Cinema: Twist of Lemmon

The Notorious Landlady. "Oyme jus' the parlor mide," says Kim Novak in her best Berlitz cockney. "Are you a sleep-in maid?" asks arch Jack Lemmon, with his eyes doing the twist. "Coo, yew Yanks do kum raht aout wiv it, don't yew?" wuffles the new Eliza Doolittle. "Well, most of it, anyway," says Lemmon, a film comedian who knows how to throw away a line before it deserts him.

Kim pretends to be a cockney slavey only to get this beguiling if hokey mystery-comedy off to a start. As Mrs. Carlye Hardwicke, an American,...

Want the full story?

Subscribe Now

Subscribe
Subscribe

Learn more about the benefits of being a TIME subscriber

If you are already a subscriber sign up — registration is free!