Apr 23rd 
(National Film Theatre) 
Lolita** (X)   

(GB 1961)             

A literary scholar in America marries a widow because of his infatuation with her young daughter Lolita.
A scandalous novel becomes self-sanitised to make it more acceptable for cinema standards of the time, translated by Kubrick into semi-black comedy (as a precursor to Dr. Strangelove, with Sellers in more than one guise), with performances therefore ranging from compelling down to caricature. It all makes for a peculiarly unsettling romantic whole.

Written by: Vladimir Nabokov, from his novel.
Producer: James B. Harris.
Director: Stanley Kubrick.
Starring: James Mason, Sue Lyon, Peter Sellers, Shelley Winters, Gary Cockell, Diana Decker, Lois Maxwell, Cec Linder.
Photography: Oswald Morris.
Music: Bob Harris, Nelson Riddle.

+ although Nobokov is credited, most of the screenplay was re-written by Stanley Kubrick and James B. Harris