A Cold Wind in August
Encyclopedia
A Cold Wind in August is a low-budget independent
film directed by Alexander Singer
and adapted from the eponymous novel by Burton Wohl. The film stars a Lola Albright
as a burlesque
show stripper
in her thirties who becomes involved in a torrid romance with a 17-year old boy played by Scott Marlowe
.
), a woman with a background as a burlesque show stripper, is visited at her New York City apartment by her estranged husband. He requests that she star in a upcoming show in Newark, New Jersey, for which he is obliged to supply performers. She resists the idea, as she maintains her privacy by not working in shows local to the New York area. However, her husband is desperately in need of assistance. While she has no romantic feelings for him, expressing puzzlement as to why she ever married him, she nonetheless is friendly with him and feels sorry for his predicament, so she agrees to consider it.
In the meantime, Iris meets Vito Perugino (Scott Marlowe
), the 17-year old son of the superintendent of the apartment building (Joe De Santis
) and experiences an instant and powerful physical attraction to him. In their first meeting, she is shamelessly flirtatious; in their second, she completes her sexual seduction of him, marking the start of a passionate affair between the two. Iris unexpectedly finds herself experiencing an emotional attraction on top of her sexual one and a relationship she had originally intended to be brief turns serious. Vito asks Iris "to go steady" with him, and though she laughs a bit the teenager's use of that phrase to describe a committed relationship, she nonetheless happily accepts.
After Vito's immaturity brings turbulence into the relationship in the form of jealousy, Iris makes an attempt to pull away from him, but the attempt only serves to make her miserable. She finds herself obsessed and wanting nothing but to return to him and resume a sexual and emotional satisfaction she's never experienced with any other man. She returns to Vito and they begin to patch up their relationship, declaring their love for one another, but Vito is still unaware of her occupation, believing her to be a model or actress.
When Iris performs in the Newark burlesque show, one of Vito's friends sees her and informs Vito. Vito initially refuses to believe it, but he attends the next night's show and sees for himself. With his youth, Vito lacks the ability to cope with the destruction of his idealistic view of Iris, and an explosive, and even momentarily violent, argument ensues between the two.
After a week, Iris reaches out to Vito, hoping to make up with him by inviting him to her apartment for dinner. But upon his arrival, she quickly realizes that his interest in her has waned. While he had been sincere in his declarations of love for her, those feelings of "love" were just as prone to be fleeting as with any typical 17-year old inexperienced in romantic relationships. Although he is no longer angry with Iris over her occupation, the discovery and subsequent argument have been enough so that even as his temper cooled, so did his passion for the relationship.
Continuing to be sincere in expressing his feelings for her, Vito acknowledges what Iris has sensed. He is truly sorry for the pain that it is causing her and tries his best to console her, telling her that he wishes the fight between them that changed his feelings had not happened. But beyond that, there is nothing else he can do. Lest Vito have any doubt, the devastated Iris assures him that her love for him was, and still is, genuine. With that, Vito leaves, on his way to a date with the new object of his romantic attention — a girl his own age — and Iris is left alone sobbing.
movie. But unlike most entries in that genre, the film managed to find something of a positive critical following. It received positive reviews from the New York Herald Tribune
, Variety
and Saturday Reviews Arthur Knight
. Robert Osborne
has called it one of the best of all films exploring the theme of a May-December romance, echoing Lloyd Shearer's contemporary opinion that it was "probably the best treatment of a youth's affair with an older women Hollywood has ever produced".
More negative were The New York Times
, asserting that the film "confused art for blatant sex", and Time
, labeling it as a "nutty melodrama". While by no means offering universal praise for the movie, Pauline Kael
called it "shrewdly conceived and well-acted" and, agreeing with a consistent theme in the film's positive reviews, offered high praise for Albright's performance. In 1985, even The New York Times, this time under the voice of a different critic, also lauded Albright's acting in the film.
At time time of the film's making, Albright said that she thought it was her best role to that date.
Independent film
An independent film, or indie film, is a professional film production resulting in a feature film that is produced mostly or completely outside of the major film studio system. In addition to being produced and distributed by independent entertainment companies, independent films are also produced...
film directed by Alexander Singer
Alexander Singer
Alexander Singer is an American director. He began his career behind the camera in 1951 as a cinematographer on the short documentary Day of the Fight, directed by his high school friend, Stanley Kubrick...
and adapted from the eponymous novel by Burton Wohl. The film stars a Lola Albright
Lola Albright
Lola Jean Albright is an American singer and actress.Albright worked as a model before moving to Hollywood. She began her motion picture career with a bit part in the 1948 film The Pirate, and followed it with an important role in the acclaimed 1949 hit Champion...
as a burlesque
Burlesque
Burlesque is a literary, dramatic or musical work intended to cause laughter by caricaturing the manner or spirit of serious works, or by ludicrous treatment of their subjects...
show stripper
Stripper
A stripper is a professional erotic dancer who performs a contemporary form of striptease at strip club establishments, public exhibitions, and private engagements. Unlike in burlesque, the performer in the modern Americanized form of stripping minimizes the interaction of customer and dancer,...
in her thirties who becomes involved in a torrid romance with a 17-year old boy played by Scott Marlowe
Scott Marlowe
Scott Gregory Marlowe was a versatile American actor of film, television, and stage, who was born and died in Los Angeles, California.-Early film career:...
.
Plot
Iris (Lola AlbrightLola Albright
Lola Jean Albright is an American singer and actress.Albright worked as a model before moving to Hollywood. She began her motion picture career with a bit part in the 1948 film The Pirate, and followed it with an important role in the acclaimed 1949 hit Champion...
