Cover for the DVD release of Seconds

Seconds is the name of a film starring Rock Hudson that was first released in 1966. Characterized sometimes as a science fiction thriller, but with elements of horror, psychedelia and drama, Seconds was directed by John Frankenheimer with a screenplay by Lewis John Carlino. The script was based on a novel by David Ely. Rock Hudson (November 17, 1925 – October 2, 1985) was an American actor, famous for his rugged good looks. ... 1966 (MCMLXVI) was a common year starting on Saturday (link goes to calendar) // Events January January 1 - In a coup, Colonel Jean-Bédel Bokassa ousts president David Dacko and takes over the Central African Republic. ... Science fiction is a form of speculative fiction principally dealing with the impact of imagined science and technology, or both, upon society and persons as individuals. ... The thriller is a genre of fiction in which tough, resourceful, but essentially ordinary heroes are pitted against villains determined to destroy them, their country, or the stability of the free world. ... Horror can mean several things: Horror (emotion) Horror fiction Horror film This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the same title. ... Psychedelia is a term describing a category of music, visual art, fashion, and culture that is associated originally with the high 1960s, hippies, and the Haight-Ashbury neighborhood of San Francisco, California. ... This article does not cite its references or sources. ... This article is about the unit of time. ... John Michael Frankenheimer (February 19, 1930 – July 6, 2002) was an American film director. ...

Plotline

In the movie, Arthur Hamilton (played by John Randolph) is a middle-aged man, whose life has lost purpose. He is disengaged at work as a banker, and the love between him and his wife has dwindled. John Randolph (June 1, 1915 - February 24, 2004) was a prolific Tony Award-winning actor. ... For other uses, see Bank (disambiguation). ...

Then, he is approached by a secret organization that offers wealthy people a second chance at life. Hamilton is interviewed about what kind of person he would like to be and the organization selects a person whose life he can assume, a younger man named Tony Wilson (portayed by Hudson). The organization then arranges for Hamilton to be surgically altered to look like Wilson, fakes Hamilton's death, and then kills the real Wilson so Hamilton can assume his identity.

The remainder of the movie deals with Hamilton in this new body (who when transformed is played by Hudson) as he copes with the consequences of this new identity.

Relocated to a fancy home in Malibu, California, where he works as an already established artist, he begins a relationship with a young woman named Norma Marcus (portayed by Salome Jens) and for or a time he is happy, but soon becomes troubled. Malibu is a city located in Western Los Angeles County, California. ... Artist is a descriptive term applied to a person who engages in an activity deemed to be an art. ... Salome Jens (born May 8, 1935) is an actress best-known for portraying the female shapeshifter on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. ...

Hamilton is increasingly confronted a wide range of emotions as he wrestles with the confusion of having a new identity, the loss and guilt of giving up his old friends and family, the horror of knowing he contributed to the death of the man whose identity he now has, and the exubernance of renewing his own youth.

Themes

John Frankenheimer directed Seconds during the period that he worked on his most noted films including Birdman of Alcatraz (1962), The Manchurian Candidate (1962), and Seven Days In May (1964). These last two films together with Seconds are sometimes known as Frankenheimer's paranoia trilogy. John Michael Frankenheimer (February 19, 1930 – July 6, 2002) was an American film director. ... Robert Franklin Stroud (January 28, 1890 – November 21, 1963), known as the Birdman of Alcatraz, was a prisoner in Alcatraz who supposedly found solace from segregation in raising and selling birds. ... 1962 (MCMLXII) was a common year starting on Monday (link will take you to calendar). ... The Manchurian Candidate is a 1959 novel by Richard Condon. ... 1962 (MCMLXII) was a common year starting on Monday (link will take you to calendar). ... Seven Days in May is a political thriller novel [current hardcover edition: ISBN 0060124369] written by Fletcher Knebel and Charles W. Bailey. ... For the Nintendo 64 emulator, see 1964 (Emulator). ... In popular culture, the term paranoia is usually used to describe excessive concern about ones own well-being, sometimes suggesting a person holds persecutory beliefs concerning a threat to themselves or their property and is often linked to a belief in conspiracy theories. ...

The theme of Seconds can be seen as a variation on Faust. This article is about the unit of time. ... Faust (sometimes Latinized as Faustus) is the protagonist of a popular German tale of a pact with the Devil. ...

Production Information

Seconds was first released October 5, 1966. It did poorly when it first ran, but has developed a strong cult following. This article is about the unit of time. ... October 5 is the 278th day of the year (279th in Leap years). ... 1966 (MCMLXVI) was a common year starting on Saturday (link goes to calendar) // Events January January 1 - In a coup, Colonel Jean-Bédel Bokassa ousts president David Dacko and takes over the Central African Republic. ... A cult film is a movie that attracts a small but devoted group of fans, usually failing to achieve considerable success outside that group. ...

The score for the movie was provided by Jerry Goldsmith. Jerry Goldsmith Jerrald King Goldsmith (February 10, 1929 – July 21, 2004) was a famous Jewish-American film score composer from Los Angeles, California. ...