![]() She looks gorgeousin this film and like STAR! she dazzles us in her canny ability to retainher girl next door demeanor and be damn sexy at the same time. Notonly that but her comic talents are equally displayed. Julie Andrews is in top form both musically and dramatically. As for DARLING LILI, Ifound this delightful comedy farce with music to be truly charming andfunny. #JULIE DARLING MOVIE MOVIE#One waslabeledold fashioned and unhip to enjoy movie musicals. Critics and audiencesseemed to have taken themselves so seriously that even their entertainmenthad to be a reflection of their harsh day to day realities. It seemed that going to the movies was no longer anexcercisein temporarily putting one's troubles aside for a few hours of nurturingthespirit and soul with beautiful singing and dancing. These films failed not because they were bad films butbecause audiences had grown cynical and no film was any good unless it was'realistic'. Much salt was addedtothe wound when not only 'LILI' but also 'CLEAR DAY' and SCROOGE tanked atthe box office. But even in 1970 the movie musical struggled to survivewith not only DARLING LILI but two other large scale musicalextravaganzas,ie: ON A CLEAR DAY YOU CAN SEE FOREVER and SCROOGE. CHIPS, CHITTY CHITTY BANGBANG, PAINT YOUR WAGON, HALF A SIXPENCE, SWEET CHARITY, HELLO DOLLY! aswellas Andrews' other underrated drama with music, STAR! which I consider acompanion piece to both DARLING LILI and Andrews' comeback film,VICTOR,VICTORIA. The moviemusicals of the late 60s all died at the box office including DOCTORDOLITTLE, CAMELOT, FINIAN'S RAINBOW, GOODBYE MR. Hollywoodcontinued to make them and even though two of them, OLIVER! and FUNNYGIRL,were mildly successful, the genre was again on the decline. Movie musicals made a brief comeback in theearly sixties and peaked with THE SOUND OF MUSIC in 1965. It saddens me now as it did then that thisbeautifully crafted and delightful film was so sneered at and snubbed bycritics and audiences alike. I also remember being the only person in the theatre during theparticular showing I attended. I remember seeing DARLING LILI when it ran it's short original theatricalrelease. Edwards also can't seem to help himself from slidinginto formulaic comedy bits (he apparently thinks a bumbling Frenchman withan umbrella on a roof in a rainstorm is hilarious-it shows up in film afterfilm of his).The reason to watch 'Lili' is for its interesting spin on the Mata Harilegend and the performance of Miss Andrews, who certainly didn't deserve thebrickbats that came her way following its release. Her performance is nuanced and quiteaffecting-just watch her as a fat tear silently slides down her cheek aftera tumultuous argument with Major Larabee.Edwards has staged some stunning flight sequences, but the suffer somewhat,in 1990s sensibilities, from the blue-screen process shots needed to getRock 'into' midair. Julie sings beautifully,especially the haunting 'Whistling Away the Dark,' a lovely Henri Mancinitune that opens and closes the film. In fact, they werestaying away in droves from ANY musical-drama or not.The shame of it all is that this film, with its many classic moments, wasstigmatized by the press who were gunning for Our Fair Julie and her newbeau, writer/director/producer Blake Edwards.But 'Lili' really *is* worth seeking out. 'Lili' represented anotheropportunity for Julie to change her image, coming right after themegamusical 'STAR!' which didn't deserve the drubbing *it* receivedeither.Audiences didn't seem to care for this WWI musical drama. ![]() Julie Andrews had hit her highs onscreen, and her star wasstarting to fade, at least in the public's eye. Of the five men who are most privy to such information, Kurt believes the best target is American pilot, Major William Larrabee as he is young, single and a ladies man. ![]() ![]() That is why it irks him that Kurt has entrusted Lili with the important mission of finding out more about the Allied air defense plans, the air which is becoming a more important battleground of the war. Kurt's boss, General Kessler, doesn't fully trust Lili as she is still half British. Masquerading as her Swiss uncle, Colonel Kurt Von Ruger is not only her German handler but her lover. She is also half German - her real last name being Schmidt - and is an undercover German spy, using her feminine wiles to gather information from the high ranking and generally older military officers and diplomats she seduces. Lili Smith is a beloved British music hall singer, often providing inspiration for the British and French troops and general populace singing rallying patriotic songs. ![]() Set during WWI, this movie is a cute spin on the Mata Hari legend. ![]()
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