Madame X

Director– David Lowell Rich

Starring – Lana Turner, John Forsythe, Ricardo Montalban

Country of Origin- U.S.
 

Distributor - Kino Lorber

Number of discs –  1

Reviewed by - David Steigman

Date- 06/20/2019

Based on the 1908 play, Madame X is a film that has been made at least a half a dozen times from 1920 to 1981. The various incarnations of the movie were not just made in North America, but in other countries as well. The story is so powerful, so tragic and well thought out that I can see why many directors wanted to remake the film with their own vision without severely altering the main plot  

Madame X, from 1966, stars Lana Turner and John Forsythe in the similar story of a middle-lower class woman marrying a wealthy man, has a child, who commits adultery and is forced into exile when her affair has been found out and her lover is killed. In this version, Holly Parker (Lana Turner) is the woman has an affair with playboy Phil Benton (Ricardo Montalbán of Fantasy Island fame) because her husband Clayton Anderson (John Forsythe) is always away on business and is lonely. Benton is accidently killed by Holly leading to her already disapproving mother-in-law, Estelle Anderson (Constance Bennett) harshly talking to her to the point of severe verbal abuse. She blackmails Holly into completely vanishing off the radar, changing her identity and leaving her husband and son. As the years go by, Holly lives a life of despair and depravity, getting involved with sleazy people, particularly a ruthless manipulator Dan Sullivan (Burgess Meredith), who knows who Holly is and plans to blackmail her former family. This leads to the all too familiar and ironic ending, which is powerful no matter what version of Madame X you decide to give a spin to.

Madame X, under the direction of David Lowell Rich is another excellent offering of the film giving the film a more modernized (for 1966) look to it. This version plays out more of a day time soap opera style of filmmaking, whereas the earlier ones were made during the pre-code era and a lot of raw, gritty energy behind it. The acting as one would expect is sensational, with each actor playing their parts perfectly. Constance Bennett is outstanding playing Holly’s mean, wicked mother-in-law. Lana Turner as Holly is phenomenal and potentially can be a tear jerker for fans of romantic melodramas. Her acting during the trial scene is unforgettable. The facial expressions by the actors when they realize Madame X is the long lost Holly are priceless. Frank Skinner, who did the musical scores for Portrait in Black, turns in another lively score in this film.

Courtesy of Kino Lorber, Madame X receives its first domestic release on Blu-ray. It’s actually quite similar to their Portrait in Black release when it comes to the audio, video and extras. The image, in its original widescreen 1:85:1 aspect ratio is a revelation, featuring bold, deep rich colors with excellent details to the scenery. Greens and reds are especially strong, although greens tend to be a tad too dominating. There are a few spots of film grain and speckles during the presentation but nothing that will deter from the viewing experience. Skin tones also look accurate and detailed in close-ups. Except for one scene around the one hour mark which is really grainy, it’s a clean, robust image throughout.

The English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 track, which is more or less a given with Kino Lorber releases is also excellent. The sound quality is strong with the dialog, music and other sounds coming in crisp and clear without any issues. The music tends to sound more aggressive during the intense scenes. Optional English SDH subtitles are included as well. 

Extras are few but they are of great value. We get an audio commentary by film historians Lee Gambin and Emma Westwood, who also did a commentary for Kino Lorber’s Portrait in Black Blu-ray. They give a lot of insight to the making of the film, stories about the cast and crew with great enthusiasm and certainly worth a listen.

A theatrical trailer for Madame X is part of the supplemental package along with trailers for other Kino Lorber releases: Foxfire, Female on the Beach, Captive City, and Portrait in Black.

Madame X is another solid offering from Kino Lorber and is more than worthy of adding it to your collection, and we should be thankful that we have Kino Lorber making them available on Blu-ray.