Reflections in a Golden Eye (1967)

User Rating:

6.8/10   

Director:

John Huston

Writers:

Carson McCullers (novel) and
Gladys Hill (writer)
(more)

Release Date:

13 October 1967 (USA)

Genre:

Drama

Tagline:

Most women in her situation would do the very same thing! They just wouldn't do it as well- or as often!

Plot:

Bizarre tale of sex, betrayal, and perversion at a military post.

Plot Keywords:

Major | Horse | Riding Crop | Officer | Military

Cast

Elizabeth Taylor	...	Leonora Penderton
Marlon Brando	...	Maj. Weldon Penderton
Brian Keith	...	Lt. Col. Morris Langdon
Julie Harris	...	Alison Langdon
Zorro David	...	Anacleto
Gordon Mitchell	...	Stables Sergeant
Irvin Dugan	...	Capt. Murray Weincheck
Fay Sparks	...	Susie
Robert Forster	...	Pvt. L.G. Williams
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Ted Beniades	...	Sergeant (uncredited)
John Callaghan	...	Private (uncredited)
Jed Curtis	...	Accordionist (uncredited)
Frank Flanagan	...	General Sugar (uncredited)
Trent Gough	...	Soldier (uncredited)
Harvey Keitel	...	Soldier (uncredited)
Al Mulock	...	Private (uncredited)
Douglas Stark	...	Dr. Burgess (uncredited)
Friedrich von Ledebur	...	Lieutenant at Garden Party (uncredited)

Directed by
John Huston

Writing credits
Carson McCullers		(novel)
Gladys Hill		writer
Chapman Mortimer		writer

Produced by
C.O. Erickson	....	associate producer
John Huston	....	producer
Ray Stark	....	producer

Original Music by
Toshirô Mayuzumi

Cinematography by
Aldo Tonti
Oswald Morris		(uncredited)

Film Editing by
Russell Lloyd

Production Design by
Stephen B. Grimes		(as Stephen Grimes)

Art Direction by
Bruno Avesani

Set Decoration by
William Kiernan

Costume Design by
Dorothy Jeakins

Makeup Department
Alexandre	....	hair stylist: Ms. Taylor (as Alexander of Paris)
Paolo Borselli	....	hair stylist (as Paolo Borzelli)
Agnes Flanagan	....	hair stylist
Amato Garbini	....	makeup artist
Frank La Rue	....	makeup artist (as Frank LaRue)
Phil Rhodes	....	makeup artist

Production Management
Mario Del Papa	....	production manager
Frederick Muller	....	unit manager (uncredited)

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Vana Caruso	....	assistant director
Edward Folger	....	assistant director (uncredited)

Sound Department
John Cox	....	sound
Basil Fenton-Smith	....	sound
Leslie Hodgson	....	sound editor

Camera and Electrical Department
Nino Cristiani	....	camera operator (as Michele Cristiani)
Frank Flanagan	....	gaffer (uncredited)
Alberico Novelli	....	electrician (uncredited)
Bob Penn	....	still photographer (uncredited)
Piero Servo	....	first assistant camera (uncredited)

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Anna Maria Feo	....	wardrobe mistress (as Anna Maria Fea)

Music Department
Marcus Dods	....	conductor

Other crew
Angela Allen	....	script supervisor
Friedrich von Ledebur	....	horse master

Production Companies

• Warner Brothers/Seven Arts

Distributors

• Warner Brothers/Seven Arts (1967) (USA) (theatrical)
• Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS) (1973) (USA) (TV) (original airing)
• AFEX (1968) (Austria) (theatrical)
• Chapel Distribution (1997) (Australia) (theatrical)
• Seven Films (2008) (Greece) (theatrical) (reissue)
• Warner Bros. (1967) (West Germany) (theatrical)
• Warner Home Vídeo (Brazil) (VHS)

Runtime:

108 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Certification:

UK:15 (video rating) | UK:X (original rating) | Portugal:M/12 | West Germany:18 (f) | Australia:M | Finland:K-16 | Sweden:15

Filming Locations:

Long Island, New York, USA

Company:

Warner Brothers/Seven Arts

Trivia:

Originally released in a version in which all scenes were suffused with the color gold, with one object in each scene (such as a rose) normally-colored. This was in reference to the houseboy's drawing of a golden peacock in whose eye the world is a mere reflection. But that version puzzled audiences, so it was withdrawn and a normally-colored version released.

Goofs:

Continuity: Elizabeth Taylor bends over and lights a roaring fire, but when she stands up the fire is out.

Quotes:

Maj. Weldon Penderton: [to Leonora] You disgust me.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Con Air (1997)

Southern Fried Gothic Of The Most Delicious Kind

Montgomery Clift was supposed to play Brando's part. Elizabeth Taylor had put her own salary as a collateral for insurances purposes. It wasn't to be but the thought stayed with me throughout the film without spoiling the perverse delights's of Carson McCuller's steamy original story. Gladys Hill, adapting McCuller's book, was clearly giving John Huston exactly what he needed, she did it two other times in "The Kremlin Letter" and most memorably in "The Man Who Would Be King" John Huston has traveled through many different universes throughout his career. Sometimes he merely visited with a fantastic inquisitive eye and his masterful hand. He was never one to judge, he seem to find redeeming sides even in the, apparently, unredeemable. Here he seems to observe this peculiar world from a distance and what he gives us is a brilliantly cinematic glimpse into the unmentionable. In lesser hands this would have been an heavy, turgid melodrama in Huston's hands is a brilliantly heavy, stunningly turgid, intelligent melodrama. Brando is terrific in one of his most uncomfortable performances. You sense he is a time bomb that stopped clicking. Elizabeth Taylor throws herself into the part with such gusto that keeps the proceedings not merely high but in flames - this was her messy wives period, Virginia Woolf and Zee - The shots of her beautifully round behind bouncing up and down her horse's saddle is a funny reminder of her National Velvet days. So far, far away. Here, her casual cruelty is so totally amoral that verges on innocence. Julie Harris's performance is nothing short of sensational and Zorro David as her loyal Anacleto starts as a caricature and ends as one of the stalwarts of the piece. The great John Huston had cinematographer Aldo Tonti to translate this kinky universe into a stunning, steamy masterpiece.