The Stripper is a 1963 American drama film about a struggling, aging actress-turned-stripper, played by Joanne Woodward, and the people she knows. It is based on the play A Loss of Roses by William Inge.
This was the feature film debut of director Franklin J. Schaffner, and co-starred Carol Lynley, Robert Webber, and Richard Beymer. Also appearing as Madame Olga was real-life stripper Gypsy Rose Lee. It was the first Schaffner film to feature a score by prolific composer Jerry Goldsmith, who later worked with Schaffner on Planet of the Apes, Patton, Papillon, and The Boys from Brazil.
William Travilla was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Costume Design, Black-and-White.
The film was intended to be a vehicle for Marilyn Monroe and Pat Boone, two Fox contract stars, but Monroe died in 1962, and Boone refused the role on moral grounds.
Plot
Lila Green dreamed of a career in the movies, but has found little success. She joins a group of traveling entertainers and is abandoned near her Kansas hometown by manager and boyfriend Ricky Powers. Old friend Helen Baird takes her into her home, where Helen's young son Kenny becomes infatuated with Lila. Somewhat delusional, she at first sees a future for their relationship, until coming to her senses. Ricky returns and offers Lila a job doing a striptease. In need of money, she accepts. Kenny witnesses her show, and he realizes she is not the dream girl he loved.