The Mark (1961)

A man who served prison time for intent to molest a child tries to build a new life with the help of a sympathetic psychiatrist.

Director:

Guy Green

Writers:

Charles E. Israel (novel) (as Charles Israel), Sidney Buchman (screenplay)

Stars:

Maria Schell, Stuart Whitman, Rod Steiger

Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 1 win & 1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Stuart Whitman	...	Jim Fuller
Maria Schell	...	Ruth Leighton
Rod Steiger	...	Dr. Edmund McNally
Brenda de Banzie	...	Gertrude Cartwright
Donald Houston	...	Austin
Donald Wolfit	...	Andrew Clive
Paul Rogers	...	Roy Milne
Maurice Denham	...	Arnold Cartwright
Amanda Black	...	Janie Leighton
Marie Devereux	...	Ellen
Bill Foley	...	Mr. Fontaine
Anne Monaghan	...	Mrs. Fontaine
Josephine Frayne	...	Patricia Elmsworth
Eddie Byrne	...	Akers
Bandana Das Gupta	...	Inez

Storyline

This is the story of a 33 year old man, Jim Fuller, released from prison after serving a three year term for intent to commit child molestation. Fuller is assisted by the prison psychiatrist in obtaining a position. He does well in this position and falls in love with the secretary of the owner of the company. A child is molested and beaten in the town where he now lives and the police pick him up for questioning. He has an alibi and is released, but a reporter who covered his former trial recognizes him. The reporter begins to follow him and reports that Fuller spent time alone with the daughter of his girl friend.

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Plot Keywords:

bare chested male | hairy chest | prison | psychiatrist | police detective | 

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Taglines:

A Most Mature Motion Picture!

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Genres:

Drama

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English French

Release Date:

26 January 1961 (UK)

Also Known As:

Gebrandmarkt

Filming Locations:

Ardmore Studios, Herbert Road, Bray, County Wicklow, Ireland

Company Credits

Production Co:

Buckman, Raymond Stross Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

127 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

When Stuart Whitman was nominated for the Best Actor Oscar, his competition included 'Maria Schell''s brother 'Maximillian Schell' for his role in "Judgement at Nuremberg." Schell won. Maria Schell had told Whitman " I don't know who to vote for!".

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Goofs

When Jim is talking with Gertrude while she is knitting, as the camera is looking over his shoulder at Gertrude, his hands are down in his lap. When the scene shifts to when the camera is looking over Gertrude's shoulder at Jim, his hands are up, touching his chin.

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Quotes

Dr. Edmund McNally: Ego, sex, opportunity. Mix all that and you have the poet's dream; Love.

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Connections

Referenced in Video Nasties: Moral Panic, Censorship & Videotape (2010)

User Reviews

For its time, strong stuff

I caught this film on TV back in the late 70s. A local station showed it late one night with no cuts and no commercial interruptions. Over 20 years later I still remember it. Even when I saw it (about 1979) it was strong stuff for TV. For one thing it shows the child molestor (Stuart Whitman) in a sympathetic light...you see he has no power over his impulses and, at one point, gets sick just before he's about to molest a small girl. Then there are the scenes of group therapy when he's in prison--the language is pretty frank (again, for its time) and it doesn't hold back in its subject matter.

It doers have its slow moments when him and Maria Schell were falling in love, but the performances by Whitman and Schell pull it through. The film is (almost) ruined by a stupid happy ending (probably imposed by the studio)...almost. It's sadly a forgotten film today...purportedly there was a DVD release earlier this year with no fanfare whatsoever. Still, this is worth searching out. It deals with a sensitive subject intelligently and with taste. See "Happiness" for a much more graphic view.