Lolita (Motion picture

Lolita is a 1962 black comedy-psychological drama film directed by Stanley Kubrick, based on the 1955 novel of the same name by Vladimir Nabokov. The black-and-white film follows a middle-aged literature lecturer who writes as "Humbert" and has hebephilia. He is sexually infatuated with young, adolescent Dolores Haze (whom he calls "Lolita"). It stars James Mason as Humbert, Shelley Winters as Mrs. Haze, Peter Sellers as Quilty, and Sue Lyon (in her film debut) as Dolores "Lolita" Haze. The novel was considered "unfilmable" when Kubrick acquired the rights around the time of its U.S. publication. Owing to restrictions imposed by the Motion Picture Production Code (1934–68), the film toned down the most provocative aspects, sometimes leaving much to the audience's imagination. Sue Lyon was 14 at the time of filming and played a 17-year-old, whereas the Lolita of Nabokov's novel is 12 years old when Humbert Humbert first meets her. Lolita polarized contemporary critics with its theme of child sexual abuse but was nominated for Best Adapted Screenplay at the 35th Academy Awards. Years after its release, Kubrick expressed doubt that he would have attempted to make the film had he fully understood how severe the censorship limitations on it would be. Regardless, the film has since received critical acclaim. In the late 1990s, British director Adrian Lyne again adapted the novel to the big screen.