À corps perdu

I thought that "A Rage To Live" was a fine -yet tragic- portrayal of a nymphomaniac (Suzanne Pleshette) struggling to find personal identity outside of the bedroom, auto backseat, etc. Also, the meaning & outer realms of "love" and how it factors into a one-sided, non-monogamous marriage. Ben Gazzara's character is very dark; a hard-working Irishman who desires material wealth as well as the flesh. There are several story lines that branch from Pleshette's infidelities, one of which brings a psychologically tragic aspect to the film. A feminist approach to this film might suggest that all of the other women in the film were overly (yet appropriately for the times) supportive of their husbands alone, living or deceased. Pleshette's character felt the need to find her true self with the help of emotional love, given to her for the first time by her husband. She constantly admits to having a "problem that she is embarrassed about", however she seeks no real counsel or help. Pleshette almost appears too aware of her faults yet acts baffled when she is caught. Her character is too assuming of others' forgiveness, using the age-old "I said I was sorry" routine almost every time. The "encounters" are subtle and portrayed very tactfully as well, I suppose because it was still the 1960's; I would hate for this film to be remade because I'm sure that some of the scenes would have overblown sexual situations.

I really love this movie. Grace Caldwell is the ultimate bad girl, tries to turn her life around, but is crushed in the end. Nothing like the book, A Rage To Live was considered racy for the 60's. Suzanne Pleshette acted her heart out. I've been waiting for years for this to come out on video; in fact, I haven't even seen it on TV for several years.

This is soap opera pure and simple about a woman who in more enlightened times would have been viewed as a person with a crippling disorder that would require treatment but for our purposes here is a wanton slut. Suzanne Pleshette was a superior actress so she is able within the confines of the script to present her character as someone who is ruled by urges she can not control. There are minor attempts at some insight into her problem but they are quickly tossed away in favor of sensationalism. Good supporting cast including in a small role a rare on screen role for Brett Somers Klugman from Match Game. For those who enjoy trashy cinema with quality actors enacting silly situations with earnest professionalism.

Grace Caldwell differs from the usual "bad girl" in that she's not trading sex for money, social advancement, etc. Nor is she detached from a "normal" life of home and family. Rather she is an intelligent wife & mother who has a fling on the side just because she's horny, in the manner expected of men. A good film with strong performances by Suzanne Pleshette as Grace & Ben Gazarra as her lover.

A Rage to Live (1965)

A fabulous movie, well written, beautifully filmed and acted, intense and fast and beautiful, a real dramatic drama. And Suzanne Pleshette as the star is an astonishment, subtle and sharp and exactly what her part demands as the rich and sexually charged girl in a sleepy Pennsylvania town. Her two main men, played by Ben Gazzara and Bradford Dillman, are right on as well, and throw in Peter Graves as a third man in her life, and you get the range of characters and a sense of the plot. Yes, she's pulled by a handsome guy whether it's her husband or not.

And yet she never comes off to me as the "tramp" that some call her. She's warm and generous and seems to just be living her life as a nice person, even regretting her slipping off the straight and narrow now and then. The town's reaction is startling and believable. A really fabulous situation, a soap opera of sorts, but given a wonderful sense of form and pace and eventually high drama.

Director Walter Grauman is not a household name of course, and he directed mainly television, but he makes this a very slick and powerful production. The second half, especially, where Gazzara and Pleshette have a lot of screen time together, develops emotionally. Yes, the turns and conflicts are not total surprises, but they're well placed. Gazzara might be familiar to some for his role in "Anatomy of a Murder" across from Jimmy Stewart. Pleshette had a career with few great movies, but she did appear (second to Tippy Hedron) in "The Birds."

A vastly underrated movie, coming just a year or so before the big shift in styles and "New Hollywood." It's widescreen black and white, quite a treat to watch on every level. I guarantee it'll rise in value over the next decade.