Games (film): Difference between revisions

Games
Games
Directed by	Curtis Harrington
Screenplay by	Gene R. Kearney
Story by	Curtis Harrington; George Edwards
Produced by	George Edwards
Starring	Simone Signoret; James Caan; Katherine Ross
Cinematography	William A. Fraker
Edited by	Douglas Stewart
Music by	Samuel Matlovsky
Production; company	Universal Pictures
Distributed by	Universal Pictures
Release date	September 17, 1967;
Running time	100 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$1 million

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Games is a 1967 American psychological horror film directed by Curtis Harrington and starring Simone Signoret, James Caan, and Katharine Ross. Its plot follows two jaded Manhattan socialites who engage in a series of mind games with a German cosmetics agent whom they invite into their home.

Plot

Businessman Paul Montgomery and his heiress wife Jennifer are two wealthy, but blasé, Upper East Side New York socialites who amuse themselves in a bizarre, chic, and upscale fashion. They frequently host parlor tricks and other social games for their peers at their spacious townhouse, occasionally revealing what appears to be a playfully sadistic streak.

Lisa Schindler, an older German woman, arrives at their door one day selling cosmetics. After she nearly faints and falls ill, Jennifer agrees to let her spend the night. The couple takes a liking to Lisa, who professes to have psychic abilities, and Jennifer asks her to arrange some "games" for their amusement. Lisa proceeds to set up several situations of simulated domestic discord that the couple can react to, among them being a staged affair between Jennifer and the grocery deliveryman, Norman. Paul is initially enraged upon finding Norman in the couple's bedroom, but is bemused when Lisa appears, revealing it to be a phony setup.

When Norman delivers groceries the next day, Paul witnesses him make a romantic advance toward Jennifer. Paul threatens him with a revolver, and fires the gun at him, but it discharges blanks. Paul and Jennifer begin to laugh, revealing to Norman they are only joking. Paul playfully fires the gun again, but this time it shoots Norman in the head, killing him. In a panic, Paul stores Norman's bloodied corpse in a small elevator in the home, and Jennifer sends Lisa to the drugstore to purchase a salve to divert her.

That night, Jennifer drugs Lisa with a sedative so Paul can decide how to dispose of Norman's body. He ultimately chooses to encase it in plaster, posing it as a new statue in the couple's collection. In the morning, Lisa does a tarot reading for Jennifer, drawing the Death card, which upsets her. Late in the night, Lisa approaches Jennifer, confiding in her that she senses a ghost in the house. In the parlor, Jennifer is horrified to see an apparition of Norman with a bullet through his eye.

Lisa departs in the morning after a confrontation with Paul, and Paul heads to Maine on a business trip, leaving Jennifer alone. While watching television, Jennifer hears noises in the house, and the electricity goes out. In the kitchen, she sees the figure of a man approaching, resembling Norman. She swiftly enters the elevator and ascends upstairs, where she attempts to use the telephone, but finds it disabled. Norman enters the room and approaches Jennifer, his eye bloodied, and she fearfully shoots him several times, killing him. Paul enters the room moments later, and removes a prosthetic piece from Norman's eye. Paul calmly phones the police, reporting that his wife has committed a murder. Jennifer realizes she has been set up by Paul and manipulated into killing someone so he can inherit her fortune; Norman, who agreed to participate, was an unwitting casualty.

After Jennifer's arrest, Paul and Lisa share a celebratory drink as Paul gives her a ten-percent cut of Jennifer's fortune. As they have their drinks, Paul soon begins to feel ill. Realizing Lisa has poisoned his drink, he collapses moments later and dies. Lisa leaves the townhouse with a briefcase full of money.

