mark.waltz Julie, Barbra and Liza all had musical film genius, but unfortunately, they came too late in the game. Julie managed a few years, while Barbra turned to comedy and Liza to concerts and Broadway to stay marketable, but other than Liza in "Cabaret", by the time this musical farce was made, musicals were really only for the gays and the grays. Fortunately, tides have turned, but for a while, it appeared that Julie was finished in film.Realizing that the tides were turning in film themes, Julie wisely took on the opportunity to be a little more naughty. She was fun, but temperamental, as the real life stage legend Gertrude Lawrence in " Star!", and spoofs her goody goody image in this World War I spoof, playing a British singing star who is secretly (God forbid!) a spy for the Germans. But will love and jealousy for American pilot Rock Hudson change her tune? It's a friggin' Julie Andrews movie, so that answer is obvious!Always ladylike even when showing off her boobies, Andrews gets to bare almost as much here. A gorgeous opening with the award winning song, "Whistling in the Dark", sets up her character, and she's soon calming down an audience with war standards. Julie sings more, and after a Disney like production number, "I'll Give You Three Guesses", is forced to burlesque it because of the raunchy act who might steal Hudson from her.The flaws here are mainly some really dated comic stereotypes, reminding me of veteran European character actors such as Felix Bressart, Herman Bing and S.Z. Sakall, with one very close to the nefarious looking Conrad Veidt. Sometimes the farce is just too forced, like a man in a wheel chair suddenly flying by Julie as she finishes a song and two spies on the roof in the rain keeping an eye on Julie and Rock as they have a fight. Jeremy Brett has a few amusing moments as Julie's German contact, but as predicted, it gets a bit complicated and ends too smoothly. Director Blake Edwards needed to try a bit more subtlety, but for the most part, World War I films have generally been a hard sell.

wes-connors During World War I, popular British songstress Julie Andrews (as Lili Smith) falls in love with American pilot Rock Hudson (as William Larrabee), which complicates her secret life as a spy for Germany. Yes, this is the plot of "Mata Hari" modified and accommodated for Ms. Andrews by director lover Blake Edwards. "Darling Lili" was infamously, and quite correctly, ferreted out as a long-winded flop before being released - and, since then, no amount of smoke and mirrors has elevated the painstakingly obvious production...It begins beautifully, with promising music (by Henry Mancini) and cinematography (by Russell Harlan). The song "Whistling Away the Dark" is one of Andrews' best. Depending on the version you see (there are a few), some moments to watch for include an homage to "The Sound of Music" (1965) with the soundtrack hinting at a "Do-Re-Mi" refrain, and the "Three Guesses" flashback to "Mary Poppins" (1964) with Andrews showing off a luscious lower posterior during her striptease - the bottom is sexier than the top.**** Darling Lili (6/18/70) Blake Edwards ~ Julie Andrews, Rock Hudson, Jeremy Kemp, Lance Percival

jayraskin Julie Andrews made, I believe, only two major flops, in her career, this movie and "Star". In the case of "Star" I think we have a reasonably good and watchable film with several quite fine scenes. While not a great film, it didn't deserve to flop. On the other hand, this one really deserved its fate.Blake Edwards throws in scenes that don't fit at all together. The aerial dog fighting footage is fine, but has nothing to do with the spying, which has nothing to do with the two strip teases or the can-can dance. Perhaps the worse mistake is putting in two Inspector Clouseau types who just do some mildly amusing slap stick routines.Julie Andrews and Rock Hudson don't have chemistry at all, but that is probably because their scenes are absurdly written. She is trying to get secret spy information out of him, but it is hard to understand why he should be revealing top military secrets to her five minutes after they have met. It is almost like a poor T.V. comedy sketch about a spy. We never do find out why Lili is a German Spy. Why would a beloved and successful British star be risking her life to spy for Germany in World War I. The only explanation suggested in the movie is that her father was German. This really explains nothing.The DVD gives over 53 minutes of footage that was cut as a bonus. Only two or three minutes of Hudson and Andrews in the French Countryside with children singing should have been kept. It is the only scene where Hudson and Andrews seem to be enjoying themselves.Edwards best work with Andrews came later with "S.O.B." and "Victor Victoria." Those have more developed and interested characters.Henry Mancini's score was nominated for an Academy Award and several other awards, but it is only moderately effective and really quite forgettable. There's nothing of the quality of "Moon River" or "The Pink Panther Theme."

PudgyPandaMan I'm not a big fan of musicals, although this technically might not qualify as a musical. But I thought I would give it a chance as I love war movies. It was mediocre at best.Hudson seems totally out of kilter in this role. It just didn't work for me. Julie Andrews probably played her part as best as she could, but I just find it hard to buy her as a conniving, deceptive spy. Sorry, I know that is classic stereotyping on my part. But I have to say I think this is Julie at her most beautiful and feminine looking. I always thought of her as more matronly, but then surely that's a result of her roles in Sound of Music and Mary Poppins. No doubt they were desperately trying to get her out of that typecasting in this role. She was quite beguiling in appearance here, but I still didn't buy her as a spy.I couldn't keep my focus through the whole movie and found myself tuning in and out - and having conversations with those in my room (which I usually never do - I'm always shushing everybody). So that tells you how little it held my attention. Don't waste your time!