Darling Lili (1970) User Reviews

Surprised this isn't on tape or DVD

[jgepperson · 6/10 · 29 May 2005]

After 35 years, I've seen this film again; the 136 minute version at the Anthology Film Archives in New York City's East Village. They also showed the 114 minute version which, according to their production notes, is darker in tone, since it's missing some of the comedy of the piece. Certainly some of the cutesy comedy, which Blake Edwards, the director/producer/writer, also seems to be enamored of in his Pink Panther movies, could be cut.

The film is an attempt to make a mature, romantic musical and was a big flop at the time. Edwards was married to Julie Andrews, the female star of the movie. Andrews had a great success with "Mary Poppins" a few years earlier, and a phenomenal success with "The Sound of Music." She tried repeating the success with the awful (but, perhaps, commercially successful) "Thoroughly Modern Millie," and had a stinker with "Star!", the Gertrude Lawrence story. "Star!" was an adult musical, but it didn't take, so "Darling Lili" was another try at breaking Andrews' goody-two-shoes image. She says "ass" in the movie twice and "bastard" once! The scenes I remember most from the first screening in 1970 are the striptease by Suzette (Gloria Paul) and the aerial sequences, which are pretty dazzling (except for the obvious process shots). In fact, the whole movie is quite lavish and Andrews is gowned and bejeweled beautifully. Edwards seems to have studied the films of Vincente Minnelli and is better at creating some of the Minnellian tone than George Cukor was with the dull "My Fair Lady." In fact, Minnelli was making a movie - "On A Clear Day..." - at Paramount the same time "Darling Lili" was being produced. "...Lili" went into major cost overruns, which could account for "...Clear Day..." being so lackluster in its modern scenes, since major money was being pumped into the Andrews/Edwards film.

The movie isn't terrible. In fact, it's quite charming, if a little long. But the movie-going public is fickle, and Julie Andrews musicals fell quickly out of favor. Rock Hudson is enormously likable as always, but has little to do. The production design is delightful, and it's fun to see Andrews do her striptease (which may not be in the shorter version, and I'm thinking that must have been the version I saw in 1970, because I think I would have remembered it).

Maybe the movie will come out on DVD now that they are showing two versions in NYC. The print was beautiful, by the way. It even included the overture. The audience was a poignant collection of solitary film nerds, not excluding myself!

Full Market Value Musical

[bkoganbing · 6/10 · 20 June 2012]

Recognized with three Oscar nominations Darling Lili was a big flop at the time and helped seal the fate of big budget musicals and Julie Andrews's career in them. They were getting just too expensive to make with all the talent that used to be under contract to a studio now charging full market value for services. Whatever else Darling Lili is it's a full market value musical film.

Set in the era of World War I, Darling Lili's best asset is its music. Two of the three nominations were in the music field for best overall score and to Henry Mancini and Johnny Mercer for the song Whistling In The Dark. That one is an incredibly beautiful number that Julie Andrews sings perfectly. The original songs are integrated so well into the film that they fit perfectly in the era. More traditional World War I era songs are also used, no doubt all in the public domain by 1970.

Would that the score was attached to a better story. Wholesome Julie Andrews is a popular entertainer of the era, singing for the troops on the western front. She also doubles as a German spy. Her assignment which she accepts with gusto is to get involved with American air ace Rock Hudson and learn some military secrets. I think you can guess the rest.

Darling Lili lurches back and forth from cloak and dagger espionage to slapstick comedy in the extreme and it's an uncomfortable ride in the process. One of the characters is Lance Percival playing a drunken pilot in the Royal Flying Corps. I mean really, this guy should never have been in the RFC, the comedy which is good is severely out of place.

Film buffs will recognize some similarity to The Firefly and the British classic Dark Journey so if you know those films you know how this one ends. Fans of Rock Hudson and of Julie Andrews will like this and her singing is divine. The rest of Darling Lili is on a lesser plain.

Blake Edwards' multimillion dollar WWI-era romantic musical comedy drama spy adventure opus is uneven but pleasant

[s007davis · 7/10 · 24 November 2001]

Warning, this may contain spoilers.

DARLING LILI, writer/director Blake Edwards' megamillion dollar epic production valentine to his superstar wife Julie Andrews has gone down in Hollywood history as one of its biggest flops. (History would repeat itself a quarter-century later when director Renny Harlin did the same thing for his wife Geena Davis in the multimillion dollar dud CUTTHROAT ISLAND).

Its not difficult to understand LILI's initial box office failure. It's difficult to classify what genre DARLING LILI belongs in. Most often it gets labeled a musical but the songs take place in the context of someone(mostly Miss Andrews) performing. Never do they just "happen" with the background music coming from nowhere as in THE SOUND OF MUSIC. Not helping matters is the fact that the script by Edwards and Wm. Peter Blatty(A SHOT IN THE DARK) seems to keep changing its focus on exactly which film genre LILI belongs in. In fact, LILI often seems like a pastiche of other Edwards films. As with THE GREAT RACE, LILI is a big-budget lengthy, epic period piece set early in the 20th Century. It starts out as a very serious spy drama(like THE TAMARIND SEED). When Rock Hudson shows up, the film then turns into a gooey romance like BREAKFAST AT TIFFANY'S with the song "Whistling in the Dark" becoming LILI's "Moon River" equivalent. Then two bumbling French detectives appear a la Inspector Clouseau from THE PINK PANTHER series bringing in a dose of slapstick. Then with the arrival of the "Operation Crepe Suzette" issue, LILI becomes a bedroom farce in the VICTOR/VICTORIA mode. It all finishes with an exciting chase involving period cars, a train and WWI era airplanes making for the most entertaining sequence in the film.

