Laura (1968 film)

Laura is a 1968 American TV film, a remake of the 1944 film of the same name. It was directed by John Llewellyn Moxey and written by Truman Capote and Thomas Phipps.[1] David Susskind produced.[2]

The film had previously been adapted for television in 1955.

Plot summary

Cast

Production

Truman Capote was friends with Lee Radziwill who wanted to act and had made her stage debut in a revival of The Philadelphia Story. He met up with David Susskind and told him, "Lee Radiziwill is going to be an actress and I think we should all put something together for her. I'm sure that she'll be so good I'll write it for her myself."[3]

Susskind thought Radziwill "wasn't very good" in her stage performance "but I thought maybe I saw a glimmer of something in her performance. The television companies had noticed the publicity, so it looked like we could set something up."[3]

Capote wrote an adaptation of The Voice of the Turtle for her but Susskind worried it would be too difficult. So he suggested they do Laura.[4]

Michael Dyne reportedly rewrote Capote's script.[5]

The show was taped in London in October 1967. Robert Stack and George Sanders reprised roles they had performed on TV in the 1955 version.[6][3] Stack recalled in his memoirs that "the production resembled a junior high school effort."[7]

Reception

Critical reception to Radziwill's performance was hostile.[8] The Chicago Tribune called it the "worst drama" of the season in which Radziwill was "unbelievably bad".[9] Another review in The Washington Post said it was "disappointing all round."[10] The New York Times called it "so laboured and so dull that the occasion was just a laboured walk through."[11]

References

  1. ^ Clarke, Gerald. Capote: A Biography (New York: Simon and Schuster, 1988), pp. 388–389.
  2. ^ Stack Will Star in 'Laura' Special Los Angeles Times 15 Sep 1967: d17.
  3. ^ a b c Laura' -- In Blue Blood New York Times 14 Jan 1968: D17.
  4. ^ Capote a Trousdale Gues Los Angeles Times 11 Sep 1967: c1.
  5. ^ Movies for TV, if You Have Price Los Angeles Times14 Sep 1967: d16.
  6. ^ A Princess for an actress Coleman, Terry. The Guardian 1 Nov 1967: 6.
  7. ^ Stack, Robert; Evans, Mark (1980). Straight shooting. Macmillan. p. 266.
  8. ^ For Lee Radziwill New York Times 1 Sep 1974: 42.
  9. ^ TV Today: Tribune Critic Picks Best Specials of Season: Steinbeck Play Called Tops, 'Laura' Poorest Gowran, Clay. Chicago Tribune 31 Mar 1968: g16
  10. ^ Much Lacking in TV's 'Laura' By Rick Du Brow. The Washington Post and Times-Herald (1959-1973); Washington, D.C. [Washington, D.C]26 Jan 1968: D10.
  11. ^ TV: Theme Song Is Still the Best Asset of 'Laura' By JACK GOULD. New York Times 25 Jan 1968: 75.