a well-organised gang of six stole what is widely believed to be from $ 14 to $ 16 million ( 2011 : $ 88 million ) from bookmakers in the victoria club , which was located on the second floor of a building in queen street , melbourne .

the true figure for the amount stolen has never been confirmed , as the victoria club quoted the missing figure to police as only $ 1 million to avoid the attention of the australian taxation office ( ato ) .

the men , who included raymond " chuck " bennett who is believed to be the mastermind , ian carroll , laurence prendergast and norman lee , rented an office several floors above and hid the money in that room 's safe before coolly walking out of the building and onto the street .

the identity of the robbers was widely known in the underworld and bennett became the target of standover men ( who included brian and leslie kane ) and corrupt police demanding part of the proceeds .

the kane brothers were particularly violent psychopaths who wanted ' their cut ' and were willing to torture , mutilate and kill to get their own way .

after being told that the kanes intended to kill him , bennett , prendergast and vincent mikkleson murdered leslie kane on 19 october 1978 and went into hiding .

the three were later arrested for leslie kane 's murder but as the body was never found the charges were dismissed .

with brian kane threatening to kill him , bennett was arrested on a minor charge in 1979 .

while being escorted by police from the courthouse holding cells to the courtroom he was taken up a flight of stairs into the path of a man disguised as a barrister .

this man shot bennett several times in the chest , he tried to flee but collapsed on the courthouse steps and died a short time later .

although brian kane was suspected , circumstantial evidence suggested a conspiracy to kill bennett which included senior members of the victorian police , most notably brian murphy , with whom bennett had a long-standing feud .

no one has ever been arrested for bennett ’s murder which was in effect , an execution .

the money was never recovered and although norman lee was charged he was later acquitted .

none of the other members of the gang were ever convicted .

prendergast had disappeared in 1985 and apart from lee , the rest of the gang had all been murdered by the end of 1987 .

in 1992 lee was killed by police during a heist at melbourne airport .

lee 's lawyer phillip dunn , qc , later revealed the details of the crime , including the identities of all those involved .

as no-one was ever jailed or convicted , the great bookie robbery remains technically an unsolved crime .

