Lolita (1962)

Director:

Stanley Kubrick

Writers:

Vladimir Nabokov (screenplay)
Vladimir Nabokov (novel)
(more)

Release Date:

13 June 1962 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Romance

Tagline:

How did they ever make a movie of Lolita?

Plot:

A middle-aged college professor becomes infatuated with a 14-year-old nymphet.

Plot Keywords:

Professor | Love | College | Landlady | Lolita

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar. Another 7 nominations

Cast

James Mason	...	Prof. Humbert Humbert
Shelley Winters	...	Charlotte Haze
Sue Lyon	...	Lolita
Gary Cockrell	...	Richard T. Schiller
Jerry Stovin	...	John Farlow
Diana Decker	...	Jean Farlow
Lois Maxwell	...	Nurse Mary Lore
Cec Linder	...	Dr. Keegee
Bill Greene	...	George Swine
Shirley Douglas	...	Mrs. Starch
Marianne Stone	...	Vivian Darkbloom
Marion Mathie	...	Miss Lebone
James Dyrenforth	...	Frederick Beale Sr.
Maxine Holden	...	Miss Fromkiss
John Harrison	...	Tom
Colin Maitland	...	Charlie Sedgewick
Terry Kilburn	...	Man (as Terence Kilburn)
C. Denier Warren	...	Potts
Roland Brand	...	Bill Crest
Peter Sellers	...	Clare Quilty
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Irvin Allen	...	Hospital attendant (uncredited)
Beverly Bennett	...	Friend (uncredited)
Ed Bishop	...	Ambulance attendant (uncredited)
Angela Bradley	...	Friend (uncredited)
Jean Carnt	...	Teenager (uncredited)
Jean Collins	...	Teenager (uncredited)
Peter Cushing	...	Dr. Frankenstein (archive footage) (uncredited)
Jennifer Dodd	...	Dark-haired Teenager (uncredited)
Anne Flack	...	Friend (uncredited)
Susanne Gibbs	...	Mona Farlow (uncredited)
Jacqueline Harris	...	Teenager (uncredited)
Loraine Hart	...	Cute girl (uncredited)
Gloria Johnson	...	Friend (uncredited)
Jenny Jones	...	Friend (uncredited)
Lilian Keeton	...	French / Spanish girl (uncredited)
Eric Lane	...	Roy (uncredited)
Linda Lawrence	...	Teenager (uncredited)
Christopher Lee	...	Frankenstein's Creature (archive footage) (uncredited)
Isabelle Lucas	...	Louise (uncredited)
Coral Morphew	...	Friend (uncredited)
Jeanette Neale	...	Girl (uncredited)
Maria Nicholas	...	Dark Girl (uncredited)
Robert C. Overton	...	Kenny Oberton (uncredited)
Sonya Petrie	...	Blonde girl (uncredited)
Jacqueline Poole	...	Teenager (uncredited)
Craig Sams	...	Rex (uncredited)
Roberta Shore	...	Lorna (uncredited)
Marti Webb	...	Friend (uncredited)

Directed by
Stanley Kubrick

Writing credits
Vladimir Nabokov		(screenplay)
Vladimir Nabokov		(novel "Lolita")
Stanley Kubrick		uncredited

Produced by
James B. Harris	....	producer
Eliot Hyman	....	executive producer (uncredited)

Original Music by
Nelson Riddle

Cinematography by
Oswald Morris		(director of photography)

Film Editing by
Anthony Harvey

Casting by
James Liggat

Art Direction by
William C. Andrews		(as Bill Andrews)

Makeup Department
Betty Glasow	....	hairdresser
George Partleton	....	makeup artist
Stella Morris	....	assistant makeup artist (uncredited)

Production Management
Raymond Anzarut	....	production supervisor
Robert Sterne	....	production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
René Dupont	....	assistant director (as Rene Dupont)
Dennis Stock	....	second unit director
John Danischewsky	....	assistant director (uncredited)
Roy Millichip	....	assistant director (uncredited)

Art Department
Syd Cain	....	associate art director (as Sidney Cain)
Roy Dorman	....	draughtsman (uncredited)
Peter James	....	set designer (uncredited)
Andrew Low	....	set designer (uncredited)
A.J. Van Montagu	....	scenic artist (uncredited)

Sound Department
H.L. Bird	....	sound recordist
Winston Ryder	....	dubbing editor
Len Shilton	....	sound recordist
Keith Batten	....	sound assistant (uncredited)
Michael Hickey	....	sound (uncredited)
Don Wortham	....	boom operator (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
Denys N. Coop	....	camera operator
Joe Pearce	....	still photographer (uncredited)
Bert Stern	....	publicity photographer (uncredited)
Jimmy Turrell	....	focus puller (uncredited)