Despite the rather odd jumbling of elements and moods(which reminds me of Leo McCarey's underrated 1942 WWII romantic comedy drama spy adventure film ONCE UPON A HONEYMOON), LILI has its redeeming features. The music score which features WWI favorites as well as an original score by Henry Mancini and Johnny Mercer is quite pleasant and humable. Russell Harlan's Panavision/Technicolor photography beautifully captures picture postcard views of France, Belgium and Ireland. Mr. Hudson and Miss Andrews both perform as well as the script allows them to although the chemistry that he shared with previous leading ladies Doris Day and Gina Lollobrigida and that she shared with previous leading men Dick Van Dyke and James Garner is conspicuously absent between the two leads. Jeremy Kemp(as he did in THE BLUE MAX and would again in THE WINDS OF WAR) embodies the old Hollywood adage that British actors make the best World War movie Germans.

In 1991, Edwards made a "director's cut" of DARLING LILI and that's the version broadcasted on television today. As of this date, the film has yet to be released on home video. I saw the original, longer version of LILI on television back in 1984 and I have to say this is one case where the director's cut(which is tighter, moves faster and has a shorter running time that suits its slight story better) is undoubtedly an improvement.

Rating: For the original version, ** out of ****.

For the director's cut, **1/2 out of ****.

Bottom line: Uneven but pleasant and worth seeing if one is a Julie Andrews fan. Just don't expect anything remotely reaching the quality of THE SOUND OF MUSIC or even THOROUGHLY MODERN MILLIE.

A FAIRLY GOOD FILM IN THE DIRECTOR'S CUT

[KatMiss · 16 May 2001]

Blake Edwards' "Darling Lili" is not a great film, but it is better than most people give it credit for. One of the most maligned productions in history (the aerial sequences took 2 years to film, the budget swelled to 3 times the original budget, various cuts of the film only add to the muddle), my final analysis is this: an underrated film whose reputation should soar once it's more widely seen.

This film exists in three versions: the original roadshow version (190 minutes)which Edwards disowned, the general release version (136 minutes)and Edwards' personal director's cut (113 minutes).

Tones shift between versions. The roadshow version had more talky sequences and was a numbing bore. The general release version deleted these sequences and was an improvement, but was still missing something. Edwards' cut was a great improvement. It is more serious in tone than the previous cuts, but the story concucted by Edwards and William Peter Blatty benefits from that approach. Julie Andrews is simply great as Lili, the singer/spy and her singing is at an all time high. Rock Hudson is excellent as her American pilot lover. Only after his inclination was exposed, did people take him seriously as an actor. But he was great all along. The songs by Henry Mancini and Johnny Mercer are strong as is the cinematography (by Russell Harlan, in Panavision)

Sadly, "Darling Lili" is not available on tape or DVD. But luckily for us, AMC shows this very often.

Roadshow version: 1/2* General Release: ** 1/2 Director's Cut: ***1/2

Funny and flirty

[HotToastyRag · 7/10 · 26 March 2020]

In an odd, comic take on Mata Hari's legendary fame, Julie Andrews stars as a well-loved British entertainer who seduces military leaders and passes on their secrets to the Germans. This movie doesn't take itself too seriously, so feel free to just tap your toe and enjoy Julie's fun musical numbers. It's also a Blake Edwards movie, so you can expect to be entertained by quick comedy and superb comic timing. In a famous scene, Rock Hudson gets so mad, he barges in on Julie Andrews in the shower to continue their argument.

In one of my favorite scenes, Julie has been tasked with delaying Rock at her house. She puts on a large act of seduction, but in order to stretch things out, she insists on getting literally swept off her feet. Rock struggles to pick her up and carry her through the rooms, since she continues to kiss him and pretends to be so engrossed in her task she doesn't know he's having trouble. It's pretty funny, as is much of the movie. The very best scene, though, is hands down the striptease. Julie gets jealous of Rock's other paramour Gloria Paul. Gloria's a stripper, and Julie watches a risqué dance, then recreates it onstage in her next performance! You won't be able to believe it until you see it: Julie Andrews bumping, grinding, and taking her dress off. I thought it was fantastic, and it almost earned her a Hot Toasty Rag nomination; but there were lots of heavy, dramatic performances that year and she didn't make it on the list.

You'll get to hear lots of fun songs that put you back in the wartime mood, and Henry Mancini's Oscar- and Rag-nominated "Whistling in the Dark" opens the film. And with two pretty people in the leads, and lots of smooching, you're in for an enjoyable, funny evening.

Uneven but much better than its reputation

[TheLittleSongbird · 6/10 · 24 October 2013]

Darling Lili may have been a major flop at the time, but to me it is not a bad film. Not great, uneven is a good way to describe it, but it is much better than its reputation. It is overlong, the comedy/slapstick scenes at times feel out of place and compared to the other themes that make up the film at odds with the rest of the film, the film can get muddled, the film can drag and Rock Hudson while likable is rather stiff- compared to his usual performances- and doesn't have the strongest of chemistrys with Julie Andrews(though not without its moments). Julie Andrews though is great though, her acting and presence are charming and she as ever sings like an angel. Lance Percival shines also in possibly his best film role and one of his best performances. The film looks gorgeous, the highlights being the marvellously shot aerial dogfight sequences and the visuals that accompany the song Whistling Away the Dark. The music is distinctive Henry Mancini, it fits the film adeptly and is a very memorable score and one you can re-visit more than once. Much has been said about the hauntingly beautiful Whistling Away the Dark, how Andrews sings it(like an angel and with so much nuance and emotion) and how it's staged and for good reason, simply put it's a beautiful song that is beautifully sung and beautifully staged. The script and the story aren't great but they're not disastrous either. The script is intelligent with some snappy moments, it didn't feel that talky, and the story at least has some entertainment value despite moments being muddled and the spy thriller, drama and musical themes being far more convincing than the comedy and romance ones. Overall, uneven but Darling Lili a decent film and is much better than it's made out to be, though it's somewhat easy to see why it was a flop. 6/10 Bethany Cox

Clunky and overblown but that voice!