Cast

Simone Signoret as Lisa Schindler
James Caan as Paul Montgomery
Katharine Ross as Jennifer Montgomery
Don Stroud as Norman
Kent Smith as Harry Gordon
Estelle Winwood as Miss Beattie
Marjorie Bennett as Nora
Ian Wolfe as Dr. Edwards
Anthony Eustrel as Winthrop
Eloise Hardt as Celia
George Furth as Terry, Party Guest
Carmen Phillips as Holly
Peter Brocco as Count, Party Guest
Florence Marly as Baroness
Stuart Nisbet as Detective
William O'Connell as Party Guest
Luana Anders as Party Guest

Production notes

Director Curtis Harrington wrote the role of Lisa with Marlene Dietrich in mind to play the part. The producers vetoed the idea, however, so Simone Signoret was cast instead.^[1] Signoret agreed to take the role after watching Harrington's 1961 film, Night Tide.^[2] Caan was cast after his appearances in two Howard Hawks films.^[3]

The film was shot on a budget of $1 million.^[4] Though set in Manhattan, it was filmed at Universal Studios in Los Angeles, California, beginning November 30, 1966.^[5]

Release

Games premiered in New York City at the Sutton Theater on September 17, 1967.^[5] It subsequently opened at the Plaza Theatre in Los Angeles on January 25, 1968.^[5]

Critical reception

In The New York Times, Vincent Canby wrote, "Mr. Harrington's story might have been made to order for a 30-minute Alfred Hitchcock television show. In stretching it out to 98, commercial-free minutes, the director has been forced to pad, but the padding, which includes a strong, enigmatically humorous performance by Simone Signoret, is of top quality." Canby also found James Caan and Katherine Ross "attractive and believable", and concluded that the film is "a most diverting pastime".^[6]

References

^ "Retrospective in Terror: An Interview with Curtis Harrington - April 2005". The Terror Trap.
^ Scheuer, Philip K. (January 3, 1967). "Simone Signoret Visiting L.A. for Fun and 'Games'". Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles, California. p. 63 – via Newspapers.com.
^ Vagg, Stephen (September 27, 2022). "The Stardom of James Caan". Filmink.
^ Thomas, Kevin (November 19, 1966). "Games' Men Hold Good Hand". Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles, California. p. 22.
^ ^a ^b ^c "Games (1967)". AFI Catalog of Feature Films. Los Angeles, California: American Film Institute. Archived from the original on April 24, 2019.
^ Canby, Vincent (September 18, 1967). "Screen: Chiller a la Mod:'Games' Is Happening, Eerily, at the Sutton" – via NYTimes.com.

External links

Games at IMDb
Games at the AFI Catalog of Feature Films
Games at the TCM Movie Database
Games at Letterboxd
Games at AllMovie

[1] "Retrospective in Terror: An Interview with Curtis Harrington - April 2005". The Terror Trap.

[fun-2] Scheuer, Philip K. (January 3, 1967). "Simone Signoret Visiting L.A. for Fun and 'Games'". Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles, California. p. 63 – via Newspapers.com.

[3] Vagg, Stephen (September 27, 2022). "The Stardom of James Caan". Filmink.

[4] Thomas, Kevin (November 19, 1966). "Games' Men Hold Good Hand". Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles, California. p. 22.

[afi-5] "Games (1967)". AFI Catalog of Feature Films. Los Angeles, California: American Film Institute. Archived from the original on April 24, 2019.

[6] Canby, Vincent (September 18, 1967). "Screen: Chiller a la Mod:'Games' Is Happening, Eerily, at the Sutton" – via NYTimes.com.

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[2]

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[6]

