Accident (1967)

Stephen is a married Oxford professor experiencing the pangs of a mid-life crisis as he begins to bristle at the stifling emotional repression of the society in which he lives. Things begin... See full summary »

Director:

Joseph Losey

Writers:

Nicholas Mosley (novel), Harold Pinter (screenplay)

Stars:

Dirk Bogarde, Stanley Baker, Jacqueline Sassard

Nominated for 1 Golden Globe. Another 5 wins & 5 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Dirk Bogarde	...	Stephen
Stanley Baker	...	Charley
Jacqueline Sassard	...	Anna
Michael York	...	William
Vivien Merchant	...	Rosalind
Delphine Seyrig	...	Francesca
Alexander Knox	...	Provost
Ann Firbank	...	Laura
Brian Phelan	...	Police Sergeant
Terence Rigby	...	Plain Clothed Policeman
Freddie Jones	...	Man in Bell's Office
Jill Johnson	...	Secretary
Jane Hillary	...	Receptionist
Maxwell Caulfield	...	Ted (as Maxwell Findlater)
Carole Caplin	...	Clarissa

Storyline

Stephen is a married Oxford professor experiencing the pangs of a mid-life crisis as he begins to bristle at the stifling emotional repression of the society in which he lives. Things begin to change for him when he meets Anna, a beautiful student who is engaged to William, another of Stephen's students. Though he begins to feel alive again in her presence, Stephen's feelings for Anna can only end in tragedy for them and those around them.

---

Plot Keywords:

oxford | professor | author cameo | flashback | car accident | 

---

Genres:

Drama | Crime

---

Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

7 June 1967 (France)

Also Known As:

Accident - Zwischenfall in Oxford

Filming Locations:

Canterbury Quad, St. John's College, St Giles', Oxford, Oxfordshire, England, UK

Box Office

Budget:

$600,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Royal Avenue Chelsea

Technical Specs

Runtime:

105 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Delphine Seyrig shot her scenes in one day and a half.

---

Quotes

Charley: [reading from learned journal] A statistical analysis of sexual intercourse at Kolenzo University, Milwaukee showed... that 70% did it in the evening, 29.9% between 2 and 4 in the afternoon and 0.1% during a lecture on Aristotle.
Aged Professor: I'm surprised to hear that Aristotle is on the syllabus in the State of Wisconsin.

---

Connections

References Last Year at Marienbad (1961)

User Reviews

"Formalistic, imaginative and exceptional neo-noir..."

American screenwriter and director Joseph Losey's nineteenth feature film which was written by English playwright, screenwriter, actor and director Harold Pinter (1930-2008), is an adaptation of a novel from 1965 by British author Nicholas Mosley. It was screened In competition at the 20th Cannes International Film Festival in 1967 and is a UK production which was shot on locations in the county of Oxfordshire, the county of Surrey and London in England and produced by Joseph Losey (1909-1984) and British producer Norman Priggen. It tells the story about Stephen, an Oxford philosophy professor who lives a quiet life with his wife Rosalind and their children. Stephen is on friendly terms with one of his students named William who is about to marry a woman named Anna, but when Stephen meets Anna he is transfixed by her.

Distinctly and precisely directed by American filmmaker Joseph Losey, this finely paced fictional tale which is narrated mostly from the protagonist's point of view, draws an invariably intriguing portrayal of a middle-aged man's irrational and possessive infatuation with a young German student. While notable for it's atmospheric milieu depictions, sterling production design by English production designer Carmen Dillon (1908-2000), cinematography by English cinematographer Gerry Fisher, fine editing by Russian-born English film editor Reginald Beck (1902-1992) and use of sound, this character-driven, dialog-driven and narrative-driven psychological thriller depicts and in-depth and internal study of character and contains a prominent and efficient score by English Jazz composer John Dankworth (1927-2010).

This pessimistic though incisive study of human nature which is set during a summer in the 1960s in Southern England and which emphasizes the interior suspense and the mind states of the five central characters, is impelled and reinforced by it's fragmented narrative structure, substantial character development, underlying tension, foreboding atmosphere and the brilliant acting performances by English actor and writer Sir Dirk Bogarde (1921-1999), Welsh actor and film producer Sir Stanley Baker (1928-1976), French actress Jaqueline Sassard, English actress Vivien Merchant (1929-1982) and English actor Michael York. A formalistic, imaginative and exceptional neo-noir from the late 1960s which gained the Grand Prix Spécial du Jury at the 20th Cannes International Film Festival in 1967.

Dramatist Harold Pinter and theatre and film director Joseph Losey's second collaboration is as their first cooperation, a film adaptation of a novel by a 20th century British novelist and an artistic character piece. While examining themes like middle-class life in England during the 1960s, infidelity, rivalry, materialism, generational distinctions, the clash between traditional and untraditional views and the duality between masculinity and femininity, this study of the human conscience where the characters are in a constant struggle between their sexual desires and their morals which instigates their destructive nature, forms a multifaceted triangle drama which involves one woman and three men who are magnetically drawn to her and where the radiant surface diverges from the inner darkness of the spellbound characters.