[jjnxn-1 · 6/10 · 13 May 2013]

Colorful musical that is deficient in the script department, exactly why Julie is a spy is never really apparent and it really hurts the film. That being said the production design is beautiful as are some of Julie's costumes, it all seems overproduced and under-directed though. While the design is good a problem the film suffers from, and it was one many 60's musicals share, is that nothing looks lived in or used so it feels false from the beginning. Rock has been better elsewhere although that also is probably the fault of the script. What makes this worth sitting through is Julie and her voice which is exquisite and put to use on some lovely songs. "Whistling Away the Dark" in particular is haunting and beautifully staged if only the rest of the film was up to its brilliance this would have been something indeed.

A failed experiment

[kminsf · 4/10 · 20 November 2005]

Blake Edwards tried very hard to change Julie Andrews image in this film. He tried to make her sexy not realizing she already was. I think they were both still a bit irked that Julie had not been chosen to film her Broadway success of Camelot and was passed over as not being sexy enough. Unfortunately, they chose this vehicle to try and assuage this belief. It gets to the point where it is almost funny seeing Rock Hudson, who we all know now was gay, kissing Julie every 2 minutes throughout this movie. It seems now that they were not only trying to make you believe that Julie was a femme fatale but that Rock was straight. Sadly, they have absolutely no chemistry together and the unending kissing scenes start grossing one out. The other error they made with this picture was not knowing what kind of movie they were making. It is almost three separate movies. There is the drama of Julie as the German spy trying to get military secrets from Rock. There is an air war movie with lots of footage of WWI vintage planes swooping about and there is the stupid attempts at humor that Blake Edwards seems to think he has to insert in every one of his pictures whether it is appropriate or not, In this case, it was not. The only truly redeeming qualities in this film are looking at the always lovely Dame Julie and hearing her sing in that crystal clear bell-like soprano. Of course if you love her, you may overlook the weaknesses of this film just because of her. You can always tell yourself, afterward, that it was a hell of a lot better than sitting through STAR!

Stylish, Lovely and Moving; Satire With Comedy, Infectious Sense-of-Life

[silverscreen888 · 8/10 · 7 July 2005]

I suppose I like this film as well as any I know; it is not perfect, but under the title "The Americanization of Lily" this charming and memorable semi-musical satire might I suggest have been appreciated more, and still loved by those who recognized its special Blake Edwards'-produced spirit of gentleness, clever humor and solid narrative. The improbably but delightful story-line follows Lili Smith, a fringe-type spy for the Germans in a much simpler and less black-and-white war; Lili Schmidt passing as Smith is helping her Uncle who is patriotic too, for Germany but neither cruel nor political, merely opportunistic. Lili's target is William Larrabee, a charismatic U.S. squadron leader who can supply her valuable information. The plot thickens comes when Lili falls in love with Larrabee, has her eyes opened to the consequences of her playing spy, and sees the effects of combat on wounded men at a hospital and realizes what it might mean to his men whom she has met and likes. She gets jealous of a rival for Larrabee's affections, then realizes she can no longer do what she has been doing and gives up the spy business. The logical end of the film comes when after the terrible WWI has ended, as she sings the theme song of the film, "Wishing" in a darkened theater, one by one the members of Larrabee's squadron appear, including her lover himself, indicating they have forgiven her and their former opponents; and even Uncle Kurt enthusiastically joins in the singing of "It's a Long To Tipperraree", to indicate all is well with the world again. This is an audacious and sometime brilliant story idea, written by director Blake Edwards and William Peter Blatty of "John Goldfarb" fame; and it is a delightful narrative. Larrabee's squadron, including an inebriate who keeps crashing and other lovable types populate this lively film; and the feel of this stylish and glowing film is almost epic, both in its scope and realization. Credit must go to Jack Bear and Donald Brooks for their costume creations, Reg Allen and Jack Stevens for sets, Fernando Carrere for another beautiful production design, Henry Mancini for his sensitive and appropriate musical score, and to Russell Harlan for his shining cinematography. In the beautiful footage, the principal actors are Julie Andrews as Lili, Rock Hudson as Larrabee, Keremy Kemp outstanding as Lili's Uncle Kurt, Michael Witney, Lance Percival as the inebriate pilot, gorgeous Gloria Paul as Lili's stripteasing rival, and many other fine actors in smaller parts. It is hard to say enough nice things about the pace, or the cleverness of the just-this-side-of broad comedy; this element is introduced by Edwards to leaven the horrors of actual warfare, to example the almost comic-opera approach with which men made war back in a more innocent-minded era of human civilization.. This comedy also helps prepare the way for Lili's conversion from uncritical acceptance of a duty to the German state to acceptance of the reality of what she is doing and potentially what she may be causing. This is a rare "sense-of-life" film about Lili's "Americanization", her assertion of herself in the real world and then among others before tragedy can happen. It is haunting, I find, and beautiful in many ways. I consider it to be Blake Edwards'masterpiece of directing; and under the title "The Americanization of Lili" I believe with hardly any changes it might have been recognized as the polished sapphire of a film it is by every standard I know.

