The Beguiled
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| The Beguiled | |
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| Directed by | Don Siegel |
| Produced by | Don Siegel |
| Written by | Thomas Cullinan (novel) Albert Maltz (screenplay) Irene Kamp (screenplay) |
| Starring | Clint Eastwood Geraldine Page Elizabeth Hartman Jo Ann Harris |
| Music by | Lalo Schifrin |
| Cinematography | Bruce Surtees |
| Editing by | Carl Pingitore |
| Distributed by | Universal Pictures |
| Release date(s) | March 31, 1971 U.S. release |
| Running time | 105 min. |
| Language | English |
| IMDb profile | |
The Beguiled is a 1971 drama film directed by Don Siegel. It was based on the 1966 Southern Gothic novel written by Thomas Cullinan, originally titled A Painted Devil, and the script was written by Albert Maltz.
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[edit] Plot
During the American Civil War, injured Yankee soldier John McBurney is rescued on the verge of death by a teenage girl from an all-girl boarding school in Louisiana. At first the all-female staff and pupils are scared, but as John starts to recover, he charms them one by one and the sexually repressed atmosphere becomes filled with jealousy and deceit.
After rejecting the headmistress for a younger girl, McBurney gets his comeuppance in the form of some painful Freudian symbolism — his infected leg is amputated. He reforms and announces his intention to marry one of the teachers, but it is too late; he has alienated the youngest girl, the one who first found him, by killing her pet turtle after throwing it aside in anger. In response, she picks mushrooms that the headmistress and girls use to poison him.
[edit] Cast
- Clint Eastwood as Corporal John 'McBee' McBurney
- Geraldine Page as Martha Farnsworth'
- Elizabeth Hartman as Edwina Dabney
- Jo Ann Harris as Carol
- Darleen Carr as Doris
- Mae Mercer as Hallie
- Pamelyn Ferdin as Amelia 'Amy'
- Melody Thomas Scott as Abigail
- Peggy Drier as Lizzie
[edit] Trivia
- Made right before Dirty Harry, this was a bold early attempt by Eastwood to play against type. It was not a hit, likely due to uncertainty on Universal's part concerning how to market it, eventually leading them to advertise the film as a hothouse melodrama: “One man...seven women...in a strange house!" "His love... or his life..."
- Eastwood had recently signed a long-term contract with Universal but became angry with the studio because he felt that they botched its release. This eventually led to him leaving the studio in 1975 after the release of The Eiger Sanction, which he directed as well as starred in. He has yet to work with Universal since.
[edit] External links
The Verdict • Night Unto Night • The Big Steal • Duel at Silver Creek • Count the Hours • China Venture • Riot in Cell Block 11 • Private Hell 36 • The Blue and Gold • Invasion of the Body Snatchers • Crime in the Streets • Baby Face Nelson • Spanish Affair • The Gun Runners • The Lineup • Hound Dog Man • Edge of Eternity • Flaming Star • Hell Is for Heroes • The Killers • The Hanged Man • Stranger on the Run • Coogan's Bluff • Madigan • Two Mules for Sister Sara • The Beguiled • Dirty Harry • Charley Varrick • The Black Windmill • The Shootist • Telefon • Escape from Alcatraz • Rough Cut • Jinxed!
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