The lshaped room finishing thoughtsdiscussion questions, 7, 15. New 4k restoration 1963, bryan forbes unmarried and pregnant frenchwoman leslie caron oscar nomination hunkers down in an oddlyshaped notting hill bedsit denizened by a check list of brit character actors bernard lee, cicely courtneidge, emlyn williams, et al. Bucking convention, she is uninterested in settling with her babys father or getting an abortion. The lshaped room is a 1962 british drama film, directed by bryan forbes, which tells the story of a young french woman, unmarried and pregnant, who moves into a london boarding house, befriending a young man in the building. The lshaped room 1962 directed by bryan forbes genres drama subgenres ensemble film, psychological drama run time 125 min. Arranging for an abortion illegal at that time, she takes up residence in a ramshackle british boarding house where most of the other residents are also outcasts of society. Whichever way you slice it, however, the film is pure british orthodoxy and, together with forbes, woolf and attenborough, is at odds with the more vital, upstart cinema emerging at the time. The lshaped room was lynne reid banks first novel published originally in 1960 and then by penguin in 1962, when bryan forbes wrote and directed the famous film version. The doctor also jumps to the conclusion that she must have already. Jane could have afforded something better she had savings, she still had her job but she chose not to. The film garnered international acclaim including a golden globe and a bafta for its star, a young leslie caron, departing from the musicals for which she was.
Considered ultramature film fare in 1962, the lshaped room stars leslie caron as a unmarried, pregnant french girl. Jane caron is a french woman, unmarried and pregnant, who has just moved to london. The lshaped room is one of those books that was incredibly brave and daring for its time 1960 and i feel like i would have perhaps enjoyed it a lot more had i read it back then. The novel tells the story, in the first person, of jane graham, a 27yearold unmarried pregnant woman, thrown out of the house by her father due to the aforementioned. The lshaped room is a 1962 british drama film, directed by bryan forbes, which tells the story of a young french woman, unmarried and pregnant, who moves. She planned to keep herself to herself, to keep her baby, and eventually to bring up her child alone.
About one hour into the film, when toby and jane are sitting on her bed talking. The novel tells the story, in the first person, of jane graham, a 27yearold unmarried pregnant woman, thrown out of the house by her father due to the aforementioned pregnancy, who has to find lodgings and ends up in the lshaped room. Produced by john woolf and richard attenborough, the lshaped room ought to be able to take its place amongst those films inspired by the french nouvelle vague and its hardwon cinematic freedoms. Leslie caron in the lshaped room 1962 leslie caron and tom bell in the. Allan chase baritone summit allan chase bari sax ben whiting bari sax kathy olson bari sax plamen karadonev piano bruno raberg. The movie was adapted by bryan forbes from the novel by lynne reid banks. Screening diversity in the british cinema a special event at chichester cinema at new park. Also look out for appearances by tom bell, bernard lee, patricia phoenix, emlyn williams.
St lukes road, notting hill, london w11 unmarried mothertobe leslie caron an international star was cast to get the movie off the ground arrives in london to find herself sharing a bugridden boarding house with a picknmix assortment of sixties social issues. I first saw the lshaped room on an import dvd over a decade ago. Caron returns to france and leaves the story in bells room with a note attached to it saying, its a lovely story but it has no end. I didnt really warm to the main character jane very much, a young pregnant woman who has been kicked out of. The soberly told tale of jane graham, a middleclass girl cast adrift in seedy london in the late 1950s, played its part in changing attitudes towards women and sex in the sixties, as did bryan forbess 1962 film adaptation, with a luminous leslie. Here she assists the superb and unnominated dame cicely. The lshaped room 1962 tt0057239 leslie caron plays a young, pregnant, unmarried frenchwoman who takes a room in a seedy boarding house in london. Were sorry but jwapp doesnt work properly without javascript enabled. Bryan forbes adapts lynne reid banks novel of the same name in this romantic drama starring leslie caron.
