O Ídolo Caído

Michael Parks, like his counterpart Christopher Jones, is no James Dean. Dean had more depth, and underneath his alienation and rebelliousness were a profound vulnerability and a need for approval. Parks' character Marco has none of these redeeming attributes and merely acts as a cold, selfish vehicle of contempt for authority and traditional values, an all too common theme of 60's films. There was also a great flowering of discovery and a burning desire to improve or expand stultified paradigms... There isn't a lot of motivation for Marco's antisocial behavior...other than a deep-seated hatred of women which is insufficiently explained. Though the camera dwells lovingly on his interesting features in close-ups, it leaves a void where there should be some feeling for the character. He purposely destroys all his relationships without cause or merely out of resentment of the overbearing maternal control of his friend Timothy (sympathetically played by John Leyton). His callous seduction of Timothy's dignified but vulnerable mother (Jennifer Jones) is out of all proportion to his fancied slights and particularly nasty after her befriending him despite her initial dislike. It's hard to generate any care for this empty idol, who's ultimate self-destructive acts do even more damage to those who survive him.

The great Kim Stanley had been cast in the Jennifer Jones part and like so many times before, Kim Stanley was replaced at the last minute. The year is 1966, Daniel Petrie, a director without a clear, personal vision, he renders homage to some of the truly greats of its day. Antonioni comes to mind. As an interesting piece of trivia, take notice of Michael Parks. He was Adam in John Huston's "The Bible" and the sheriff in Kill Bill Volume 1 and a double role in Kill Bill Volume 2. The Idol, is one of those pointless films that becomes a sort of guilty pleasure with the passing of time.

What a banner year 1966 was in England!We won the FIFA World Cup in our country for Association Football (soccer) vs. West Germany, the Beatles, The Rolling Stones et all bestrode the pop world, trendy fashion, "dolly birds" and....Jennifer Jones came to England to make "The Idol" with fellow American Michael Parks.Our own John Leyton (who had had several pop hits e.g. "Johnny Remember me" and had appeared in "The Great Escape" (1963)),completed the star line-up.

Previously Jennifer Jones had not made a film since 1962 (Tender is the Night) with Jason Robards Jnr.She was a last minute replacement for Kim Stanley and as Selznick had died the previous year, Jennifer was again a widow and needed a project to keep her going.JJ is/was an old hand at making films in Europe and England c.f."Gone To Earth" (1950 ) made in Shropshire, "Indiscretion of an American Wife" (1953)made in Rome, "Beat The Devil" (1954)filmed in Sapporo, Italy,"The Barretts of Wimpole Street"(1957) filmed in England.Selznik had become disillusioned with Hollywood in the late 1940's after what was then the costly flop "Portrait of Jennie"(1948).It was a British film debut experience for Michael Parks. In this contemporary story, Michael Parks (Marco) is a talented American art student living in London who is friendly with John Leyton (Timothy), a 19 year old student.Timothy despite a contemplated career in medicine, actually has artistic leanings himself, especially in sculpture and he secretly admires the girl friend (Jennifer Hilary) of his American friend.Jennifer Jones (Carol) a divorcee, as John Leyton's mother, at first is wary of her fellow American thinking him a bad influence on her son.Although Carol has a mature male friend, (Guy Doleman), she too succumbs to "The Idol" especially when he rescues her son from a vicious beating from a couple of thugs.The Idol however appears to have cut himself off from his American parents and decides to spend Christmas in Wales instead.After his return to London he seems intent on bringing about his own self destruction and continues on a downward spiral, seemingly alienating himself from his friends on purpose. Timothy is distraught at a new year's party on a riverboat barge on "The Thames" to find out his mother has evidently been intimate with his friend who has arrived at the party in a drunken stupor with a prostitute.Somehow the Idol then completes his own self-destruction but Timothy refuses to implicate anyone especially his mother in what the police now see as a murder charge.

I have spent 1 1/2 years collecting on video all 24 films Jennifer Jones made, so have been able to compare and assess the transition of each of her roles from 1939(New Frontier)-1974(The Towering Inferno).Many of these titles are no longer available commercially if they have just been deleted by mainstream dealers.Readers may have to bid on "E-Bay" at auction, check with rare video dealers or in the case of "The Idol" buy it for $210 from a "video detective", as this title is so hard to find that not even rare US video dealers had a copy when I checked with them.

A certain video guide regards it as trash worthwhile only for Jennifer Jones fans to see her make it with a younger man.Another states it is not even worthy of the worst film of the year award missing that exalted status by a mile.I have not read one favourable review of this film.Personally, I found this film quite engrossing as my heroine filmed it in England with a British supporting cast well known to someone of my generation born in 1946.Its rarity status also added to a sense of exclusivity.The film lasts 108 mins and is in B&W and I have definitely seen worse films than this.I will therefore certainly run this "Idol" through my VCR again when I get the urge!

Having finally acquired a copy of this film after years of searching, I expected the worst, having heard stories about what a disaster and a piece of trash it is. Instead I found a rather tame, but very dark character study: certainly flawed, but interesting nonetheless and well worth the wait for Jennifer Jones fans. She gives an interesting, complex, disciplined performance, and is very striking looking at this late stage in her career. The movie seems to meander and lose some of its believability from time to time, but it leaves one with a haunted feeling that is hard to shake. Not great stuff, but not the bomb that legend has made it out to be.

After a four-year absence, Jennifer Jones finally returned to the screen in the 1966 indie British flick The Idol. Her character was randomly supposed to be American, even though she spoke in an affected accent, used English expressions, and had an English son, John Leyton. I wonder why she took the role, unless she happened to be vacationing in England at the time and thought it would be fun to attend a couple of onscreen parties. She also doesn't do much actual acting until her big finale in the second half of the movie. If you love Jonesy like I do and are thinking of turning it off in the beginning because it doesn't seem to feature her at all, you might want to stick it through for her big dramatic scene.

If you don't, though, you're not missing a quality movie. You're missing a low-budget, indie British movie that wouldn't stand the test of time even if anyone remembered it. Jonesy is protective over her son and makes a lot of decisions for him, because he's pretty spineless and never stands up for himself. He has a bad-boy friend, Michael Parks, who thinks he should leave the nest and let Jonesy fend for herself. He dislikes her immediately, and the feeling is mutual. She thinks he's crude, cheap, and disrespectful. Michael is a total recreation of James Dean. At one point, he even staggers towards another character, anguished, with his hands offered like in the "take the money" scene from East of Eden. If he or the director intended an imitation, it was very good. If he just wanted to be his own sexy bad boy in the 1960s, he also succeeded. It would take a lot of guts and rebelliousness to try and seduce Jennifer Jones in 1966. She's wealthy, cultured, mature, and old enough to be his mother - so what does he have to offer? A lot of sex appeal and a daring glint in his eye for her to try and tame him.

If you like films like Alfie and Room at the Top, try this out. You'll probably get a new crush out of it, even if it won't be your new favorite movie. Indie movies in the 1960s weren't known for being wonderful.