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The Rolling Stones’ Lost Movie: Only Lovers Left Alive (1966)
In 1966 The Rolling Stones were ready to trade the stage for a movie set—and the story behind it is stranger than a forgotten film credit. Only Lovers Left Alive was supposed to turn the band’s rebellious image into a cinematic adventure, backed by serious money and a plot about unruly young people taking over Britain. Naturally, the movie vanished before cameras rolled. But its trail didn’t disappear completely. Decades later, a curious connection resurfaced in an unexpected place, leaving Stones fans with one wonderfully weird “what if?” to investigate. Even the Stones’ unrealized movie career refuses to stay buried.
In May 1966 Allen Klein purchased the film rights to this novel by author Dave Wallis for the Stones. Andrew Oldham had chosen this story because he found the plot of violent and rebellious youths taking over Britain to be the perfect subject matter for the Stones. Oldham and Klein planned to coproduce the movie, which Decca would finance, with the Stones getting $1 million. In fact it was announced that the movie would go into production at MGM’s Boreham Wood Studios in the fall of 1966, but then it never happened.
Only Lovers Left Alive: The Stones’ Unrealized Film Fantasy
The Rolling Stones might not physically appear in Jim Jarmusch’s 2013 film Only Lovers Left Alive, but their presence is definitely felt. This moody, atmospheric vampire movie, starring Tilda Swinton and Tom Hiddleston as centuries-old lovers, includes a little nod to the band—specifically to their early days with manager Andrew Loog Oldham and infamous business mogul Allen Klein.
At one point in the film, there’s a shot of a vinyl record sleeve for the 1966 book Only Lovers Left Alive, written by Dave Wallis. This book was once considered as the basis for a film adaptation, and back in the ’60s, Oldham even bought the rights to turn it into a movie. The idea? A dystopian youth-driven world that perfectly fit the rebellious, anti-establishment image of the Stones at the time. However, like many ambitious rock-and-roll projects, it never got off the ground.
Allen Klein, a Rolling Stones Movie, Lost Rights, and a Hidden Easter Egg
Enter Allen Klein, the shrewd businessman who took control of the Stones’ early catalog and locked horns with the band over the years. When he acquired Oldham’s shares in their early recordings, he also ended up with anything tied to Oldham’s Only Lovers Left Alive project. Fast forward to Jarmusch’s film, and that small visual reference becomes a deep-cut Easter egg for rock history fans.
So while the Stones never made their Only Lovers Left Alive movie, their fingerprints are still there—hidden in a film about timeless love, music, and, fittingly, immortality.
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