452. SECONDS (1966)

Running Time: 107 minutes
Directed By: John Frankenheimer
Written By: Lewis John Carlino, from novel by David Ely
Main Cast: Rock Hudson, Salome Jens, John Randolph, Will Greer, Jeff Corey
Click here to view the trailer

THE BREAD WAS GREAT!

I've been eyeballing "Seconds" ever since I purchased the "1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die" book and last night I finally got the chance to check it out. If I said I wasn't disappointed, I'd be lying.

Arthur Hamilton (Randolph) is a middle-aged, bank worker whose life has lost it's purpose. He and his wife barely speak and they haven't been affectionate in years. His daughter lives on the other side of the country and once in a while, if he's lucky, she writes a letter. One day, while riding the subway home from work, a stranger passes a note to Arthur on which is written an address. Later that evening, Arthur receives a call from his old friend Charlie Evans. The unsettling thing about the call is that Charlie has been dead for years. At first, Arthur dismisses the call as a prank, but realizes that it's actually Charlie when the voice on the other end of the phone tells him things that only Charlie could know. Charlie tells Arthur to show up at the address the next day and use the name Mr. Wilson. He promises that Arthur's life will be changed forever and for the better. Arthur tosses and turns on the whether or not to go to the address and finally decides to see what it's all about. When he shows up, he finds a meat packing plant. The men, dressed in butcher's clothing address him by the name Mr. Wilson and tell him that he's been expected. He is then transported to another building, where he awaits to find out the details about the unusual phone call and Charlie's promise of a new life. It turns out that Charlie has referred Arthur to "The Company", an organization that specializes in creating new lives for their clients. They fake their deaths, have their clients go through radical cosmetic surgeries and even provide compensation to the client's loved ones. At first, Arthur is hesitant, but after a talk with the Company's head (Greer), he changes his mind and decides to go through with the procedure.

SPOILER ALERT!

The bread was great! In other words, the beginning and end were the stuff great films are made of and the middle portion was kind of a big "WTF" moment. As movie fans we've all had those films that get us excited. We read a plot synopsis or see a trailer and think, "Wow, this film was made for my eyes. There's no way I'm going to dislike this one!" We head into it and one of two things happen, we either love it, just like we thought we would or we're disappointed. "Seconds" starts out, like any other film, with opening credits and let me tell you, even the opening credits to this film were marvelous. Sporting PERFECT music by Jerry Goldsmith, the film immediately puts you into an uneasy place. Followed by that, the film is beautifully edited together, using absolutely gorgeous and eerie cinematography by James Wong Howe. The crispness of the black and white, the camera lens that seems to twist and contort the world that it films, it all works wonders to make this film look like a masterpiece. And hey, the acting is top notch too as John Randolph is plucked off the Hollywood blacklist and reinstated as an actor by John Frankenheimer and what a choice Frankenheimer made as the guy really shines as Arthur Hamilton. The actors that show up when Arthur enters "The Company" are great too, playing the crooked, eerie characters that they were cast to play. And, of course, the story is appealing, as we're left with just as many questions as the main character and that's always good when we can relate to a character and wonder the same things they'd be wondering about.

Then the procedure happens and everything goes downhill. Arthur Hamilton wakes up as Tony Wilson (Hudson), a bachelor and a painter living in California. He is put up in a beautiful house and given a man servant, John, an employee at The Company, to help with his transition. John continually hounds Tony about throwing a party and meeting the neighbors and Tony continually denies the suggestion. Later, Tony meets Nora (Jens), a free spirited woman and accompanies her to a weird, hippie party where men and women strip naked, pile into a huge barrel full of grapes, make wine and have an orgy. It's as weird as hell and I have no idea what it has to do with getting a new face or identity. Tony then proclaims love for Nora and the he finally gives in on having a party. At the party, he gets too drunk and spills the beans about his old life, but it's okay, because the majority of the guests are reborns (clients of The Company). He is then taken back to The Company, Nora is totally forgotten about and she never shows back up and the entire ending is pretty crazy, scary, haunting and unsettling, not to mention perfect.

Why we had to take that detour to the hippie Californian lifestyle of the 1960s, I have no idea. Hey, I have nothing against hippie Californians, but they had no place here. This was the kind of film that really makes you wish YOU could've been the screenwriter, so that you could've molded it exactly how you wanted it. When we head to California, we completely abandon the central premise of the film, which is a man coping with his new identity. I enjoyed the scenes where Tony talks with his ex-wife (of course, she doesn't know she's his ex-wife) and the scene where Tony has a conversation with Charlie (the great Murray Hamilton). I kind of thought that The Company was going to end up screwing Arthur over and as Tony, he'd have to try and convince his wife that he was really Arthur. That would've been a lot of fun. However, the film didn't take the road I wish it had taken and really didn't take a sensible route at all. I can't totally deny it credit, because a lot of it was perfect and it's a film that I'll probably never forget, simply because of the unsettling, uneasy atmosphere. I'll never forget that picture of Rock Hudson, gagged and tied to a gurney, screaming for his life. Hudson was magnificent here! This film also reserves a spot for John Frankenheimer in the corner of my mind, as he has shown me two really good films during my journey (the other being "The Manchurian Candidate").

