Reflections in a Golden Eye (1967)

Bizarre tale of sex, betrayal, and perversion at a military post.

Director:

John Huston

Writers:

Chapman Mortimer (screenplay), Gladys Hill (screenplay)

Stars:

Elizabeth Taylor, Marlon Brando, Brian Keith

2 wins & 4 nominations.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Elizabeth Taylor	...	Leonora Penderton
Marlon Brando	...	Maj. Weldon Penderton
Brian Keith	...	Lt. Col. Morris Langdon
Julie Harris	...	Alison Langdon
Zorro David	...	Anacleto
Gordon Mitchell	...	Stables Sergeant
Irvin Dugan	...	Capt. Murray Weincheck
Fay Sparks	...	Susie
Robert Forster	...	Pvt. L.G. Williams
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Ed Metzger	...	Pvt. Frank Brian

Storyline

U.S. Army Major Weldon Penderton (Marlon Brando) is stationed on a base in the American south. He and his wife Leonora Penderton (Dame Elizabeth Taylor) are in an unsatisfying marriage. Weldon is generally a solitary man who in his time alone tries to bolster his self image as he feels less than adequate as a man and a Major. He does not want to viewed like Captain Murray Weincheck (Irvin Dugan), who has been bypassed for promotion time and time again solely because he is seen as being too sensitive. Self absorbed Leonora, when not focused on her passion of horses and riding, tries to maintain the façade of being what she sees an officer's wife should be while she carries on an affair with their next door neighbor, married Lieutenant Colonel Morris Langdon (Brian Keith). Morris' wife, Alison Langdon (Julie Harris), suffered a nervous breakdown three years ago after miscarrying her child, she is still with that nervous constitution. Alison is generally drawn toward sensitive types, ...

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Plot Keywords:

voyeurism | peeping tom | stalking | fetish | gay soldier | 

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Taglines:

leave the children home

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Genres:

Drama | Romance | Thriller

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Did You Know?

Trivia

Richard Burton and Lee Marvin turned down the role of Major Weldon Penderton, before Marlon Brando agreed to do it for seven hundred fifty thousand dollars and ten percent of the profits.

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Goofs

The cuts on Major Weldon Penderton's (Marlon Brando) face as a result of being lashed by his wife Leonora (Elizabeth Taylor) at the party, are gone in a subsequent scene that takes place at a boxing match just a short time later.

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Quotes

Lt. Col. Morris Langdon: [after Alison Langdon's houseboy Anacleto falls down the stairs] I wish you'd broken your goddam neck!

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Alternate Versions

In the version of the film released in Brazil's cinemas in the late 1960s, it was Anacleto who announced that Mrs. Alison had cut off her nipples with the garden shears. But in the later VHS version, it is Leonora who makes the remark to Lt. Col. Langdon while they are playing cards.

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Connections

Featured in Apocalypse Now (1979)

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Soundtracks

Avalon
(uncredited)
Written by Al Jolson, Buddy G. DeSylva and Vincent Rose

User Reviews

Underrated little classic

Underrated little classic here. The setting is a small southern army base and behind the formality of peacetime military life is a hotbed of sexual repressions and obsessions. Elizabeth Taylor is wonderfully overripe as the Major's unfaithful wife. Her hilarious party food monologue is a career highlight. Marlon Brando as the macho Major she calls "prissy" does an amazing job with a role that requires him to be all emotionally buttoned up while just barely keeping a lid on an obsession he has with a serviceman (Robert Forster).

The real standout in the cast is Brian Keith. He creates a dimensional character out of a man cut off from his feelings who one day is forced to confront them. In this unusual but endlessly engrossing movie, he is a marvel.

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

13 October 1967 (USA)

Also Known As:

Reflections in a Golden Eye

Filming Locations:

Long Island, New York, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$4,500,000 (estimated)

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$65,232

Company Credits

Production Co:

Warner Bros./Seven Arts

Technical Specs

Runtime:

108 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1