John Frankenheimer's Seconds (1966)

I first saw Seconds about a year ago. It seems like every couple of days since then, I find myself thinking about it. I really think it's one of those movies that everybody can relate to, but don't like to. They just don't want to think that their life isn't fulfilling enough to the point where they'd contemplate making the same decision John Randolph's character, Arthur Hamilton did. Whether they would ultimately make that decision or not isn't the point. The fact that they would even contemplate it is the scary part. Arthur Hamilton is most people. He's me. He's probably you. He has the life that really isn't all that bad. But, it really isn't all that good either. It's that middle ground that seems to slowly drive people insane. Those little things that drive you crazy. The things in your mind that take you away for a couple of moments, but make you come back down to Earth almost immediately because you know that's never going to actually happen. And, to further elaborate these great things in your mind would just be torturing yourself. That's what this movie is about. What made me respond so much to it is the way it's told. It's very subtle. A lot of directors would have been scared to show Arthur Hamilton make the decision he does with his life being as good as it is. I think most directors would have copped out and had some drastic happen to drive Arthur Hamilton into his decision. Not this movie. And, that's what is so brilliant about it. It wasn't something drastic. It was just the little things. Arthur Hamilton kisses his wife before going to bed. She kisses him back. Hey, it's a kiss! Some people don't even have that. But, there was nothing in this kiss. It was a ritual. It was a habit. It wasn't love, though. Now, did they love each other? Yes. But, it wasn't the same crazy love that it once was. And, to kiss somebody you once loved more than anything in the world, and have that great act now be reduced to some sort of empty gesture that you do out of habit before going bed can't be something that feels good. She feels the same nothingness. This didn't happen over night. It very gradually came to this. This is just one of those subtle things in life. Almost every other movie would have some drastic thing happen that would drive their main character over the top into making the decision Arthur Hamilton ends up making. He loses his job. He loses his wife. He loses something. They need something obvious to help justify this decision. John Frankenheimer didn't need something obvious. And, the lack of obviousness is what makes this movie as great as it is. Because, it wasn't something drastic that drove Arthur Hamilton to do what he did. It was the lack of passion in a kiss that was part of it. Not all that Earth shattering when you think of it as one single event. But, it is a meaningful thing in one's life. More than anything, though, it was being ordinary that made Arthur Hamilton do what he did. And, lets face it. We're all ordinary. There is not a special one amongst us. Well, maybe David Bowie. But, I guarantee you David Bowie wakes up in the morning and goes, "Damn, I wish I was Bob Dylan." And, Bob Dylan probably wakes up every morning and wishes it was 1870 and he's was traveling on horseback as an outlaw, or something. Everybody wants something else. And, that common desire is what makes us all ordinary. And, knowing that, I truly believe most people would at the very least contemplate the scenario brought up to Arthur Hamilton. Especially if they were asked on the right day. Or even the wrong day depending on your views on life.

First off, my knowledge of John Frankenheimer films are not very vast. I've probably only seen ten of his fifty plus credits. Eleven if you want to count the Tales From the Crypt episode I just caught on the Chiller Network a few weeks back. So, my new found love for this man really is solely based on Seconds. Sure, I enjoyed The Manchurian Candidate, and Birdman of Alcatraz. I even enjoyed his version of Iceman Cometh enough to watch it twice in two days. But, none of those movies affected me in the way Seconds did. From watching it from the first time standpoint, he never showed off more as a director than he did in Seconds. This one just oozes style. It has a very modern use of composition and camera moves. I mean, there was SnorriCam shot in the very first scene for crying out loud. SnorriCam seemed cutting edge in the late 90's, and here was John doing it in 1966. And, from a story telling standpoint, he has you sucked in right from the beginning. The train station setting, John Randolph being followed, and a little sheet of paper that could mean anything all takes place within the first five minutes, and you just have to know where this thing is going. You concede, "Okay, you hooked me in, John." Five minutes later Arthur Hamilton is talking to his "dead" friend. What a first act. This is like a Twilight Zone episode. Only, it would be by far the greatest Twilight Zone episode of all time. So, while Frankenheimer masterfully starts this movie up, he then takes a step back and makes it "The John Randolph Show."

