After winning the Best Actress Oscar in 1964 for Mary Poppins, and starring in The Sound of Music, the following year, Julie Andrews tried to change her “squeaky clean” screen image with this World War I musical, directed by her husband, Blake Edwards.
Andrews plays Lili Smith, a popular British music hall singer, who includes striptease in her act. However, Lili has a secret: she’s actually a German spy, and the uncle she’s involved with is actually Von Ruger (Jeremy Kemp), an espionage agent and her contact for the Huns.
Hoping to gain valuable information, Lili begins using her feminine mystique on Maj. William Larrabee (Rock Hudson), a top American pilot. However, Lili soon discovers that she’s falling in love with Larrabee and can’t betray him. When Larrabee discovers Lili’s secret, he refuses to turn her in.
Darling Lili was a huge box-office flop, grossing a mere $5 million on a budget of $25 million.
Director Edwards later trimmed the 136-minute film to 114 minutes, downplaying its comic elements,
Credits
MPAA: G
Running time: 130 Minutes
Directed By: Blake Edwards
Screenplay:William Peter Blatty, Blake Edwards
DVD: October 25, 2005
Paramount
