Saturday Matinee: A Nabokov classic directed by Stanley Kubrick [Vintage Trailer]

Lolita was nominated for an Academy Award for the screenplay written by Nabokov himself, based on his own controversial best selling book. So how did they make a movie of Lolita? The truth, as the New York Times pointed out in their review, is that they didn't.

The movie changed things up quite a bit from the book, most importantly the character of Lolita herself. She doesn't look like a fourteen year old nymphet, even though Sue Lyon was apparently just thirteen when they first started making the movie. That's according to a note I read when I visited the Kubrick exhibit at LACMA back in 2013. In the film, her character is more likely about 17. Should the older James Mason have been lusting after her? Probably not, but men did, do and always will. Is it creepy? Yes, and the way he treats her mother (Shelly Winters) is horrendous. It's pathetic and embarrassing But there's been enough written on the subject of Lolita, both the book and the film, without me throwing in my 1/2 a centavo. I just wanted to remind you that the movie, perfect if you'd rather hide away in the den watching a movie on a hot summer afternoon than frolic in the sunshine, is available to stream on Amazon, iTunes, GooglePlay, Vudu and Youtube. Please to enjoy. Or hate. That's up to you.