Seconds
Short description
Seconds is a 1966 American film about Arthur Hamilton, a middle-aged bank executive whose life has become hollow, both at work and at home. A phone call from a friend he believed dead leads him to a secret organization that offers wealthy clients a drastic way out: a faked death and a surgically rebuilt identity. Arthur agrees, and after the operation he emerges as Tony Wilson, a younger man installed in a new life as a painter among California's affluent bohemians. Doubt soon sets in, and the arrangement turns out to carry obligations he did not foresee.
John Frankenheimer directed, working from a screenplay by Lewis John Carlino, with Edward Lewis producing. The film was the fifth of the eighteen Frankenheimer directed in chronological order, arriving between Seven Days in May and Grand Prix. Rock Hudson plays Tony Wilson, a departure from his established screen persona, alongside Salome Jens as Nora Marcus and John Randolph as Arthur Hamilton. Will Geer, Jeff Corey and Richard Anderson appear in supporting roles, and the credited cast runs to thirty performers.
The production had a budget of three million dollars and took in about two million worldwide. On IMDb it holds 7.6 out of 10 from roughly 25,000 votes, and on TMDB 7.4 from around 455 votes, while a critics' rating stands at 8.3 from 61 reviews, so critical assessment is noticeably higher than either audience measure.
What's left behind the scenes
- In order to film calmly in the building of the Central Station in New York, without attracting undue attention, director John Frankenheimer (1930-2002) hired Playboy models (a man and a woman), staged a supposed photoshoot for them on the stairs, and filmed everything he needed with a camera hidden in luggage while the public watched the “diversionary maneuver.”
- Today, this film is considered a classic, but at the Cannes Film Festival, critics literally tore it apart, and John Frankenheimer, who was filming the sports drama “Grand Prix” (1966) in Monte Carlo, even refused to interrupt filming to meet with reporters. He sent one of the actors from “Seconds,” Rock Hudson (1925-1985), to the press conference instead of himself, who was unable to answer any of the questions posed by the hostile journalists.
- The scene of the plastic surgery performed on John Randolph’s (1915-2004) character included several shots of a real operation (to change the shape of the nose). The director himself filmed some of them after the cinematographer, James Wong Howe (1899-1976), felt sick from what he saw.
- Rock Hudson was nearly 5 inches taller than John Randolph. This is not noticeable on screen thanks to the careful selection of the shooting angle. Before filming began, Hudson and Randolph spent a lot of time together, allowing Hudson to observe Randolph and adopt some of his mannerisms.
- According to director John Frankenheimer, the idea of casting two different actors for the roles of Arthur Hamilton and Tony Wilson was suggested by Hudson. He always opposed having the same actor play these characters, simply with different makeup. Hudson immediately stated that he would not look convincing as Hamilton and that he would only play Wilson. Frankenheimer agreed and subsequently decided it was a good idea.
- This is the only film in the 'paranoid trilogy' that does not touch upon military themes. Both 'The Manchurian Candidate' and 'Seven Days in May' are political thrillers about the military uncovering major conspiracies, whereas this film doesn't mention war, the military, or related subjects in a single word.
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