great bookie robbery

the great bookie robbery was a crime committed in melbourne , australia on 21 april 1976 .
police use the victorian club to display the types of weapons used in the great bookie robbery .
as no - one was ever jailed or convicted , the great bookie robbery remains technically an unsolved crime .
no - one was ever jailed or convicted for the great bookie robbery so it remains technically an unsolved crime .
in this case , the true story is what is commonly called the great bookie robbery , which has its own wiki here .
police corruption hampers the search for donald mackay ; terry clarke is betrayed by a lieutenant ; ray chuck plots the great bookie robbery .
smart and personable , he was a member of the famed “kangaroo gang” in europe and famously planned the great bookie robbery of april 1976 while in jail in britain .
he went on to feature in kings , the great bookie robbery , the dirtwater dynasty , inside running , gp , tracks of glory , heartbreak high and above the law .
well , there weere some tv series : “the great bookie robbery” and “underbelly 2 : a tale of two cities” , thouigh i cannot vouch for the accuracy of the latter .
the great bookie robbery is a very good movie and i would recommend it to anyone who is interested in is type of film . the acting was really good and realistic .
gary sweet , who rose to fame in the 1980s after appearing on miniseries bodyline , recently posted a snap from a magazine cover he did for the tv movie the great bookie robbery .
anti - drugs campaigner donald mackay makes deadly enemies with the griffith mafia and corrupt nsw police . melbourne crim ray chuck plans australia ' s most audacious heist - the great bookie robbery .
the wiki notes the tv mini - series the great bookie robbery as one product of the crime - with lee acting as a consultant to the production - but it doesn ' t mention the telemovie version .
ray ‘chuck’ bennett was the mastermind behind the robbery and now his son mark has written a book the great bookie robbery about it all . part true crime and part family biography , the book sheds new light on one of the most mysterious armed robberies in australian history .
greed and jealousy soon divided melbourne ' s underworld with bennett coming up against feared thugs brian and les kane , who demanded a slice of the great bookie robbery pie . punches , then bullets , flew and all would die badly .
aftermath : a then record $ 170 , 000 reward did nothing to flush out information . norman leung
chops
lee , the only man charged over the great bookie robbery , was acquitted due to insufficient evidence . in 1992 he was killed by police in a botched robbery at melbourne airport .
the great bookie robbery of 1976 is one of the most notorious armed robberies australia has ever known . it is also one of the most intriguing , with facts blurring together with wild rumours to make it even more legendary as time passed .
great bookie robbery indigenous ceramic award 2018 cityswoon how do you like your vegemite ? urban quest - next level amazing race have you ever ever heard . . . ? coastal webcams como gardens miniature railway f . m . karaoke melway commemorative 1966 1st edition
rip . coincidentally i started watching water rats again from the beginning over the weekend . great actor !
discerning ozmovie cultists will probably try to get hold of the mini - series the great bookie robbery first - it was released by umbrella on a two disc set and can be found in their catalogue here - and is a much better bit of television when it comes to re - enacting the caper .
bennett was the man behind the “great bookie robbery” of april 21 , 1976 . the crime netted him almost $ 3 million and made him the envy of the underworld . bennett was shot at close range as he was being transferred from a holding cell to the magistrates court . the gunman escaped in the ensuing chaos .
live at london eleven is a licenced venue in bayswater that features a variety of great live music every . .
how much cash could you stuff into 118 pillow - case sized calico bags ? six million dollars ? twelve ? hard to say but probably a lot more than the $ 1 . 34 million initially reported stolen after six masked gunmen stormed melbourne ' s victorian club in 1976 in what quickly became known as the great bookie robbery .
you had it first hand in britain . arthur and his gang robbed the fuck out of england . the same gang that was responsible for the bookie robbery along with the victorian police and commissioners , the kangaroo gang .
oh that is so sad . i watched just us recently , and he was great in it . rip scott 🙁
in the mid 1970s , kiwi charmer terry clark and
aussie
bob trimbole form a deadly alliance that will change the face of australian crime forever . anti - drugs campaigner donald mackay makes deadly enemies with the mafia and corrupt nsw police . meanwhile , melbourne crim ray chuck plans australia ' s most audacious heist - the great bookie robbery .
' based on the brutal robbery that fascinated australia , the great bookie robbery is an effective true crime yarn . after snagging millions in untraceable cash , the gang turn on each other ferociously . if you can get past the very dated - looking quality of the dvd , then this is a tight , gritty crime drama . ' 7 / 10 dvd monthly - - dvd monthly in britain we had the great train robbery , in australia they had the great bookie robbery , when in 1976 gunmen held up club members and got away with over several million dollars ( australian that is ! ) . this mini series came out in oz in 1986 and stars many familiar faces , including ray meagher ( alf in home and away ) and john bach ( lord of the rings ) . it is gritty and gutsy and those australian accents add to the drama of it all . it is refreshing to experience something different and the true life aspect makes it better still . well worth the purchase . ( frombumptogrump . co . uk ) urltoken
due to the overwhelming ratings enjoyed by roots in both the united states and australia ( it’s among the top 10 all - time most watched programs on australian tv ) , the miniseries enjoyed a decade in vogue . australia produced more than 100 miniseries , including east of eden , the dismissal , bodyline , vietnam , a town like alice and the great bookie robbery .
that ' s a great idea for u3 , as long as someone other than nine , seven or teen win the contract .
it had doubts about it but it turned out to be one of the best australian series i ' ve ever seen . it was great .
inspired to watch blue murder again this afternoon . awesome television . would have been great if they ' d dragged it out to 10 episodes .
already big - time gangsters with a string of armed robberies to their names , norman and ray branched out after the bookie robbery . they became involved in heists and drug trafficking in the us , manila , china and colombia , in part because police were watching the account in england so they couldn’t touch their stolen cash .
in the late 80s the bookie robbery was televised as a three part mini series on british tv . the part which was believed to be ray chuck bennett was a character called mike power which was played by the excellent high calibre actor john bach . the series was very watchable and gave an insight into crime in australia .
saw westaway in the loo after a sydney swans game a while back and raved how great phoenix was , he nodded and made a quick exit . . . . .
“it could be argued that the robbery hastened the inevitable exposure of the greed and deceit practised by many bookmakers , ” he said .
mark was only five years old at the time of the robbery , but it was something that affected his family for decades to come .
the great bookie robbery is a compelling essay in crime , violence and robbery . its the true story of australias most daring heist . on 21 april 1976 , gunmen held up more than 50 members of melbourne s venerable victorian club , escaping with several million dollars in untraceable cash . the robbery had been so brilliantly planned and executed that police were left without a single clue and so strict was the robbers code of silence that not even the underworld was aware of their identities . the heist was so daring , so clean , that it earned the admiration of law - abiding australians . . . and compliments from the victims themselves . starring john bach ( madril in the lord of the rings ) and ray meagher ( alf in home and away ) its a story of cunning , loyalty , fear , brutality and death !
it was the biggest armed robbery in australian history , with gangsters grabbing $ 8 . 5 million . now the mastermind’s son tells his story .
mark believes the famous robbery changed melbourne society for good . one thing’s for sure : no crime quite like this will ever take place again .
norman lee : the only member of the gang ever charged with the robbery . he was acquitted on a lack of evidence . shot dead by police during another armed robbery attempt at melbourne airport in 1992 . it’s from lee’s lawyer , phillip dunn , that we know much of the detail regarding the robbery . with all of the assailants were either confirmed or believed dead , he eventually publicly disclosed what he knew of the heist .
“a lot of people were affected or involved in it . there’s been so many things written about this robbery . . . half of them fabricated .
curiously , it is another robbery ( monday on channel 10 ) which represents the finest flowering of the tax concession scheme during last year ' s final boom . the robbery in both cases , of course , refers to that committed by the producers upon the australian taxation department and in turn the australian taxpayer…
the film . actors so good u start to beleve its the actors who did do it . . true story . best robbery film out there . . good
bruce beresford ' s money movers also features a similar caper , though it ' s related to another crime , the robbery of an armoured car counting house .
“they were rorting the system with undeclared cash and the tax department was investigating the bookmakers over their statements to the police while being interviewed over the armed robbery . ”
i remember scott from 1915 with the other scott . two leads . scott burgess and scott mcgregor . two great young actors in a memorable mini series . a tragic life story for scott burgess . gone too soon
here the bookie asks the dog owner whether he is ready to start and the owner affirms . then follows the cut to the audience , very clearly audible . now follows a long camera pan over the cheering audience , including the owner encouraging his dog . normally a cut to the dog would follow here but , accompanied again by a very audible jumpcut , a long shot of the audience is shown . the bookie announces the end of the fight and the owner is disappointed that his dog was not able to kill every rat . sean connery is now seen behind the owner . the bookie orders his assistants to get the dogs out of the arena . the assistant grabbing the dog is missing again but in the background we can hear the rats squeaking .
“to get away with the biggest robbery in australian history is a pretty good effort . the place was going to go off , it was just a matter of when .
the ‘great bookie robbery’ as it has since been called was truly a stellar theft , and sent massive shockwaves through the australian criminal community . it would appear to the layman that after having such a payday , a crook like ray bennett would not have another worry for the rest of his days – quite untrue . just because bennett was never charged or convicted of the theft doesn’t mean no - one knew he was responsible ; on both sides of the law . ray bennett’s life was from this point on a constant struggle to fend off a barrage of wannabe standover men and wised - up crooked cops always wanting to claim a piece of the ajc pie .
the golden rule is never to blame the cast . working actors must do what working actors must do , and the eclectic casting for robbery provides an interesting juxtaposition of actors .
after pulling the then massive $ 1 . 4million robbery with a handpicked gang , bennett and his accomplices were hunted by rival gangsters , including the kane brothers , brian and les .
it was the biggest armed robbery in australian history and the breathtakingly audacious heist made headlines around the world . but the truth about what happened that day was mired in secrecy for years .
son of gangster reveals how his dad stole $ 14 million from bookies in a robbery and got away with it for years . . . until corrupt police organised to have him shot dead
‘but at the time ray was in remand for two charges – a minor gun charge , and an armed robbery on the bond weaving mill in yarraville , stealing a $ 70 , 000 .
i know murphy was in the police court car park because i saw him having a get together with maltese charlie and another detective just beforehand on that day . as the gunman ran through the door , murphy locked the door and when police went around the other way , murphy was the only person there . at the time murphy was retired and all dressed up looking like a faggot in tight black leather pants and jacket . i can also guarantee you brian kane didn’t kill him , it was organized by murphy and another great bookie robber who has never been mentioned . this guy is a govt hit - man who kept all the bookie robbery money along with dennis smith , murphy and a couple of police commissioners of that era . mr winchester is also a victim of this gang along with the rest of the kangaroo gang . the only killing this lot didn’t organize was ian carrol . the hit - man also killed lots of dockies in the early 70s as revenge killings for the frog . he is still alive like murphy and lives among us . none of this shit will ever be solved because they are all decorated officers , many of them with queens honors . after the bookie robbery the gang all got tickets for a trip to noumea . the tickets had to be picked up from ronald biggs house down the beach in melbourne where he was staying with his wife . for fuck sake as if the govt weren’t hiding him because the govt were ripping of millions with this gang all over the world .
comparison between the european dvd and an uncut tv recording . director and screenwriter michael crichton adapted his own novel about the first
great train robbery
1855 in a very suspenseful as well as humorous way . for the dvd release , unfortunately , 32 seconds containing a dog fighting against rats have been edited so the dog is never really seen fighting the rats . instead , only the audience ' s reaction is shown . due to animal violence the film had to be cut in great britain . mgm , as always , then released the same dvd not only in great britain but also in other european countries , so that there to only the cut version was available , although said scenes do not offend any laws in those countries . european dvd : 1 : 45 : 29 min . incl . ending credits uncut version : 1 : 46 : 36 min . incl . ending credits cut scenes : 1 running time of the cut scene : 32 sec .
