The Roman Spring of Mrs. Stone

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.

"In a few years, a cut throat would be a blessing" that's what Karen Stone (Vivien Leigh) tells Paolo (Warren Beatty)letting us know that she sees her life in an inexorable descend into the unspeakable. Old age is the ultimate punishment for the vain and the selfish. Tennessee Williams dissects that theory with an expert hand. The depression that Vivien Leigh (magnificent, once you get over the wig) carries with her at all times is so pungent and vivid that when you see her smile you may emit a sigh of relief. She's looking for her angel of death and Warren Beatty really looks the part. So Italian in his childishness if not his accent that you understand why Mrs. Stone will let herself fall into his obvious trap, wouldn't you? The pessimism and the sense of tragedy - the most personal and embarrassing kind - leads us by the hand through this gorgeous, gelid journey through a life about to fade in a place, rightly know as the eternal city. Vivien Leigh is sublime looking into her terrifying future. Warren Beatty seems to fit perfectly the reason to go against everything you believe in. Lotte Lenya is great fun to watch and a wonderful villain if I ever saw one. Coral Browne looks enormous next to Vivien Leigh and as a close friend, she reminded me of Mame's closest friend, Vera Charles, the one who would tell you all the ugly truths. I must confess, I enjoyed it but I couldn't shake off the melancholia for days and days.

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.

I have to disagree with the comments that Warren Beatty made this movie. I thought his Italian accent was poor and most of the time he sits and pouts.

Vivien Leigh made this movie for me. She related to Karen Stone because at the time she was a manic depressive and was receiving shock treatments.

This role is very similar to Blanche Dubois and Mary Treadwell.

I've read the novella by Tennessee Williams and the movie does make a very good adaptation of it.

The cinematography is beautiful and so is the costuming.

Tennessee Williams' gift for exposing the heart and soul - the core - of human experience was so fine-tuned it transcended clumsy handling and Hollywood censorship. "The Roman Spring of Mrs. Stone" captures the essence of Williams' profound understanding. Even the film's missteps - the fake sets, the beige hair, Warren Beatty's Italian accent – fail to detract. The surface artificiality contrasts with the underlying truths, making them that much more pronounced. In fact, the curious production values add another level of interest to the proceedings. There are lots of fine things about this film, which far surpasses the later television remake. Vivien Leigh's tortured persona brought added dimension to every character she played. Here she really "gets" what Mrs. Stone, and Williams, were about. Lotte Lenya's knowing performance remains timeless. Richard Addinsell's hypnotic score adds to the strange, foreign atmosphere. This is a rewarding, intelligent, entertaining film for thoughtful viewers. Obviously, it's not for every taste.