Trivia for
Lolita (1962) More at IMDbPro »

• James Mason was the first choice of director Stanley Kubrick and producer James B. Harris for the role of Humbert Humbert, but he initially declined due to a Broadway engagement. Laurence Olivier then refused the part, apparently on the advice of his agents. Kubrick considered Peter Ustinov, but decided against him. Harris then suggested David Niven; Niven accepted the part, but then withdrew for fear the sponsors of his TV show, "Four Star Playhouse" (1952), would object. Mason then withdrew from his play and got the part. Harris denies claims that Noel Coward also rejected the role.
  
  
• Tuesday Weld was considered for the title role.
  
  
• Peter Sellers modeled the voice of his character Clare Quilty on that of his director, Stanley Kubrick.
  
  
• Errol Flynn was considered for Humbert Humbert, but died before the film was made.
  
  
• Sue Lyon was chosen for the title role partly due to the size of her breasts. Stanley Kubrick had been warned that the censors felt strongly about the use of a less developed actress to portray the sexually active 14-year-old.
  
  
• In the opening scene, Quilty says, "I am Spartacus," a reference to Stanley Kubrick's earlier film, Spartacus (1960).
  
  
• The famous heart-shaped sunglasses that Lolita wears appear only in publicity photos taken by 'Bert Stern'; Lolita wears cat eye sunglasses in the movie.
  
  
• 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.
  
  
• Marlon Brando and David Niven were considered for the part of Humbert.
  
  
• Stanley Kubrick originally wanted Joey Heatherton for the title role of Lolita, but Heatherton's father Ray Heatherton said no for fear his daughter would be typecast as a promiscuous sex kitten.
  
  
• The clip they are watching at the drive-in is from Terence Fisher's The Curse of Frankenstein (1957). When it cuts to the shot of them in the car, the soundtrack from the movie is fabricated to make it seem like there is far more mayhem occurring in that movie.
  
  
• Hayley Mills also turned down the role of Lolita. At the time, her father, John Mills was credited with the decision. Later, Walt Disney was blamed.
  
  
• One ending that was considered was to have Humbert and Lolita get married in a state that allowed young people to wed; this ending was considered in order to appease the censors.
  
  
• Vladimir Nabokov's original screenplay diverged greatly from the novel, but only a portion of it was used by Stanley Kubrick, even though Nabokov gets screen credit. Nabokov later published it as "Lolita: A Screenplay". The unused screenplay featured an Alfred Hitchcock-like cameo for Nabokov, who is referred to as "that nut with a butterfly net" (Nabokov was well known as an amateur lepidopterist).
  
  
• Close to 800 girls auditioned for the part of Lolita Haze.
  
  
• The Humbert Humbert role was originally offered to Cary Grant, who turned it down in indignation.
  
  
• Although he generally admired the movie adaptation of his book Vladimir Nabokov regretted the waste of his time in writing a screenplay which was altered so drastically during filming.
  
  
• Director Trademark: [Stanley Kubrick] [faces] Quilty, when he is impersonating a policeman at the hotel.
  
  
• Director Trademark: [Stanley Kubrick] [three-way] Humbert vs. Quilty vs. Lolita
  
  
• The name of Vivian Darkbloom is an anagram of "Vladimir Nabokov". Quilty's description of Judo matches with her is a direct address of the nature of the relationship between character and creator.
  
  
• This was the first film that Stanley Kubrick produced independently in England.
  
  
• Stanley Kubrick's first choice for composing the score was Bernard Herrmann, but the composer balked at having to use Bob Harris' "Theme From Lolita" in his score.
  
  
• Claire Quilty's role in the screenplay was greatly expanded from that of the novel.
  
  
• The distinctive Flemish-Gothic spires of the Delaware & Hudson Building in Albany, New York can be seen in the background, as Humbert drives to Lolita's house near the end of the movie. This would indicate that she was living in or near the town Rensselaer.
  
  
• Sue Lyon went horse-back riding everyday after filming. Kubrick told her, "If you get thrown, roll over. Don't hurt your face."
  
  
• First film of Ed Bishop.
  
  
• In the novel, Lolita is a brunette. In the film, she is a blonde.
  
  
• The German accent Peter Sellers uses in one of his guises was later used by him extensively in Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964) (as the title character).
  
  
• At one point Lolita mentions hanging out with friends named Rex and Roy. Both of these names mean "king" (Rex in Latin and Roy in French).
  
  
• Director Trademark: [Stanley Kubrick] [bathroom/toilet] The first Kubrick film in which showing a shot of a bathroom/toilet became his trademark. He would repeat this in every film since until his death in 1999.
  
  

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