The lshaped room 1962 has a strange position within the british new wave. Her most famous role was probably that of gigi in the musical of the same title. The lshaped room is, for its time, a surprisingly frank adult drama which features a. Fascinating as social history, the lshaped room is a downbeat slice of postwar realism, tackling taboos around unmarried mothers, racism and sexuality in its own discreet way. It feels like half a new wave film a midpoint between the innovation of the woodfall films and the mainstream of the british film industry the frankness about sex and the sympathetic treatment of outsiders whether they be unmarried mothers, lesbian or black and the largely natural and nonjudgmental. The lshaped room covers quite a lot of ground in its twohour runtime, without ever really needing to leave the rundown seedy boarding house that gives the film its title, or the cafes and pubs that provide a backdrop to the drama. Movie info considered ultramature film fare in 1962, the lshaped room stars leslie caron as a unmarried, pregnant french girl. It was adapted into a film, with significant differences from the novel, by bryan forbes synopsis.
Please activate cookies in order to turn autoplay off. The lshaped room by lynne reid banks fleur in her world. I didnt really warm to the main character jane very much, a young pregnant woman who has been kicked out of her family home by her father. The lshaped room was the second film directed and scripted by actorscreenwriterdirector bryan forbes, following the wonderful whistle down the wind 1961.
It had a few good moments, but i generally did not care for this one. But then again, as ive said many times, 1962 was, for me, the greatest year in film history. The lshaped room lynne reid banks the captive reader. Living in an odd, lshaped room in a housing project, she meets toby tom bell and the courtship. Ever summer vacation, my school used to send us off with a glorious, multipage book list. The lshaped room is a 1960 british novel by lynne reid banks which tells the story of a young woman, unmarried and pregnant, who moves into a london boarding house, befriending a young man in the building. Arranging for an abortion illegal at that time, she takes up residence in a. Overview of the lshaped room, 1963, directed by bryan forbes, with leslie caron, anthony booth, avis bunnage, at turner classic movies. Originally released for the cinema in 1962 the l shaped room stars leslie caron, leslie claire margaret caron, a french actress who appeared in 45 films between 1951 and 2003. Leslie caron, cicely courtneidge, brock peters, tom bell.
Apart from the social reaction to janes condition, and a rather unattractive streak of passive racism, this could almost be. Get 50% off hundreds of family movies when you preorder on fandangonow today. A single, pregnant woman moves into a london boarding house where she meets a. The summer after grade 8, the lshaped room by lynne reid banks began appearing on the list. Johnny comes to the same conclusion after hearing jane experience. A bittersweet portrayal of young womanhood in seamy 1960s london, the lshaped room was way ahead of its time and is ripe for rediscovery. Caron explains why the film was considered controversial and reflects on her other film roles. She eventually takes an l shaped attic room in a downatheel lodging house in w2 for 2 guineas a week, despite the poor decoration and grasping landlady, doris. A dingey, grubby, awkward space in a run down boarding house.
In this bestselling classic novel which became a famous film, jane graham, alone and. A peek at the lshaped room and others home theater. Theres a lot of tasteful taboobreaking in 1962s the lshaped room, an adaptation of lynne reid bankss novel by stepford. With leslie caron, anthony booth, avis bunnage, patricia phoenix. The lshaped room has never been a very popular film. Arranging for an abortion illegal at that time, she takes up. It is interesting to return to this classic novel, first published half a century ago. Winter is numb and selfcontained, but spring has none of the palliatives. Thank you for helping us maintain cnets great community. The word abortion, incidentally, is never uttered during the film. The lshaped room 2h 6min drama, romance 20 november 1962 uk a single, pregnant woman moves into a london boarding house where she meets a group of fellow misfits.
Director, producer and screenwriter bryan forbess the stepford wives, whistle down the wind adapted lynne reidbankss seminal novel, controversial on its initial publication for its. The lshaped room lingers far longer in the memory than later explorations of similar themes, such as margaret drabbles 1965 the millstone adapted by her for the screen as a touch of love in 1969 or even peter collinsons enjoyable 1968 film of nell dunns riotous 1963 novel up the junction. The lshaped room 2000 jane leslie caron is young, french, pregnant and unmarried. It cant exactly be hailed as a lost feminist work, but jane does refuse to take easy options, asserts her own independence and is impressively honest about the value. To ask other readers questions about the lshaped room, please sign up. Widely touted as a groundbreaking, profeminist, mustread novel of the early sixties. When she moves in she begins to meet the other residents. My suspicion is that in a world where the issue of who has the right to have an abortion, and the right of the woman to choose, is so touchy to so many people, the fact that the abortion method is thrown away.