Don't Get the G Rating

[laurenat-1 · 7/10 · 26 April 2007]

I am an avid Julie Andrews fan and I just watched this for the first time on DVD -- the Director's Cut version. I was very surprised that it was rated G. How did they get bedroom scenes, a seduction story line, two strip tease acts, and war/shooting/blood into a G rating? Weird. I would rate it PG-13.

Other than that I thoroughly enjoyed the movie. It was a beautiful showcase of Andrew's voice and talent. The acting was great. The storyline was a little weak, leaving gaps that could have been filled with some good dialogue. There were too many "no talking, just walking" scenes for me... I would have liked to see the the relationship between Julie and Rock blossom, so that the intense love would be more believable.

Darling Silly

[ptb-8 · 4/10 · 5 August 2007]

David Bryce's comments nearby are exceptionally well written and informative as almost say everything I feel about DARLING LILI. This massive musical is so peculiar and over blown, over produced and must have caused ruptures at Paramount in 1970. It cost 22 million dollars! That is simply irresponsible. DARLING LILI must have been greenlit from a board meeting that said "hey we got that Pink Panther guy and that Sound Of Music gal... lets get this too" and handed over a blank cheque. The result is a hybrid of GIGI, ZEPPELIN, HALF A SIXPENCE, some MGM 40s song and dance numbers of a style (daisies and boaters!) so hopelessly old fashioned as to be like musical porridge, and MATA HARI dramatics. The production is colossal, lush, breathtaking to view, but the rest: the ridiculous romance, Julie looking befuddled, Hudson already dead, the mistimed comedy, and the astoundingly boring songs deaden this spectacular film into being irritating. LILI is like a twee 1940s mega musical with some vulgar bits to spice it up. STAR! released the year before sadly crashed and now is being finally appreciated for the excellent film is genuinely is... and Andrews looks sublime, mature, especially in the last half hour......but LILI is POPPINS and DOLLY frilly and I believe really killed off the mega musical binge of the 60s..... and made Andrews look like Poppins again... which I believe was not Edwards intention. Paramount must have collectively fainted when they saw this: and with another $20 million festering in CATCH 22, and $12 million in ON A CLEAR DAY and $25 million in PAINT YOUR WAGON....they had a financial abyss of CLEOPATRA proportions with $77 million tied into 4 films with very uncertain futures. Maybe they should have asked seer Daisy Gamble from ON A CLEAR DAY ......LILI was very popular on immediate first release in Australia and ran in 70mm cinemas for months but it failed once out in the subs and the sticks and only ever surfaced after that on one night stands with ON A CLEAR DAY as a Sunday night double. Thank god Paramount had their simple $1million (yes, ONE MILLION DOLLAR) film LOVE STORY and that $4 million dollar gangster pic THE GODFATHER also ready to recover all the $77 million in just the next two years....for just $5m.... incredible!

One of the best opening scenes EVER!!!!

[margaret-gallagher · 10/10 · 2 January 2003]

Yes, I am a romantic of sorts who likes musicals and comedy and this fit the bill! Julie Andrews gives a mesmerizing performance at the beginning and end of this film with the "Whistling in the Dark" production number. The sedate-to-outrageous number that she performs in the middle of the story when she believes that Rock Hudson has been seeing a dancing/call girl is eye-popping and will certainly make you giggle.

I only wish that this film could be found in video or DVD as I would surely purchase it in a heartbeat for my home library!

A very unique film! Pairing Julie Andrews and Rock Hudson in espionage

[jacobs-greenwood · 6/10 · 18 December 2016]

Directed and produced by Blake Edwards, who co-wrote the story with William Peter Blatty, I would hardly classify this unique film as a Musical, but I do agree that it's difficult to nail down to a single category.

Yes, Edwards's wife Julie Andrews is its star and she does sing a number of songs, but the plot is more espionage, with a corresponding romance, during World War I, than anything else. Plus, though it does contain the director's humorous touches not unlike those seen in his Pink Panther movies, the overall tone is quite a bit more serious.

The film, which received Academy Award nominations for its Costume Design, Score, and the Henri Mancini-Johnny Mercer Original Song "Whistling in the Dark", bombed at the box office which may be the reason Ms. Andrews didn't make another one until The Tamarind Seed (1974).

Andrews plays Lili Smith, aka Schmidt, a German spy who's well known as a patriotic British singer in Paris during the war. Smith was actually born in the "motherland", but raised since she was 10 in London. Her controller, and lover, is German Colonel Kurt Von Ruger (Jeremy Kemp), who works for General Kessler (Carl Duering), who's not sure he trusts the Londoner. Her latest assignment involves seducing an American flight commander, Major William Larrabee (Rock Hudson), to learn his squadron's plans. Larrabee's biplanes have had regular aerial conflicts with their German counterparts, one of which is the notorious ace Baron von Richtofen (Ingo Mogendorf), aka The Red Baron. These dogfights sequences are pretty good, though they do consume a lot of screen- time. It's at that point during World War I when these so called "silly little planes" have become strategic weapons, particularly for the Allies, while the Germans are still using Zeppelins for their bombing raids. Hence, Lili's assignment is to get information from Larrabee, whom she calls Bill.

