffries, to "investigate" Mrs. Hardwicke to see if he can either prove her guilty or innocent. Of course Gridley leaps to Carly's defense especially after Oliphant's hysterical explanation of how women make not only loving wives but exceptional killers.

Ambruster orders Gridley to cooperate and yet after he meets her and is smitten; he agrees that she is innocent. The film is filled with red herrings from titles of bedside reading to misunderstood phone calls that only enrich the comedy and the mystery. Lemmon is great as the would be lover who vacillates between loyalty and suspicion. This film is a classic and deserves an updated release.

This film has stuck in my mind from my first viewing in 1962 because of the chemistry among the three principal actors. And the finale is one of the best of any chase scenes filmed.

The opening scenes of this movie have, as background music, the melody of the Gershwin song, A Foggy Day in London Town. This, despite the fact that there is no fog in those scenes. The song was introduced by Fred Astaire -- who plays a supporting role in this flick -- in his 1937 movie Damsel in Distress.

SPOILER: The concluding scenes, which include a chase on the beach at Penzance, has background music from the Gilbert & Sullivan operetta, The Pirates of Penzance (which was also made into two movies in 1982 and 1983), with a coda from a melody in Gilbert & Sullivan's HMS Pinafore. One other mystery movie in which music from the Pirates of Penzance was significant was The Hand That Rocks The Cradle.

Somehow I became a fan of Kim Novak when I saw her in a film in the mid-1960s when I was in college. I don't remember the title, but I was forever hooked on her and have enjoyed all her roles.

Here she is Mrs. Hardwicke, Carly, who lives in a nice part of London and is advertising to rent out part of her home. The audience is quickly brought into the mystery when a young couple and their son show up, but as soon as Mrs, Hardwicke opens the door (we only see her from the rear) we can tell from the expressions that they recognize her from something, and back off, not wanting anything to do with her. She must be "notorious" but we don't find out why for a while.

Then along comes Jack Lemmon as Bill Gridley, a US State department diplomat just moving into London and needing a flat near work. He sees the ad and convinces Carly to take him in, even though the ad says "prefers a couple." Bill has no inkling that something may be wrong, and immediately falls for Carly. Their early romance is filled with missteps.

The third key character is Fred Astaire as Franklyn Ambruster, Bill's boss. When he finds that Bill has rented from the notorious Carly Hardwicke, he and Scotland yard begin to watch more closely, and eventually ask Bill to help.

At issue is Mr. Hardwicke, who it seems has disappeared and Carly has been accused of murdering her husband. This has brought the notoriety and her picture has been in the newspapers and tabloids. But there is no body, no evidence, so she cannot be tried, however she is always being watched. Plus her passport has been seized so she can't go back to Chicago. Bill can't believe this nice woman could be a murderer.

All in all a very entertaining romantic comedy with a murder mystery thrown in. Kim Novak is in fine form. Not very meaningful but good entertainment, as most 1960s movies of this sort.

SPOILERS: Mr Hardwicke is in fact still alive, but had fled to hide a crime. Near the end of the movie he shows up in Carly's bedroom, there is a struggle, he is accidentally shot with his own gun. A trial is held but witnesses exonerate Carly. But a neighbor has gotten off with the jewels hidden in a pawned candelabra, and is tracked down by Bill and Carly at a seaside resort.

"The Notorious Landlady" is a comedy mystery that also is a light satire. It does a little spoofing of the Foreign Service of the U.S. State Department. It pokes some fun at Scotland Yard, busy bodies of the time, and of the press. I suspect that a number of viewers might miss the gentle rubs and pokes of satire. The movie is somewhat based on a story by Margery Sharp that appeared in Collier's Weekly Magazine of Feb. 3, 1956.

The plot is okay for a mystery, but the parts of two of the main characters aren't very well scripted or acted. Those are Kim Novak as Carly Hardwicke and Fred Astaire as Franklyn Ambruster. Novak does okay in roles in which she plays a sultry, mysterious character. She was just right for "Vertigo" and "Bell, Book and Candle." Her part here is somewhat that way. But it also calls for a little more life than she is able to muster. At least one other reviewer noted Novak's limits as an actress. The film credits did note, though, that she made her own gowns.

Fred Astaire doesn't quite fit the role of a Foreign Service officer in the State Department. His Franklyn Ambruster seems about ready to break into song and dance any moment. So, the load of the acting is carried by Jack Lemmon as Bill Gridley. And Lemmon is up to the task. The best part of this film is the crispy script with the witty exchanges of dialog between Lemmon's and Astaire's characters.

Incidentally, references in the story line and reviews to Fred Astaire's part as being the ambassador are ridiculous. There's nothing in the script or screenplay that identifies him as such. And the scenes of his office in the embassy are further evidence to the contrary. The American embassy in England is the largest U.S. embassy in Europe. Other movies that show ambassadors' digs in Europe correctly show large, rather regal offices, befitting the positions. They have outer offices and waiting areas that are more elaborate than Astaire's small one-chair inner office in this film. They usually have the prime spot with commanding views, a huge desk, sofas and elaborate decorations. Astaire's office in this film is one of many along a long corridor of plain doors.

Astaire's job isn't spelled out in the film or screenplay, but he's understood to be the chief of some unnamed section or office within the embassy. Indeed, the New York Times and other papers that reviewed the movie on its opening, referred to Astaire as a chief or boss within the American embassy. But none called him the ambassador.

The court room scene toward the end is the most interesting part, and the film builds to a climax with a funny and frenzied chase at the end. My favorite line in the film is by Inspector Oliphant (Lionel Jeffries). He says to Bill Gridley, "I am merely illustrating for you the homicidal tendencies of the fair sex. Females make not only loving wives and devoted mothers, but very efficient killers, bless them."

Here are some more good zingers. For more witty dialog, see the Quotes section under this IMDb Web page of the movie.

Franklyn Ambruster, "We go where we can serve, not necessarily where we can amuse ourselves." Bill Gridley, "Oh, I wasn't complaining, sir." Ambruster, "Of course not."

Ambruster, "Be prepared to give us a report on the report in the morning." Gridley, "Right, sir."

Carly Hardwicke, "You didn't learn to mambo like this in Saudi Arabia." Bill Gridley, "No, South America. Student riot." Hardwicke, "Hmmm?" Gridley, "Well, you had to move something or everything was over."

Bill Gridley, "You want me to be a male Mata Hari?"

Ambruster, "I want you to know that I have no intention of watching you go down the drain and using my career as a raft."

Gridley, "Sir, if I may, I don't think you're taking the proper share of the blame" Franklyn Ambruster, "Gridley, you will learn that the higher your position, the more mistakes you're allowed. In fact, if you make enough of them, it's considered your style. Now you happen to be in what I would call a one-mistake position, and you've made it."

Ambruster, "Gridley couldn't have done that." Inspector Oliphant, "Maybe not, sir, but the death rate has certainly gone up since he arrived in London."