Madame X (1966 film)
| Madame X | |
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Film poster
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| Directed by | David Lowell Rich |
| Produced by | Ross Hunter |
| Written by |
Alexandre Bisson (play) Jean Holloway |
| Starring |
Lana Turner John Forsythe |
| Music by | Frank Skinner |
| Cinematography | Russell Metty |
| Edited by | Milton Carruth |
| Distributed by | Universal Pictures |
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Release date
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Running time
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100 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
Madame X is a 1966 American drama film directed by David Lowell Rich and starring Lana Turner. It is based on the 1908 play Madame X by French playwright Alexandre Bisson.
A lower class woman, Holly Parker (Turner), marries into the rich Anderson family. Her husband's mother (Constance Bennett) looks down on her and keeps a watchful eye on her activities. Due to her husband's frequent and long trips abroad, Holly forms a relationship with a well-known playboy (Ricardo Montalbán). When her lover accidentally dies, and only her mother-in-law knows she is innocent, the latter blackmails her into disappearing into the night during a planned boat trip, leaving her husband (John Forsythe) and young son (Teddy Quinn) thinking she has died.
She then slowly sinks into depravity all over the world, only to be brought back to America under false assumptions by a "friend" (Burgess Meredith) who plans on blackmailing her family. When she realizes that the man intends to reveal who she is to her son, she shoots the man to stop him. The police arrest her and, refusing to reveal her identity, she signs a confession with the letter "X." As fate would have it, the court assigns a defense attorney who happens to be her long-lost son (Keir Dullea).
The film contains an original song by Austrian composer, conductor Willy Mattes (alias Charles Wildman) titled "Love Theme from Madame X" (alternatively named "Swedish Rhapsody"). It was recorded by George Greeley on his 1957 Warner Bros album The World's Ten Greatest Popular Piano Concertos (LP).
The film is recognized by American Film Institute in these lists:
Madame X was released on DVD in Region 1 as a Lana Turner double feature with Portrait in Black by Universal Studios Home Entertainment on February 5, 2008.
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