By Lee Pfeiffer
In 1966, Rock Hudson was one of the world's top box-office draws, but was largely consigned to light comedies and nondescript action films. Then he teamed with director John Frankenheimer, one of the top young directors in the industry. The film was
Seconds, a
Twilight Zone-like story about a burned out middle aged business executive (John Randolph) who accepts a tempting offer by a secret group that will result in his death being feigned and give him the ability to start a new life in a rejuvenated body. The good news is that he emerges as Rock Hudson, but the bad news comes quickly enough when he discovers you should be careful what you wish for, as you just might get it...The film is superb on every level and Hudson gives the performance of his career as the man who runs the gamut of emotions from deep depression to pure elation to outright terror when he realizes what his fate is destined to be. Sadly, the film was far ahead of its time. When it was premiered at Cannes, Hudson and Frankenheimer were booed by the audience, which thought the film was too avant garde. It was also one of the last major films released in black and white, which hurt its box-office potential - though the cinematography is one of the most haunting elements of the movie. Paramount had a special edition DVD on the market with commentary by Frankenheimer, but the studio has let it go out of print. C'mon guys, let's make this classic accessible again to movie fans.
Click here to view the trailer.