I do think Harlequin readers would probably enjoy the film adaptation of Leopard in the Snow so I hope the movie finds a new audience on DVD.

Over 20 years ago, a large box of then old harlequin books sat in the corner of my room for a couple of weeks (props for a party that was being planned). Boredome and curiosity got the better of me and I read a half dozen or so of them, including (the only title I remember) Leopard in the Snow.

Your description here sounds like the filming was pretty literal and reading your plot rundown fired some memory synapses that hadn’t been used in years.

What I remember about the book:
1. The title: catchy as all get out (the only reason I remember the book, I can’t remember any other harlequin titles)
2. The real leopard in the snow was very marginal in the book. I seem to recall some unconvincing dialogue about it too, but details are blurry. The overall impression was that it didn’t have much to do with anything, almost as if the author had written the first draft then got the title at the last minute and had to work in a leopard in the snow in the final draft.
3. The lack of chemistry or interaction between the leads seems to have been a standard harlequin policy. In most of the books I read (mostly from the early 70’s) despite the expected lack of sexual activity there’s virtually no other activity either. Most commonly the heroine had no idea of the leading man’s intentions until the final page (or paragraph!) of the book. Typically, the heroine thinks the man is acting beastly for 9/10’s of the book. Then in the final tenth she realizes she loves him (and despairs because he obviously hates her) and this goes on until the very end at which point it’s revealed that the man had been either a) trying to mask his feelings b) acting out of despair. Both of these strategies were responses to his assumption that _she_ hated _him_.

So I imagine the intended audience was used enough to the format (if not the book itself) that they could fill in both the heroine’s growing (unconscious) love for her tortured loner and the man’s gruff, clumsy attempts to cover his feelings. If you don’t have that background, I can understand that it all might be a bit of a blur.

As I mentioned above, The Fox is much more my cup of tea and I really like that film since I love Lawrence and I thought Dullea was terrific in it, along withe rest of the cast. It’s a shame that it’s not available on DVD yet.

I much prefer him in “The Fox”, another kind of wintwer domination movie, but perhaps his character’s distasteful manipulation in that one was overshadowed by Anne Heywood’s performance, something I don’t think Penhaligon had in her most of the time. Not that Penhaligon lacked the chops for making the most of a role, her work in “Under Milk Wood” as Mae was as natural as can be, and I’ve heard her work in “Bouquet of Barbed Wire” on UK TV was awesome, tho I’ve never seen it; I think she needed strong direction. Curious that Harlequin would pin their female character on her, I don’t see her as a genteel bodice-ripper, altho I wouldn’t've minded if she did - that was a bit of a specialty of hers on screen back then, another curious reason for Harlequin to leave out adult material, as she was made for it.

Dullea always seemed to have a controlled violence just under the surface in most of his performances, I feel, and it come across as a quiet fearlessness, especially as Dave in “2001″ - his single-minded attack on Hal and the ship was like peeling layers of an onion until he found the center. His David was somewhat the same - he popped his top a little, but couldn’t stop himself from figuring out a way thru Lisa’s defences. Too bad he didn’t have a Janet Margolin in this one, I guess.

The time of production must’ve put more than a few strictures on Harliquin’s efforts - the actual sex and nudity of newer romance novels have overshadowed the staples of the genre that were pretty suggestive, and just as submissive, back then, and could’ve been out of the question in a 1978 romance genre film - judging by your description, I think they were shooting low, and could’ve aimed higher.

You always something unique here, and it’s always worth a read, keep up the good work.

HSB - It’s really funny how we get attached to some things as kids and then watching them again later the reaction can sometimes be “Why in the world did I like this so much?,” this isn’t to say that you still might enjoy Leopard in the Snow, but I know the feeling well. I’ve been watching some episodes of the TV show Fantasy Island recently and wondering why I loved the show so much when I was a kid. The concept of Fantasy Island is fantastic, but the execution, not so much.

I have a couple of Harlequin anecdotes: In the mid 70s, they launched a line of science-fiction paperbacks (which didn’t do well). I was working at the Montreal Book Fair and they had a stand next to mine. It was filled with sci-fi paperbacks, but for display only. The books had covers, but nothing printed inside. When the Fair closed, they left everything there to be thrown away. I picked up a bunch of those paperbacks and I’d give them to friends. They’d go, “Hey, great Kelly Freas cover!”, but when they opened the book, it was just blank pages.

Anecdote #2: Many years ago, Harlequin had this promotion where they gave away paperbacks… in boxes of Tide. You’d find a Harlequin Romance in a plastic wrap inside the box, buried in the detergent.

To this day, I think of laundry detergent whenever someone mentions Harlequin books.

Boys in the blue aisle with guns, sports and science toys.

Girls in the pink aisle with dolls, kitchen goods and jewelry making supplies.

We all have personal definitions of things like “beauty” or “charisma.” What appeals to me, very likely might not appeal to you, but with that said, I do think “compelling” is a better way to describe Dullea’s screen presence. For me Grant’s appeal really is his charm. The guy just drips charm and how can you not like someone who’s incredibly handsome, a snappy dresser and so damn funny all at once? Anyway… I digress (as usual), but it’s easy to get lost talking about how fabulous Cray Grant is.

Feel free to bring up 2001 all you like since I love Kubrick even if he’s been talked and written about to death. 2001 is one of my all-time favorite films. I completely agree with you about Dullea’s low-key performance as Dave. He really is perfect in that role. I also like him in films like The Fox or even The Haunting of Julia where he also plays a very controlling and domineering guy. I was reminded of The Fox while I was watching Leopard in the Snow. I really wish The Fox would get a DVD release. It’s based on a D.H. Lawrence story and Lawrence is my kind of romance writer!

It’s funny, but I don’t personally find Dullea particularly attractive (in retrospect, he might be a little all-American looking for me). I do find him charismatic (or maybe compelling is the right word?) so we seem to have opposite opinions there. He is a nice looking guy though! I have seen David & Lisa and even reviewed it earlier this year. You can find my review here.