@@ Line 9: / Line 9: @@
 | producer       = George Edwards
 | starring       = [[Simone Signoret]]<br>[[James Caan (actor)|James Caan]]<br>[[Katharine Ross|Katherine Ross]]
-| cinematography = William A. Fraker
+| cinematography = [[William A. Fraker]]
 | editing        = [[Douglas Stewart (film editor)|Douglas Stewart]]
 | music          = Samuel Matlovsky
@@ Line 21: / Line 21: @@
 }}
-'''''Games''''' is a 1967 American [[psychological horror]] film directed by [[Curtis Harrington]], and starring [[Simone Signoret]], [[James Caan (actor)|James Caan]], and [[Katharine Ross]]. Its plot follows two jaded [[Manhattan]] [[socialite]]s who engage in a series of [[mind games]] with a German cosmetics agent whom they invite into their home.
+'''''Games''''' is a 1967 American [[psychological horror]] film directed by [[Curtis Harrington]] and starring [[Simone Signoret]], [[James Caan (actor)|James Caan]], and [[Katharine Ross]]. Its plot follows two jaded [[Manhattan]] socialites who engage in a series of mind games with a German cosmetics agent whom they invite into their home.
 ==Plot==
-Businessman Paul Montgomery and his [[Inheritance|heir]]ess wife Jennifer are two wealthy, but blasé, [[Upper East Side]] New York socialites with an attitude sometimes accompanying the over-privileged: a propensity to amuse themselves in a bizarre, chic, and upscale fashion. They frequently host [[platform magic|parlor tricks]] and other social games for their peers at their spacious [[townhouse]], occasionally revealing what appears to be a playfully sadistic streak.
+Businessman Paul Montgomery and his heiress wife Jennifer are two wealthy, but blasé, [[Upper East Side]] New York socialites who amuse themselves in a bizarre, chic, and upscale fashion. They frequently host [[platform magic|parlor tricks]] and other social games for their peers at their spacious townhouse, occasionally revealing what appears to be a playfully sadistic streak.
-Lisa Schindler, an older German woman, arrives at their door one day selling cosmetics. After she nearly faints and falls ill, Jennifer agrees to let her spend the night. The couple take a liking to Lisa, who professes to have [[psychic]] abilities, and Jennifer asks her to arrange some "games" for their amusement. Lisa proceeds to set up several situations of simulated domestic discord that the couple can react to, among them being a staged affair between Jennifer and the grocery deliveryman, Norman. Paul is initially enraged upon finding Norman in the couple's bedroom, but is bemused when Lisa appears, revealing it to be a phony setup.
+Lisa Schindler, an older German woman, arrives at their door one day selling cosmetics. After she nearly faints and falls ill, Jennifer agrees to let her spend the night. The couple takes a liking to Lisa, who professes to have psychic abilities, and Jennifer asks her to arrange some "games" for their amusement. Lisa proceeds to set up several situations of simulated domestic discord that the couple can react to, among them being a staged affair between Jennifer and the grocery deliveryman, Norman. Paul is initially enraged upon finding Norman in the couple's bedroom, but is bemused when Lisa appears, revealing it to be a phony setup.
 [[File:Katharine Rosse in "Games" (1967).jpg|thumb|left|upright=.9|Ross as Jennifer in the finale of ''Games'']]
-When Norman delivers groceries the next day, Paul witnesses him make a romantic advance toward Jennifer. Paul threatens him with a [[revolver]], and fires the gun at him, but it discharges [[blank (cartridge)|blanks]]. Paul and Jennifer begin to laugh, revealing to Norman they are only joking. Paul playfully fires the gun again, but this time it shoots Norman in the head, killing him. In a panic, Paul stores Norman's bloodied corpse in a small [[elevator]] in the home, and Jennifer sends Lisa to the drugstore to purchase a salve to divert her.
+When Norman delivers groceries the next day, Paul witnesses him make a romantic advance toward Jennifer. Paul threatens him with a revolver, and fires the gun at him, but it discharges blanks. Paul and Jennifer begin to laugh, revealing to Norman they are only joking. Paul playfully fires the gun again, but this time it shoots Norman in the head, killing him. In a panic, Paul stores Norman's bloodied corpse in a small elevator in the home, and Jennifer sends Lisa to the drugstore to purchase a salve to divert her.
