Sue Lyon, the actress and actress of the 1962 film Lolita, confirmed her death in Los Angeles on December 26 at the age of 73.
Her life is closely linked to a film based on banned books.
"Lolita, the light of my life, the fire of my desires. My sin, my soul..."
This sentence is one of the most famous opening statements in all Western literature.
It comes from the Russian-American writer Nabokov's 1955 novel Lolita, one of the most widely circulated and controversial novels in history, and once banned.
In the book, Nabokov describes the almost morbid fascination of an adult man with a 12-year-old underage girl.
The manuscript was initially rejected by numerous American publishers, and even The New Yorker magazine, which had signed a launch deal, refused to publish it.
(Pictured below are stills from 1962 Lolita)
After several twists and turns, "Lolita" was finally favored by a Paris publishing house, but it was listed as a banned book in britain, Argentina and other countries.
However, with the passage of time, this novel, which was once only found in the small book stalls in Paris, has become more and more influential in the world literary world because of its beautiful brushstrokes and sad and special themes, which has resonated with countless literary lovers, and finally became a bestseller in several countries, including France and the United States...
At that time, the American "Vanity Fair" magazine said this: the only love story of this century.
In 1962, film maestro Stanley Kubrick (who also directed Clockwork Orange and 2001: A Space Odyssey) decided to adapt the controversial novel to the big screen.
Choosing the heroine of this movie is crucial.
She must be young and complex, like a wild rose waiting to bloom, innocent, naïve and full of temptation, so that the male protagonist can not give up even if he violates morality.
In order to find the perfect "Lolita" in his mind, Kubrick interviewed more than 800 actresses before and after.
In the end, 14-year-old Sue Lane stood out as the heroine of the movie Lolita.
(Kubrick on the left and Sue Lane on the right)
Sue Lane came from the bottom of American society at the time, her father died young, her mother was a hospital nurse, and she used her meager salary to raise five children, including Sue Lane.
Because of the family's financial constraints, Sue Lane worked as a model while going to school to share the pressure for her mother. It was then that she came across Lolita.
At that time, Sue Lane was a beautiful girl with an uncompromising beauty.
A pair of lips with stubbornness, eyes pure and desired:
Exactly as Nabokov wrote in Lolita,
"She can fade, she can wither, she can do anything. But I only looked at her, and all the tenderness came to my heart..."
To meet the needs of film release, Kubrick also based on the hays code of the time (a set of codes for censoring the moral values of American cinema).
Changed Lolita's age in the movie from 12 in the novel to 15.
(This was the set of Lolita at the time.)
Finally, the film was bought by MGM and released in the United States on June 13, 1962.
Originally, the film estimated that the box office revenue was about $2 million, but it caused a sensation among the audience, and the box office was hot, and soon soared to $9 million.
The film's screenwriter and original author, Nabokov, received an Oscar nomination for best adapted screenplay that year.
Sue Lane also won the Hollywood Foreign Film Journalists Association's Most Promising Female Newcomer Award and the Golden Globe Award for Best Newcomer for her role as "Lolita", who is pure and provocative and naïve in her superficiality.
Sue Lane became a hit.
From an obscure girl, she has become an idol star sought after by countless fans.
Wearing red sunglasses and licking a lollipop on the movie poster, she became a classic image of her screen.
At that time, the media magazines rushed to interview her and asked her to pose the same pose:
Later, "Lolita" was also remade in other versions,
The 1997 version is particularly well known. ↓
However, many viewers feel that dominique Swan, the actor of the 1997 version of Lolita, although the same "appearance is against the sky and pure desire", but it is not as pure as the girlish purity of the 1962 Sue Lane version of Lolita.
(Below is the first 1962 edition on the left, and the 1997 edition on the right)
It is said that "fame should be early", but unfortunately, the later Sue Lane did not think so.
While "Lolita" successfully sold at the box office, the suspicion of "pedophilia" in the film was also questioned by critics.
With the fame of "Lolita", the "vase" image is deeply rooted in people's hearts, and few directors have asked her to play roles that challenge her acting skills.
Later, although she successively starred in films such as "Wushan Stormy Night", "Seven Women", "Tony Rome", etc., they were far less famous than "Lolita".
(Stills from "Tony Roma" below)
In 1980, the disheartened Sue Lane announced the end of her acting career and completely quit the show business circle.
As a generation of goddesses who once attracted the attention of thousands of people,
The hasty end of her acting career has been regrettable, and her emotional life has not been smooth.
Sue Lane was married five times, and her first husband, Hampton Vancher, was an American actor and producer who was divorced because of his personality:
The most incredible marriage was her third husband, Cotton Adamson.
During their relationship, Cotton was sent to a Colorado state prison on charges of murder.
At that time, relatives and friends warned Sue Lane that it was a very risky thing to be with this man, but Sue Lane still married Cotton against all odds and held a wedding in prison...
It shocked the media.
This obstinate marriage lasted only a year. After Cotton was released from prison, he did not reform, and soon committed robbery...
Later, Sue Lane blamed the failure of her emotional life on "Lolita", which she beat 800 actresses at the age of 14.
She said: "My personal destruction can be traced back to Lolita, playing a schoolgirl in a pedophile fantasy of an adult man who ruined my life.
I played Lolita at 14, and at 15 I became a sexual symbol, and it's going to be hard to try to live a normal emotional life..."
Sue Lane's remarks, in the 1990s, before the #MeToo movement was even in vogue, garnered the support of a large number of film industry insiders.
They argue that Hollywood movies should promote the right values of family love, rather than exploring pedophilia and violence.
Thus Lolita, though artistically valuable, has been criticized for its ideological form, which has also influenced Sue Lane's personal life.
With today's Hollywood atmosphere, directors who are afraid of trouble may not be able to remake this movie again.
The status of the first edition of Lolita in 1962 is irreplaceable.
Although Sue Lane may not be willing to admit that as the heroine of the first version of "Lolita", the most beautiful appearance of her youth is because of this movie she hated and will go down in history.
Now she could finally wave goodbye to resentment.
A generation of goddesses, all the way good.
ref:
https://www.mirror.co.uk/3am/celebrity-news/sue-lyon-dead-lolita-actress-21173805
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/correctness-fears-keep-lolita-under-wraps-1308824.html
https://www.haaretz.com/life/film/.premium.MAGAZINE-who-would-dare-remake-lolita-in-the-age-of-metoo-1.6006690
http://www.angelfire.com/la2/annettecentral/biography.html
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Qiciavemmm but I don't think it was this movie that ruined her life, but her origins and the relationship with which she didn't receive a good education
Cat toast potato chips: But it's really lustful and beautiful
Qiciav: Fame is too early and there is no real guardianship behind her good people, and many child stars have a pretty miserable ending
Edwin: Thinking of "Soul Break Venice", it is also a beautiful teenager, because of a beautiful and legendary character, ruined his life.
Zhang Guoqing looks at the world: being labeled with a special label early, coupled with a special atmosphere of social public opinion, is indeed a troublesome thing...