During the course of the film, Andrews's character sings many songs: when performing one night at a theater, she engages the frightened (by a German bombing run) London crowd into singing a rousing rendition of "Pack up your troubles in your old kit bag and smile, smile, smile"; she even gets some British soldiers to join her on stage. Another time, she sings at a hospital for some injured soldiers. A young lieutenant (Michael Witney) gets Lili to sing "It's a Long, Long Way to Tipperary" in a Paris restaurant. The French even bestow upon her a "medal of freedom"-type honor for her patriotic deeds. It's safe to say that Lili is beyond reproach. In fact, two French secret service agents (Jacques Marin & André Maranne) actually ask for her assistance in their investigation of Major Larrabee as a possible spy! Herein lies most of the comic relief, since these two characters are a milder version of Inspector Clouseau; one of these actors (Maranne) was a Pink Panther series regular. The other slapstick scenes involve one of Larrabee's squadron members, dubbed T. C. (Lance Percival), who's mostly in a drunken haze.

Director Edwards chose to show the romance develop between Lili and Bill with largely wordless scenes (e.g. the two walk in the park holding hands while one hears only the film's score). It becomes clear that Lili has let her personal feelings affect her professional judgment. For instance, there is an important bit of information that Lili must extract from Bill, about an operation called Crepe Suzette. But, based on some information that Lili receives from Colonel Von Ruger, she suspects that Bill is two- timing her with a Paris striptease artist also named Crepe Suzette (Gloria Paul). The scene in which Lili witnesses Suzette perform is both sexy and funny, and prompts Lili into exhibiting herself during her next on-stage performance. There is a painfully long scene at a French château, during the rain no less, where Lili and Bill have escaped for a romantic weekend. Von Ruger turns up to give Lili some vital information while the French agents, Maj. Duvalle (Marin) and Lt. Liggett (Maranne), are also there to spy on the couple. After a falling out between the lovers, followed by some extended action sequences, everything works out fairly predictably in the end.

Bernard Kay and Doreen play Lili's butler and maid, respectively, who are also part of the spy team; Vernon Dobtcheff plays an assassin who works for Kessler.

Too Bad Lily

[EdgarST · 4/10 · 24 November 2012]

By 1970 Blake Edwards was in a creative crisis that would last until 1975 when he turned again to Inspector Closeau in "The Return of the Pink Panther". He was able to still make a couple of good films before he died (including one I am very fond of, "That's Life! "). His leading lady Julie Andrews and composer Henry Mancini would still have to wait until 1982 for "Victor/Victoria" to have a great success, and by then the superstar status of Rock Hudson (with a haircut too snobbish for his standardized screen persona) was non-existent. Shot in 1968 when students and workers were protesting everywhere around the globe (riots affected production, and it was moved from Paris to Brussels), the events unfortunately did not hint Edwards that the world was changing fast. By 1970, when it was released, nobody could care less for a spy comedy set during I World War, while the rubbing lips routine passing for kissing was not convincing in the days of "free love". Worse is that there was no chemistry between the two leading actors, and they were not even convincing: Andrews as a Mata-Hari type spy called Lili Schmidt, and Hudson as a don Juan and star pilot who fights Von Richtofen in the skies. Hudson even seems tired and bored, specially when he tells her that she is the most sensual and exciting woman he has ever met (with all respect to Miss Andrews, one cannot help but think of Gina Lollobrigida, Paula Prentiss, Claudia Cardinale, Leslie Caron, Cyd Charisse, Angie Dickinson, and other very attractive ladies who were paired with Hudson). It is a very sad affair because it seems everybody tried hard, but Edwards and his co-scriptwriter William Peter Blatty mixed too many elements, from slapstick to aerial battles and all kinds of film homages: Edward's own "The Pink Panther" (with two Clouseau's clones), Wise's "The Sound of Music" (an aerial shot of Andrews running through a field, a group of children chanting in the countryside... not even "Do-Re-Mi", but a forgettable song), or Donner's "What's New, Pussycat?" (the final sequence at the Château Chantel hotel), among others. As for Mancini, he tried the same strategy of another 1970 film he scored, Vittorio de Sica's "I girasoli", for which he overused his main theme: here Mancini took the beautiful song "Whistling Away the Dark" (which also sounds very good with French lyrics) as the leitmotiv, and it is insistently heard throughout, while the other songs he penned with Johnny Mercer are weak. Perhaps if all of them (Mancini, Mercer, Blatty and Edwards) had concocted a typical Edwardian sophisticated comedy, it would have worked. It did not, but at least eleven years later the whole mess inspired Edwards' very funny "S.O.B."

Not the Flop It Was Made Out to Be

[dweck · 12 January 1999]

It was 1970. Julie Andrews had hit her highs onscreen, and her star was starting to fade, at least in the public's eye. "Lili" represented another opportunity for Julie to change her image, coming right after the megamusical "STAR!" which didn't deserve the drubbing *it* received either.

Audiences didn't seem to care for this WWI musical drama. In fact, they were staying away in droves from ANY musical--drama or not.

The shame of it all is that this film, with its many classic moments, was stigmatized by the press who were gunning for Our Fair Julie and her new beau, writer/director/producer Blake Edwards.

But "Lili" really *is* worth seeking out. Julie sings beautifully, especially the haunting "Whistling Away the Dark," a lovely Henri Mancini tune that opens and closes the film. Her performance is nuanced and quite affecting--just watch her as a fat tear silently slides down her cheek after a 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 get Rock "into" midair. Edwards also can't seem to help himself from sliding into formulaic comedy bits (he apparently thinks a bumbling Frenchman with an umbrella on a roof in a rainstorm is hilarious--it shows up in film after film of his).

The reason to watch "Lili" is for its interesting spin on the Mata Hari legend and the performance of Miss Andrews, who certainly didn't deserve the brickbats that came her way following its release.

