The L-Shaped Room
Sex is not a forbidden word
1962 | 126m | English
Popularity: 3 (history)
| Director: | Bryan Forbes |
|---|---|
| Writer: | Bryan Forbes, Lynne Reid Banks |
| Staring: |
| Jane is young, French, pregnant and unmarried. Bucking convention, she is uninterested in settling with her baby's father or getting an abortion. After renting a room in a dingy London boarding house, Jane befriends the odd group of inhabitants and starts an affair with one boarder, Toby. As Jane's pregnancy threatens her new relationship, and the reality of single motherhood approaches, she is forced to decide what to do about both her baby and her budding romance. | |
| Release Date: | Nov 20, 1962 |
|---|---|
| Director: | Bryan Forbes |
| Writer: | Bryan Forbes, Lynne Reid Banks |
| Genres: | Drama, Romance |
| Keywords | london, england, pregnancy, boarding house, landlady, kitchen sink realism |
| Production Companies | British Lion Films, Romulus Films |
| Box Office |
Revenue: $0
Budget: $0 |
| Updates |
Updated: Feb 01, 2025 Entered: Apr 20, 2024 |
| Name | Character |
|---|---|
| Leslie Caron | Jane Fosset |
| Tom Bell | Toby |
| Brock Peters | Johnny |
| Bernard Lee | Charlie |
| Avis Bunnage | Doris |
| Patricia Phoenix | Sonia |
| Cicely Courtneidge | Mavis |
| Verity Edmett | Jane II |
| Anthony Booth | Youth in Street |
| Harry Locke | Newsagent |
| Ellen Dryden | Girl in Newsagent's |
| Emlyn Williams | Dr. Weaver |
| Jennifer White | Monica |
| Gerry Duggan | Bert |
| Joan Ingram | Woman in Park |
| Mark Eden | Terry |
| Stanley Morgan | Waiter in Club |
| Gerald Sim | Doctor in Hospital |
| Pamela Sholto | Nurse |
| Ruth Burns | Nurse |
| Diane Clare | Nurse |
| Arthur White | Milkman |
| Nanette Newman | Girl at End |
| Kay Walsh | Prostitute (uncredited) |
| Name | Job |
|---|---|
| Bryan Forbes | Writer, Director |
| Jenia Reissar | Casting |
| Ray Simm | Art Direction |
| Helen Whitson | Continuity |
| Penny Daniels | Continuity |
| Percy Godbold | Property Buyer |
| Basil Mannin | Scenic Artist |
| Laurie Ridley | Still Photographer |
| Diana Hawkins | Publicist |
| Lynne Reid Banks | Novel |
| Gerald O'Hara | Assistant Director |
| John Quested | Assistant Director |
| Chic Waterson | Camera Operator |
| Nicholas Faith | Assistant Editor |
| George Stephenson | Sound Recordist |
| Red Law | Sound Recordist |
| Harry Frampton | Makeup Artist |
| Barbara Ritchie | Hairdresser |
| Laurel Staffell | Wardrobe Designer |
| May Walding | Wardrobe Designer |
| Martin Atkinson | Assistant Art Director |
| Peter James | Set Decoration |
| Ann Skinner | Production Secretary |
| Beatrice Dawson | Costume Designer |
| Peter Katin | Musician |
| Muir Mathieson | Conductor |
| Douglas Slocombe | Director of Photography |
| Anthony Harvey | Editor |
| John Barry | Original Music Composer |
| Johannes Brahms | Music |
| Name | Title |
|---|---|
| James Woolf | Producer |
| John Woolf | Producer |
| Jack Rix | Associate Producer |
| Richard Attenborough | Producer |
| Organization | Category | Person |
|---|
Popularity History
| Year | Month | Avg | Max | Min |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 4 | 5 | 8 | 3 |
| 2024 | 5 | 7 | 11 | 4 |
| 2024 | 6 | 6 | 11 | 3 |
| 2024 | 7 | 8 | 18 | 4 |
| 2024 | 8 | 7 | 14 | 3 |
| 2024 | 9 | 5 | 6 | 3 |
| 2024 | 10 | 7 | 15 | 4 |
| 2024 | 11 | 5 | 13 | 3 |
| 2024 | 12 | 4 | 6 | 1 |
| 2025 | 1 | 5 | 9 | 3 |
| 2025 | 2 | 3 | 7 | 1 |
| 2025 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 1 |
| 2025 | 4 | 2 | 3 | 1 |
| 2025 | 5 | 2 | 3 | 1 |
| 2025 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| 2025 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2025 | 8 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 2025 | 9 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 2025 | 10 | 2 | 4 | 1 |
Trending Position
Leslie Caron is really good in this rather quirky tale of a French lass who, pregnant, takes up residence in a pretty grotty London boarding house. Initially wary of the other "guests", "Jane" befriends aspiring writer"Toby" (Tom Bell) and the film depicts her lively relationship with him and her as ... similation into this curious group of individuals whom she gradually begins to get used to. There are two things that help this stand out. The photography - it is intimate and very effective; and the use of the Brahms Piano Concerto which is as effective as any of the, frequently potent, dialogue. Caron is in her element here, her performance is confident and engaging. Tom Bell contributes strongly, as do Avis Bunnage and Patricia Phoenix, and there is something quite uplifting about Bryan Forbes' take on this outwardly rather depressing tale of solitude and abandonment. It sags just a bit in the middle with perhaps a more judicious pruning of the character establishment in order at the start, but it does hold the attention well for two hours and deals with adult topics in a remarkably - for the time - frank and plausible fashion.