Lolly-Madonna XXX

Like a number of movies from Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer that were made in the first half of the 1970s, "Lolly-Madonna XXX" was hard to see for many years until quite recently. I'd always been curious about it, so when it popped up on Turner Classic Movies one night, I was sure to record it and subsequently watch it. After seeing it, I think I can understand why the movie was held back for so long. As I said in my summary line, the movie is not awful. It is well acted, both by established stars Steiger and Ryan, as well as by the members of the cast who hadn't become stars yet. The movie feels authentic; you really get a taste of what run down and poverty-stricken life the characters live. However, there is one big flaw that sinks the movie, and that is that it's extremely slow. Scene after scene goes by with no real consequence - even the ending feels incomplete. If there had been more real plot, we might have had something here. But as it is, the movie will probably only appeal to film buffs with interest in the cast as well as with major studio movies that are obscure.