the criminal world knew the true amount and who was behind the audacious robbery though . bennett soon became the target of other nasty underworld figures and corrupt police who all demanded part of the huge haul .
that was my understanding . the kanes were standover men who found out who committed the robbery and demanded a cut of the take . like chopper read standing over drug dealers and massage parlours , really .
really enjoyed this aussie drama of the robbery and held the tension through to the end . good script , good acting and well worth watching but my criticism is that the dvd qaulity is . . .
that said , completists will want to see the telemovie version of the counting house robbery , if only to see the cast work hard and do their best up against a cliched script and leaden direction .
however , flashback entertainment later released the film on dvd . while it ' s no great shakes as an image , being inclined to softness and lack of richness in the colours , it ' s not bad , and is certainly much better than the vhs release .
available on dvd through urltoken buy it here : http : / / urltoken / p - 1691 - . . . exclusive to australia ! on 21st april 1976 , gunmen held up more than 50 members of melbourne ' s venerable victorian club , escaping with several million dollars in untraceable cash . the robbery had been so brilliantly planned and executed that police were left without a single clue - and so strict was the robbers ' code of silence that not even the underworld was aware of their identities . the robbery was so daring , so clean , that it earned the admiration of law - abiding australians . . . and compliments from the victims themselves . the great bookie robbery is a compelling essay in crime , violence and robbery . it ' s a story of cunning , loyalty , fear , brutality and death . boasting a cast that includes john bach , gary sweet , bruno lawrence , gary day , rebecca gibney , candy raymond and ray meagher , it is also the toughest of crime dramas - boasting a drive , grittiness and ferocity seldom seen on australian screens .
the melbourne landscape of wet suburban streets , city skyscrapers , passing trams , cobbled lane ways and sleazy shopfronts has never looked better - and the impression of a mean , tough , merciless universe is more than reinforced by the driving complex narrative and the excellent playing of the principals .
moran ' s guide to australian tv series
‘and it wasn’t just the bookmakers that were corrupt – police , politicians and the horse racing world were corrupt too . unfortunately in the aftermath of the robbery it was my father that copped the brunt of it . ’
different figures have been thrown around , but it is widely thought that the gang were able to steal $ 14 million million – a massive sum for 1976 . it was the biggest robbery in australian history at the time .
‘it was about three years since ray , norman lee ( mark ' s uncle ) and the rest of their crew had pulled off the robbery and were continuing to avoid the police and the media , ' mark said .
aussie bob trimbole , but the lack of a roxburgh / rogerson or martin / smith means this will never be considered a great piece of television . it will most likely be remembered , if it is remembered at all , as a semi - accurate docudrama , with some adequate acting and accents .
' he was pretty feared at the time . he was one of australia’s most hardcore criminals and spent a lot of time in jail . but he was also intelligent and had to be to plan a robbery of this kind . ’
on 21st april 1976 , gunmen held up more than 50 members of melbourne’s venerable victorian club , escaping with several million dollars in untraceable cash . the robbery had been so brilliantly planned and executed that police were left without a single clue – and so strict was the robbers’ code of silence that not even the underworld was aware of their identities . the robbery was so daring , so clean , that it earned the admiration of law - abiding australians…and compliments from the victims themselves .
the kane brothers and ray chuck engage in a violent turf war following an armed robbery ; terry and bob fear the violence on the street will be bad for the heroin trade ; judi kane fights to protect her children from a dire threat .
i ' m in victoria but got the boxset from another state . it had doubts about it but it turned out to be one of the best australian series i ' ve ever seen . it was great . i ' m really looking forward to the 2nd season . i ' ll get it on dvd too .
‘at the time the victorian bookies were crooked and corrupt . this kind of robbery was going to take place sooner or later . it was only a matter of time whether my father did it or someone else did , ’ mark told daily mail australia .
the crew had rented an office in the building a few months earlier , from which they planned the robbery and staked out the eventual crime scene , even ( according to some legends ) running full dress rehearsals whilst the building was empty on public holidays .
while not almost as good as blue murder , it ' s still a unsawnoff shottie ' s length ahead of underbelly 2 . john bach ( who would have made a great wyatt from the gary disher crime series ) , bruno lawrence and george spartels in particular are fantastic and it even comes with more weird gary sweet hairstylings .
ray and norman were major players in melbourne’s criminal underworld . the fallout from the legendary robbery reverberated through the city for years afterwards . both were put under heavy police surveillance and eventually killed — mastermind ray three years after the notorious crime , and norman in 1992 .
why is all the evidence missing from these cases ? they lost an immaculate xy falcon from the bookie robbery that was left on the ramp at queen st . no need for victoria’s cold case squad . all dna samples have been contaminated , switched or lost . they must all be standing in an empty building , probably playing indoor cricket . they have removed many photo off the net including the photo of the xy at the rear of queen st and les kane photo because of the ring he wore . they have also switched a note that was left in a cash tin at queen st and put it with the evidence of a single bookie who was robbed and had his money returned . imagine living in fear of being caught all your life as a cop or a robber , the fear must be the same for them all . they might of had a bit of money but i can tell you they are all angry old men now in their 70s of the few that are left and they are still very dangerous . also the officers that were wondering why murphy was at the watch house tampering with the prison book , i can answer for you . he was changing callaghan s release date a week forward so he got away with it scott free . they gave brian 1m and the robbery was done on the day he was released .
for the $ 865 , 000 they ( or to be more exact , mostly we ) spent on robbery , the abc ' s excellent beatbox could survive for a year … ( for the rest of glover ' s review , see this site ' s opinion section ) .
among them , “ performance ” ( which has gangsters in it without ever quite being a gangster film ) , mike hodges ‘ “ croupier ” follow - up “ i’ll sleep when i’m dead , ” decent jason statham vehicle “ the bank job , ” david cronenberg ‘s “ eastern promises , ” j blakeson ‘s “ disappearance of alice creed , ” antonia bird ‘s underrated “ face , ” michael crichton ‘s period piece “ the first great train robbery , ” stephen frears ‘ debut “ gumshoe , ” biopic “ the krays , ” paul andrew williams ‘ “ london to brighton , ” and danny boyle ‘s debut “ shallow grave . ”
‘the information was incriminating for a wide variety of officials . i do have to admire him ( ray bennett ) to an extent although he was always involved in the criminal world . he was the man behind the biggest robbery in australia . it was well planned and executed . ’
aside from film and television acting , a great deal of tony ' s time has gone into creating shows of his own , for venues , ranging from sporting clubs to concert halls . tony regularly calls on his repertoire of comic characters , as seen in one man shows performed at ' melbourne ' s last laugh ' , and the universal and the palais theatres .
the bookie orders his assistants to bring the rats out and warns him to not let anything happen to them . the rats are let into the arena , running around squeaking . the assistants step back , carrying the now empty cages . from the rats perspective we see the dog and his owner , letting the dog into the arena . the dog starts killing the rats and is brought out of the arena again after the fight .
in 1978 , ray and members of his crime syndicate gunned down leslie kane at his home after the family openly challenged him . leslie’s wife claimed she could identify ray , although he was masked , and he was arrested for the murder and a recent $ 70 , 000 weaving mill robbery .
live in victoria and got the box sent to me as a bday present . had watched most of it previously too . love the show , really looking forward to tonights aswell . i dont think it will be as good considering i think its based more in sydney , and that season 1 was so great as i could remember reading about it and hearing about it in the news .
but in a twist that was as outlandish as the robbery itself while being escorted by police from the holding cells to melbourne magistrates ' court , following an arrested on an minor charge in 1979 , ray bennett was taken up a flight of stairs into the path of a man disguised as a barrister .
melbourne standover men brian and les kane have ventured into unfamiliar heroin territory in providing protection for bob trimbole ' s melbourne dealers . but things turn sour when dealer wayne robb is robbed of $ 200 , 000 hard cash , on the kane ' s turf . the kane ' s suspect it was vinnie mikkelsen and laurie prendergast , two of ray chuck ' s mates from the great bookie robbery . terry clark ' s not happy to learn he ' s been ripped off , and puts pressure on bob trimbole to sort out distribution problems in melbourne . but the kane brothers need little prompting from aussie bob solve the crime . les kane sees the robbery as a sign that ray chuck and his mates are muscling in on the kane ' s turf . he wants to take instant revenge . his calmer , cannier brother brian urges a more restrained and strategic response . brian ' s advice falls on deaf ears . but les ' s attempts to muscle ray chuck backfire when les is on the receiving end of a nasty pistol whipping . enraged , and determined to stand up for his feisty brother , brian confronts vinnie and ray . the end result is that brian loses an ear between mikkelsen ' s teeth . it ' s an insult that brian cannot tolerate . brian vows deadly revenge on ray chuck , and sets in train a deadly gangland war . melbourne is not big enough for both the kanes and ray chuck . before long , one of them will be dead .
it was to change the nation . one of the biggest misconceptions about the robbery was how much was actually stolen . the 118 bookies whose money was taken claimed just $ 1 . 5 million had vanished , to cover up their “shifty deals” , writes mark . the police and tax department were on to them .
sullivan tells pearson to make one last contact with jenkins , who ' s told her he ' s working for an insurance company on a robbery and has got a lead . he says he ' s pulling her out of the dangerous situation - it ' s an order - but tonight they might just get lucky .
peter malone : . . . in view of what you were saying about your other films , your emphasis on feeling and on the visual , drawing the audience into that experience rather than just simply focusing on or eliciting an analysis of the content . is this true of your television , harvest of hate and the robbery ?
ray bennett’s life will probably be remembered for two main reasons : the now infamous ajc club robbery in 1976 , and his dramatic and controversial slaying in front of a melbourne courthouse . the two incidents are etched into australian criminal folklore , and are undoubtedly linked as part of the complex and intriguing fabric that made up bennett’s life .
les kane : violent standover man and well - known member of the melbourne underworld . thought to have demanded a larger slice of the proceeds from bennet after the robbery . reputedly murdered by bennet and others after his demands became more and more violent , his body was never found , and nobody was ever convicted of his murder .
dale then turned to other activities , writing opinion pieces for the press , writing the script for robbery , but most notably writing in 1985 ascent to power : wran and the media , a much referenced study of the interaction between politics and the media in australia - for more details of this work , see its trove listing here .
also worth a look is the abc early 90 ' s series phoenix . more from the cops side and far less violent than bm or ub but a great depiction of the melbourne criminal underbelly . super performances by sean scully ( as a forensic guy called goose - brilliant ) , simon westaway and paul sonkilla amongst others . morphed into janus which wasn ' t as gripping . abc or foxtel need to dust phoenix off the shelf .
brian dale attracted plenty of media attention as the press secretary for nsw labor leader of the opposition and then premier neville
nifty
wran - one of the lines in robbery that acts as an in - joke says
all politicians are bastards
, and there are a number of lines about the
political masters
making life hard for the police .
