Un vent froid en été

Kael in "Kiss Kiss Bang Bang," Waters in (I think) "Crackpot." Ever since I saw Kael's comment (circa 1970), I've wanted to see this. I finally tracked down a DVD pirated from TBS. And it was worth the wait. Yes, it's florid and overstated, but so is opera, and this is the film equivalent of "Traviata": older, "experienced" woman, young man who can't deal with her experience. It reminded me of "Who Killed Teddy Bear?" in that it's another film that is much better than it should be. I can't really say that Albright gives a good performance, but it is a great one, at least in its impact. Her lack of depth feels right for this character, more right than a more subtle performance would have been. It's a paradox of this kind of film.

The film is also surprising frank for 1961. No euphemisms here. Even the boy's father understands what's going on, and is amazingly understanding about it. It's adult, not just in its subject matter, but in its refusal to be coy about it.

I do want to point out one problem with the film. Scott Marlowe's character is supposed to be 17, but Marlowe was about 29 when he made this. Albright was only 7 years older, so you don't get the effect of the age difference, and Marlowe just feels too old to be so innocent. But it's not a killer problem.

Just watched this movie that I first read about in one of Pauline Kael's books of collections of her movie reviews. I can't remember what she said about it but I don't remember her panning it either. Anyway, it stars Lola Albright-who was one of the stars of the TV show "Peter Gunn" at the time-as a stripper who lives in a good apartment and Scott Marlowe as the 17-year-old kid who has an affair with her not knowing anything about her profession. They both are quite good, especially Ms. Albright, though like some of the other reviewers here, I did think Marlowe seemed a little old to play a late teen. Part of me also thought the ending seemed a little abrupt though that might have been due to the low budget nature of the film and that it's adopted from a novel that probably had a few more additional passages after that end. Still, director Alexander Singer guides the drama fairly well with the help of the jazzy score by Gerald Fried, melodramatic though it may have seemed at times. And Ms. Albright sure turns up the steam every time she appears, doesn't she? So on that note, I highly recommend A Cold Wind in August.

Lola Albriight had a way about her. Physically, she wasn't unlike the two other most intriguing second-string sex symbols of the period, Angie Dickinson and Sheree North. But what set Albright apart from all the rest was her humor. Humor in a woman is rarely considered as seductive a quality as it is in a man, with L.A., however, it happened to be the case. And what made her (and it) so truly special was that as an actress she made the audience see that it was a defense mechanism for her character as well - a protection against her deepest, darkest emotions.

This is what made her the most smoking hot of Hollywood's post-WW II actresses. And the most criminally under-utilized. And underrated.

Rating: The Movie gets a 6

In her best role: L.A.'s contribution is a 10 for all time.

Composite: 7.5

Lola, if you're out there, I hope you're listening.

This is a movie that was in it's time full of meaning for teenagers and young men. Lola Albright gave a stunning performance as the"older woman" and this film was as good as the book for a change. If and when it becomes available on video I will certainly buy it and hope that it still gives the same thrill as it did in the 60's

Impressive and bold B movie with a fantastic performance from a glowing, Lola Albright. A name that meant nothing to me and although I see she is still working today, her medium has mainly been TV, but why? Maybe this film was just a bit too strong for the time and she never got the attention she should have from it. The story of a young guy with an older woman, nothing new but here dealt with particularly well with no moralising. Much is clearly low budget stuff with some pretty poor 'teenage' scenes but all the scenes involving the gradual seduction and those of the later striptease are shot with astonishing attention to detail and sizzle before you. From her very first advances with the naked foot upon his hand to the startling, aforementioned, strip, these are some of the most sensually shot scenes I have seen in film. Ending is uncompromising too, which comes as a relief.