Fools (1970)

Director:

Tom Gries

Writer:

Robert Rudelson (writer)

Release Date:

14 April 1972 (Finland)

Genre:

Drama

Tagline:

They touched each other and let go of the world.

Plot:

An aging actor finds himself falling for the beautiful, and much younger, wife of an attorney. |

Plot Keywords:

Actor | Murder | Detective | Love Triangle | Extramarital Affair

Cast

Jason Robards	...	Matthew South
Katharine Ross	...	Anais Appleton
Scott Hylands	...	David Appleton
Roy Jenson	...	Man in park (as Roy C. Jenson)
Mark Bramhall	...	Man in park
Marc Hannibal	...	Dog owner
Robert C. Ferro Jr.	...	Private detective
Floy Dean	...	Woman in restaurant
Chuck Dorsett	...	Dentist (as Charles Dorsett)
Laura Ash	...	Patient
Robert Rothwell	...	Policeman
Vera Stough	...	Girl in movie
James Burr Johnson	...	FBI agent
Lou Picetti	...	FBI agent
Stu Klitsner	...	FBI agent

Runtime:

93 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Colour:

Colour (Eastmancolor)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Iceland:L | Finland:K-12 | USA:GP

Filming Locations:

San Francisco, California, USA

Company:

Translor Films (I)

"Thousand Clowns" update...a diatribe against our soulless society which says that even diatribes are pointless

Confrontations continually dog a new romantic couple in San Francisco: Katharine Ross as the estranged wife of a powerful lawyer and Jason Robards playing a low-rent horror movie actor who's house-sitting for a friend. Heavy-handed presentation 'with something to say' has Robards alternately shouting "Machines! Machines!" at the constant city traffic before quoting "Huckleberry Finn" and "King Lear". Too bad the only person listening to him is his new lady, who has problems of her own. Ross is a very attractive presence, but her performance is uneven; she's hesitant, then indignant...wistful, then frightened...contemplative, then angry. She enters the picture as a carefree flower child, but is soon turned into a psychological wreck being taunted by her soon-to-be ex. Director Tom Gries can't seem to get all the pieces in Robert Rudelson's overreaching screenplay to jell; there's too many angry or apathetic people milling about, too much miscellaneous misanthropic conversation which serves little purpose. The locations are well-captured, and Kenny Rogers and the First Edition provide a few dated, yet pleasant songs. However, "Fools" is just a writer's folly, one that not even Gries and Rudelson seem satisfied with. For his part, Robards is more handsome and three-dimensional than usual, but 93 minutes of his spouting off is far too much. An interesting misfire. ** from ****