“BOARDING HOUSE BLUES”

By Raymond Benson

Having never heard of this British production prior to the release of Kino Lorber’s new high definition transfer of the picture, this reviewer approached it with caution. It was much better than expected. Luckily, there is much to be said about Connecting Rooms.

Based on a stage play called The Cellist by Marion Hart, the screenplay was written by director Franklin Gollings. It’s a low-budget affair that was shot in London in 1969, and there is a decidedly TV-movie feel about it. The picture was first released in 1970 in the United States, of all places, and didn’t receive a U.K. release until 1972.

What Connecting Rooms has going for it is the presence of the remarkable Bette Davis, who delivers a note-perfect late career performance as Wanda, an aging cellist who lives in a seedy boarding house in London. Every night Wanda goes to “the theatre” to perform, but we never see this happening. We do witness her practicing in her room, and she seems to be quite an accomplished musician. It’s obvious, though, that Wanda is very lonely and yearns for some kind of personal connection, and she has secrets.

Wanda’s room connects to another one, and the door in-between does not lock. It also easily swings opens when there’s a strong breeze through one of the windows in either room, or if one leans on it. James (Michael Redgrave, who in the film looks astonishingly like Alec Baldwin does now), moves in to the adjoining flat. One can see there is something wrong. He is a schoolmaster, but he is mysteriously out of a job and down on his luck. We learn later what the malady is (he was falsely accused of an inappropriate relationship with a male student but was sacked anyway).

There are other colorful characters in the boarding house. Mickey (Alexis Kanner) is an obnoxious, but charming, young songwriter/playboy who uses Wanda for what little money she has, and is also doing everything he can to get one of his compositions to a famous French singer, Claudia (Olga Georges-Picot), including seducing her. The landlady, Mrs. Brent (Kay Walsh), is a nosy parker who simply walks in on her tenets any time she pleases and isn’t beyond criticizing what she perceives as flaws in their personal lives.

Of course, as the story unfolds, Wanda and James develop an attraction and we learn the truths about our lead characters. As previously noted, Davis is quite good and carries the film. Redgrave also delivers a heartbreaking performance, and it is the chemistry of these two that elevate the picture above Lifetime Channel Movie status.

Of possible note to James Bond fans—there is a connection. The hands (and sounds) of classical cellist Amaryllis Fleming—Ian Fleming’s half-sister—appear in place of Davis’s when she’s playing the cello.

Kino Lorber’s presentation looks fine, and it comes with an audio commentary by film historian David Del Valle. There are no other supplements other than trailers for this and other Kino releases.

An effective study of “boarding house blues,” Connecting Rooms is worth it for the acting by two cinema veterans.

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