Le Corrupteur

Marlon Brando's THE GODFATHER comeback was more of a legacy accreditation for his entire resume, blending with the years-past STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE and ON THE WATERFRONT types as if all the bad films in-between didn't exist... and perhaps this might be one that he could have avoided...

Strangely enough, the title NIGHTCOMERS would have befitted the adaptation of Henry James's enigmatic supernatural short story TURN OF THE SCREW ala 1961's THE INNOCENTS as two ghosts (our lovers here, when alive) come at night, appearing before the same children with their caretaker: the latter arriving at the tail-end and, like ROGUE ONE years later, connecting to its famous source... but was the James story (or its adaptation) relevant for an entire prequel/backstory?

In the director's chair is the (at that time) creatively offbeat Michael Winner, using his usual zoom shots and symbolic set-ups, who may have been envious of former collaborator Oliver Reed's art-films by time-period sex-exploitation director Ken Russell, who'd have fit better since NIGHTCOMERS more comfortably plays with sadistic lust than the kind of psychedelic horror popular during the early seventies, heavy on off-putting violence and short on plot: Which has Henry James's two spoiled, death-obsessed (and not very inspired) literary children residing in a rural gothic English manor of Bly...

Their parents are dead and an aloof uncle turns them over to Stephanie Beacham, a religious caretaker, deliberately contrasting to Brando's Quint as an Atheist groundskeeper... donning the same unkempt hair and Irish accent he'd use in THE MISSOURI BREAKS, another film in which he seems part of a totally different picture...

And here his frolicking, childish behavior is both infectious to the adoring kids as well as the movie's entire cadence: But had there been more sympathy and perspective on Beacham's naiveté, Brando's reckless rebellion would have provided more shock value instead of seeming so natural and commonplace: Basically, watching THE NIGHTCOMERS is like electricity being electrocuted.

The best thing is Jerry Fielding's brooding, haunting music, similar to his STRAW DOGS score. And yet, like the Brando thriller NIGHT OF THE FOLLOWING DAY, another maligned pre-GODFATHER outing, there is a comfortable surrealism that feels as if this particular NIGHT was also intended for a very selective cult-movie audience all along.

Dark and twisted but not in the good way. Heavy doses of female hysteria and misogyny. Just very mean spirited. Cruel treatment of animals as well. Supposedly about innocence lost. But only at the cost of the viewer.

A prequel to Henry James's ¨The turn of the screw¨ wherein a worker named Peter Quint (Marlon Brando) trysts with the governess Miss Jessel (Stephanie Beacham)of two malicious children named Miles and his younger sister Flora (Harvey and Chris Ellis) who are in her care and located at Bly manor.

Yet another special version of the Henry James classic with drama, tension, sexual games and splendid exteriors. Good performance from Marlon Brando as sadist Irish gardener and Stephanie Beacham as the young, too-impressionable governess and submitted to masochist relations with Quint, whom she thinks is corrupting the innocent kids . Furthermore the watchful and voyeurs children possessed by evil who think which lovers unite in death , they are finely played by Ellis and Harvey. And the housekeeper performed by Thora Hird who believes Peter Quint influence on the young children was thought to be malevolent. The film packs evocative photography in a good restoring by Robert Paynter and sensational musical score by Jerry Fielding. The picture is acceptably directed by Michael Winner. He had important commercial success in the mid-70 with his fetish actor, Charles Bronson , achieving various box-office hits, as ¨Deathwish I and II, furthermore ¨The mechanics¨ and ¨The stone killer¨.

Other adaptations about ¨Henry James' The turn of the screw¨ are the followings : Turn of the Screw (1974) by Dan Curtis with Lynn Redgrave; (1989) by Graeme Clifford with Amy Irving and David Hemmings; (1992) by Rutsy Lemorande with Patsy Kensit, Julian Sands and Stephane Audran; (1999) by Ben Bolt with Jodhi May, Pam Ferris and Colin Firth. And of course the classic and best version ,the incredibly eerie rendition titled ¨The innocents (61)¨ by Jack Clayton with Deborah Kerr, Pamela Franklin and Martin Stephens where the protagonist begins to see the specters of Miss Jessel and Peter Quint .

For the inscrutable yet precocious personalities of Miles and Flora evident in the 1961 film 'The Innocents'. As well, the ghosts of that movie are fleshed out nicely in this prequel. Quint is a morally repugnant character, sadistic and controlling, but he's also darkly magnetic as the corrupter of the lovely young governess who submits to (and even embraces) his perverted ideas of sexuality. Together they are fated to become the imprisoned souls that haunt the estate. Together they have inflicted unknowable damage to the psyches of the children.

Brando is very good in the role of Quint. He gives the character a credibility and powerfulness that one would expect from a personality who will ultimately refuse to leave, even after his bizarre death. Few actors would be convincing enough to portray such a reprehensible protagonist and still be vaguely, mysteriously likable. That Brando can deliver this affect with legitimacy is not surprising, genius that he is. Another who might have been very interesting to watch in this role is Dirk Bogarde.

The director's visual styling of the film is it's most unfavorable aspect and prevents it from being excellent. In any case, this unusual little entry has always been a tad underrated. I suspect that now that Marlon has passed on an overdue re-assessment is likely.

As with many Winner films it is necessary to not make the mistake of expecting his film to be exactly as you expect, or very much like it at all actually. Forget Henry James, forget The Innocents and just enjoy Mr Winner's take on how the children lost their innocence. The SM and bondage scenes were more explicit than I remember on a previous viewing and it may be that the earlier video had been trimmed. Certainly here there is no mistaking the powerful relationship between Brando and Beacham and I for one found the playing out of these scenes by the children fairly powerful. I suppose the pace is a little slow which is perhaps particularly noticeable because of how quickly does the effective ending unfold. Not for purists but if you are looking for that something just a little bit different……UPDATE 7.2.17 Just watched this again, on blu ray this time and enjoyed it even more. Once again I felt the bondage scenes more explicit than I remember from before! Funny thing memory.