australia in the 1970s . the crime scene is on the move . forget armed robbery and marijuana . australia is about to embrace the hard stuff - heroin . leading the charge are two men in new south wales : aussie bob trimbole , from the town of griffith , and kiwi terry clark , a sydney - based charmer with a twinkle in his eye and a big dream . down melbourne way , the crime world is yet to catch up . the crims in that city are led by brothers brian and les kane , hard men from the notorious painters and dockers trade union . the kane brothers are old - school crims who don’t realise that times are changing . they’re more concerned with protecting their own turf than branching out . right now , their main concern is freshly released jailbird ray chuck . specifically , they want a cut from his audacious multi - million dollar heist , the great bookie robbery . by not giving the kanes a slice of the proceeds , chuck upsets the melbourne crime hierarchy and triggers a deadly underworld war . one man who does understand the changing times is furniture shop owner and nsw political candidate don mackay . mackay has spent much energy trying to clean up his home town of griffith , nsw and is furniture shop owner and nsw political candidate don mackay . mackay has spent much energy trying to clean up his home town of griffith , nsw and is beginning to make inroads , much to the chagrin of trimbole and his mates . if trimbole ' s venture into the drug trade is ever going to work , mackay has to be taken out of the picture . so trimbole makes sure of it . and he makes sure his corrupt friends in the nsw police are sympathetic to his situation . in so doing , he changes the course of australian history .
hi i’m one of the 4 children my father scott burgess had i would like to thank you for the unconditional support that everyone has given it really has meant a lot , and for the stuff that happened in 2008 it was all put to rest a long time ago . dad and i had a great bond and knew that everyone loved him very much . dad passed in our loving arm on the 6 of may 2016 i will miss dad forever . you will never be forgotten
the thieves quickly took control of the room , taking everybody hostage . two men kept the room at gunpoint , whilst the remaining four broke into the padlocked cash boxes with bolt cutters and transferred the loot into large calico bags . in terms of armed robbery , it was extremely efficient – the whole thing was over in under 10 minutes , with no perpetrators or hostages injured .
robbery has been extremely successful internationally . i mean , it was made for 2 / 6 - that was at a time when you could get much more interesting projects through the television system here than you can now . i ' m pleased with robbery . it ' s a film noir that people didn ' t understand here as a film noir . its basic theme is the revenge of the underclass and what the french would call the petit bourgeoisie , and what we might here call the lower middle class who are led by a disgruntled leader . it ' s a kind of revenge film noir thing , and because it ' s in 4 to 3 , 133 to 1 , it ' s made for television and that means the framing ' s exactly right . so i think it stands up rather well , actually .
it took until mark lee bennett was 29 for him to fully understand how he was mixed up in the murky business . as he threw himself into researching the fascinating history , his mother revealed he was ray’s son from an affair and he learnt his father had put $ 6 million from the robbery in an account in his name in england . mark , now a butcher , grew up with undercover police watching him in the playground .
tony has also played opposite a number of notable actors including oliver reed and amanda donohue in the nicholas roeg movie , castaway , jack thompson , warren mitchell and greta scacchi in waterfront and in his first lead role beside the late john hargreaves in the tele - feature , the great gold swindle , to name a few . his latest feature film ventures include : dogwoman with magda szubanski along with a cameo appearance opposite jimoein in the craic . tony’s most recent movie credit was this year on the u . s . telemovie , nightmares and dreamscapes , where he played roy orbison .
if they surface , the army ' ll take care of them , in the same way that they took care of webster . the bookies can take care of themselves . nobody ' s got any sympathy for them . we just drop it , keeping the robbery investigation going for appearances ' sake only , until the next bit of slime crawls out of the shit to replace webster . so , you lose a few and … you lose a few …
the
precision job
stunned the city ' s biggest bookmakers as they settled accounts after a particularly big easter ' s racing . today , $ 1 . 34 million doesn ' t sound that impressive - and the bookies talked down their losses , presumably fearing another invasion by tax officers - but then it was australia ' s biggest robbery . a club history suggests the booty was $ 6 - $ 12 million . underworld scuttlebutt put it as high as $ 15 million .
bennett migrated to england in the 1960’s , having graduated to become a rather skilled and organised burglar . his reputation preceded him in the mother - country , and upon his arrival he was approached by the ‘kangaroo gang’ ; a group of aussie ex - pats who run an organised crime and theft syndicate . bennett declines their advances however , preferring to work alone . after spending a brief spell in an english prison for armed robbery , bennett returns home to australia to plan his greatest criminal accomplishment .
there’s also a selection of films that have a good reputation , but are harder to track down these days . they include “ they drive by night , ” “ dancing with crime , ” “ noose , ” “ they made me a fugitive , ” “ the criminal , ”” payroll , ” “ the league of gentlemen , ” “ jigsaw , ” “ loophole , ” “ robbery , ” “ sapphire ” and “ villain . ” and we’re sure we’ve forgotten at least one key one — feel free to remind us in the comments section .
“the ladykillers” ( 1955 ) considered the last of the great ealing comedies , “ the ladykillers ” follows a gang of criminals as they disguise themselves as musicians to rent a flat from an octogenarian in order to plan a robbery and hilarity ensues as the scheme unravels ending with their little old landlady having all of the loot . alec guinness plays the criminal mastermind “professor” marcus with dastardly teeth and a mind just as eccentrically twisted . the professor’s gang is rounded out by the major ( cecil parker ) , a young cockney rogue harry ( peter sellers ) , a kindly ex - boxer ‘one - round’ ( danny green ) , and a menacing louis ( herbert lom ) . this quintet faces off against indomitable mrs . wilberforce played by 77 year - old katie johnson . as mrs . wilberforce inadvertently thwarts each step of the gang’s scheme , professor marcus becomes even more unhinged and eventually each of the gangsters meets a ghastly demise . mrs . w ends up with all of their ill - gotten gains and the police won’t take the money back as they don’t believe her outlandish story . if you’re thinking , “who could have dreamt up that plot ? ” it was william rose , who claimed to have dreamt the entire film and merely had to remember it to write the bafta - winning and oscar - nominated screenplay . “the ladykillers” marked director alexander mackendrick ’s last british film ; he went on to direct the hollywood noir classic “ sweet smell of success ” . the film was remade in 2004 and even the coen brothers couldn’t recapture the original’s spark , it didn’t help that they turned the professor into a southern dandy ( tom hanks ) and the robbery into a casino heist . number 13 on bfi’s top 100 , “the ladykillers” is a distinctly british crime movie and comedy , and one of the finest examples of ealing’s best work .
is a compelling essay in crime , violence and robbery . it’s a story of cunning , loyalty , fear , brutality and death . boasting a cast that includes john bach , gary sweet , bruno lawrence , gary day , rebecca gibney , candy raymond and ray meagher , it is also the toughest of crime dramas – boasting a drive , grittiness and ferocity seldom seen on australian screens . the melbourne landscape of wet suburban streets , city skyscrapers , passing trams , cobbled lane ways and sleazy shopfronts has never looked better – and the impression of a mean , tough , merciless universe is more than reinforced by the driving complex narrative and the excellent playing of the principals .
this was my first foray into autralian drama and i really enjoyed it . the series comprises three episodes at 90 mins each . it is interesting that the subject of the series ( ie the robbery ) comes in the middle episode and not at the end , which makes for a tense final episode . i have not given it the full 5 stars as there is one scene at the end of the last episode which just takes the edge off it for me as surely it would not have been allowed to happen ? having said that it is based on a trued story so there may be some element of truth there . but i have to say that overall , this was an enjoyable 4 and a half hours of viewing .
but it ' s not just the raunch - lite . the makers infused the show with about as much menace as a a pillow fight on it ' s a knockout . sure , people are killed , many in violent ways , but the architecture of each scene in pissweak , to coin a vidmar . compare it to the great crime movies and tv shows : the doom coppola creates when fredo is bumped off in godfather ii ; joe pesci ' s
oh , fuck
in goodfellas when he realises he is not about to be
made
he is about to be , well , unmade ; the demise of our very own man of ham , gary sweet , when he jumps into the cop car in blue murder and suddenly knows he ' s a gonner ; the bar fights in underwhelmy ii are not a patch on the bar fights in blue murder which almost jump out of the television , at which point i grab my drink , jump out of my recliner , and scurry to the side of the room .
this rather forgotten 1986 mini series of 270 minutes length approaches the subject matter rather differently to the more recent underbelly and even blue murder . there isn ' t a huge amount of blood and gore , and even less nudity . it concentrates more on the lead up events and meticulous planning of the event , and its aftermath . in this way it is much more of a drama / thriller . the characters are very well developed , the frustration of the women of the criminals is especially well portrayed . the robbery itself took place in april , 1976 , however by using non - real names , the makers of this series were able to depict events in a contemporary setting . hence you will see a news of the world ( an english paper in melbourne ? ) from june 1985 , being read by a character in a vk commodore ( 1984 - 5 model ) . this show is highly recommended , but rather difficult to find these days .
ray bennett had enjoyed a comfortable career as a burglar , but in 1976 he decided to aim a little bit higher than previous ventures . despite already being known as the thief who would take on jobs others would never dream of , bennett set his sights on the victoria club , home of the ajc ( australian jockey club ) . bennett knew he would most likely need help with a job this large , so recruited a team of six , himself included . some names of note involved include ian carroll , laurence prendergast , brian and leslie kane and norman lee . the gang would target the club so that their break - in would occur just after the bookies had met to settle up with the ajc for the weekend’s trade . the six broke into the offices of the ajc and were staggered by the amount of money they found . different figures have been thrown around , but it is widely thought that the gang were able to steal anywhere between $ 14 million and $ 16 million – an absolutely mammoth sum for 1976 ; the biggest robbery in australian history at the time . the real reason that the true figure has never been confirmed is that when it came time for the ajc to admit to police they had been robbed , they quoted the missing figure as only $ 1 million as they feared that claiming a larger amount would attract unwanted scrutiny from the tax office – an indictment on the operations of the ajc in itself . as was bennett’s meticulous way , the extraction of the cash had been ingeniously thought out . the thieves had rented an office just a few floors above the ajc offices just weeks before the robbery , and they transported their loot to a safe in this office immediately after removing it from the crime scene . however , at the same time , other members of the gang were downstairs loading decoy bags into a van which then made a swift getaway in public view . the money has never been recovered , and none of the gang of six has ever been convicted of the crime .
ray bennett would eventually tire of being ripped off and his reaction drove him to murder . les kane , rumoured to be one of the gang involved in the ajc robbery was a violent standover man . after continuing to exert pressure on bennett to pay up in 1978 , les kane found himself staring down the barrel of three silenced machine guns . ray bennett and two other masked men entered kane’s home while the standover man and his wife and family were out for the evening . hiding in the bathroom , they revealed themselves upon the family’s arrival home and dragged kane into the shower stall where he was filled with bullets by the assassins . kane’s wife and family were only metres away in the living room , but could do nothing as the killers dragged les kane’s body outside . bennett and his associates loaded the body into the boot of kane’s pink ford futura and drove away – the car or body has never been discovered . ray chuck bennett , vincent mikkleson and laurence prendergast were charged with les’s murder . but in the absence of a body , they walked .
“mona lisa” ( 1986 ) neil jordan ‘s career is fascinating , but arguably a very patchy one . however one early indisputable crown jewel is the unlikely romantic crime drama “ mona lisa ” largely due in part by bob hoskins , who in an intriguing flip - side to the role that made his name six years earlier , plays as a good - hearted , but meek underling just getting out of prison . having covered for his old mob boss ( michael caine ) , hoskins’ george is still a flunkie doormat with few options allowing him to go straight , but eventually , is given a cushy job as a chauffeur for a high - class black prostitute ( cathy tyson ) . as george becomes friendlier with simone , affections begin to bloom and george becomes entangled in her life when she pleads with him to track down one of her abused friends from her shady past . hoskins’ range has illustrated that he can playing raging boils or soft - hearted patsys , and in “mona lisa , ” he convincingly plays a low - level stooge with soft devotion in a wonderfully minor key . he’s a man lost in an england he no longer recognizes , and even among a strong cast ( caine , somewhat against type , is a great villain , tyson should have gone on to better things than she did , and you can spot early appearances from robbie coltrane as well as future “ the wire ” star clarke peters ) , he dominates ; quite rightly , he won best actor at cannes , and was nominated for an oscar . larry clark was planning a remake a few years ago with mickey rourke and eva green . one breathes a sigh of relief that it somehow never came to pass…


