X as in Madame

Lana Turner excels as the sacrificial wife and mother in this superb hanky soaker, released in 1966. Madame X plays like a Sirk melodrama but they couldn't get the master to helm, so David Lowell Rich got the job and it's obvious he knew his way around a melodrama. The source material was a 1908 play that received a few cinematic versions, none as good as this one.

All the costars are formidable in their roles: Burgess Meredith as sleaze personified, Ricardo Montalbán as the oily lover, John Forsythe as the good guy unwittingly obedient to his duplicitous mother, played by Constance Bennett.

Keir Dullea rounds out the perfect cast.

The movie got mixed reviews. Pauline Kael was particularly scathing toward Lana: "She's not Madame X; she's brand X; she's not an actress." Now if Pauline had said this (or similar) about early Lana performances (and maybe she did) I'd have agreed a hundred percent. But I think older Lana was better at her craft and I have to give her credit for going from cutesy sweater-girl parts to older lady roles, no easy feat in old Hollywood. She fills the super-weepy, over-the-top bill here, often as a haggard has-been with frowsy hair and harsh makeup.

Constance Bennett, who plays Lana's mom-in-law, deserves a special mention. Bennett landed in movies as part of Hollywood royalty. Her father, Richard, was an actor and producer. But it's her sister, Joan, who is most likely to be remembered. She starred in a wonderful duo of Fritz Lang noirs in the 40s, then transitioned, seemingly effortlessly, into mature roles, including as the mom in Father of the Bride (1950).

Constance glided nicely from pre-code kewpie doll roles to madcap socialite parts to her last role as the sophisticated and scheming mother-in-law in X. As Estelle, she's busy doing what she thinks is best for her beloved son (John Forsythe) and grandson (Keir Dullea). Estelle is on my list of the worst mothers in movies. I'll write them up another day but for now here are some good or at least well-intended cinema moms -

Thanks for reading!