The Roman Spring of Mrs. Stone (1961)

Self-important, over-dramatic, uninspired.

Plot so thin, it passes unnoticed.

It really made me laugh, but for some moments I was tearing up because I could relate so much.

Through painfully honest and emotional moments, the movie becomes irresistibly relatable

Tennesee Williams' first novel has more current interest focus depth and meaning than do the more sensational novels he later wrote on more sordid subjects many turned into famous motion pictures. THE ROMAN SPRING OF MRS STONE delves into a world of lonely people first seeking comfort any price not expecting their bubble to inevitably burst once they move to an expatriate gathering region of a world Capitol City. When it does they often make a hasty a mid life crisis choice to pursue joie de vivre then when this goes bust as it will eventually prefer companionship at whatever cost. Quintero's only major screen effort casts three distinguished Hollywood personalities in the leads whose much admired acting chops are truly given a fine workout here. Vivien Leigh is the comfortable woman whose life is about to go bust once she finds herself alone by surprise with no life and no friends in an expatriate's hangout district of what could be any world class capitol city in any year but is in fact post world war two Rome. Warren Beatty is the gay Roman gigolo hired by madam Lotte Lenya to pretend be an eligible straight suitor sincerely interested in showing Vivian a good time. Brilliantly paced, edited and blocked it holds your interest throughout.

In general, it seems that most big name actresses are loathe to admit that time has caught up with them. Too often, as they get older, the become vain about their age and often portray women MUCH younger than they really are. However, in the case of "The Roman Spring of Mrs. Stone", Vivian Leigh does something rather brave--she plays a woman who is about 50 (just like Leigh was at the time) and who can no longer play these young woman parts. And I can really respect her for playing a character who hits close to home, so to speak.When the film begins, Karen Stone (Leigh) is starring in a play. The problem is that her character is just too young for this aging actress to play. Not surprisingly, the audience members think the same and instead of continuing, she decides to quit and take her husband to Italy. He's been ill and this is the perfect excuse to allow her to gracefully pull out of the play. However, on the flight to Rome, he has a heart attack and the credits begin. Soon you learn that he died on the flight and Karen is in this strange city...alone and grieving for her husband.Because Mrs. Stone is so vulnerable, a horrid old lady has been grooming her--grooming her to be taken by a handsome young gigolo, Paulo (Warren Beatty). Slowly, Paolo insinuates herself into Karen's life and after a while, they become lovers. However, some possible problems occur--Paolo MAY be falling for her for real and Karen soon learns that Paolo has taken advantage of other women and is planning on doing this to her as well. Oddly, however, the relationship continues--even though his prey knows what she's getting into with him.As I watched this movie, I kept wondering why they cast the characters like they did. Although Beatty did a good job as an Italian, why not just get a handsome young Italian actor?! Also, while Leigh was very good, why have her play an American actress--why not change the story to make her a Brit? I just cannot understand the producer's thinking in both these cases.So is the movie any good? Well, yes. But you also have to have a very high tolerance for seeing a woman in pain and not mind how unrelentingly grim the story is. This isn't surprising, since it's a story from Tennessee Williams.

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.

The Roman Spring Of Mrs. Stone is based on a novella by Tennessee Williams and I'm sure it was Tennessee who saw to it that Vivien Leigh was cast in the title role. After all Vivien had won an Oscar for playing that other Tennessee Williams sex starved female, Blanche Dubois.But Karen Stone is a woman very much like Vivien Leigh was in real life. Karen is an actress who's refused to grow old gracefully, when we meet her she's just been trashed by the London critics for a very bad portrayal of Rosamund in As You Like It. She's 50 trying to play a young girl in her teens. Better she should have played Queen Gertrude in a revival of Hamlet.Anyway she and her husband decide to take a long holiday in Rome, but as the plane is landing her husband has a heart attack and dies. He's left her well fixed and after a suitable period of mourning Mrs. Stone is ready for a little action in her life.This is Tennessee Williams so we're talking sex here. Vivien maybe too old to play Rosalind, but she's not too old to enjoy what Rosalind enjoys. And Lotte Lenya who makes a living procuring young men for her clients is willing to supply. Warren Beatty is what Vivien thinks she wants. Warren is the only real weakness in The Roman Spring Of Mrs. Stone. He does pout an awful lot in the role and his accent is phony. But Vivien who was going through mid life crisis for decades before she died in 1967 was perfect casting. I'm not sure how much of it is acting and how much she's just playing herself. The woman had a lot of emotional and physical problems and as her husband Laurence Olivier frankly admitted, she was a nymphomaniac in real life. Lotte Lenya got an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actress as the Countess. However this was the year of West Side Story and Rita Moreno beat her in that category.This was one of the frankest discussions about sex ever put on film up to that time. In fact though no gay sex is discussed, right at the beginning you see a couple of men meeting for a tryst and you can spot a few obviously gay couples strolling throughout Rome. The Code was definitely coming down.One of the big pluses The Roman Spring Of Mrs. Stone has is that it was shot completely in The Eternal City. The movie industry loved Rome at that time with Roman Holiday, Three Coins In The Fountain, The Seven Hills Of Rome and now The Roman Spring Of Mrs. Stone all showing Rome to its best advantage. The other three films were a lot more upbeat than this one was.Stage director Jose Quintero did a great job with his cast in his one and only big screen production. The Roman Spring Of Mrs. Stone was done with Helen Mirren in Vivien Leigh's part several years ago. You might want to see both to compare.