Accident (1967)

User Rating:

7.1/10   

Director:

Joseph Losey

Writers:

Nicholas Mosley (novel)
Harold Pinter (screenplay)

Release Date:

22 June 1967 (Denmark)

Genre:

Drama | Crime

Plot:

Stephen is a married Oxford professor experiencing the pangs of a mid-life crisis as he begins to bristle...

Plot Keywords:

Professor | Oxford | Attraction | Flashback | Obsession

Awards:

Nominated for Golden Globe. Another 3 wins & 5 nominations

Cast

Dirk Bogarde	...	Stephen
Stanley Baker	...	Charley
Jacqueline Sassard	...	Anna
Michael York	...	William
Vivien Merchant	...	Rosalind
Delphine Seyrig	...	Francesca
Alexander Knox	...	Provost
Ann Firbank	...	Laura
Brian Phelan	...	Police Sergeant
Terence Rigby	...	Plain Clothed Policeman
Freddie Jones	...	Man in Bell's Office
Jill Johnson	...	Secretary
Jane Hillary	...	Receptionist
Maxwell Findlater	...	Ted
Carole Caplin	...	Clarissa

Runtime:

105 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Australia:M | Finland:K-16 | Sweden:15 | UK:PG

Filming Locations:

Canterbury Quad, St. John's College, St Giles', Oxford, Oxfordshire, England, UK

Company:

Royal Avenue Chelsea

Trivia:

Alan Barry was first offered the Police Sergeant role finally played by Brian Phelan.

Quotes:

Charley: [reading from learned journal] A statistical analysis of sexual intercourse at Kolenzo University, Milwaukee showed... that 70% did it in the evening, 29.9% between 2 and 4 in the afternoon and 0.1% during a lecture on Aristotle.
Aged Professor: I'm surprised to hear that Aristotle is on the syllabus in the State of Wisconsin.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Le samouraï (1967)

Interesting but flawed

First scene: a car crashes onto the side of the road. A man runs to the car lifting the glamorous female passenger out and leaving the man for dead. He seems to know the girl and he takes her back to his house. Cue flashback. 'Accident' The film's dramatic and intriguing opening lead me to expect a thriller or mystery. This is not exactly what was on offer. The tension comes from emotions, desires and inner conflicts. This is a character led film with wonderfully subtle performances and a good eye for life's little details. Dirk Bogarde is in top form as the professor whose mid-life crisis antics have tragic effects on those around him. The film has enough drama to keep your attention. The ensemble acting and editing create a sense of tension and impending doom in the banal country setting and bright weather. Ultimately though the film fails to tell a fully rounded story. At the end the fatal 'accident' loses it's impact rather than gaining any extra meaning. This is also a film with a very male perspective. The main female characters are very much stereotypes; the wife is a quiet, long suffering housewife, the professor's young and beautiful student an impenetrable femme fatale. Both characters act very much as symbols of the professor's inner struggles without very much character development. In conclusion this is an interesting way of spending a couple of hours as long as you're not looking for an enlightening or particularly pleasant view of human relationships.