Patterns (1956)

User Rating:

8.1/10   

Director:

Fielder Cook

Writers:

Rod Serling (teleplay)
Rod Serling (writer)

Release Date:

26 October 1956 (West Germany)

Genre:

Drama

Tagline:

Ruthless Men And Ambitious Women...Clawing For Control Of A Billion Dollar Empire!!!

Plot:

Van Heflin stars in a story about big business and the ruthlessness at the top of the ladder.

Plot Keywords:

Businessmen | Fighting Back | Based On TV Movie

Awards:

Nominated for BAFTA Film Award.

Cast

Van Heflin	...	Fred Staples
Everett Sloane	...	Walter Ramsey
Ed Begley	...	William Briggs
Beatrice Straight	...	Nancy Staples
Elizabeth Wilson	...	Marge Fleming
Joanna Roos	...	Miss Margaret Lanier
Valerie Cossart	...	Miss Stevens
Eleni Kiamos	...	Sylvia Trammel
Ronnie Welsh	...	Paul Briggs
Shirley Standlee	...	Miss Hill
Andrew Duggan	...	Mr. Jameson
Jack Livesy	...	Mr. Vanderventer
John Seymour	...	Mr. Gordon
James Kelly	...	Mr. Latham
John Shelly	...	Mr. Grannigan

Also Known As:

Patterns of Power (UK)

Runtime:

USA:83 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Sound Mix:

Mono

Filming Locations:

New York City, New York, USA

Company:

Jed Harris

Trivia:

Andrew Duggan's first movie.

Goofs:

Continuity: The dialog in the final scenes, starting with Staples' conversation with his wife in a coffee shop near his office, indicate the events take place well into the evening. However, the exterior shot linking this scene with Staples' confrontation with Ramsey in the Ramsey & Company building, as well as the exterior shot that follows the confrontation, were both taken in broad daylight.

Quotes:

Walter Ramsey: Name your terms. All terms are negotiable.
Fred Staples: I don't think so. Not mine.
Walter Ramsey: All right. I'd just as soon not waste any time doing trading. As of now, your salary is doubled. Your stock option is doubled right down the line. Your expense account is whatever you make it. Add to that a new title, vice president.
Fred Staples: I want a lot more than that. You're not going to take me on as just another vice president you can push around. You take me as someone who hates you down to the bare nerve. Nothing in the world will ever change that. I'll argue with you, contradict you and fight you every way I know how. I'll do everything in my power to push you out and take your place myself.
[...]

Movie Connections:

Remake of "Kraft Television Theatre: Patterns (#8.20)" (1955)

stunning

I happened to stumble on this on TCM while channel surfing (I had seen the blurb in their program guide and had given it short shrift) and, although ten minutes or so into the movie I was immediately gripped by the acting. I stayed for the whole thing and was amazed at the quality of this practically forgotten movie with script by Rod Serling and superb performances by Van Heflin, Everett Sloane, Ed Begley and Beatrice Straight. Anyone who has been in the business world in even an incidental way will be taken by the way in which Serling has so effectively captured the machinations and power ploys in the corporate world. A bald description of the plot - ceo grooms upcoming exec to replace a company veteran - gives no idea of how exciting the realization is on screen (which is why I skipped past the program guide listing); it is simply gripping. Director Fielder Cook's work subsequent to this has been primarily in television.

If you're fortunate to find this rarity scheduled, by all means don't miss it.