Do you want to see ‘Seconds’?

Seconds (1966)

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Average Rating: 8.1/10
Reviews Counted: 23
Fresh: 20 | Rotten: 3

Featuring dazzling, disorienting cinematography from the great James Wong Howe and a strong lead performance by Rock Hudson, Seconds is a compellingly paranoid take on the legend of Faust.

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Average Rating: N/A
Critic Reviews: 2
Fresh: 1 | Rotten: 1

Featuring dazzling, disorienting cinematography from the great James Wong Howe and a strong lead performance by Rock Hudson, Seconds is a compellingly paranoid take on the legend of Faust.

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Movie Info

Arthur Hamilton (John Randolph) is a listless Manhattan businessman who lives with his wife in the New York suburbs. One day, he runs into an old friend (Murray Hamilton) whom he thought had died. The friend leads him to The Company, a secretive operation run by The Old Man (Will Geer). The Company is a high-tech service which, for a price, provides older men with plastic surgery, a beefed-up body, and a fresh start in life. To cover the "disappearance," a middle-aged male cadaver is "killed" in

R, 1 hr. 46 min.

Horror, Mystery & Suspense, Classics, Science Fiction & Fantasy

Directed By: John Frankenheimer

Written By: David Ely, Lewis John Carlino

In Theaters: Oct 5, 1966 Wide

On DVD: Jan 8, 2002

Paramount Pictures

Cast

Rock Hudson
Antiochus "Tony" Wilson
Salome Jens
Norma Marcus
John Randolph
Arthur Hamilton
Will Geer
Boss
Jeff Corey
Mr. Ruby
Richard Anderson
Dr. Innes
Murray Hamilton
Charlie Evans
Wesley Addy
John
Robert Brubaker
Mayberry
Frank Campanella
Man in Station
Khigh Dhiegh
Davalo
Elisabeth Fraser
Plump Blonde
Dody Heath
She Bushman
Dorothy Morris
Mrs. Filter
Frances Reid
Emily Hamilton
Edgar Stehli
Tailor Shop Presser
Karl Swenson
Dr. Morris
Barbara Werle
Secretary
Ned Young
Henry Bushman
Francois Ruggieri
Girl in Boudoir
Thom Conroy
Dayroom Attendant
William Wintersole
Operating Room Doctor
John Lawrence
Texan

Critic Reviews for Seconds

All Critics (24) | Top Critics (2) | Fresh (21) | Rotten (3) | DVD (11)

US suburbia boredom is treated in an original manner in this cross between a sci-fi opus, a thriller, a suspense pic and a parable on certain aspects of American middle-class life.

September 23, 2007 Full Review Source: Variety

| Comment

Variety Staff

Variety

Top Critic

The screenplay ollapses into musty moralizing in the second half, and director John Frankenheimer throws in the towel.

May 29, 2007 Full Review Source: Chicago Reader

| Comment

Dave Kehr

Chicago Reader

Top Critic

Creepy, Twilight Zone-type tale starring Rock Hudson, directed by John Frankenheimer.

March 2, 2008 Comment

Steve Crum

Video-Reviewmaster.com

The film features a surprisingly good performance by Rock Hudson, an impeccable supporting cast and stunning cinematography by screen veteran James Wong Howe.

May 29, 2007 Full Review Source: TV Guide's Movie Guide

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TV Guide's Movie Guide

Little wonder it flopped at the time, only to be cherished by a later generation.

February 9, 2006 Full Review Source: Time Out

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Trevor Johnston

Time Out

Frankenheimer directed, but cinematographer James Wong Howe set the tone and provided whatever's memorable. Which isn't much.

June 26, 2004 Comment

Jake Euker

F5 (Wichita, KS) Source: F5 (Wichita, KS)

Never has Oscar Wilde's caveat about being careful what you wish for been so chillingly portrayed.

May 23, 2004 Full Review Source: Mountain Xpress (Asheville, NC)

| Comment

Ken Hanke

Mountain Xpress (Asheville, NC)

Features some great technical credits, with rich black-and-white cinematography and deep-focus from James Wong Howe.

March 9, 2004 Full Review Source: Sci-Fi Movie Page

| Comment

James O'Ehley

Sci-Fi Movie Page Source: Sci-Fi Movie Page

Gets under your skin like a nightmare.

December 12, 2003 Full Review Source: Ozus' World Movie Reviews

| Comment (1)

Dennis Schwartz

Ozus' World Movie Reviews

Criminally underseen sci-fi masterpiece.

June 2, 2003 Comment

Kevin N. Laforest

Montreal Film Journal

...a progressively tedious piece of work...

February 10, 2003 Full Review Source: Reel Film Reviews

| Comment

David Nusair

Reel Film Reviews

An ultimately terrifying thriller ... featuring Rock Hudson's lone great performance.

September 27, 2002 Comment

Jon Niccum

Lawrence Journal-World

More Critic Reviews

Audience Reviews for Seconds

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A great atmospheric psychological thriller in the vain of Orson Welles' The Trail. Also features the first use of the Snori-Cam (to the best of my knowledge)

May 21, 2007

Ken Stachnik

Super Reviewer

Bold, highly psychological science fiction that might have gone on to enjoy a cult reputation if 2001 hadn't stolen its thunder two years later. Seconds is nowhere near the auteurial spectacle that Kubrick's magnum opus is, but its premise gracefully avoids Twilight Zone-style moralization by communicating its

March 20, 2011