John Randolph at this point of his career, was a character actor in the midst of a fifteen year hiatus from Hollywood due to his being blacklisted for his "commie views." John Randolph never became more than a character actor. His age, and looks would never allow him to be. But, for the first half of Seconds, this is a John Randolph movie. And boy, does he shine. Randolph is one of the perfect castings of all time. Nobody else could of played Arthur Hamilton. Randolph didn't have to say anything to convince you he was him. All you had to do was look in his eyes. And, you could see he was Arthur Hamilton. He had this amazing talent to sit in stillness and completely act with his eyes. Now, I say "sit in stillness" and you might picture this Bill Murray, stoic kind of thing. But, that's not what I'm talking about. Because, Randolph could sit in stillness and not be stoic at all. He could be outright animated, in fact. So, Arthur Hamilton is in the office being pitched the proposition, and Frankenheimer does a really brave thing by just completely stopping the movie. It reminds me of the peep show booth scene in Paris, Texas in that way. The camera stops moving. The room is dead silent. There is no soundtrack to speak of. It's just people talking. And, we're all going to listen. Far too many directors are terrified of lack of action and especially silence these days. Silence is a forgotten tool. Frankenheimer embraces it. So, Arthur Hamilton listens to the pitch, and he takes it. Sure, he may have been blackmailed into doing so. But, look at that face above. Does that look like the face of a man that is going to say "no" to a new life? That's a "where do I sign up" kind of face.


Arthur Hamilton accepts. Of course he does. Exit John Randolph. Enter Rock Hudson. Now, I stated I didn't know much about John Frankenheimer's career and then said I've seen ten of his films in the very next sentence. Well, I will say I don't know much about Rock Hudson's career, and actually not know anything about Rock Hudson's career. Like anybody that enjoys movies, I've asked people to recommend stuff to me. Nobody has recommended a Rock Hudson movie to me yet. Not one person. I always assumed that meant he went the safe Hollywood route. And, had a paint by numbers type path to his career. Nothing wrong with that at all. But, that would explain me never seeing a Rock Hudson movie until Seconds. The safe, popcorn movies of it's day aren't usually the movies that get passed down generation to generation. Seconds is obviously not a safe, popcorn movie, however. Now, I called John Randolph one of the great castings of all time. Well, give John Frankenheimer and whoever helped him cast credit, because they snagged another great castings of all time. And, in the very same movie, no less. Now, knowing what we know now about Hudson's sexuality now, it is heartbreaking to watch Hudson play a character that painfully explains how he "had to live his life according to rules set by others." It really is painful. I would have believed him back then not knowing anything. And, I certainly believe him now. It's just a great performance, and while I won't claim to know for sure, I will bravely assume that it's by far Rock Hudson's top performance. Now, the only flaw I could find in this amazing movie is I feel like Hudson's character rejects his new life a little too quickly. I think he would have enjoyed it for a little while before the rejection inevitably happened. It's not nearly a big enough flaw to ruin this great movie, though. As I realize the point Frankenheimer was trying to convey by making him reject it so quickly. Plus, the quicker he rejects it, the sooner we get a really great ending to a movie.


This is an amazing movie. That's all there is to it. I will go as far to say that it is somewhat forgotten, as well. It was nominated for an Oscar which will never make it completely forgotten. People will find it that way. But, I've never heard a contemporary director mention this movie. Ever. I would think there would be one director mentioning it from time to time. Especially considering there are plenty who's style resemble this movie. But, no dice. I won't harp on that thought too long, though. Because, for no logical reason whatsoever, something that is really cool that is also obscure somehow becomes even cooler. So, Seconds is my little cool movie that only a select group of other cool people know.