Seconds **** (1966, Rock Hudson, Will Geer, John Randolph, Salome Jens, Wesley Addy, Jeff Corey, Richard Anderson, Murray Hamilton, Karl Swenson) – Classic Movie Review 6,248

John Frankenheimer’s splendid 1966 Faustian sci-fi thriller film Seconds offers an excellent chance for Rock Hudson as an unhappy middle-aged banker hero who goes to a creepy organisation offering him his youth back again.

Director John Frankenheimer’s splendid, showy 1966 Faustian sci-fi thriller film Seconds offers an excellent chance for Rock Hudson to show his underrated acting skills as the unhappy middle-aged banker hero Tony Wilson, who goes to a creepy organisation that offers him his youth back again with a new look and identity as another person. As with any pact with the Devil, of course, there is a price to pay.

The chilling, clever yarn, taken from David Ely’s 1963 novel, is told with plenty of drive, imagination and flair by screen-writer Lewis John Carlino and director Frankenheimer, and it builds steadily and compellingly to an unusually strong finish.

The surreal Seconds is visually stunning in glorious black and white, with a startling use of camera contortions from veteran cinematographer James Wong Howe, who was nominated for an Oscar for Best Cinematography, Black-and-White.

The film was nominated for the Palme D’Or at the 1966 Cannes Film Festival where it was booed at the screening. Its US premiere was in New York City on October 5, 1966, and it opened in Los Angeles on November 9, 1966.

It was a catastrophe at the box office, taking only $1.75 million in US and Canada rentals against a budget of $2.5 million.

Frankenheimer wanted to star Kirk Douglas, whose company Joel Productions was producing the film, but Douglas was busy and instead Frankenheimer offered the role of Tony Wilson to Laurence Olivier. However, Paramount Pictures objected, saying Olivier was not a big enough star. So Hudson was cast, seeking to expand his range out of typecasting in romantic comedies.

Frankenheimer recalled: ‘He was one of the nicest guys I’ve ever met. He really wanted to do this picture, but he would only do it as the second character. He didn’t think he could handle the older character.’

US distributor Paramount Pictures ordered Frankenheimer to cut seven minutes of the film for its US release. The footage is the grape-stomping sequence at the party Arthur (John Randolph) attends with Nora (Salome Jens). The studio thought the sequence, which features full-frontal nudity from the extras, was too controversial. Frankenheimer recalled: ‘The Catholic Church objected to the nudity, so it was cut.’

In May 1997 the film was re-released in the US in its full form to commemorate its 30th anniversary. The original 107-minute cut had previously been shown only in Europe.

Also in the cast are John Randolph, Will Geer, Salome Jens, Jeff Corey, Richard Anderson, Murray Hamilton, Wesley Addy, Karl Swenson, Khigh Dhiegh, Frances Reid, Elisabeth Fraser, John Lawrence, Dody Heath, Robert Brubaker, Dorothy Morris, Barbara Werle, Frank Campanella, Edgar Stehli, Ned Young and Kirk Duncan.

Former Forties film star Carla Balenda has an uncredited role as Operating Room Nurse in her final appearance.

Seconds is directed by John Frankenheimer, runs 107 minutes, is made by John Frankenheimer Productions, Joel Productions and Gibraltar Productions, is written by Lewis John Carlino, based on David Ely’s novel, is shot in black and white by James Wong Howe, is produced by John Frankenheimer and Edward Lewis, is scored by Jerry Goldsmith, and is designed by Ted Haworth. The titles of are designed by Saul Bass.

Principal photography took place from June 14, 1965 to August 1965, primarily in Malibu, California, with additional photography occurring in Scarsdale, New York, and New York City. The cameraman fainted when an actual rhinoplasty operation and Frankenheimer took over shooting some of the footage. The scenes in Wilson’s Malibu beach house are shot in Frankenheimer’s home.

The Manchurian Candidate (1962), Seven Days in May (1964) and Seconds are sometimes are referred to as Frankenheimer’s ‘paranoia trilogy’.

© Derek Winnert 2017 Classic Movie Review 6,248

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