MovieChat Forums > The Roman Spring of Mrs. Stone (1961) Discussion > OLIVIER'S YOUNGER WOMAN

OLIVIER'S YOUNGER WOMAN

posted 15 years ago by Connie_n_Raymond_Marble
12 replies | jump to latest

It is common knowledge that VL was dealing with the fact that she was being left by her husband, Laurence Olivier, for another woman as she worked on this film. Art imitating life. The woman she was left for was Joan Plowright. One wonders how someone could choose Plowright over a legendary beauty like Leigh but, according to her biography, Leigh's manic-depression had all but taken over at this point in her life and she had become extremely difficult to live with. Was anyone else as surprised as I was to learn that Plowright was "the other woman?"

We'll see whose the filthiest person alive! We'll just see!

[–] Jessica_Rabbit69 15 years ago

Actually, it is fairly easy to understand. Though I am a big fan of Vivien Leigh, it is pretty clear that she had problems. By the time Vivien divorced Olivier, she was definitively mentally unstable and it was probably impossible to live with her.

Plowright was maybe no great beauty, but a very attractive woman, younger and most importantly sane. Although younger than Olivier he was probably also attracted to her motherly qualities, if that doesn't sound too odd. After living with a diva, an utterly normal if maybe slightly boring person must have been heaven for him.

Jessica Rabbit
"I'm not bad. I'm just drawn that way."

[–] badnomad 15 years ago

Oh well. Vivian had the last laugh as Olivier was doing men while married to Plowright.

[–] Jessica_Rabbit69 15 years ago

From all I've heard he had always been doing that, but I don't know if the rumors are true.

Jessica Rabbit
"I'm not bad. I'm just drawn that way."

[–] spencerc2217 9 years ago

Olivier going both ways is an absolute myth according to many sources, including the book by his son by Jill Edmunds, Tarquin.

[–] Puckdeestubenfliege 8 years ago

And that's the saddest thing actually, e-v-e-r-y-o-n-e has written something about that relationship, except Vivien Leigh. Some comments, but never anything with some reflective distance. And now I write about it too, pff. They were obsessed with each other, and both unhappy, she all her life long. Leigh would have had a much(!) easier life with a more passive, compassionate, and simply more capable partner, like Leigh Holman and/or Jack Merivale. Olivier was a God on stage, and cute, but otherwise there was nothing to him. Which can not be said about Vivien Leigh. Olivier found the comforting, pampered private life, that he had always been looking for, with two other women. Leigh always loved him, and from all accounts did the best she could not to interfere with his later life, I hold it against Olivier that he could not manage to give her a visit once a year. Best for both of them would have been if they had never met. Would they have been happier...??

[–] Helpfan65 14 years ago

I'm a fan of VL (truly), but the truth is, what goes around comes around. VL broke up Olivier's first marriage to actress Jill Esmond and left her own husband and child to hook up with Olivier. So, it was karma when Olivier ultimately left her for another woman. JMO.

[–] jreedha 14 years ago

Really? Bad karma for Leigh because she left her husband for Olivier? What about his having left his wife for her? Where's his bad karma? No double standard there - no sir!

[–] Helpfan65 14 years ago

For all we know, maybe Olivier did get his come uppance as well. Who can say?

[–] mmcvey1 12 years ago

Ha,ha, so right. And I've read in other sources that Olivier had been in a long-time affair with Danny Kaye.

[–] cookiela2001 14 years ago

I think Olivier was also attracted to Plowright because she was part of the more naturalistic theater style he was becoming interested in. At least, I think it's Anne Edwards who mentions this in the Leigh bio.

Joan was more Au Courant and vital, on the edge of the 1960's.

[–] belva0308 12 years ago

I have probably too many thoughts on this subject. Vivien is without a doubt my favorite actress ever. I would go so far as to say she was a better actress than Larry was an actor but he was the most lauded, the most celebrated. Vivien was obviously an easy person to love in some respects. She remained close to her first husband Leigh Holman for years after she she left him and was married to Larry. She still apparently loved Larry on some level even after they were divorced. I think many things went into their troubles. Vivien obviously suffered from some severe mental issues. I think that while they were young, they had an exciting and glamorous relationship. She miscarried twice and I feel that had an affect on their relationship plus she had at least one affair on him with Peter Finch. No clue on how many he may have had on her prior to Plowright. I feel that what more than likely happened is that he grew weary of caring for her as she was from all accounts imbalanced and manic at times. I think he was reaching an age when he wanted to be cared for more than he wanted to care for someone else. Vivien was living with Jack Merivale who continued to care for her until her death. That vow about "in sickness and in health" can be a big one when referring to long illnesses or mental illness and I think they take a big toll on everyone.

Just for the record, I am not sure who wrote her biography on IMDB, but I have read about 3 biographies on her and there are some major issues with the one on here. For instance, they mention on there that she did not get along with Clark Gable. That has been a long standing falsity. They were said to have gotten along just fine, but both were busy in their personal lives with significant others.

"Mr Corleone is a man who insists on hearing bad news at once."

[–] spencerc2217 8 years ago

In a Vivien documentary posted on You Tube, his first son, by Jill Edmonds, states that late in life they were watching one of his films with Vivien and Olivier was sobbing, saying "That was real love."

Also, the comment that after their divorce he did not visit Vivien is incorrect, according to the recent biography by Kendra Bean. She touchingly describes an afternoon visit he made to her country home south of London. Perhaps there were others.

I have to question Olivier's inclusion of Vivien's mental illness is his otherwise generally tight lipped autobiography. It really is nobody's business. His recounting of her telling him in 1949 that she no longer loved him and regarded him more as a brother, but that "occasional acts of incest" were permitted, shows a bitterness that I think places him in a bad light. Isn't it possible that her feelings at that time were a reflection of the onset of her mental illness? She certainly seemed to love him when he asked for a divorce about ten years later.

I think of Olivia de Havilland's comment in one of the You Tube posted documentaries, that Vivien should be remembered with "compassion."