lolita is a 1962 british-american black comedy-drama film directed by stanley kubrick .

based on his novel of the same title , vladimir nabokov also wrote the screenplay .

it follows a middle-aged literature lecturer who becomes obsessed with an adolescent girl .

the film stars james mason as humbert humbert , sue lyon as dolores haze ( lolita ) , and shelley winters as charlotte haze , with peter sellers as clare quilty .

owing to the mpaa 's restrictions at the time , the film toned down the more provocative aspects of the novel , sometimes leaving much to the audience 's imagination .

the actress who played lolita , sue lyon , was 14 at the time of filming .

lolita polarized contemporary critics , but is well-received today .

kubrick later commented , however , that if he had realized how severe the censorship limitations were going to be , he probably would never have made the film .

lolita ( 1962 film )

lolita 1962 ( kubrick ) vs . lolita 1997 ( lyne ) - the student room
lolita ( 1962 ) - - ( movie clip ) roman ping . . .
lolita ( 1962 ) - - ( movie clip ) what was . . .
lolita ( 1962 ) - - ( movie clip ) two normal . . .
lolita ( 1962 ) - - ( movie clip ) did i do . . .
lolita ( 1962 ) - - ( movie clip ) what was the . . .
lolita ( 1962 film ) - quilty ' s
dr . zempf
and peter sellers role as doctor strangelove
james mason and sue lyon in stanley kubrick ' s film of lolita ( 1962 ) . photograph : ronald grant archive
“lolita 1962 . ” internet movie database . 2005 . 11 dec . 2005 < urltoken > .
nice hat : in the 1962 film , delores is first seen wearing a hat with feathers trimming the brim .
croce , arlene , in sight and sound ( london ) , autumn 1962 .
lolita ( 1962 film ) - quilty ' s
dr . zempf
and peter sellers role as doctor strangelove | quilty dr zempf peter sellers role doctor strangelove
making a spectacle of yourself : the 1962 film ' s advertising has delores wearing heart - shaped sunglasses . however , she doesn ' t wear these in the film .
lolita , that ' s right . lolita , diminutive of dolores . . .
lolita was nominated for the academy award for best screenplay . the film was nominated for four golden globes , the golden lion from the venice film festival 1962 and the bafta award for best british actor ( james mason ) .
lolita is a british - american drama film in 1962 , directed by stanley kubrick . the story is based on the the novel of vladimir nabokov in 1955 . like the book was too controversial appearance in the film . in several countries , the film was censored .
an aging intellectual becomes obsessed with a young teenage girl when he becomes a boarder in her mother ' s house in lolita ( 1962 ) . >
“how did they ever make a movie of lolita ? ” was the question posed by the posters advertising stanley kubrick’s film adaptation of vladimir nabokov’s famously controversial novel , released on this day in 1962 .
mills was considered for the role of lolita haze in stanley kubrick’s 1962 film version of lolita . however , walt disney discouraged the casting , feeling the role was not up to disney’s wholesome standard , and the part eventually went to sue lyon .
in the novel , lolita is a brunette . in the film , she is a blonde .
lolita has been adapted twice . stanley kubrick’s 1962 version is a pop culture fixture via its heart - shaped sunglasses . much like the status of the film as a ‘classic’ , the sunglasses are a case of collective mis - remembering – they never appear in the film ( lolita wears cats - eyes sunglasses )
in 1962 , sue lyon had a hit single with
yah yah lolita ,
a version of bob harris '
theme from lolita
that combined a latin instrumental with her repeated
yah yahs .
lolita . dir : stanley kubrick . cast : james mason , shelley winters , sue lyon , peter sellers . 1962 . dvd . warner home video , 2007 .
burgess , anthony . a clockwork orange . 1962 . london : penguin books , 2011 ( or other edition ) .
was nabokov ' s book about obsession , lust and pedophilia , undeniably so . the 1962 kubrick film version with james mason as humbert humbert , sue lyon as . . .
columbia pictures agreed to finance the film if peter sellers played at least four major roles . the condition stemmed from the studio’s opinion that much of the success of kubrick’s previous film lolita ( 1962 ) was based on sellers’s performance in which his single character assumes a number of identities .
as it is often the case in the 1962 adaptation , the movie’s sexual connotations are a lot less direct than in the book . here is how lolita explains the corresponding episode :
recently for class i had to experience lolita in its three most popular forms — the original 1958 novel by vladimir nabokov and the two film adaptations , the 1962 version directed by stanley kubrick and the 1997 version directed by adrian lyne .
established the field of speech - act theory , argues that
performative
statements can have the effect of actions ( 1962 ) .
devin mckinney , “review : lolita ” , film quarterly , 52 . 3 ( 1999 ) , p . 49 .
the legion of decency agreed to pass the film as long as children under 18 were barred from seeing the film .
“how did they ever make a movie of lolita ? ” was the tagline to 1962 film version of vladimir nabokov’s lolita , directed by stanley kubrick . this particular novel was steeped in controversy since the day it was published . often regarded as pornography and it has been on and off the banned book list for decades .
‘lolita’ was remade in 1997 and directed by adrian lyne . it starred jeremy irons as humbert , melanie griffith as charlotte and dominique swain as lolita . the film was widely publicised as being more faithful to nabokov’s novel than the kubrick film .
lodger professor humbert ( james mason ) is getting academic , masking his lust for lolita ( sue lyon ) , until she ' s summoned by her mom charlotte ( shelley winters ) , who soon delivers unwelcome news in stanley kubrick ' s lolita , 1962 . >
schrader , paul ,
lolita ,
in american film , vol . 15 , no . 1 , october 1989 .
title lolita genre film notes - contemp record ( c 1962 ) by sue lyon of orig cast . music : nelson riddle . words : bob harris . cond : nelson riddle .
lolita ya ya
( 45 / mgm k - 13067 ) ( production and recordings information ) - from : show music on record by jack raymond - loc . natlib . smor . 1962 - 18 ( digitalid ) description film . contemp record ( c 1962 ) by sue lyon of orig cast . music : nelson riddle . words : bob harris . cond : nelson riddle .
lolita ya ya
( 45 / mgm k - 13067 ) ( production and recordings information ) . from : show music on record by jack raymond additional metadata formats metsxml record
professor humbert ( james mason ) finds writer quilty ( peter sellers ) in his unkempt rented mansion in what amounts to the prologue to stanley kubrick ' s lolita , 1962 , from the vladimir nabokov novel . >
seesslen , g . ,
3x lolita ,
in epd film ( frankfurt ) , vol . 15 , january 1998 .
devin mckinney , “review : lolita ” , film quarterly , 52 . 3 ( 1999 ) , pp . 48 - 52 .
the film humbert , charlotte and lolita watch at the drive - in is the curse of frankenstein ( 1957 ) . when the film cut to the three characters in the car , stanley kubrick had a different soundtrack recorded to make the film sound scarier .
3 humbert mentions the “corpuscles of krause” ( lolita , 60 / 66 ) , a “gonadal glow” ( lolita , 134 / 152 ) , or “glans mauve” ( lolita , 107 / 120 ) .
from the start , the mere existence of stanley kubrick’s film adaptation of lolita ( 1962 ) was presented as a reason for its existence . “how did they ever make a film of lolita” ? asked the film’s tag - line . well , as at least one critic observed at the time , they didn’t . kubrick’s sitcom adaptation of lolita is a textbook case of what the culture critic dwight macdonald called “mid - cult” : the film sanitizes the novel , renders it safe for mass public consumption , and then congratulates its audience for having had an “artistic” experience . the film’s defenders point to the severe restrictions imposed by the hays code . but the problem with kubrick’s lolita is not the sexual subtext the filmmaker omitted . it’s the sexual subtext he added .
in the film he is described as “a very peculiar figure by the name of clare quilty who keeps popping up in the most unexpected places ( and sporting equally unexpected accents ) ” ( lolita 1962 ) . this plot point is very subtle , and any viewer who was not familiar with the text may not have gotten that implication while watching the film .
thanks to the novel and the film , the name
lolita
has become a common term applied to sexually precocious young women .
shout out : at the beginning of the 1962 film , humbert asks a man if he ' s quilty . quilty jokingly replies
no , i ' m spartacus
, a celebrated line from kubrick ' s previous work .
you ' ll never know complete satisfaction until you’ve tried your hand at directing , ” stanley kubrick told his close friend and producer james b . harris one day , late in 1962 . the pair had been creative partners for nearly a decade - - working together on a string of critically successful pictures : the killing ( 1956 ) , paths of glory ( 1957 ) and lolita ( 1962 ) .
throughout the film , lolita ' s mother and friends refer to her by the nickname ; ' lolita ' . in the novel , dolores haze ' s nickname
lolita
was given to her only by humbert , and he was the only one who used the name . lolita ' s mother used ' lo ' as dolores ' nickname .
since the censors would allow nothing close to a suggestion of pedophilia , lolita’s age had to be increased from 12 in vladimir nabokov’s original novel to 14 for the film . they also objected to a scene where humbert humbert was to gaze at lolita’s picture while in bed with her mother charlotte ; in the end , the scene was filmed with charlotte lying fully dressed on the bed and humbert lying beside her wearing a robe ( lolita 1962 ) .
college town busybody charlotte ( shelley winters ) can ' t resist approaching the minor celebrity at the dance , tv writer clare quilty ( peter sellers ) , who can ' t recall meeting her , in stanley kubrick ' s lolita , 1962 .
marianne stone would wear the piece of jewellery she wears here around her upper left arm in das geheimnis der schwarzen koffer ( 1962 ) and again in hysteria ( 1965 ) .
college town busybody charlotte ( shelley winters ) can ' t resist approaching the minor celebrity at the dance , tv writer clare quilty ( peter sellers ) , who can ' t recall meeting her , in stanley kubrick ' s lolita , 1962 . >
professor humbert ( james mason ) is considering an offer of lodging from charlotte haze ( shelley winters ) when he meets her daughter ( sue lyon , title character ) in stanley kubrick ' s lolita , 1962 , from the vladimir nabokov novel . >
the iconic heart - shaped sunglasses which lolita wears , appear only in publicity photos , as well as the soundtrack album ' s cover , taken by bert stern ; lolita wears cat ' s eye sunglasses in the film .
the film’s posters played up the controversial nature of the film’s content and the book’s reputation , using the provocative tagline above a picture of lyon - as - lolita , wearing heart - shaped sunglasses and a seductive expression , with a lollipop in her mouth . lolita received mixed reviews– the new yorker ’s pauline kael was one critic who raved about the film–but its acting was widely praised . the film earned one academy award nomination , for best adapted screenplay .