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Gene Coffin	....	costumes: Miss Winter
Elsa Fennell	....	wardrobe supervisor
Barbara Gillett	....	wardrobe (uncredited)

Editorial Department
Lois Gray	....	assistant editor
John Crome	....	assistant editor (uncredited)

Music Department
Gil Grau	....	orchestrations
Bob Harris	....	composer: 'Lolita' theme
Nelson Riddle	....	conductor

Other crew
Pamela Davies	....	continuity
Joyce Herlihy	....	assistant continuity (uncredited)
Enid Jones	....	unit publicist (uncredited)
Una Pearl	....	double (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) (presents) (as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer)
• Seven Arts Productions (in association with)
• A.A. Productions Ltd.
• Anya
• Harris-Kubrick Productions (uncredited)
• Transworld Pictures

Distributors

• Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) (1962) (USA) (theatrical)
• Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) (1962) (UK) (theatrical)
• Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS) (1978) (USA) (TV) (network premiere)
• MGM/UA Home Entertainment (1991) (USA) (video) (laserdisc)
• Warner Home Video (1998) (USA) (VHS)
• Warner Home Video (1999) (UK) (VHS)
• Warner Home Video (1999) (USA) (DVD)
• Warner Home Video (2000) (USA) (DVD)
• Warner Home Video (2001) (UK) (DVD)
• Warner Home Video (2001) (USA) (DVD)
• Warner Home Vídeo (2001) (Brazil) (DVD)
• Chapel Distribution (1997) (Australia) (theatrical) (35mm print)
• Oy Fox Films (1962) (Finland) (theatrical)
• Argentina Video Home (19??) (Argentina) (VHS)
• Argentina Video Home (2001) (Argentina) (DVD)
• Argentina Video Home (2001) (Argentina) (VHS) (re-release)
• Criterion Collection, The (????) (USA) (video) (laserdisc)
• Warner Bros. (2001) (Argentina) (all media) (re-release)
• Warner Bros. (????) (Italy) (DVD)
• Warner Bros. (????) (Italy) (VHS)

Other Companies

• Chambers & Partners  titles

Also Known As:

Lolita (Austria) (West Germany) [de]
Lolita (Brazil) [pt]
Lolita (Greece) [el]
Lolita (Finland) [fi]
Lolita (France) [fr]
Lolita (Argentina) [es]
Lolita (Spain: Catalan title) [ca]

Runtime:

152 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound Recording)

Certification:

USA:Approved (PCA #20000) | Canada:AA (Ontario) | Canada:G (Quebec) | Canada:R (Manitoba/Nova Scotia) | Norway:16 | France:Unrated | Brazil:12 | Argentina:Atp (re-rating) | USA:TV-14 | Argentina:16 | Australia:M | Finland:K-15 (re-rating) | Finland:K-16 (original rating) | Hong Kong:III | Ireland:15 | Italy:VM14 | Japan:R-15 | Singapore:PG | South Korea:18 | Spain:13 | Sweden:15 | UK:15 (video rating) (1999) | UK:X (original rating) | West Germany:12 | Portugal:M/12

Filming Locations:

Albany, New York, USA

Company:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Trivia:

Director Trademark: [Stanley Kubrick] [faces]Quilty, when he is impersonating a policeman at the hotel.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: As Humbert Humbert and Dolores race to escape the car that HH believes has been tailing them for three days, their own car sustains a puncture (blowout) and HH has to slew the car to a halt. The low camera angle at the front of the vehicle, however, shows all four tyres fully inflated and all four corners of the car riding at normal height above the road surface.

Quotes:

Lolita Haze: [on her new husband] Dick's very sweet.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in There Will Be Blood (2007)

Soundtrack:

There's No You

Tasteful and Entertaining

Not the two words that came to mind when I first read the book. This movie nicely handles the taboo subject matter and is tremendously funny as well. Peter Sellers was warming up for his triumph in Dr. Strangelove, Shelly Winters gave her best performance, and James Mason made us feel his pain. As Lolita, Sue Lyon is convincing although Kubrick makes her character a bit older (probably to satisfy the censors, which still slapped this with an X rating originally, much to my surprise). The movie could play on TV today with no edits. I have not seen the 1997 remake but can only imagine, given its director with a reputation of going over the top, that it's not as classy and tasteful as this one. Since this was made in 1962, the risque elements from the book were left to our imagination. And the movie scores highly because of it. The movie's story is stuck in the '60s (that bubblegum music, which played during Lolita's early scenes, will stick with you), and if you are bored with the story, or cannot believe what you're seeing, you can always get a culture lesson: Hula hoops, malt shops, pseudo intellectuals, faulty cots and gas stations where they still pump your gas.