Leo the Last

1h 44m 1970

Brief Synopsis

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Prince Leo (Marcello Mastroianni), last in the line of rulers of a long-deposed monarchy on continental Europe and jaded with the frenetic search for kicks with the European jet-set, returns to his father's London town house for rest. With him are social-climber Margaret (Billie Whitelaw), to whom he is engaged, and Laszlo (Vladek Sheybal), who is planning a counter revolution which will restore Leo to the kingship of the monarchy. Leo is shocked to discover the one exclusive neighborhood has degenerated into a ghetto inhabited mainly by poor blacks on the brink of desperation. His nearest neighbors are the Mardi family and their beautiful daughter, Salambo (Glenna Forster Jones), who catches his eye as does her boy friend the procurer Roscoe (Calvin Lockhart.) Using the excuse of watching birds he watches them closely through field glasses with the coolness and detachment of a scientist watching insects under a magnifying glass. When Salambo is forced to become a whore in order to keep her family together, Leo, despite the pleadings of Margaret and Laszlo who has just about finished the steps toward the restoration, does something of which he always though himself incapable.

Cast & Crew

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John Boorman

Director

Marcello Mastroianni

Leo

Billie Whitelaw

Margaret

Calvin Lockhart

Roscoe

Glenna Forster-jones

Salambo

Graham Crowden

Max

Film Details

MPAA Rating
Genre
Adaptation
Comedy
Crime
Drama
Release Date
Jan 1970
Premiere Information
New York opening: 12 May 1970
Production Company
Char--Wink--Boor Productions
Distribution Company
United Artists
Country
United Kingdom
Screenplay Information
Based on the play The Prince by George Tabori (production undetermined).

Technical Specs

Duration
1h 44m
Sound
Mono
Color
Color (DeLuxe)

Synopsis

Leo, the last in the line of a deposed European monarchy, returns to London for the first time in many years. Traveling with him are his mistress, Margaret, who wants to marry him for his money, and Laszlo, the leader of a band of exiles who are still plotting to restore Leo to the throne. Although the area around his family's mansion has become a Negro ghetto, Leo is at first oblivious to everything but his hobby, ornithology. His bird-watching habits lead him to notice the plight of the poor around him. At first, Leo observes with detachment the problems of one of his black neighbors whose beautiful daughter Salambo is continually harassed by the men of the neighborhood. When a Polish shopkeeper tries to rape Salambo, her boyfriend Roscoe beats him up and is sent to jail. Salambo is then left unprotected, and Jasper, a local pimp, tries to lead her into prostitution. Leo realizes that he must protect the young girl; he becomes involved in the problems of the ghetto; and in a gesture of solidarity with the poor, he sets fire to his mansion.

Director

John Boorman

Director

Cast

Marcello Mastroianni

Leo

Billie Whitelaw

Margaret

Calvin Lockhart

Roscoe

Glenna Forster-jones

Salambo

Graham Crowden

Max

Gwen Ffrangcon-davies

Hilda

David De Keyser

David

Vladek Sheybal

Laszlo

Keefe West

Jasper

Kenneth J. Warren

Kowalski

Patsy Smart

Mrs. Kowalski

Ram John Holder

Negro preacher

Thomas Buson

Mr. Madi

Tina Solomon

Mrs. Madi

Brinsley Forde

Bip

Robert Redman

Malcolm Redman

Robert Kennedy

Madi children

Phyllis Mcmahon

Blonde whore

Princess Patience

Negro whore

Bernard Boston

Roy Stewart

Jasper's bodyguards

Lucita Lijertwood

Wailing lady

Ishaq Bux

Supermarket manager

Doris Clark

Singing lady

Lou Gossett

Alba

Marcia Redman

Billy Russell

Crew

Jim Atkinson

Sound Editing

Ron Barron

Sound Recording

John Boorman

Screenwriter

Robert Chartoff

Producer

James M. Crawford

Production Manager

Alex Garfath

Makeup

Ram John Holder

Additional Dialogue

Allan James

Assistant Director

Colin Jamison

Hairdresser

Fred Myrow

Music

Fred Myrow

Composer

Tom Priestley

Film Editor

John Richardson

Special Effects

William Stair

Screenwriter

Peter Suschitzky

Director of Photography

Irwin Winkler

Producer

Joan Woollard

Costumes

Tony Woollard

Production Design

Peter Young

Set Decoration

Film Details

MPAA Rating
Genre
Adaptation
Comedy
Crime
Drama
Release Date
Jan 1970
Premiere Information
New York opening: 12 May 1970
Production Company
Char--Wink--Boor Productions
Distribution Company
United Artists
Country
United Kingdom
Screenplay Information
Based on the play The Prince by George Tabori (production undetermined).

Technical Specs

Duration
1h 44m
Sound
Mono
Color
Color (DeLuxe)

Quotes

Trivia

Notes

Filmed in the Notting Hill Gate section of London. Released in Great Britain in 1970.

Miscellaneous Notes

Released in United States Winter January 1, 1970

Released in United States October 1998

Shown at Chicago International Film Festival October 8-18, 1998.

Released in United States Winter January 1, 1970

Released in United States October 1998 (Shown at Chicago International Film Festival October 8-18, 1998.)

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