Seconds

Seconds (1966)

Timing: 1:47 (107 min)

7.3/10
418

7.566/10
2318

7.6/10
25000

All about film

Video 3

Photo 70

Actors and characters

Release date

1966-10-05

Country

United States

Production

Paramount, Gibraltar Productions, Joel Productions, John Frankenheimer Productions Inc.

Genre

Science Fiction, Thriller, Horror, Drama

Budget

$2 500 000

Revenue

$1 750 000

Website

Director

John Frankenheimer

Actors

Rock Hudson, Salome Jens, John Randolph, Will Geer, Jeff Corey, Richard Anderson, Murray Hamilton, Karl Swenson, Khigh Dhiegh, Frances Reid
All actors and roles (10)

Scenario

Producer

Edward Lewis

Operator

James Wong Howe

Composer

Jerry Goldsmith

Artist

Audition

Editing

Ferris Webster, David Newhouse
All team (24)

• 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 in this film, war, the military, and related topics are not mentioned in a single word.
• 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.