‘lolita’ premiered on june 13 , 1962 in new york city . it performed fairly well , with little advertising and relying mostly on word - of - mouth ; many critics seemed uninterested or dismissive of the film while others gave it glowing reviews . however , the film was very controversial , due to the hebephilia - related content , and therefore while many things are suggested , hardly any are shown . ‘lolita’ registered box - office receipts of 3 . 7 million dollars on its opening run .
charlotte ( shelley winters ) takes a call from her teenage daughter ( the title character ) during an awkward post - honeymoon snuggle with her irritated lodger - turned - husband , professor humbert ( james mason ) in stanley kubrick ' s lolita , 1962 . >
sue lyon as the title character in stanley kubrick ' s 1961 film version of lolita , with a screenplay written by nabokov . warner bros . hide caption
narrator ( humbert ) : what drives me insane is the twofold nature of this nymphet , a veteran nymphet perhaps , this mixture in my lolita of tender , dreamy childishness and a kind of eerie vulgarity . i know it is madness to keep this journal , but it gives me a strange thrill to do so ( lolita , 1962 ) .
also turned down the role of lolita . at the time , her father ,
lolita : book vs . movie - 1584 words | study guides and book summaries
dupee , f . w . :
' lolita ' in america
.
bratty teenage daughter : lolita , or so humbert would want us to believe .
although vladimir nabokov originally thought that sue lyon was the right selection to play lolita , years later nabokov said that the ideal lolita would have been catherine demongeot .
where did you learn film editing ? you started out as a still photographer .
combs , richard , in monthly film bulletin ( london ) , august 1984 .
adapting american drama to film . the transfer from stage to screen . . .
branigan , edward . 1992 . narrative comprehension and film . oxon : routledge .
while humbert initially describes this imaginative appropriation as a form of shielding lolita from the beastliness of his desires , it is precisely this method of aestheticizing lolita that leads to the monstrous acts of the latter half of the book . this scene of venal masturbation leads directly to humbert’s later mistreatment of lolita by offering him for the first time an image of lolita separated from her ”real“ existence , a template for a variously unconscious lolita , a lolita considered as an aesthetic object . ( durantaye 71 )
no merchandising . editorial use only . no book cover usage . mandatory credit : photo by moviestore collection / rex ( 1578516a ) ivansxtc , danny huston film and television film television ivansxtc danny huston film stills personality 12234543 photograph : moviestore collection / rex
is not perfect , but it makes for the most highly entertaining summer film of the year – a genuine love for film , filmmaking and just being a kid .
in the end , kubrick’s bowdlerization or egregious misprision of his source text didn’t much matter , because his film did something far more lasting : it gave the world an image of lolita . the film’s poster—the hazy photograph of lolita in her heart - shaped sunglasses , a glistening lollipop entering her moist lips—supplied america with the instantly recognizable signifiers of lolita that would endure in the age of instagram . that image , once seen , cannot be unseen . the merely textual lolita has been lost to us forever .
the film is deliberately vague about lolita’s age . kubrick had in fact commented : “i think that some people had the mental picture of a nine - year - old , but lolita was twelve - and - a - half in the book ; sue lyon was thirteen . ” actually , lyon was 14 by the time filming started and 15 when it finished . although passed without cuts , ‘lolita’ was rated ‘x’ by the british board of film censors when released in 1962 , meaning no one under 16 years of age was permitted to watch . the production code administration passed the film with a few snips on the soundtrack and an early fade to the scene in which lolita seduces humbert after her mother’s death . the british and australian prints , however , contain the scene as originally shot .
whether it had to do with her casting as lolita ( 1962 ) , or not , sue lyon , 3 years earlier , played a
lolita type
character in an episode of _
the loretta young show
( 1953 ) _ , entitled ; alien love , in which she flirts with her older male teacher , who winds up in trouble for it .
nabokov , vladimir , lolita , new york , 1974 ; second edition , 1983 .
great debate . doubt i’ll ever watch lolita . too far outside my comfort zone .
- it wasn ' t a date . - it was a date , lolita .
- you don ' t love me . - i do love you , lolita .
nabokov , vladimir . lolita : a screenplay . new york : vintage , 1997 .
and her underage daughter , lolita ( sue lyon ) . charlotte is a lonely widow
charlotte , but he marries her anyway , just to be close to lolita . humbert
traﬃc and is killed . meanwhile , lolita has been away at camp climax ( in
stanley kubrick : [ three - way ] humbert vs . quilty vs . lolita .
i liked the 1962 film a lot . i wouldn’t say it’s one of kubrick’s best efforts but considering what he had to work with i think it was a splendid effort . the film managed to capture both the tortured soul of humbert and his cunning . obviously , it was impossible to replicate nuances of the book , but kubrick came closer than i could have imagined .
the heart - shaped sunglasses became all the rage after the film ' s release .
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drive - in theater : one scene takes place there in the stanley kubrick film .
of the whole work . indeed , the final caption of the film offers a subtle
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errol flynn was considered for humbert humbert , but died before the film was made .
this was the first time stanley kubrick used first - person narration in a film .
fwiw , i agree that the earlier thread was misbegotten and is probably best ignored . however , this thread should probably be renamed , perhaps to something a la our usual format e . g .
lolita ( 1962 , 1997 )
, otherwise that earlier thread will be the only one that shows up in searches for threads with the word
lolita
in the title . ( a search for
lolita
does not turn up
lolitas
. )
the 1962 lolita was a product of its time , unfortunately , meaning it was heavily held back by censors . needless to say , kubrick is no prude ( one only has to watch eyes wide shut ) to know that , but his version of lolita was very tame , with almost none of the sexual innuendos littered throughout the novel — in fact , there was very little physical contact between lolita and humbert , the scenes often fading to black before anything happens .
with regard to
lolita ,
which stanley kubrick turned into a 1962 film that starred james mason as the scandalous professor , humbert humbert , and sue lyon as his sexually precocious bedmate , mr . dearden said mr . lyne had long wanted to direct his own version of the book . and when the rights became available recently , mr . dearden said , carolco bought them .
kubrick had nabokov ' s consent to have the film adaptation be like this , and said that the reason for using this technique was to maintain interest in the film , as kubrick thought that the novel started to lose interest halfway through when humbert had seduced lolita .
diabolical quilty ( peter sellers ) obscures his face and poses as a cop , contriving a chance encounter with humbert ( james mason ) , whom we know , some years later , will shoot him , in stanley kubrick ' s lolita , 1962 , from vladimir nabokov ' s novel and screenplay . >
it begins : ' lolita , light of my life , fire of my loins . '
the credits are played over footage of lolita ' s toenails being painted . see more »
your name , and lolita ' s , were put in by mere chance . . .
my two youngest , jack and mary , are in the same grade as your lolita .
without the name o the man who took her away rom him . so lolita , the
burns , d . e . ,
pistols and cherry pies : lolita from page to screen ,
in literature / film quarterly ( salisbury , maryland ) , october 1984 .
the film is so faithful to the novel that it shares similar flaws . after a stay at beardsley college , humbert and lolita go back on the road and the story flags . and though frank langella is effectively sinister as clare quilty , who lures lolita from humbert , the grand guignol scene of his murder belongs in another film ( and another novel ) .
which would indicate that if a film is sufficiently interesting people will watch it for three hours and forty minutes . but in actual fact , the napoleon film will probably be shorter .
individual vs . society in ken kessey ' s novel and film
one . . .
—actresses considered for the role of lolita include : tuesday weld , hayley mills , joey heatherton , and jill haworth . lolita author vladimir nabokov agreed with kubrick that sue lyon was right for the role , but years later stated that catherine demongeot would have been the ideal lolita .
nabokov ' s lolita is nothing like the bottle - blond , lollipop - licking sex kitten played by sue lyon in the 1962 film directed by stanley kubrick ( who , as was his habit , based his movie on the novel in only the very loosest sense ) . nor does she bear much resemblance to the show - biz pop tarts and tramp - stamped bad girls often compared to her today .
lolita , lolita , lolita ! for ever tonight we must part : because separation is sweeter than clasping a ghost to one’s heart because it’s a maddening summer because the whole night is in bloom because you’re in love with a strummer who brings his guitar to your room . you know he’s a clown and a cheater you know i am tender and true— but he is singing now lolita the songs i’ve been making for you ! ( lolita : a screenplay 127 )
it featured a picture of lolita in a seductive lollipop pose . she wore heart - shaped sunglasses and licked a red lollipop . indeed , at the time of the film ' s making , sexual freedom and content had not advanced to the point of acceptance that is commonly seen today . lolita ' s opening credits , however , contain some of the most overtly - erotic , idealizing images of the entire film - designed to set the tone of the film .
lolita was buried at the time of premieres under criticism . the film would pedophilia glorify and contain a wealth of erotic scenes . in several countries , the film was therefore censored . in reality , expose and sex never explicitly portrayed . erotic intense than the opening scene , in which professor humbert toes lolita paints with nail polish , the images are not . however , the film contains sexual symbolism and small picture jokes that were considered risky in the early 1960s .
even as mama charlotte is working her
moves
, humbert is thinking of lolita and insists that charlotte is being to liberal with lolita , letting her galavant with boys . mom laughs it off , until lolita comes home early from her party , thereby interrupting the hunt . tempers flare , mother and daughter argue , and mom looks to have lolita out of the way . when it turns out lolita ' s best friend , mona , also slipped away from the party
the 1962 film by kubrick was an interesting one . it starred james mason as humbert , sue luon as lolita , shelley winters as charlotte haze and peter sellers as claire quilty . the screenplay was attributed to nabokov ( and he actually got an oscar nomination for it ) , but in reality it was mostly re - written by kubrick and james harris . nabokov published his version of the script separately in 1974 .
