This 1966 version of an oft-filmed 1908 French melodrama is as sudsy as a big screen soap opera can be, yet the sincerity of key performances by Lana Turner, Constance Bennett, Keir Dullea, and John Forsythe earn Madame X some respect. Turner stars as Holly, a former shop-girl who marries glorified mama’s boy Clay (Forsythe), a patrician who is part of a dynastic political family. The two live together with their son, Clay Jr., and Clay’s duplicitous mother, Estelle (Bennett), in an old family mansion that serves as a social hub for the rich and powerful. Clay’s frequent absences on business drive lonely Holly into the arms of a playboy (Ricardo Montalbán), which gives Estelle the excuse she needs to exile the daughter-in-law she hates into another life under an assumed name. Clay and Clay Jr. spend the next 20 years believing that Holly is dead, while the latter gradually sinks into despair and drunkenness. Madame X marked Turner’s third starring role in a feature by producer Ross Hunter, who hoped that legendary director Douglas Sirk would helm the film, but the job went instead to competent veteran David Lowell Rich. Extras include audio commentary by film historians Lee Gambin and Dr. Eloise Ross. Recommended. (T. Keogh)
Madame X
Kino, 100 min., not rated, Blu-ray: $29.99 Volume 34, Issue 5
Madame X
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