| The Lonely Lady | |
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Theatrical release poster |
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| Directed by | Peter Sasdy |
| Produced by | Robert R. Weston |
| Written by | Harold Robbins (novel) Ellen Shepard |
| Starring | Pia Zadora Lloyd Bochner Bibi Besch Joseph Cali Anthony Holland Jared Martin |
| Music by | Charlie Calello |
| Cinematography | Brian West |
| Editing by | Keith Palmer |
| Distributed by | Universal Pictures |
| Release date(s) | September 30, 1983 |
| Running time | 92 min. |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $5 million |
| Box office | $1,223,000 (USA) |
The Lonely Lady is a 1983 American film directed by Peter Sasdy and adapted to screen by Ellen Shepard from the novel written by Harold Robbins. The original music score was composed by Charlie Calello. The cast includes Pia Zadora, Lloyd Bochner, Bibi Besch, Jared Martin, and in an early film appearance, Ray Liotta. The movie is to date the last and final adaptation of one of Robbins' best selling novels before he died in 1997.
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Jerilee Randall is an innocent schoolgirl living in the San Fernando Valley area of California with dreams of becoming a famous screenwriter. Shortly after winning a trophy for her creative writing, she meets the son of a famous screenwriter, Walter Thornton, at a party. She goes home with him, along with some other friends, and during a late evening pool party, one of Jerilee's friends (played by Ray Liotta in one of his first roles) beats her, slaps her and then sexually assaults her with a garden hose nozzle.
Walter arrives after the assault has taken place and saves her from further attacks. A friendship then love affair develops between them, and they soon marry, despite the disapproval of Jerilee's mother. The marriage begins to fall apart when she rewrites one of his scripts and is told she had improved it greatly (she actually only added the word, "Why?").
Divorce is inevitable when Walter scorns Jerilee during an argument and accuses her of enjoying having been raped all those years ago. After the divorce, Jerilee has several love affairs while trying to get her own screenplay produced. She uses her sexual charms to pave the way to recognition, with revenge thrown in the end for good measure. Jerilee finally has a nervous breakdown in a sequence where she sees the callous people of her past appear as faces on the keys of her typewriter.
The film ends with Jerilee finally successful and winning a prestigious award for her screenplay of a film called the "The Hold-outs". At the live awards telecast, she admits to her ex-husband Walter Thornton that she has never learned "the meaning of self-respect". Jerilee then refuses to accept the award, and walks out of the auditorium with her newfound dignity.
The Lonely Lady was hugely panned by critics, where the film was nominated for 11 Golden Raspberry Awards and won 6 including Worst Picture, Worst Actress, Worst Director, Worst Screenplay, Worst Musical Score and Worst Original Song ("The Way You Do It"). It was nominated for a Razzie as Worst Picture of the Decade, but lost to Mommie Dearest and again as Worst Drama of the Razzies' First 25 Years, but lost to Battlefield Earth. Zadora won Worst New Star of the Decade for this film along with Butterfly. She was also nominated for Worst Actress of the Century, but lost to Madonna.
Although the film was available in the past on VHS videocassette, CED Videodisc, and laserdisc, it has never been released on DVD. For that reason, both the videocassette and the laserdisc are somewhat collectible.
| Awards | ||
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| Preceded by Inchon |
Razzie Award for Worst Picture 4th Golden Raspberry Awards |
Succeeded by Bolero |
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