one thing herr confessed during those early long phone conversations was that he had reviewed kubrick’s lolita ( 1962 ) during his first writing gig after college , a year - long pro bono stint at the new leader , where he “had followed manny farber . . . , one of the best of all writers on movies . ”
“lolita . ” the complete review . 2000 . 11 dec . 2005 < urltoken 2005 > .
nabokov , vladimir . lolita . the original novel . new york : vintage international . 1995 .
- you ' re imagining things . - shut up , lolita . stop that silly talk .
lolita , light of my life , fire of my loins . my sin , my soul .
note on the editions of lolita used in this paper : for practical purposes , both the references from the annotated lolita and the 2006 penguin edition are given in this paper , with the annotated version coming first , as in for instance : ( lolita 59 / 64 - 65 ) .
kubrick later said ( in a 1972 interview ) about lolita that had he known how extreme the censorship limitations would be , he probably never would have made the film at all , because he felt that he wasn ' t able to make the relationship between lolita and humbert fully accurate .
gabbard , krin ,
the circulation of sadomasochistic desire in the lolita texts ,
in journal of film and video ( atlanta ) , vol . 46 , no . 2 , 1994 .
phillips , gene d . , stanley kubrick : a film odyssey , new york , 1977 .
beautiful , beautiful black and white film . might be the best looking one i’ve ever seen .
the book is amazing . but i am always scared to watch the film of a book .
founded in 1999 , senses of cinema is one of the first online film journals of its kind and has set the standard for professional , high quality film - related content on the internet .
of the story , the enchanted hunters / hunted enchanters play , in both novel and film .
overall , i am very proud of this film and commend zak and his team for this achievement . the film as a whole is not really my personal taste , but i can certainly appreciate it and would recommend others to go and see it , and support the australian film industry .
kubrick won two awards for best director , from the new york film critics circle and the italian national syndicate of film journalists , and was nominated for one by the directors guild of america .
importantly , however , lyne also sticks primarily to the use of limited subjective narrative in the visual components of the film . humbert humbert is rarely off screen in the film . for instance , a scene where charlotte ( melanie griffith ) and lolita argue over whether or not lolita should go to summer camp that ends with lolita bringing humbert breakfast is seen over humbert’s shoulder in lyne’s film , rather than in the traditional over the shoulder shot - countershot format sans humbert employed by kubrick . our view is often confined to what humbert sees , just like in nabokov’s original text . the potential for the much - discussed unreliable narrator of lolita remains in lyne’s film . this helps to create a more sympathetic humbert , but the spectator is warned not to trust his or her sympathies .
bick , ilsa j . , and krin gabbard ,
' that hurts ! ' : humor and sadomasochism in lolita : the circulation of sadomasochistic desire in the lolita texts ,
in journal of film and video ( atlanta ) , vol . 46 , no . 2 , summer 1994 .
production : aa productions . an anya productions / transworld pictures production , in association with seven arts productions , for mgm ; black and white ; running time : 153 minutes ; length : 13 , 798 feet . released june 1962 .
the production code administration passed the film with a few snips on the soundtrack and an early fade to the scene in which lolita seduces humbert after her mother ' s death . the pca awarded the film certificate no . 20000 . the british and australian prints contain the scene as originally shot .
and lolita died in childbirth . however , it refers lolita as
mrs . richard f . schiller
, her married name , which we don ' t learn until the end of the book
wife husbandry : on several levels . humbert actually muses on the possibility of impregnating lolita with lolita : the next generation . ideally really soon , as in before she grows up and gets uninteresting .
denys arcand’s controversial conversation piece from the ‘80s has a unique claim to fame for being the only film to have been nominated for best foreign language film in addition to its sequel . the sequel was
veteran arranger nelson riddle composed ( with bob harris ) and conducted the music for kubrick ' s next film , lolita ( 1962 ) . the score , typical in style of the hollywood soundtracks of its day , is suitably moody and atmospheric , and , as might be expected , the orchestrations are lovely . the standout track is
lolita ya - ya ,
with its loping guitar riff and baby doll
ya - ya - wo - wo - ya - ya
vocal .
lolita ya - ya
was released as a single and was credited to sue lyon , although she does not receive credit on the lp . a four minute version of the song is reprised later on as
thoughts of lolita .
apple , alfred . the annotated lolita . revised ed . new york : vintage books , 1991 .
2 lara delage - toriel and xavier fassion beautifully illustrated the musical potential of nabokov’s writing during the lolita toulouse conference , in their musical exploration of lolita through reading , songs , music and sound objects .
this is where we get the terms
lolita complex
, or
lolicon
in japan , and the slang for
lolita
, meaning a sexually attractive and / or promiscuous young girl .
lolita : hey , let ' s tell mother . humbert : tell mother what ? lolita : ( she smiles knowingly ) you know what . humbert : no , i don ' t think that would be very funny . lolita : ( laughing ) i wonder what she ' d do ? hmm ?
i never felt like it was enough suffering on lolita ' s part depicted in the kubrick version .
five film adaptations to watch / study ( after reading the source novel ) : 1984 ( 1984 , michael radford ) , brazil ( 1985 , terry gilliam ) , lolita ( 1961 , stanley kubrick ) , lolita ( 1996 , adrian lyne ) , a clockwork orange ( 1971 , stanley kubrick ) .
lolita is not always loyal to vladimir nabokov ' s novel . one of the most notable changes in the film is kubrick ' s style of direction . events that happened in the novel ' s ending occurred in the film ' s beginning . this is a rarely used technique called in medias res .
lolita is not always loyal to vladimir nabokov ' s novel . one of the most notable changes in the film is kubrick ' s style of direction . events that happened in the novel ' s ending occured in the film ' s beginning . this is a rarely used technique called in medias res .
nelson , thomas allen , kubrick : inside a film artist ' s maze , bloomington , 2000 .
this film is not currently playing on mubi but 30 other great films are . see what’s now showing
2014 cimba award : best film review ( comedy / musical ) for meet me in st . louis
the film is nothing by modern standards : there is no overt sexuality ; it is all innuendo and implication . the title character , played by 14 year old sue lyon , has affairs with four men ( that we know of ) in the film , yet there is no nudity , no love scenes , not even one scene of her kissing any of the older men she is involved with , yet in 1962 it caused a huge fervor .
during this scene , pregnant lolita drinks a beer . fabulous . humbert tries to get lolita to go away with him again . and , at this point , i think he needs to take a tip from
lolita , light of my life , fire of my loins . my sin , my soul .
my favorite thing about this movie is how clearly kubrick hates every single one of these characters except lolita .
lolita . arles : actes sud , 1996 . [ also available in russian ; see next entry . ]
well , the
vista - sister
, that ' s like ,
lolita - sweeter
.
i ' ll accept the charges . it ' s lolita . she ' s calling long - distance .
eventually lolita will grow into a teenager and then into a women and she will no longer be so yearned for . jong states , “humbert humbert is in love with something which by definition cannot last” ( jong 366 ) . it is physically impossible for lolita to stay young forever . nabokov says , “the day when my lolita ages , will be the day my life ends” ( nabokov 273 ) . humbert fears the day when lolita grows into a woman and therefore humbert humbert’s obsession will end and no true love will ever exist . in vladimir nabokov’s novel , lolita , humbert humbert and lolita will never be able to develop true love .
nabokov , vladimir . lolita . 1955 . london : penguin books , 2011 ( or other edition ) .
lolita is a film that , well , i am not all that fond of . it is long , drawn out , and the payoff at the end really isn’t worth it . however , i would view it again if only to prompt discussion about the film , which stands as a great thought - provoker , especially over the significance of one’s teenage years , and the impact of that loss on the character of lolita .
story - time and discourse - time in the novel and film
beloved & q . . . ;
the film was nominated for four academy awards and also seven bafta awards , of which it won four .
kubrick constructed his lolita not in regards to censorship of the time , as the article suggests , but because his film was about humbert’s moral dilemma in exploiting the girl contrasted against quilty’s guiltless exploitation as an everyday routine .
lolita [ 1962 ] [ dvd ] : urltoken james mason , shelley winters , sue lyon , gary cockrell , jerry stovin , diana decker , lois maxwell , cec linder , bill greene , shirley douglas , marianne stone , marion mathie , oswald morris , stanley kubrick , anthony harvey , eliot hyman , james b . harris , vladimir nabokov : dvd & blu - ray
yet today the name lolita evokes for most people a girl who knows she ' s sexy and uses it . half a century of such misperceptions about lolita and the novel that bears her name have inspired a new book , chasing lolita : how popular culture corrupted nabokov ' s little girl all over again , by graham vickers .
humbert : why does she [ michelle ] give me these searching looks whenever she comes to the house ? lolita : how should i know ? humbert : have you told her anything about us ? lolita : no . have you ? humbert : you ' ve told her nothing - lolita : you think i ' m crazy ?
- the many personalities of lolita and humbert in nabokov’s lolita although they are intimately involved , the title character of nabokov ' s lolita never fully reveals her true self to humbert . likewise , humbert pours his physical love into lolita , but he never reveals to his stepdaughter a self that is separate from his obsession with her . these two characters mask large parts of their personalities from each other and the rest of the world , creating different images and personas in regard to different people and situations . . . . [ tags : nabokov lolita essays ]
lolita ( 1962 ) was stanley kubrick ' s sixth film - a brilliant , sly adaptation of vladimir nabokov ' s celebrated yet controversially - infamous 1955 novel of a middle - aged man ' s unusual , doomed sexual passion / obsession for a precocious , seductive
nymphet
girl . [ note : the scandalous book was banned in paris in 1956 - 1958 , and not published in its full form in the us or uk until 1958 . ] the age of lolita in the novel was raised from 12 years old to that of a typical high - schooler - probably 14 or 15 .
double indemnity was certainly not the first film noir to be made ; many films dating more than a decade prior have been later classified as film noir , however , the success of double indemnity among critics and audiences alike at the time of its release has caused it to receive the greatest recognition as the most identifiable film noir .
