Leo the Last (1970) on Netflix
Prince Leo, last heir of a long-deposed European monarchy, returns to his father's house to rest. The neighborhood has become a slum, and his spy-glass wanders from birds to his neighbors.
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Plot summary
Weary of the European jet-set and its search for kicks, Prince Leo, last heir of a deposed monarchy, comes to his father's house in London for rest, in a neighborhood that has become a slum. An ornithologist uneasy among people, he begins as an observer, letting his spy-glass wander from the birds to the lives around him. He grows increasingly agitated as poverty and violence press on the people he watches, most of all on Salambo Mardi and her family, troubled by Kowalski, a shopkeeper, and Jasper, a pimp. With Leo are his fiancée Margaret, the family lawyer Max, the doctor David and Laszlo, who manages the household.
Cast
Did you know?!Facts and trivia about Leo the Last (1970)
Can contain spoilers, watch the movie first.
- The film was turned down by MGM, Paramount, Universal and Columbia before United Artists picked it up; head of production David Picker agreed to finance it even though he did not personally like the script.
- John Boorman won Best Director at the 1970 Cannes Film Festival for the film, which has still not been released on DVD in the UK.
- The film's exteriors were shot in Testerton Street and its crossroads with Baradon Street in West London, streets due to be demolished; Grenfell Tower now stands at the junction with Blechyndon Street.
- The film's substantial budget was exceeded by hundreds of thousands of dollars because the director was overly preoccupied with his own ideas of perfection. By contract, he could not be overruled on cuts.
- Award Books issued a tie-in novelization of the screenplay slightly before the film's release, written by Beat writer and gay activist Leo Skir.
