The L-Shaped Room (1962)

User Rating:

7.5/10   

Director:

Bryan Forbes

Writers:

Lynne Reid Banks (novel)
Bryan Forbes (screenplay)

Release Date:

20 November 1962 (UK)

Genre:

Drama

Tagline:

"Sex is not a forbidden word!"

Plot:

Jane, a young French woman, pregnant and unmarried, takes a room in a seedy London boarding house, which is inhabited by an assortment of misfits...

Plot Keywords:

Abortion | Lesbian | Pregnancy | Punctuation In Title | Kitchen Sink Realism

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar. Another 3 wins & 3 nominations

Cast

Leslie Caron	...	Jane Fosset
Anthony Booth	...	Youth in Street
Avis Bunnage	...	Doris
Patricia Phoenix	...	Sonia
Verity Edmett	...	Jane II
Tom Bell	...	Toby
Cicely Courtneidge	...	Mavis
Harry Locke	...	Newsagent
Ellen Dryden	...	Girl in Newsagent's
Emlyn Williams	...	Dr. Weaver
Jennifer White	...	Monica
Brock Peters	...	Johnny
Gerry Duggan	...	Bert
Joan Ingram	...	Woman in Park
Mark Eden	...	Terry

Runtime:

126 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Argentina:13 | Chile:14 | Finland:K-16 | Sweden:15 | UK:X (original rating) | UK:15 (video rating)

Filming Locations:

4 St Luke's Road, Notting Hill, London, England, UK

Company:

British Lion Film Corporation

Trivia:

The Smiths open their album The Queen Is Dead with the scene of the character Mavis leading a chorus of "Take Me Back To Dear Old Blighty."

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Mary Tyler Moore: The Square-Shaped Room (#2.13)" (1971)

Soundtrack:

Concerto No. 1 in D Minor for Piano and Orchestra

Long-lasting impressions

I first saw this movie when I was eleven years old, and have never been able to get it out of my mind. I'm glad to see that it hasn't been completely forgotten. I've just ordered the DVD, and I'm anxious to see if it is as poignant to me at fifty-four as it was when I was eleven. There are only one or two scenes that I can actually vividly remember, but I'd say that's pretty impressive after forty-three years! I do remember how I felt when I left the movie-house... life is not easy, some decisions are forever, the way can be rife with disappointments, but if you are honest and open with yourself and others, there will be a firm foundation of strength in your relationships that can support you through anything.