The Idol (1966)

Marco, a young, arrogant art student, is friendly with Timothy, a medical student, and Sarah, his girl friend. Timothy is dominated by his beautiful mother, Carol, who is divorcing her ... See full summary »

Director:

Daniel Petrie

Writers:

Millard Lampell, Ugo Liberatore (story)

Stars:

Jennifer Jones, Michael Parks, John Leyton

Cast

Credited cast:
Jennifer Jones	...	Carol
Michael Parks	...	Marco
John Leyton	...	Timothy
Jennifer Hilary	...	Sarah
Guy Doleman	...	Martin Livesey
Natasha Pyne	...	Rosalind
Jack Watson	...	Police Inspector
Jeremy Bulloch	...	Lewis
Gordon Gostelow	...	Simon
Priscilla Morgan	...	Rosie
Edna Morris	...	Mrs. Muller
Fanny Carby	...	Barmaid
Renee Houston	...	1st Woman at Party
Caroline Blakiston	...	2nd Woman at Party
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Vernon Dobtcheff	...	Man at Party

Storyline

Marco, a young, arrogant art student, is friendly with Timothy, a medical student, and Sarah, his girl friend. Timothy is dominated by his beautiful mother, Carol, who is divorcing her husband. Marco finds a studio apartment, and Timothy pays the first 2 months' rent, planning to move in with his friend. Carol prevents the move, and Sarah, who has fallen in love with Marco, moves in instead. During a party at her weekend cottage, Carol becomes furious when she finds Marco and Sarah making love in Timothy's room, and she orders Marco from the house. Later, Marco seduces Carol and then scornfully leaves for the party. He arrives drunk, accompanied by a streetwalker, and tells Sarah how he took Carol to bed.

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Plot Keywords:

student | art student | alienation | riverboat | prostitute | 

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Genres:

Drama

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Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

26 May 1967 (Finland)

Also Known As:

Falso ídolo

Company Credits

Production Co:

Embassy Pictures Corporation, Paramount Film Service

Technical Specs

Runtime:

109 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Jennifer Jones replaced Kim Stanley as Carol.

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Connections

Featured in Biography: Jennifer Jones: Portrait of a Lady (2001)

User Reviews

The Idol is not James Dean by half....

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.