Top cast:Edward Dillon,D.W. Griffith,George Gebhardt
Director:Spike Lee
Genre:Film-Noir
Region:Netherlands
Year:2009
Storyline:] Young women raise a glass of Pike""s Pale to him, smile engagingly and flutter their eyelids, look enticely at him, pass his table with swinging hips, drop their handkerchiefs, or try o socially engage him in conversation.] As he looks up at the portrait, she begins to casually disrobe and asks for assistance:Mrs.Robinson: Will you unzip my dress? I think I""ll go to bed.Ben (terrified): Oh well, goodnight.(He turns away.)Mrs.Robinson: Won""t you unzip my dress?Ben: I""d rather not, Mrs.Robinson.Mrs.Robinson (imperiously): If you still think I""m trying to seduce you...?Ben: No, I don""t, but I just feel a little funny.Mrs.Robinson: Benjamin.You""ve known me all your life.Ben: I know that but I""m...Mrs.Robinson: Come on.It""s hard for me to reach.(He complies and pulls the zipper down.) Thank you.Ben: Right.Mrs.Robinson: What are you so scared of?Ben: I""m not scared, Mrs.Robinson.Mrs.Robinson: Then why do you keep running away?Ben: Because you""re going to bed.I don""t think I should be up here.Mrs.Robinson: Haven""t you ever seen anybody in a slip before?Ben: Yes, I have, but I just...Look, what if Mr.Robinson walked in right now?Mrs.Robinson: What if he did?Ben: Well, it would look pretty funny, wouldn""t it?Mrs.Robinson: Don""t you think he trusts us together?Ben: Of course he does, but he might get the wrong idea.When they first meet and are introduced to each other at a rehearsal, he speaks first: "It""s an honor, madam, to sing with you.The film was nominated for four Academy Awards (with no wins in the year of the victoriousGone With the Wind), including Best Picture, Best Actress (Greta Garbo with her fourth and last unsuccessful nomination), Best Original Story (Melchior Lengyel), and Best Screenplay (co-writer Billy Wilder""s first of a career 21 nominations).Laughton""s extensive make-up ook 2 1/2 hours each day to apply.Laughton had also appeared in another Victor Hugo film adaptation,Les Miserables (1935).A Tale of Two Cities (1935), another Hugo-based film adaptation, closely rivaled this 1939 classic.The historical costume adventure-drama (with a love quadrangle of sorts) also contained an element of horror - in the character of the deformed bellringer, although the real ""monster"" in the movie was the manipulative, treacherous, scheming and villainous Chief Justice (Jean Frollo), who was possessed by crazed homicidal urges stemming from unrequited love.