Darling Lili on blu-ray

[jucsetmai · 6/10 · 7 November 2020]

Good movie good golden years coming soon on paramount pictures mod blu-ray release December

A delightful look at Rock Hudson

[lastliberal · 6/10 · 3 February 2008]

Not a great film, but it did garner three Oscar nominations: Best Costume Design for Donald Brooks and Jack Bear; Best Song, "Whistling Away the Dark" with music by Henry Mancini and lyrics by Johnny Mercer and Best Score by the same two. Of course, The Beatles beat them out for son score with "Let It Be."

Julie Andrews as the spy was terrific, and Rock Hudson as the WWI flyer was equally good. They were supported ably by Jeremy Kemp as her handler.

It was funny and romantic and one of the most delightful films of the period.

Julie's "Star" quality made her a "Darling" whenever we heard her "Sounds of Music".

[mark.waltz · 6/10 · 1 November 2016]

Julie, Barbra and Liza all had musical film genius, but unfortunately, they came too late in the game. Julie managed a few years, while Barbra turned to comedy and Liza to concerts and Broadway to stay marketable, but other than Liza in "Cabaret", by the time this musical farce was made, musicals were really only for the gays and the grays. Fortunately, tides have turned, but for a while, it appeared that Julie was finished in film.

Realizing that the tides were turning in film themes, Julie wisely took on the opportunity to be a little more naughty. She was fun, but temperamental, as the real life stage legend Gertrude Lawrence in " Star!", and spoofs her goody goody image in this World War I spoof, playing a British singing star who is secretly (God forbid!) a spy for the Germans. But will love and jealousy for American pilot Rock Hudson change her tune? It's a friggin' Julie Andrews movie, so that answer is obvious!

Always ladylike even when showing off her boobies, Andrews gets to bare almost as much here. A gorgeous opening with the award winning song, "Whistling in the Dark", sets up her character, and she's soon calming down an audience with war standards. Julie sings more, and after a Disney like production number, "I'll Give You Three Guesses", is forced to burlesque it because of the raunchy act who might steal Hudson from her.

The flaws here are mainly some really dated comic stereotypes, reminding me of veteran European character actors such as Felix Bressart, Herman Bing and S.Z. Sakall, with one very close to the nefarious looking Conrad Veidt. Sometimes the farce is just too forced, like a man in a wheel chair suddenly flying by Julie as she finishes a song and two spies on the roof in the rain keeping an eye on Julie and Rock as they have a fight. Jeremy Brett has a few amusing moments as Julie's German contact, but as predicted, it gets a bit complicated and ends too smoothly. Director Blake Edwards needed to try a bit more subtlety, but for the most part, World War I films have generally been a hard sell.

The Three Faces of Darling Lilli

[Maciste_Brother · 3/10 · 26 March 2007]

Years ago, when DARLING LILI played on TV, it was always the pan and scan version, which I hated and decided to wait and see the film in its proper widescreen format. So when I saw an inexpensive DVD of this Julie Andrews/Blake Edwards opus, I decided to purchase and watch it once and for all.

Boy, what a terrible film. It's so bad and on so many levels that I really do not know where to start in describing where and when it goes so horribly wrong. Looking at it now, it's obvious to any fans of movies that Blake Edwards created this star vehicle for his wife simply because so many other directors had struck gold with Andrews in musicals (MARY POPPINS, SOUND OF MUSIC, THOROUGHLY MODERN MILLIE, etc) but also because Andrews was snubbed from starring in projects made famous on stage by Julie herself (CAMELOT, MY FAIR LADY, etc) because Hollywood thought she wasn't sexy or glamorous enough. So Blake created this stillborn effort, to showcase his wife in a bizarre concoction of spy story/war movie/romance/slapstick comedy/musical. DARLING LILI suffers from multiple personalities, never knowing who or what it is. Some specific scenes are good or effective but as a whole, it just doesn't work at all to a point of it being very embarrassing.

Mind you, the version on the DVD is the "director's cut", or in this case, "let's salvage whatever we can" from this notorious box office flop. In releasing the DVD, Edwards cut 19 scenes (19!!!!!!!!) from the original bloated theatrical version into this more streamlined and yet remarkably ineffective version. The film moves along with no idea of what it is. We are 25 minutes into it and we still don't know what's going on or why we're watching what's going. What kind of spy is Lili? How powerful is she? Was she ever responsible for someone's death? Instead we watch a thoroughly bored looking Rock Hudson trying to woo a thoroughly bored looking Julie Andrews. Things aren't helped much with the inexplicable reason why the two fall in love. Why does Julie fall for Hudson? Why him and not other men she got involved with? There should have been one of her ex hanging around, trying to win her back or trying to decipher her secret. This would have given us some much needed contrast to the muddled action. It would also have given us some impetuous to the sluggish proceedings. There's no catalyst in this story.

One only has to look at the cut scenes to clearly see that Edwards and the writer just came up with ideas inspired by Andrews' (and Edwards') previous successes. The best (or worst) example is the scene when Andrews and Hudson follow a group of children who sing in the middle of a forest. Edwards channeling SOUND OF MUSIC. It's no wonder he removed it from the DVD. Back in 1970, that scene might have worked on a certain level but today, that moment reeks of desperation. There are other plot elements directly inspired by Andrews/Edwards other films. The endless scenes of dogfights is inspired by the much better MODERN MILLIE. The musical moment "I'll give you three guesses" was created just to make fun of Julie's MARY POPPINS persona, which is turned "raunchy" with Julie doing a striptease in the act. The ending, bird's eye view of Julie running towards Hudson's plane, is another "wink" at SOUND OF MUSIC.

The whole thing is confusing. Julie plays a singer, born from a German father and British mother, who lives in England but sings her (English) songs in Paris. You never know exactly where the story takes place. Some moments are just badly edited. Like when Julie and her "uncle" are on horseback. They talk and talk and then Julie suddenly sprints off in mid-sentence. I'm like "what happened here?"