-That night, Jennifer drugs Lisa with a sedative so Paul can decide how to dispose of Norman's body. He ultimately chooses to encase it in [[plaster]], posing it as a new statue among the couple's collection. In the morning, Lisa does a [[tarot]] reading for Jennifer, drawing the [[Death (Tarot card)|Death card]], which upsets her. Late in the night, Lisa approaches Jennifer, confiding in her that she senses a [[ghost]] in the house. In the parlor, Jennifer is horrified to see an apparition of Norman with a bullet through his eye.
+That night, Jennifer drugs Lisa with a sedative so Paul can decide how to dispose of Norman's body. He ultimately chooses to encase it in plaster, posing it as a new statue in the couple's collection. In the morning, Lisa does a [[tarot]] reading for Jennifer, drawing the [[Death (Tarot card)|Death card]], which upsets her. Late in the night, Lisa approaches Jennifer, confiding in her that she senses a ghost in the house. In the parlor, Jennifer is horrified to see an apparition of Norman with a bullet through his eye.
 Lisa departs in the morning after a confrontation with Paul, and Paul heads to [[Maine]] on a business trip, leaving Jennifer alone. While watching television, Jennifer hears noises in the house, and the electricity goes out. In the kitchen, she sees the figure of a man approaching, resembling Norman. She swiftly enters the elevator and ascends upstairs, where she attempts to use the telephone, but finds it disabled. Norman enters the room and approaches Jennifer, his eye bloodied, and she fearfully shoots him several times, killing him. Paul enters the room moments later, and removes a [[Prosthetic makeup|prosthetic]] piece from Norman's eye. Paul calmly phones the police, reporting that his wife has committed a murder. Jennifer realizes she has been set up by Paul and manipulated into killing someone so he can inherit her fortune; Norman, who agreed to participate, was an unwitting casualty.
-After Jennifer's arrest, Paul and Lisa share a celebratory drink as Paul gives her a ten-percent cut of Jennifer's fortune. As they have their drinks, Paul soon begins to feel ill. Realizing Lisa has poisoned his drink, he collapses moments later and dies. Lisa leaves the townhouse with a briefcase full of the money
+After Jennifer's arrest, Paul and Lisa share a celebratory drink as Paul gives her a ten-percent cut of Jennifer's fortune. As they have their drinks, Paul soon begins to feel ill. Realizing Lisa has poisoned his drink, he collapses moments later and dies. Lisa leaves the townhouse with a briefcase full of money.
 ==Cast==
@@ Line 42: / Line 42: @@
 * [[James Caan]] as Paul Montgomery
 * [[Katharine Ross]] as Jennifer Montgomery
-* [[Kent Smith]] as Harry Gordon
 * [[Don Stroud]] as Norman
-* [[George Furth]] as Terry, Party Guest
+* [[Kent Smith]] as Harry Gordon
-* [[Ian Wolfe]] as Dr. Edwards
 * [[Estelle Winwood]] as Miss Beattie
+* [[Marjorie Bennett]] as Nora
+* [[Ian Wolfe]] as Dr. Edwards
+* [[Anthony Eustrel]] as Winthrop
+* [[Eloise Hardt]] as Celia
+* [[George Furth]] as Terry, Party Guest
+* Carmen Phillips as Holly
 * [[Peter Brocco]] as Count, Party Guest
-* [[Luana Anders]] as Party Guest
+* [[Florence Marly]] as Baroness
+* [[Stuart Nisbet]] as Detective
 * [[William O'Connell (actor)|William O'Connell]] as Party Guest
+* [[Luana Anders]] as Party Guest
 }}
 ==Production notes==
-Director [[Curtis Harrington]] wrote the role of Lisa with [[Marlene Dietrich]] in mind to play the part. The producers vetoed the idea, however, so [[Simone Signoret]] was cast instead.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.terrortrap.com/interviews/curtisharrington/|title=Retrospective in Terror: An Interview with Curtis Harrington - April 2005|publisher=The Terror Trap}}</ref> Signoret agreed to take the role after watching Harrington's 1961 film, ''[[Night Tide]]''.<ref name=fun>{{cite news|work=[[Los Angeles Times]]|location=Los Angeles, California|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/49506633/the-los-angeles-times/|title=Simone Signoret Visiting L.A. for Fun and 'Games'|date=January 3, 1967|page=63|last=Scheuer|first=Philip K.|via=Newspapers.com}}</ref>
