The Beguiled (1971)

Director:

Don Siegel

Writers:

Thomas Cullinan (novel)
Albert Maltz (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

28 May 1971 (Finland)

Genre:

Drama | Romance | War

Tagline:

One man...seven women...in a strange house!

Plot:

While imprisoned in a Confederate girls boarding school, a Union soldier cons his way into each of the lonely women's hearts.

Plot Keywords:

Soldier | Civil War | Yankee | Boarding School | Jealousy

Cast

Clint Eastwood	...	Cpl. John McBurney
Geraldine Page	...	Martha Farnsworth
Elizabeth Hartman	...	Edwina Dabney
Jo Ann Harris	...	Carol
Darleen Carr	...	Doris
Mae Mercer	...	Hallie
Pamelyn Ferdin	...	Amelia ('Amy')
Melody Thomas Scott	...	Abigail (as Melody Thomas)
Peggy Drier	...	Lizzie
Patricia Mattick	...	Janie (as Pattye Mattick)
Charlie Briggs	...	1st Confederate Captain
George Dunn	...	Sam Jefferson
Charles Martin	...	2nd Confederate Captain
Matt Clark	...	Scrogins
Patrick Culliton	...	Soldier

Runtime:

105 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Certification:

Finland:K-16 (1971) (cut) | Finland:K-16 (1989) (cut) | UK:X | Singapore:M18 | Spain:13 | West Germany:16 (f) | Australia:M | Norway:16 | Sweden:15 | UK:15 (video rating) | USA:R (certificate #22657) | Iceland:16

Filming Locations:

Ashland-Belle Helene Plantation - State Highway 75, Geismer, Louisiana, USA

Company:

Jennings Lang

Trivia:

'Don Siegel (I)''s favorite of all his films.

Quotes:

Martha Farnsworth: If the pain gets too great, I'll ask Hallie to bring you some (wine).
Cpl. John McBurney: Well, this does seem like a good occasion, and I would love some wine.
Martha Farnsworth: It was offered for your pain, not for your pleasure!
Cpl. John McBurney: To be sure, ma'am. It's just that sometimes the two go together.

Movie Connections:

Featured in Eastwood on Eastwood (1997) (TV)

A Study in Suppressed Sexuality

This powerful drama centering around the effect which the arrival of a wounded civil war soldier has on a house full of women is probably Don Siegel's finest achievement, and is yet another example of Eastwood's willingness to break new ground and tackle new genres. It is also, perhaps, the finest acting performance of his career. His presence in the house releases not only deeply repressed sexual urges in the women who are helping him to recover from his wounds, but a sexually competitive frenzy which becomes ever more dangerous and frightening.