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I have confounded for a long time this film with another one, also starring Anthony Quinn - THE WILD PARTY - with more or less a close plot. A bunch of punks abduct - kidnap someone. In THE WILD PARTY, Anthony Quinn was a former football player and was one of the punks. Here, he is a mob boss who, this time, is abducted and by hippies. So, you have understood that this movie is very typical from the late sixties and the peace and love generation - don't miss the first five or ten minutes. The tone is sometimes funny, in the total comedy mode, but not all the time. The overall result is however very light hearted, not a gritty movie. So, if you look for a harsh and tough crime flick, avoid this rare film from the director of CAT BALLOU and THE CAR; I nearly forgot A MAN CALLED HORSE.

Hey, the premise is pretty good: some fairly appealing but terminally bored young people kidnap a restaurateur (Anthony Quinn), and then they find that neither Quinn's wife nor his business partner partner want him back. After spending some time with the old coot Quinn, they end up feeling sorry for him, and they help him wreak vengeance on the people who have been making his life miserable all these years. The performances are a bit idiosyncratic: Michael Parks working on his James Dean thing, but with blonde hair; George Maharis trying to look like a hippie in a ducktail; Robert Walker Jr being typically odd and, of course, a very young Faye Dunaway overacting broadly and getting away with it. Some of the hijinks might seem slow and lame, but some of it is funny, and I can't vouch for others' musical taste, but I like the theme song.

My friend and I, laughed so hard, had a hard time walking out of the theater. Lucille Ball also had a cameo appearance in the movie. Lucy was the wife of Anthony Quinn, and showed her in bed with Uncle Milty.

As for the slam on the Supreme's song "The Happening", I still like it, and it always brings back the good times, my friend and I had that day at the movies.

Of all the films one sees, there are a select few which you start out expecting one thing and end up with something completely different. Here is one unusual movie called " The Happening " which features the magnificent talent of the late great Anthony Quinn. The story written and directed by Ronald Austin begins with a group of young lay-abouts (Michael Parks, George Maharis, Robert Walker Jr. and Faye Dunaway) who take life as it unfolds or 'happens' and thus accept their motto ' Go with the flow baby. ' As with everyday, they do nothing, plan nothing and exact the same, allowing events to just take shape. On one particular day, they stumble upon a well-to-do suburban family, enjoying their upscale social life. However, that family is governed by a powerful, but retired Mob Boss, Roc Delmonico, (Anthony Quinn) who's wife Martha Hyer) believes he is to be kidnapped and held for Ransom. What Roc discovers is that all the people in his life who he believed cared for his safety and well being, create excuses for not being able to rescue him. Thus he is left to his fate at the hands of Kidnappers. Dismayed and deeply disappointed, Roc begins to suspect he has been deluded into thinking he was an important figure, Concluding the opposite, he joins his kidnappers and plots his revenge. A kooky, but surprisingly underrated film, Quinn gives a superb performance and thus elevates a comedic movie into a Classic. Oscar Homolka and Milton Berle make brief appearances. Well recommended for anyone seeking something different. ****

I worked for Marian/Polan talent agency. And I was an extra in this movie down in Miami. I had some car scenes during a chase. I met Milton Berle when I did the show girl scenes at the Fountain Blue hotel. I only met Anthony Quinn's double. I was chosen by Anthony Quinn to play the double for Faye Dunaway but my mother would not let me dye my hair blonde for the part. I am still upset over that. Working as an extra I learned that many scenes use doubles. http://www.flickr.com/photos/66013135@N00/3298029225/ Me at age 18.

I have the movie on tape. I thought it was quite a good action film. But it was not my favorite Anthony Quinn movie. It seemed too disjointed. I believe this was Faye Dunaway's second movie. In the same year she made Bonnie and Clyde which was a much better movie. I loved the scenery of Miami as I am a born native of Miami. The movie is a good look at Miami, the way it was before it was ruined.