RATING: 7/10  I had a big fat ten pegged for "Seconds", but it didn't pan out that way. This 100 has become famous for lowering the standards of a '7' rated film. A '7' used to be very good, but lately I've seen a ton of movies that have only received a '7' because they failed to hit that upper echelon of eight and above.

MOVIES WATCHED: 478
MOVIES LEFT TO WATCH: 523

June 12, 2012  2:50pm

389. The Manchurian Candidate (1962)

Running Time: 126 minutes
Directed By: John Frankenheimer
Written By: George Axelrod, from novel by Richard Condon
Main Cast: Frank Sinatra, Laurence Harvey, Angela Lansbury, Janet Leigh, James Gregory
Click here to view the trailer

"OL BLUE EYES" GETS BRAINWASHED

It seems that each and every time I'm nearly ready to make a TOP 20 list, I come across one last gem that makes making the list even more difficult. Last time around it was "Body Heat", the time before that, "Brokeback Mountain" and this time, "The Manchurian Candidate".

The film starts out during the Korean War, where a platoon of American soldiers, including Raymond Shaw (Harvey) and Major Bennett Marco (Sinatra), are captured and taken to Manchuria. We find out later that the reason for their capture was to brainwash the men, most notably Raymond, who would later serve as a killing machine for his "American operator". When the men return home, Raymond is decorated with the Medal of Honor and his fellow soldiers have nothing but niceties to shower him with, even though when they really think about it, they remember heavily disliking Raymond. As the film progresses, we find out that Raymond and his new washed brain can be triggered by the phrase, "why don't you pass the time with a game of solitaire" and he is put under further hypnosis when he sees the Queen of Diamonds. All the while, Major Bennett continues to have dreams about being in a room with a group of elderly ladies who transform into Korean agents. He soon realizes that there is more to the dreams and that he is actually remembering the day that he and Raymond were initially hypnotized and brainwashed. Later, he is put on assignment to get closer to Raymond, so that the Army can find out exactly what happened to him.

SPOILER ALERT!

Actually, I had SOME problems with "The Manchurian Candidate", so lets tackle the bad before we get to the good. First and foremost, what in God's name was Janet Leigh doing in there? When she enters the picture it's under seemingly mysterious circumstances, rattling off her phone number as if she's trying to slip a hidden code to the Sinatra character. Beyond that she only pops up a couple more times and it's for nothing scenes, that have absolutely no ties to the main plot. Why hire a big name like Leigh, only to give her a pointless character like the one she had. I wonder if her character was more integral in the novel and in the film, they simply demoted the character to barely a supporting status. Or perhaps, she was simply placed in the film to keep the audience on their toes. Two years prior Leigh appeared in "Psycho" and surely everyone at the time knew she was a big star. You place a big star into a film about paranoia and brainwashing and you keep the audience constantly trying to predict what happens and guess her purpose. Of course, the letdown is that she has no purpose. I can't say I was all that thrilled with Sinatra either. I've seen two of his films now and I can honestly say I enjoy him better as a supporting player, instead of the main man. He's not a terrible actor, I just don't think he's good enough to be placed into a starring role.

On the other hand, who knew Angela Lansbury was that good?! She was absolutely fantastic here and what a heel she played! I quite enjoyed Laurence Harvey too, as I don't think I had ever seen one of his pictures for or even heard of him for that matter. I really thought the film was great, as is, but I can't help but thinking how much better it could have been if they had only capitalized on more opportunities for suspense. In fact, I can't help but think what Hitchcock would have done with this material and how much louder we'd be singing his praises had he gotten a hold of it. For instance, we, the audience, shouldn't find out who Raymond's American operator is until the exact moment that Sinatra's character does. Instead, we find out first and it's meant to still, somehow be a big reveal when Bennett hears Raymond talking to his mother on the phone, putting two and two together. Also, there were too many detours getting from Point A to Point B, with the inclusion of the Jocelyn and Senator Jordan characters. Were they really of vital necessity? Too many pieces were put into place, when the film was more than capable of standing on it's own merits and had a good enough plot to be left untouched and not tinkered with. I can't help but wonder the differences between the film and the novel.

But, really, I'm just nitpicking (because it's what I do best) and this is actually a superb picture. There are a truckload of memorable scenes and shots and the intrigue and suspense is quite gripping. The scene of the "dream" sequence is outstanding and THE BOOK recalls it's reminiscence to the French New Wave. Also, THE BOOK seems to think that there was some subtle hints toward an incestuous relationship between Raymond and his mother, which I too kind of picked up on. Lots to unravel with this one and it's one that I think will suit a lot of tastes.

RATING: 7.5/10 That's a knee-jerker, but I'll sleep on it and come TOP 20 time (which will hopefully be tomorrow), maybe it will rise a notch or two and get a spot.

MOVIES WATCHED: 399
MOVIES LEFT TO WATCH: 602

January 15, 2012 4:18am