“Seconds” is a 1966 John Frankenheimer film, which follows Arthur Hamilton (John Randolph/Roc Hudson) as he partakes in a scientific experiment allowing him a second chance at life, with a completely new identity. No longer a middle-aged banker, now he can live life as a painter by the sea with the looks of Rock Hudson.
This movie starts out like an amazing hip-hop music video from the early 90s, a fish eye lens close up of an eye filled with fear with suspicion, trying to understand and make sense of what it is seeing, as we, the audience are trying to figure out what we are watching. The credits and titles, designed by legendary Saul Bass, foresee the eerie road this film will travel.
We meet our protagonist, Arthur Hamilton (played by John Randolph, as he wanders through Grand Central awaiting his train back north to home. A man hands him a slip of paper, folded in half, which he pockets. He opens it on the ride home, and we see an address: 34 Lafayette St.
At home, the phone rings and he answers hastily, annoyed at this persistent caller who insists he is his best friend, Charlie (Murray Hamilton) who passed away recently. Or…did he?
Charlie chose to partake in this bizarre service that allows you to fake your own death, have reconstructive surgery and then…try life again. Charlie talks to Arthur, telling him to look at the tennis trophy on his mantle, and Charlie reads to him what was written there to prove that it is him. He tells Arthur about the program, to show up and use the name “Wilson”, and that he will not be calling again!
Arthur lays down in bed, his wife (from the other separate twin bed, because, the 60s) who asks if it was the same man on the phone. Arthur snaps at her (because, the 60s) and asks her to stop interrogating him. He apologizes and they try to share a tender moment, but the spark has burned out. His relationship with his wife is dwindling, his daughter is moved out and about to be married, and it doesn’t seem his job gives him any satisfaction, Why not try a new life?
So he heads to 34 Lafayette Street, where a scene happens that is John Randolph watching esteemed theater actor, Edgar Stehli portray a Tailor Shop Presser who presses a shirt for five minutes and then tells him that the place moved. I’m not sure the intent of this scene but there you have it. The presser sends him on his way to the new location, which the tailor has written down on a piece of paper he then hands to “Mr. Wilson” (Arthur Hamilton) and I assume Mr. Wilson was the only one needing the new address cause he just let that lil slip of paper walk on outta that shop.
The place that Mr. Wilson, aka Arthur Hamilton heads to is a butcher shop, “Honest "Arnie, Used Cow Dealer”, which was an actual butcher shop. Frankheimer states in the commentary that after seeing a butcher shop he was unable to eat meat for months after that and still felt weary about eating meat long after finishing production on this film.
Finally at the office, we watch Mr. Wilson watch himself in a dream like state, walking in an Alice in Wonderland-esque topsy turvy building, established both through actually built topsy turvy sets, and through the genius camera work of James Wong Howe (the best to ever do it).
That’s what makes this film, the cinematography. James Wong Howe did a lot of the camera work himself. Howe had a mantra on the film “always show your light source”. I’m not a cinematographer so I don’t know what lens sizes he used and stuff but I know it’s unique and cool looking?
So, Arthur Hamilton becomes Tony Wilson, an only child of recently deceased parents. He has no one, he can begin a new life. Tony’s new house (actually John Frankenheimer’s house) comes equipped with a man servant to. help him ease into this new life.
About 60 minutes into the film is ten minutes of the most disgusting unholy vile things I have ever seen on cinema. A wine orgy party where half-naked/fully naked people stomp around in vats smashing grapes and making wine and drinking wine and I’m sorry but ugh gross. You know no one there sanitized their feet, and watching the chunky grape wine juice get spilled all over people is vomit inducing and watching it looks like how red wine tastes when thrown up. IYKYK. But that is how Rock Hudson/Tony Wilson become integrated into this weird world of orphaned startovers.
Rock Hudson says this is the best film he’s ever done, and probably his best work is in the cocktail party scene, a party his man servant suggests he throw to get to know his neighbors (wine orgy not good enough.) Rock got absolutely plastered to play this character on method. ACTING!
Eventually, Tony Wilson realizes he misses his simple life back in Scarsdale. He goes to visit his wife and tells her he was a close friend of Arthur’s. But then Tony Wilson hears what his wife really thought of him and their relationship, that they hadn’t been close in years, they’d be growing apart and she barely recognized him as her partner.
It’s been a few weeks since I watched this movie all the way through, so plot points are leaving me, but y’all know I barely care about plot.
Our boy Tony Wilson aka Arthur Hamilton wants a redo at a redo. He returns to the office and tries to apply to be a new person, or go back to his old self, something, I don’t know, it doesn’t matter because they trick him into becoming a cadaver for someone else.
This images are I think some of the most famous from the movie, and I think an inspiration for an Ol Dirty Bastard music video but I can’t find it now so I guess we’ll never know.
I truly love this film, minus the ten minute wine orgy vomit party. It’s so beautifully filmed and shot in such creative ways, Howe doing much of the camera work by himself.
Check it out on Criterion!
Thanks for reading,
ET