Plot Details: This opinion reveals minor details about the movie's plot.

The Roman Spring of Mrs. Stone was taken from a story by Tennessee Williams. The film revolves around Karen Stone, aging actress. Fleeing the disappointment and embarassment of a failing career, the middle-aged Karen takes a plane trip to Europe, accompanied by her husband/manager. Adding to her delicate emotional state, her husband dies en route. Vivien Leigh gives an excellent portrayal of this woman who feels that not only her career, but also her beauty and desirability, is slipping away.

Mrs. Stone takes up residence in Rome but does not find the beauty of Rome or her considerable wealth enough to combat the hopelessness she feels. Thinking that Karen needs male companionship to boost her ego, her friend Meg (Crystal Browne) arranges for the fragile widow to meet the Contessa Magda Terribili-Gonzales (Lotte Lenya). The Contessa chooses a companion, Paolo di Leo (Warren Beatty) from her stable of young men. Although all arrangements are made in a pseudo-refined manner, everyone involved is aware that Mrs. Stone is expected to pay for the attentions of her young man. This she does, showering him with expensive clothing and jewelry. She also falls helplessly in love with Paolo.

When the vain gigolo finds that Karen is fearful that he will desert her, he treats her with open contempt, threatening to leave and even harm her in order to obtain more and more possessions and money. Karen accepts Paolo's cruelty as if she has no other choice, resigning herself to her fate. She spends her time alternately hating and loving him while cultivating a terrible self-loathing for her weakness. In one scene, Paolo mocks Karen with the idea of murdering her and she reveals her deep despair when she says, "After three more years of this, assassination would be a convenience.". Eventually, despondent over Paolo's attention to a younger woman, Karen ends the film with a brilliant plot twist which retains the dark mood of the film.

In The Roman Spring of Mrs. Stone, Vivien Leigh conveys a level of emotion that is very unsettling. This may be due to the fact that offscreen she, who was 48 years old, might have identified strongly with her character. Leigh was going through the last phases of a divorce from Laurence Olivier, who was engaged to marry a younger woman. Leigh was also wrestling with the demons of a mental illness, manic-depressive disorder. The stresses of Leigh's real life could very well account for the unnerving realism of her performance.

Actress Lotte Lenya is wonderful as the vile and greedy Contessa. This role earned Lenya a well-deserved Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actress. Warren Beatty, as the young Paolo, is not quite believable as the young gigolo. While he certainly fit the bill in his appearance and youth, his bad Italian accent and overly dramatic ravings do not do the film justice. Director Jose Quintero did a masterful job in this film, taking full advantage of the classic beauty of Rome as a backdrop to this drama.

Due to the subject matter of the film, I would not recommend it for children. However, The Roman Spring of Mrs. Stone is a must-see for any adult Vivien Leigh fan.




Recommended: Yes

Viewing Format: VHS
Suitability For Children: Not suitable for Children of any age