+Director [[Curtis Harrington]] wrote the role of Lisa with [[Marlene Dietrich]] in mind to play the part. The producers vetoed the idea, however, so [[Simone Signoret]] was cast instead.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.terrortrap.com/interviews/curtisharrington/|title=Retrospective in Terror: An Interview with Curtis Harrington - April 2005|publisher=The Terror Trap}}</ref> Signoret agreed to take the role after watching Harrington's 1961 film, ''[[Night Tide]]''.<ref name=fun>{{cite news|work=[[Los Angeles Times]]|location=Los Angeles, California|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/49506633/the-los-angeles-times/|title=Simone Signoret Visiting L.A. for Fun and 'Games'|date=January 3, 1967|page=63|last=Scheuer|first=Philip K.|via=Newspapers.com}}</ref> Caan was cast after his appearances in two Howard Hawks films.<ref>{{cite magazine|magazine=Filmink|url=https://www.filmink.com.au/the-stardom-of-james-caan/|title=The Stardom of James Caan|first= Stephen|last= Vagg|date=September 27, 2022}}</ref>
-The film was shot on a budget of $1 million.<ref>{{cite news|title=Games' Men Hold Good Hand|author=Thomas, Kevin|authorlink=Kevin Thomas (film critic)|work=Los Angeles Times|location=Los Angeles, California|date=November 19, 1966|page=22}}</ref> Though set in [[Manhattan]], filming took place at Universal Studios in [[Los Angeles]], California, beginning November 30, 1966<ref name=afi/>
+The film was shot on a budget of $1 million.<ref>{{cite news|title=Games' Men Hold Good Hand|author=Thomas, Kevin|authorlink=Kevin Thomas (film critic)|work=Los Angeles Times|location=Los Angeles, California|date=November 19, 1966|page=22}}</ref> Though set in [[Manhattan]], it was filmed at Universal Studios in [[Los Angeles]], California, beginning November 30, 1966.<ref name=afi/>
 ==Release==
 ''Games'' premiered in New York City at the Sutton Theater on September 17, 1967.<ref name=afi>{{Cite web|work=[[AFI Catalog of Feature Films]]|location=Los Angeles, California|publisher=[[American Film Institute]]|title=''Games'' (1967)|url=https://catalog.afi.com/Film/20609-GAMES?cxt=filmography|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190424113249/https://catalog.afi.com/Film/20609-GAMES?cxt=filmography|archive-date=April 24, 2019}}</ref> It subsequently opened at the Plaza Theatre in Los Angeles on January 25, 1968.<ref name=afi/>
-===Home media===
+===Critical reception===
+In ''[[The New York Times]]'', [[Vincent Canby]] wrote, "Mr. Harrington's story might have been made to order for a 30-minute [[Alfred Hitchcock Presents|Alfred Hitchcock television show]]. In stretching it out to 98, commercial-free minutes, the director has been forced to pad, but the padding, which includes a strong, enigmatically humorous performance by Simone Signoret, is of top quality." Canby also found James Caan and Katherine Ross "attractive and believable", and concluded that the film is "a most diverting pastime".<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1967/09/18/archives/screen-chiller-a-la-modgames-is-happening-eerily-at-the-sutton.html|title=Screen: Chiller a la Mod:'Games' Is Happening, Eerily, at the Sutton|first=Vincent|last=Canby|date=September 18, 1967|via=NYTimes.com}}</ref>
-The film was given a belated VHS release by Gaiam, Inc., in 1995, and [[Universal Home Video]] in 2000. It was released on DVD in Spain by [[Universal Pictures]]. In 2011, it was released as part of Universal's Vault Series on DVD-R. [[Scream Factory]] released the film on Blu-ray from the first time on February 13, 2018.
 ==References==
 {{Reflist}}
-== External links ==
+==External links==
-* {{imdb title|0061696|Games}}
+* {{IMDb title|0061696|Games}}
-* {{Amg movie|92648|Games}}
+* {{AFI film|20609|Games}}
+* {{TCMDb title|75956|Games}}
+* {{Letterboxd film|games}}
+* {{AllMovie title|92648|Games}}
 {{Curtis Harrington}}
@@ Line 74: / Line 84: @@
 [[Category:1960s psychological thriller films]]
 [[Category:American psychological thriller films]]
-[[Category:American films]]
 [[Category:Films directed by Curtis Harrington]]
 [[Category:Films set in New York City]]
 [[Category:Films shot in Los Angeles]]
-[[Category:Poisoning in film]]
+[[Category:Films about poisonings]]
+[[Category:1960s English-language films]]
+[[Category:1960s American films]]
+[[Category:Psycho-biddy films]]
+[[Category:English-language thriller films]]

v t e Films directed by Curtis Harrington
Features	Night Tide (1961) Voyage to the Prehistoric Planet (1965) Queen of Blood (1966) Games (1967) Whoever Slew Auntie Roo? (1971) What's the Matter with Helen? (1971) The Killing Kind (1973) Ruby (1977) Mata Hari (1985)
Television	How Awful About Allan (1970) The Cat Creature (1973) Killer Bees (1974) The Dead Don't Die (1975) Devil Dog: The Hound of Hell (1978)