Seconds

Based on author David Ely's 1963 novel of the same title, this 1966 Sci-fi piece maintains a truly unsettling feeling throughout whilst Rock Hudson delivers a chillingly tormented performance.

What if there was a 'secret organization' that could offer a new start to a certain kind of individual? You, perhaps… if you happen to be a bored, middle-aged and ordinary looking man in a top executive position (you'd need the money) and are tired of your mundane existence. You may even still love your partner though the physical aspect of your relationship died years ago.
Arthur Hamilton (John Randolph), a bank manager, finds himself in exactly this position. Someone passes him a mysterious note on the New York Subway. When he gets home he receives a strange phone call from an old friend he hasn't seen for years. The portent of all this is to offer him (at a very large price we can only imagine but he can afford it) a chance of a completely new life. His friend in question has, it would appear, already taken advantage of this amazing and incredible opportunity). At first, Arthur doesn't seem overly keen to take up the offer; clearly he just isn't the right type. However, sad and disillusioned fellow that he is he simply allows himself to be bamboozled into this situation thanks tor his old friend’s persistence. The organization in question has to be highly secret… for in order to make their clients 'dreams' come true they have to commit murder over and over again! Arthur encounters some difficulty in reaching said organization but once he's there nothing can change his mind. That said you'd think they'd vet their clients a little, after all, this is highly dangerous territory. In order to ensure there is no turning back for poor old Arthur his coffee is spiked and he is filmed in a sexually compromising situation with one of the company’s female employees.

A sinister old man (Will Geer) then suddenly appears to re-assure him that he's made the right choice. But Hamilton looks far from being convinced. Of course there’s a hook along the line: in order for Arthur to start a new life with a new identity a donor must be found who resembles him. Eventually someone is found roughly the right size etc. and soon after, Arthur's apparent 'death' is reported in a newspaper with the headline: Bank executive burned to death in a hotel fire.

After 'miraculous' plastic surgery Arthur becomes Antiochus ‘Tony’ Wilson (Rock Hudson), a relatively young and handsome looking man who is now given the chance to 'gatecrash' his fantasy at long last. In his old identity he dreamt of being an artist - he had some skill as a water-colour artist. With a little more help from the ‘organization’ he is set up as a professional artist with a studio in Malibu and a loyal (obviously an employee of the company) manservant. This should be bliss, shouldn't it? They even arrange a free-spirited girlfriend called Nora Marcus (Salome Jens) for him. No, their meeting on the beach was no coincidence. After initial reservations Tony ends up naked at a wild beach party with his new girlfriend in tow, and together with other swingers they frolic about in a vast tub of grapes. However, his transition is a little odd i.e. like the drug has just kicked in now. Later, Tony gets hopelessly drunk at his own party after declaring his love for Nora, and then starts behaving like an idiot when he starts spilling the beans about his former existence. Fortunately the majority of the party guests are 're-borns' or ‘seconds’ like him. But unlike him they have successfully re-adjusted to their new lives. It can only get worse when he goes to visit his ex-wife. Suddenly he realizes that he wants to go back to his old former self but there can be no going back, for Arthur is ‘dead’. He returns to the organization whose policy is that he must find a suitable friend to be 'reborn'. Who do you think the 'donors' are? Never fear, Tony's nightmare is finally coming to an end – or perhaps it is only about to start as he is wheeled along the corridor and into the operating theatre…

Director Frankenheimer sustains this dark and chilling tale throughout. There is no respite - you will feel uncomfortable! Thanks to James Wong Howe's superb photography we know from the go that we are in for a bumpy ride – distorted camera angles and claustrophobic ambience galore! Jerry Goldsmith's eerie score only deepens the sensation.
This is one hell of a ghost train ride you'll be glad to get off. It is an unusual and perhaps telling part for the tragic and tormented Rock Hudson. You can actually feel the angst. Jeff Corey and Will Geer in particular are splendidly creepy as executives of this highly irregular organization. Lesson in the learning: Make sure you KNOW what you really, really want!