Man, there were a lot of movies I wanted to fit in before they left HBO Max at the end of January. And somehow, I ended up jamming most of them into the last week or so of said month. Most of them were from Turner Classic Movies, but if I noticed a theme, a number were either starring Frank Sinatra or directed by Elia Kazan. Both had film careers I was somewhat familiar with but not as much as I suspected. For one last look at Kazan’s filmography, there was 1969’s The Arrangement, adapted from a novel by Kazan himself.
I hadn’t even heard of this one before, but it starred Kirk Douglas, Deborah Kerr, and Faye Dunaway, and after seeing Warren Beatty in Kazan’s Splendor in the Grass, maybe it would be nice to see Kazan direct the other hald of the cinematic Bonnie and Clyde.
Eddie Anderson (Douglas) is a successful advertising executive, most notable for a cigarette campaign. He seems to have it all: a large house, sporty cars, a loving wife (Kerr), and a successful career. And then, while out driving, he tries to kill himself by skirting his convertible underneath a large truck. What’s the problem? Is it something to do with the fact he’s screwing around with a younger coworker (Dunaway)? Or is it because his elderly father is dying on the opposite side of the country? Or is it just some kind of midlife crisis?
It appears to be some combination of all of those things and none of them. This is about as close as Kazan probably ever got to experimental cinema. He cuts back and forth through time to show Eddie at work, screwing around with Dunaway’s Gwen, or just sitting in silence. He does a lot of sitting in silence, and he can’t seem to vocalize to anyone, not even his long-suffering wife Florence what’s wrong. Is he having some sort of psychotic break? It sure seems that way, and the closest I think Kazan comes to saying what’s going on is the suggestion that Eddie has realized how empty his life is. He still loves his wife, but he seems to love Gwen too. More reckless behavior, more hospital stays, even moving from the West Coast to the East to fight his brother and sister-in-law to keep his cantankerous Greek father out of a nursing home.
I wasn’t sure what to make of this one. Kazan apparently wanted Marlon Brando for the lead role, but Brando declined. I suspect he would have done a better job with the part. Douglas is a fine enough actor, but there doesn’t seem to be much for a man with his skills to work with. A more subtle approach would have been better, something Brando in his prime could have done. Douglas couldn’t quite display the emotional turmoil the character probably needed when he was brooding in silence.
That said, I was mildly surprised at some of the content in the movie. Each of the main members of the cast managed to flash their butts for the camera (or a body double’s, I suppose, if they had those in ’69), and the profanity was a bit stronger than I was used to for the time period. Still, this is a movie where Douglas’s Eddie imagines himself beating up a rival for Gwen’s affection while the screen flashes the sort of “Pow!” sights and sounds that anyone who ever saw Adam West’s Batman would easily recognize.
That said, I will give special notice to Dunaway’s Gwen for being more than just a simple-minded floozy or side piece. There was something of a real, complex character there, and I credit that mostly to her. Likewise Kerr’s Florence has some moments of emotional depth as she tries to hold her marriage together by giving her husband what he needs. The problem is the man doesn’t seem to need or want anything. That’s not speculation from me based on Douglas’s performance: his character actually says that near the end of the movie. I think there’s a potentially deep story to tell here, and despite his rather formidable skills, Kazan wasn’t quite up to telling it the way he tried to.
Grade: C+
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