Darling Lili paired Julie Andrews with director Blake Edwards in a First World War story of a singer who was also a spy.
Darling Lili was released in 1970, directed by Blake Edwards. Julie Andrews played Lili Smith, a popular singer in wartime London who is secretly working for Germany, and Rock Hudson played Major William Larrabee, the American officer who falls in love with her while trying to uncover her secret. The film mixed romance, espionage and musical numbers, with songs by Henry Mancini and Johnny Mercer.
The role gave Andrews a chance to play a character with divided loyalties, whose public charm masked a private mission. Her singing was central to the story, because Lili’s performances were both her cover and her way of reaching the soldiers she entertained. The film’s most famous song, Whistling Away the Dark, was later recognised with award nominations.
Darling Lili was a costly production and it did not succeed commercially on its first release, but it began an important creative partnership: Edwards would later direct Andrews in The Tamarind Seed and Victor/Victoria, and the two married in 1969. For Andrews, the film showed her willingness to take on a complex, morally ambiguous role, rather than staying within the musical roles that had made her famous.