the aim of this paper is to stress the importance of music and song in nabokov’s lolita ( 1955 ) , and also in kubrick’s interpretation of it in his film ( 1962 ) . indeed kubrick’s adaptation does bring about , as linda hutcheon puts it , a “transcoding process” from the code of writing into the code of film ( hutcheon 7 ) , which is itself multisemiotic , as film associates moving and still images , language , and , of course , music . the analysis begins with a scrutiny of songs in the novel , as humbert uses songs to not only screen his deeds like in the davenport scene , but also to fuel his contemptuous vision of lolita . then the study turns to the function of music in characterization , in both novel and film : the film ' s characters are associated to musical themes that reflect thematic patterns of characterization in the novel . we will finally draw from those analyses the illustration of how both works use music to organize a subtle destabilization of signs that undermines the first - degree reading or viewing .
1 . ’lolita , light of my life , fire of my loins . my sin , my soul . ’
break the cutie : the entire book could be considered one for lolita , considering her childhood is essentially destroyed .
when the 1997 version of lolita was widely censored in the us , many asked why the reaction was so strong to this film . after all , the novel was published in the us in 1958 , kubrick ' s film version appeared in 1962 , and we hear more shocking tales of sexual depravity every day on the daytime talk shows . but after seeing lyne ' s brilliant version of lolita , i can see how he manages to breathe fresh controversy into this familiar story . lyne ' s lascivious lens eroticizes lolita ' s every movement and pose . the viewer is forced to see her through the eyes of humbert and to feel his obsession and desire . we are co - conspirators in his crime , and at the end we share his shame . rather than shocking us ( and having us pull away in revulsion ) , lyne draws us in and makes us face the humbert in ourselves . this is an incredibly powerful film .
, and the camera follows lolita on stage , as if it were part of the show . the retro - prospective mise - en - abyme perfectly works here . retrospectively , the title of the play echoes the previous episode at the hotel , where quilty had been musing on humbert’s “lovely little tall girl” . prospectively , the forthcoming departure of lolita with the playwright is indicated in the only glance they exchange during the whole film ( just before lolita enters the stage ) , and in the last words of lolita in the school play , “to the dark kingdom , away , away” , since quilty has been repeatedly associated to dark colors and dark lighting throughout the film .
stam robert . “film and narration : two versions of lolita ” . in twentieth - century american fiction on screen . ed . palmer , r . barton . cambridge : cambridge university press , 2007 . 106 - 126 .
during her six - year run at disney , mills was arguably the most popular child actress of the era . critics noted that america’s favourite child star was , in fact , quite british and very ladylike . the success of “let’s get together” ( which hit no . 8 on the billboard hot 100 singles chart and no . 17 in britain ) also led to the release of a record album on disney’s buena vista label , let’s get together with hayley mills , which also included her only other hit song , “johnny jingo” ( billboard no . 21 , 1962 ) . in 1962 british exhibitors voted her the most popular film actress in the country .
this passage somehow represents the use of music in both novel and film . just as in this description of a musical soundtrack at odds with the scene depicted ( very similar to kubrick’s film ) , nabokov created a subtle a discrepancy between humbert’s musical voice and the movements of “the shivering flower” he is conjuring up , namely , lolita .
when stanley kubrick made lolita hollywood was broadening its acceptance of slightly more scandalous stories to be tackled on film . martin scorsese said that at a time when american cinema was on its way down , due to the collapse of the studio system , with lolita , kubrick made a film that made people “stop and look” at the possibilities or at what american cinema would become . in that regard kubrick pushed the envelope with lolita , not only by tackling the controversial topic – an older man infatuated with a young girl – but also in the way he filmed it .
one of the posters for lolita , stanley kubrick’s adaptation of vladimir nabokov’s notorious 1955 novel proclaimed : ‘how did they ever make a movie of lolita ? ’ . indeed . the subject material – essentially paedophilia – had to be toned down in the censorious sixties and much of the graphic sexual scenes contained in the book had to be implied on film . that kubrick made such a colourful and provocative film is a testament to his genius behind the camera .
. act i of that play is certainly when quilty meets lolita and humbert in the enchanted hunters hotel , which is the very title of the play written by quilty and in which lolita is cast as the leading nymph . let us now turn to the function of this play - within - the - play in both novel and film .
lolita 127 success secrets - 127 most asked questions on lolita - what you need to know edition by antonio evans and publisher emereo publishing . save up to 80 % by choosing the etextbook option for isbn : 9781488822094 , 1488822093 .
mario puzo himself assisted on the screenplay for coppola’s classic . unsurprisingly , therefore , the film stays faithful to the manner and quality of the book . some backstories are eliminated , while others appear in the godfather ii . the ending of the film is actually more gloomy than the book . but both film and book complement each other perfectly .
by the time the hotel manages to get an extra bed , lolita has already fallen asleep , alone , in the room and there ' s this whole slapstick comedy of the porter and humbert trying to get the cot in the room without waking lolita . despite extra cot , humbert tries to crawl into bed with lolita and she cock - blocks him . and this is what i actually find interesting about lolita , the film and the character . for all of lolita having come to mean a promiscuous and sexually active young girl , lolita is not very promiscuous . she knows about the facts of life , she ' s not blind to humbert ' s attentions and she will eventually have a sexual relationship with him but she ' s not encouraging him either . it ' s not like alicia silverstone in
— lolita author vladimir nabokov , who wrote the screenplay for the film , turned in a script that ran 400 pages and called for a seven - hour film . kubrick and producer james harris had to alter it significantly . the unused screenplay deviated from the novel and featured a hitchcock - like cameo for nabokov , who is referred to as “that nut with a butterfly net . ” he later published the complete script in 1974 as lolita : a screenplay .
i understand there was some controversy over the ending of the film - where the french soldiers are executed for desertion - that you asked to change it so that the men would not be shot at the end of the film .
to be the film in which the director first resorted to the typically kubrickian musical techniques he was to develop in his following movies . kubrick later said that he viewed film as a mostly non - verbal experience ( as exemplified by
that was the most surprising thing about the film ; the comedy . i actually found it to be very amusing , and this coupled with the catchy , upbeat songs enabled me to really enjoy the film and overlook its flaws .
appel , alfred , jr . :
tristram in movielove : ' lolita ' at the movies
. in :
lolita . s . u . n . y . college at brockport , m . a . thesis , 1995 .
lolita . harvard university , a . b . thesis , honors in english and american literature and language , 1995 .
lem , stanislav ; dushenko , d . ( tr . ) .
lolita , ili stavrogin i beatriche .
levine , robert t . :
' my ultraviolet darling ' : the loss of lolita ' s childhood
.
- - - . the annotated lolita . ed . alfred appel jr . . new york : vintage , 1991 .
tastes like diabetes : humbert ' s in - universe reaction to the girly magazines and corny music that lolita enjoys .
try to think of your poor little lolita , all alone in the world . you must live for her sake .
by the way , according to the life magazine article that appeared in may , 1962 , just before the kubrick movie premiered , nabokov stated unequivocally that he would never write the screenplay , that to conjure lolita in his mind was one thing , but to portray her with actors in a movie would be “a sin” . apparently when kubrick offered him the job , he caved and not only scribed the film , but gave himself a walk - on cameo . reportedly , only 20 percent of nabokov’s script was used .
right now , i’m revolting against the conventions of movies . who says a film has to cost a million dollars and be safe and innocuous enough to satisfy every 12 - year - old in america ? we’re creating a movie equivalent of off broadway , fresh and experimental and personal . the lovely thing is that i’m alive at just the time when i can do this . - shirley clarke , 1962
so you have the problem that some people are only listening and not really paying attention with their eyes . film is
amrit nahata ' s kissaa kursee kaa , the film which will never be released =
kissā kursī kā
.
in the end , i think lolita isn’t an entirely successful film . it feels very slow to me at times , quilty doesn’t fit well , and there’s really nobody to root for once the brilliant shelley winters ( as lolita’s mother ) is no longer in the picture . but i think it’s a dry run for the film that kubrick made next . dr strangelove has the same black humour , the same dry detachment , and relies heavily on the improvisational skills of sellers .
the reason i say that is because i ' m just not sure i ' m buying his claim that he would never have made lolita if he ' d known what kind of hassle he would get from film censors over it . pull the other one , stan . you knew what you were letting yourself in for when you started making this film .
this sober approach to what nabokov called the exhilaration of
philistine vulgarity
means that this
lolita
isn ' t a comedy . stanley kubrick ' s 1962 film was , and that ' s often been held against it . still , it ' s remarkable how much of the book kubrick manages to get : the slyness , the whole atmosphere of erotic dementia and the book ' s satiric celebration of roadside america . kubrick translated that into a black - comic version of fast , slangy , disrespectful american movie comedies .
undoubtedly a film by a great director benefits from being seen again in retrospect , since the films he has directed subsequently shed a new light on it . such is the case with lolita ( 1962 ) , misunderstood at the time of its release when kubrick ' s status as an auteur was not yet firmly established . the reputation of vladimir nabokov , author of the original and scandalous book , overshadowed the director ' s attempt at translating it for the screen . two main criticisms were levelled at the film : one was its
betrayal
of a literary masterpiece , its failure to create an equivalent style , while the other was the disappointment of many who expected a titillating erotic experience . seen today lolita appears as a turning point in kubrick ' s career .