Omnibus presents a profile of the legendary actress and singer. ' Everybody always says - Good God, she's 80 years old! What about it? Most legends are created when one is dead, yet there are a few living ones: Mae West is one, Marlene is one, and I'm one ... I guess.' Lotte Lenya talks to Peter Adam at her home in America. Married to the composer Kurt Weill , and a close friend of Bertolt Brecht, her name instantly conjures up Berlin in the 20s, with its smash hits, Mahagonny and The Threepenny Opera. After emigration, both WEILL and LENYA had new careers in America: he as a Broadway composer and she as a stage and film actress.
'When I go to buy groceries, some people look first at my shoes -that's what From Russia with Love has done for me! '
With extracts from Brecht on Brecht, filmed for Monitor in 1961 by KEN RUSSELL , including some of Lenya's most beloved songs:
' Mack the Knife',' Pirate Jenny ' ' Surabaya Johnny
' Alabama Song . And clips from her films, including the 1931 classic
The Threepenny Opera.
Film editor MICHAEL crozier Producer PETER ADAM