Darling
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Julie Christie created one of the indelible images of Swinging London in this disapproving yet glamorous look at a fashion model ascending the social ladder.
“There is something of Diana Scott in almost every modern woman who is interesting enough and interested enough to speculate about the meaning of her existence.”
Andrew Sarris, The Village Voice, 1965
A billboard poster fund-raising for starving African children is pasted over with an advert for a fashion model’s tell-all memoirs. In this wordless opening, John Schlesinger’s drama sets out its seemingly critical stance towards London’s glitterati.
Thanks to Julie Christie’s mesmerising, Oscar-winning presence, however, the film then swoons over its plush international lifestyles as its somewhat vapid heroine seduces her way to a fortune. This unresolved ambiguity makes the film a key document of the moment London’s Swinging Sixties hit their peak, while also rendering its storytelling rather problematic in retrospect. Still, its portrayal of elastic morals, homosexuality and even a Parisian sex party marked a watershed in the acceptance of permissive subject matter within the cinematic mainstream.
Julie Christie played far more sympathetic objects of desire in Billy Liar (1963) and Far From the Madding Crowd (1967), both directed by Schlesinger.
Cast & credits
Cast
- Robert Gold Dirk Bogarde
- Miles Brand Laurence Harvey
- Diana Scott Julie Christie
- Prince Cesare Della Romita José Luis de Vilallonga
- Malcolm Roland Curram
- Alec Prosser-Jones Basil Henson
- Felicity Prosser-Jones Helen Lindsay
- Curzio Carlo Palmucci
- Gino Dante Posani
- Paolucci Umberto Raho
- Paris party woman Marika Rivera
- Sean Martin Alex Scott
- Kurt Ernst Walder
- Basil Willett Brian Wilde
- Estelle Gold Pauline Yates
- Lord Alex Grant Peter Bayliss
- Rupert Crabtree Richard Bidlake
- Tony Bridges, first husband Trevor Bowen
- Billie Castiglione Annette Carbell
- Raoul Maxim Jean Claudio
- Carlotta Hale Georgina Cookson
- Basildon charity M.C. James Cossins
- Julie Jane Downes
- Walter Southgate Hugo Dyson
- Charles Glass David Harrison
- Mrs Glass Irene Richmond
- Sybil Martin Ann Firbank
- William Prosser-Jones Tyler Butterworth
- Ivor Dawlish Angus Mackay
- Helen Dawlish Margaret Gordon
- theatre director John Schlesinger
- art critic Vernon Dobtcheff
- art critic Christopher Greatorex
- Leslie Page Brian Moorehead
- governess to Cesare family Helen Stirling
- customs officer John Woodvine
- Jane Jane Pearl
- cast member Ray Lovelock
- cast member Silvia Dionisio
Credits
Direction
- Directed by John Schlesinger
- Assistant Director Kip Gowans
- [Assistant Director (2nd)] Stuart A. Black
- Continuity Ann Skinner
Rights
Production
- Production Company Vic Films (London)
- A Joseph Jianni production/Produced by Joseph Janni
- Associate Producer Victor Lyndon
- Unit Manager Ed Harper
- Location Manager Mara Blasetti
- Made at Shepperton Studios
Casting
- Casting Director Miriam Brickman
Writing
- Screenplay by Frederic Raphael
- [Script Collaborator] Troy Kennedy Martin
- Based on an idea by Frederic Raphael
- Based on an idea by John Schlesinger
- Based on an idea by Joseph Janni
Photography
- Director of Photography Ken Higgins
- Camera Operator John Harris
- Assistant Cameraman Bernard Ford
Special Effects
- Graphic Design Ted Southcott
Editing
- Film Editor Jim Clark
Design
- Art Director Ray Simm
- Set Decorator David ffolkes
Costumes
- Wardrobe Designer Julie Harris
- Wardrobe Mistress Jackie Breed
Make-up
- Make-up Artist Bob Lawrence
- Hair Stylist Joyce James
Film processing
- Processed at Humphries Film Laboratories
Music
- Music Composed and Conducted by John Dankworth
Sound
- Sound Recordist Peter Handford
- Sound Recordist John Aldred
- Sound Editor Malcolm Cooke
- Sound System Westrex Recording System