The comedy bits are unfunny and cringe-worthy. Every scene with the French police are pathetic. Where's Peter Sellers when you really need him. The action is badly thought-up. When Julie and her "uncle" are on their way to Germany on that train, Hudson's squadron and the German squadron reach the train (in daytime) at the same time even thought the train has been moving for hours and they left the night before. The French/German border is not that far. Anyway, that's one slow moving train there. The 'climax' is an entirely poorly executed moment.

The musical moments. The beginning is the best part of the entire film (and the reason I gave this film 3 stars) but its effect is diminished considerably because it's repeated at the end. Speaking of redundant, did we really need to see a can-can dance, Crepe Suzette stripping scene and Julie stripping too? The "Girl in no man's land" is OK even if it's bleeding obvious, but that moment just doesn't make any sense whatsoever because Lili sings it to a group of injured soldiers at a French hospital, making me wonder: how many soldiers there were injured indirectly by the result of her spying?

The whole project is listless and without energy. The romance is 100% unbelievable. Rock Hudson is way too old and tired looking (check out the museum scene). Julie looks dazed, like she's on Valium. But what really kills this ill-conceived project is Julie playing a German spy. Edwards desperately wanted to dispel the Mary Poppins syndrome afflicting his wife and believed that playing a traitor was a good career decision. As much as I like Julie, she's no Greta Garbo, who pulled it off so beautifully in MATA HARI. Funny enough, even if Julie plays a German spy, she still comes across as cloying and cute.

How bad is DARLING LILI? Even after 37 years since its release, Blake Edwards felt he still needed to work on it for its DVD release.

delightful pairing of Julie Andrews and Rock Hudson

[mnnoonan · 10/10 · 28 August 2005]

Julie Andrews plays a German spy who falls in love with an American pilot Rock Hudson, while on an assignment for Germany.

The songs are beautiful. The two are well-paired. Julie demonstrates a more temperamental side in this film than the nice girl she normally plays.

A half-German, half-English girl who sings beautiful and entertains the troops in WW I, Julie sings some endearing Mancini songs.

I loved the film. Some will say it's a "chick-flick," but so what. It's wonderful.

Supporting characters are somewhat stereotyped. It may not be up to Rock's performance in Pillow Talk, Magnificent Obsession, or Giant.

Blake Edwards shot the film in Ireland and authentic WW I -type planes were used in the film. Scenery for England and France is absolutely gorgeous.

German Spy To be awarded French Legion of Honor

[nelliebell-1 · 7/10 · 30 July 2008]

The story line to this offering suggests that World War 1 was the time(1914-1918) and place(European Continent)that the film,"Darling Lili" is set.There is no actual relationship to the World at War and the Motion Picture "Darling Lili" is for arguments sake merely the backdrop.This offer is perhaps a bit racy and if there is a fault it is allowing for such contrivances to be taken if you will seriously.Lili Schmidt or Lili Smith played by Julie Andrews portrays a popular entertainer who unbeknown to any is in fact a German Spy.It is made more undaunted the task, is that this masquerade is being performed in front of packed houses of both English and French citizens.A darkened theater opens with a spot light on Lili Smith as a Henry Mancini song,"Whistling away in the Dark" is performed.Its performance is approved off in rousing fashion with an enthusiastic applause.Lili Smith is on stage of course when a German dirigible is sited and it is suggestive of the outbreak of hostilities. Sirens Go off and people start to race for the exits in something of a near panic.In order to maintain some semblance of normalcy, Lili Smith while on stage engages the Orchestra with some well established favorites.There is a German U-Boat-U-29 that surfaces and establishes a formidable presence

when a German Espionage Agent disembarks the Sub.Played by Jeremy Kemp in one Col.Kurt Von Ruger.Ms.Lili arrives home only to be welcomed by