), a woman with a background as a burlesque show stripper, is visited at her New York City apartment by her estranged husband. He requests that she star in a upcoming show in Newark, New Jersey, for which he is obliged to supply performers. She resists the idea, as she maintains her privacy by not working in shows local to the New York area. However, her husband is desperately in need of assistance. While she has no romantic feelings for him, expressing puzzlement as to why she ever married him, she nonetheless is friendly with him and feels sorry for his predicament, so she agrees to consider it.
In the meantime, Iris meets Vito Perugino (Scott Marlowe
Scott Marlowe
Scott Gregory Marlowe was a versatile American actor of film, television, and stage, who was born and died in Los Angeles, California.-Early film career:...
), the 17-year old son of the superintendent of the apartment building (Joe De Santis
Joe De Santis
Joseph Vito DeSantis was an American radio, television, movie and theatrical actor and sculptor.-Biography:Joe DeSantis was born Joseph Vito Marcello DeSantis to Italian immigrant parents in New York City...
) and experiences an instant and powerful physical attraction to him. In their first meeting, she is shamelessly flirtatious; in their second, she completes her sexual seduction of him, marking the start of a passionate affair between the two. Iris unexpectedly finds herself experiencing an emotional attraction on top of her sexual one and a relationship she had originally intended to be brief turns serious. Vito asks Iris "to go steady" with him, and though she laughs a bit the teenager's use of that phrase to describe a committed relationship, she nonetheless happily accepts.
After Vito's immaturity brings turbulence into the relationship in the form of jealousy, Iris makes an attempt to pull away from him, but the attempt only serves to make her miserable. She finds herself obsessed and wanting nothing but to return to him and resume a sexual and emotional satisfaction she's never experienced with any other man. She returns to Vito and they begin to patch up their relationship, declaring their love for one another, but Vito is still unaware of her occupation, believing her to be a model or actress.
When Iris performs in the Newark burlesque show, one of Vito's friends sees her and informs Vito. Vito initially refuses to believe it, but he attends the next night's show and sees for himself. With his youth, Vito lacks the ability to cope with the destruction of his idealistic view of Iris, and an explosive, and even momentarily violent, argument ensues between the two.
After a week, Iris reaches out to Vito, hoping to make up with him by inviting him to her apartment for dinner. But upon his arrival, she quickly realizes that his interest in her has waned. While he had been sincere in his declarations of love for her, those feelings of "love" were just as prone to be fleeting as with any typical 17-year old inexperienced in romantic relationships. Although he is no longer angry with Iris over her occupation, the discovery and subsequent argument have been enough so that even as his temper cooled, so did his passion for the relationship.
Continuing to be sincere in expressing his feelings for her, Vito acknowledges what Iris has sensed. He is truly sorry for the pain that it is causing her and tries his best to console her, telling her that he wishes the fight between them that changed his feelings had not happened. But beyond that, there is nothing else he can do. Lest Vito have any doubt, the devastated Iris assures him that her love for him was, and still is, genuine. With that, Vito leaves, on his way to a date with the new object of his romantic attention — a girl his own age — and Iris is left alone sobbing.
Reception
Frank for its time in its depiction of the sexual relationship between Vito and Iris, A Cold Wind in August was made and marketed simply as a low-budget exploitationExploitation film
Exploitation film is a type of film that is promoted by "exploiting" often lurid subject matter. The term "exploitation" is common in film marketing, used for all types of films to mean promotion or advertising. These films then need something to exploit, such as a big star, special effects, sex,...
movie. But unlike most entries in that genre, the film managed to find something of a positive critical following. It received positive reviews from the New York Herald Tribune
New York Herald Tribune
The New York Herald Tribune was a daily newspaper created in 1924 when the New York Tribune acquired the New York Herald.Other predecessors, which had earlier merged into the New York Tribune, included the original The New Yorker newsweekly , and the Whig Party's Log Cabin.The paper was home to...
, Variety
Variety (magazine)
Variety is an American weekly entertainment-trade magazine founded in New York City, New York, in 1905 by Sime Silverman. With the rise of the importance of the motion-picture industry, Daily Variety, a daily edition based in Los Angeles, California, was founded by Silverman in 1933. In 1998, the...
and Saturday Reviews Arthur Knight
Arthur Knight (film critic)
Arthur Knight was a movie critic, film historian, professor and TV host.His book The Liveliest Art, first published in 1957, is a history of the cinema used as a text book at colleges and universities throughout the world.-Early life:...
. Robert Osborne
Robert Osborne
Robert Jolin Osborne is an American actor and film historian best known as the primary host for Turner Classic Movies, and previously a host of The Movie Channel.-Life and career:...
has called it one of the best of all films exploring the theme of a May-December romance, echoing Lloyd Shearer's contemporary opinion that it was "probably the best treatment of a youth's affair with an older women Hollywood has ever produced".
More negative were The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
, asserting that the film "confused art for blatant sex", and Time
Time (magazine)
Time is an American news magazine. A European edition is published from London. Time Europe covers the Middle East, Africa and, since 2003, Latin America. An Asian edition is based in Hong Kong...
, labeling it as a "nutty melodrama". While by no means offering universal praise for the movie, Pauline Kael
Pauline Kael
Pauline Kael was an American film critic who wrote for The New Yorker magazine from 1968 to 1991. Earlier in her career, her work appeared in City Lights, McCall's and The New Republic....
called it "shrewdly conceived and well-acted" and, agreeing with a consistent theme in the film's positive reviews, offered high praise for Albright's performance. In 1985, even The New York Times, this time under the voice of a different critic, also lauded Albright's acting in the film.
At time time of the film's making, Albright said that she thought it was her best role to that date.