
Have you ever read Nabokov’s book? Don’t be put off by the subject matter. It’s a great book.
How did they ever make a movie of Lolita? the posters ask. Well, easily actually.
Remove even the vaguest suggestions of any kind of sexual encounter. Tone it all down and make it a farce.
Sue Lyons, as Lolita, looks much older than the book suggests. She’s apparently a late teen. A relationship between a middle aged Humbert and her would be possible, if unlikely, even in those times.
She’s a late 1950s early 1960s American gum chewing spoilt brat from a single parent home, and it’s hard to imagine any chemistry between her and Humbert. Of course there isn’t, it’s just his infatuation.
James Mason is great, of course. He’s educated, polite, quiet and considered, a far cry from the Haze people.
The beginning of the film, set in Ramsdale, is a great study of American small town life. This is Trump country. But, when the road trip begins, it gets boring rapidly and outstays its welcome.
But what really spoils the picture is Peter Sellers who plays the role of Quilty as a Goon Show character, with silly voices and stupid disguises to match.
The film has its moments, but read the book.
The newer version, with Dominique Swain and Jeremy Irons, is more faithful to the book, but it’s still a bore.
