Believe in Me (1971)

User Rating:

6.8/10   

Director:

Stuart Hagmann

Writer:

Israel Horovitz (writer)

Genre:

Drama

Tagline:

Pamela knew that life without David was only existing. She also knew that life with him would destroy her.

Plot:

Remy is a medical student who has a flair for making his patients comfortable. His genuine concern for...

Plot Keywords:

Barbiturates | Drug Addiction | Drug Addict | Beautiful Woman | Drugs

Cast

Michael Sarrazin	...	Remy
Jacqueline Bisset	...	Pamela
Jon Cypher	...	Alan
Allen Garfield	...	Stutter
Kurt Dodenhoff	...	Matthew
Marcia Jean Kurtz	...	Nurse
Kevin Conway	...	Clancy
Roger Robinson	...	Angel
Antonio Fargas	...	Boy
Milt Kamen	...	Physician
Susan Doukas	...	Ward nurse
Suzannah Norstrand	...	Sylvia
Ultra Violet	...	Patient
William Abruzzi	...	Lecturer (as Dr. William Abruzzi)
Matthew Anton	...	David

Runtime:

USA:86 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Metrocolor)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

UK:X (original rating) | USA:R

Filming Locations:

New York City, New York, USA

Company:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Trivia:

Fifty minutes of Stuart Hagmann's original version hit the cutting room floor after re-shoots, including a scene featuring George Rose and Geraldine Fitzgerald as Jacqueline Bisset's parents. Bisset's character goes to visit them at their Connecticut home.

Quotes:

Remy: You're hungry? How dare you! How dare you! All right, all right. You're hungry! Let's see. Let's see. Ah-ha! Chocolate syrup. Here! Here! Drink it. Drink it. Drink it all. Don't leave anything left. Down the hatch. C'mon. Drink the chocolate syrup, bitch!

Movie Connections:

Features A Christmas Carol (1938)

Soundtrack:

Believe in Me

Sterling Performances by Jacqueline Bisset and Michael Sarrazin

Originally filmed in 1970 as "Speed is of the Essence" (the title of Gail Sheehy's story about her sister that appeared in New York Magazine), this virtually-unknown film so alarmed MGM in its unflinching depiction of drug abuse that the studio ordered extensive re-shoots directed by John G. Avildsen (who receives no screen credit). The mangled result briefly appeared in theaters in 1971 and then vanished into obscurity. MGM's attempt to make the movie more "palatable" and "upbeat" proved disastrous (What did the studio want--"Love Story" with needle marks?) Among the approximately 50 minutes of the original version that hit the cutting room floor were several poignant scenes featuring George Rose and Geraldine Fitzgerald as Jacqueline Bisset's parents, frightened and helpless when confronted in their placid Connecticut home by their daughter's decline into amphetamine addiction. Even so, the drastically re-edited release print still glows with the warmth, sincerity and lacerating honesty of the performances by Michael Sarrazin and Jacqueline Bisset. In fact, Francois Truffaut was so impressed by Ms. Bisset's multi-faceted portrayal of a doomed young woman that he subsequently cast her in "Day for Night." "Believe in Me" has never aired on commercial or cable TV, nor has it been released on videotape. It is apparently a "lost" film, and a shame, because Ms. Bisset's and Mr. Sarrazin's work is exemplary.