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Madame X

Play trailer Poster for Madame X 1966 1h 39m Drama Play Trailer Watchlist
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50% Tomatometer 6 Reviews 81% Popcornmeter 500+ Ratings
Holly Parker (Lana Turner) is married to high-powered diplomat Clay Anderson (John Forsythe), but finds that her attention wanders when he's away. She starts an affair with a wealthy bachelor (Ricardo Montalban), but her life unravels when he dies unexpectedly. Her mother-in-law (Constance Bennett) advises Holly to leave Clay and their baby and start a new life. Years later, when a petty criminal (Burgess Meredith) tries to blackmail Holly, who is now a prostitute, things get even worse for her.
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Madame X

Critics Reviews

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Pauline Kael McCall's Sep 20, 2023
Madame X is so excruciating not only because the actors and actresses do not embody what they’re supposed to, but because the movie depends on the conventions of the M-G-M style of the ’forties. It is spiritually dedicated to the worst of old Hollywood. Go to Full Review Nicholas Bell IONCINEMA.com Aug 13, 2020
3/5
Madame X is an emotional Grand Guignol, a hysterical soap opera that would end up being the final and potentially most memorable hour of Lana Turner. Go to Full Review Raquel Stecher Out of the Past Jul 6, 2019
worth watching for the fine cast of performers but the story is tiresome. There is no respite from all the suffering Holly has to go through and that made me feel exhausted by the end of that 1 hour and 40 minute journey. Go to Full Review Wendy Michener Maclean's Magazine Jun 27, 2019
Lana Turner's stinker to remember. Go to Full Review Rob Nelson City Pages, Minneapolis/St. Paul Aug 21, 2009
Completed the same year as the star's first face-lift, Madame X viciously spans two dozen years, inspiring one gossip columnist of the time to joke that Constance Bennett looked younger without makeup than Turner did with it. Go to Full Review Dennis Schwartz Dennis Schwartz Movie Reviews Jun 17, 2006
B-
Director David Lowell Rich, a television director, helms it as if to make it as archaic, sudsy and corny as humanly possible. Go to Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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Drew M @Stonehands211 Aug 16, 2026 Liked this quite a bit until the horrible ending. See more Jerry M @RT96859728 Mar 22, 2026 I saw this move decades ago and cried like a baby. This movie is all about the sacrifice a mother makes for her child. The ultimate love story. See more Orin D @RT64117979 Mar 25, 2025 I'm rather surprised at the vitriol extended toward this sincere and moving film. Lana Turner is terrific, as is much of the supporting cast. This is a tragic tale well told. Orin Domenico See more Jose B @RT36949494 Jan 16, 2025 This film is absolutely... Hilarious!!. Are you into "women films" with ridiculous and melodramatic plots, Lana Turner replaying her drunkenness in "The Bad and the Beautiful" and Russell Metty DeLuXe cinematography?. This film is for you. I saw it twice laughing even more than I laugh watching "The Valley of the Dolls. Better being watched with some friends and laughing all together. A"bijou" of Campy Films See more Aug 24, 2021 U have seen this 25 times and cried every time Lana gives a tour de force performance, everyone who had problems with their mother growing up should see this...with Imitation of Life and Peyton Place Lana Turner owns the concept of Melodrama in its most noble sense. See more Sep 8, 2019 This movie is incredible! I was sobbing at the end. Lana Turners performance was absolutely fan See more Read all reviews
Madame X

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Cast & Crew

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David Lowell Rich

Director

Lana Turner

Holly Parker

John Forsythe

Clayton Anderson

Keir Dullea

Clayton Anderson Jr.

Constance Bennett

Estelle Anderson

Ricardo Montalban

Phil Benton

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Madame X

Madame X (1966) Madame X (1966) Madame X (1966) View more photos

Movie Info

Synopsis Holly Parker (Lana Turner) is married to high-powered diplomat Clay Anderson (John Forsythe), but finds that her attention wanders when he's away. She starts an affair with a wealthy bachelor (Ricardo Montalban), but her life unravels when he dies unexpectedly. Her mother-in-law (Constance Bennett) advises Holly to leave Clay and their baby and start a new life. Years later, when a petty criminal (Burgess Meredith) tries to blackmail Holly, who is now a prostitute, things get even worse for her.
Director
David Lowell Rich
Producer
Ross Hunter
Production Co
Universal/Universal Int
Genre
Drama
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Mar 3, 1966, Limited
Release Date (Streaming)
Aug 30, 2016
Runtime
1h 39m
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