Col.Von Ruger.This virtual nest of vipers seems to suggest a hub of secret information which there is transmitting equipment on site.It is here that we learn that the face of the war is changing and indeed the war is moving to the air.Air planes are having an affect with The Red Baron and his infamous Tri-Winged being part of the conversation.This is in fact a planning by German Espionage Agents to infiltrate and usurp vital information as to the plans of the Allied Air Strategies.There is one,a Major Larrabe played by Rock Hudson whose Eagle Squadron have achieved some degree of success and whose brain she is out to pick.It is planned and indeed there is an attempt to meet Major Larrabe at his "informal headquarters",the café Cancan, when Lt.George Youngblood Carson almost steals the show when he introduces himself at the café CanCan.There is a lovely and enjoyable time on the screen in this particular action as a kiss is just a kiss but oh! what a kiss.Though almost put off when not present Major Larrabe irregardless arrives at Lili Smiths residence with an entire company of violin players,chefs and asks Ms.lili to a picnic at three in the morning.The two from that point on are very much involved with each other with a falling out being worth the price of admission.This price of admission is the cost to watch the entire film because there is nothing salacious as to these scenes however what is suggested is that the two are falling in Love.Apparently Lili Smith has gotten to involved, emotions get the better of her.The problem is not the fits of jealousy but that perhaps at first unwittingly Major Larrabe does not know what he is up against.His exploits in the field if you will however un-nerving this may of in fact been they are common conversation.There is one such admission by her Uncle, Von Ruger stating that the information is better than he hoped as a German Agent and as well there is the ever so encroachment of Lili Smith going into one room and talking on the telephone with Von Ruger while in the adjacent room she is kissing Major Larrabe.The concept of a divided loyalty is hard to ignore though that is what is accomplished.There is though another cause as to these fits of jealousy and in fact it is thought to be another women.Operation Crepe Suzette is thought at least initially to be a top secret military operation when in fact Crepe Suzette played by Gloria Paul is a Dance Hall Entertainer.Gloria Paul as Crepe Suzette does a very seductive strip tease number whereby Lili Smith,who is in the audience fumes and then she,Lili Smith that is, adopts the strip tease for her own show. A very sentimental song is sung by Lili Smith at a Hospital with many wounded and all are in wheelchairs on a lawn.The song, "The Girl in No Mans Land" is in fact about "the distance between the two sides(British-French on one side)(German) trenches along the Western Front."This is where the Chlorine and Mustard Gas attacks occurred,it was as well where much of the war was fought,in the trenches.The land in between and not protected by a trench was called No Mans Land.It is somewhat hard to tell what gets her goat more is it that the information she is divulging to her uncle or if in fact there is anything to this relationship. Nearing the end while on a train attempting to escape to Switzerland,both Her Uncle and Lili Smith are being held at gun point by a German Agent.The Train has been targeted by the German Air Force and is indeed attacked.The German Agent was killed by the strafing with a subsequent attack beaten off by the arrival of Eagle Squadron.In one of the many heroic gesture's Major Larrabe throws his flying helmet and scarf to the ground as Lili Smith runs across an open field to pick it up.The final scene is demanding as now the headlines read "Infamous Spy to Perform"This most certainly is a stretch as even here her uncle is in the audience singing while all the while peace has been declared.It is to me a rather difficult task to ask such things but to ask such things this picture does.Whatever there is here it certainly was not there then and indeed this is merely a sort as such however entertaining it ultimately proves itself to be.

Pathetic farce

[tmh1918 · 1/10 · 20 March 1999]

An obvious vanity press for Julie in her first movie with Blake. Let's see. Where do we begin. She is a traitor during a world war; she redeems that by falling in love; her friends (who are presumably patriots because they are German citizens) are expendable and must die; and she winds up as a heroine. OK. The scenes with the drunken pilot and the buffoons who work for French intelligence can't even be described, and we won't even mention Rock's romantic scenes with a female. (By the way, when they visit a museum, look at his gaze - I reran it on video and it's priceless). Is it a farce or is it a romantic classic or is it a war movie? I don't know and you won't either.

A better movie than it's reputation

[Donaldm608 · 9/10 · 28 October 2005]

I always loved this film. The music,story and the action. I especially love the opening and closing of the film. The music stayed with me throughout the years. The WWI plane battles were great and the comedy is typical Blake Edwards. Slaptick is his forte' after all. Julie's singing is amazing and keeps me glued to the screen. The sets and the scenes are wonderful. The characters are appealing. I loved the scene with the wounded soldiers and Julie's singing to them. I wish she sang to me in Vietnam. I also enjoyed the old cars from the period and the WWI music.I was glad when the DVD arrived. Now I can whistle in the dark watching it again and again.

Blake Edwards Had the Right Idea!

[spookyrat1 · 6/10 · 15 June 2020]

As many would be aware there's 3 versions of this film. A (Can you believe it?) 3 hour+ original roadshow version which was last seen around the traps eons ago, the theatrical version of 136 minutes edited by Paramount and a 107 minute director's cut, which I haven't seen. I'm reviewing the the most commonly seen, theatrical cut, which Paramount wanted to distribute primarily as a musical to cash in on Julie Andrews's general popularity. In my opinion they should have stuck with director Blake Edwards's idea of eschewing most of the music and comedy sub-plots and concentrated on producing a darker war time romance, perhaps best imagined as a predecessor to something like 2016's very passable Robert Zemeckis directed Allies.

I have to be honest. The roadshow version must have been dire. I just couldn't imagine Darling Lili going on for almost another hour. As it is, it is way too padded out. The Rock/Julie courtship seems to go on interminably any way, before he finally sweeps her off her feet and carries her passionately towards the bedroom. Much of the singing footage doesn't really stand out much either and the comic stuff is strictly third rate material which was likely out-takes from Edwards's Pink Panther movies. In other words, mainly visual gags we've all seen before.

Having said that Darling Lili still has quite a bit going for it and is not quite the disaster, the early critics would have had you believe. It's wonderful to look at and has amazing visuals and glorious cinematography from Russel Harlan. This includes the fine aerial combat content with Rock Hudson's Major William Larrabee, a top American pilot flying with the British Royal Flying Corps and running into encounters with The Red Baron among others. The costuming and the selected locations (mainly Ireland and Belgium) can only be described as splendid. Rock and Julie do make a great pair and have a fun sexy chemistry, though as mentioned earlier, the preliminaries were endless and repetitive. We'd already got the message that they were very fond of each other, at least 30 minutes earlier.

I need to do myself a favour now and try and see the Edwards director's cut at some stage in the future. It sounds like it's going to make an interesting contrast with this version.

Costly, but of little value.

[dkelsey · 1/10 · 2 January 2011]

This film is an unstructured ragbag which is not a musical, nor a romantic comedy, nor a spy thriller, nor a war movie, nor a spoof, nor a slapstick comedy, although it does try to be all of these, mostly sequentially but sometimes, Lord help us, simultaneously. Miss Andrews' acting abilities are untaxed by the weak script, and she spends much of the overlong time of the film singing songs which would not be out of place in "Mary Poppins." The aerial sequences are obviously expensive but unexciting. The film is a work which shrieks self-indulgence and lack of discipline, which, alas, is so often the case when the credits read "Produced, written, AND directed by . . ."