Seconds

US (1966): Mystery/Thriller

Fiftyish Arthur Hamilton (John Randolph) is stuck in a dead-end existence with a dull job. One day, he runs into an old friend whom he thought had died. The friend leads him to The Company, a secretive operation run by The Old Man (Will Geer). The Company is a high-tech service which, for a price, provides older men with plastic surgery, a beefed-up body, and a fresh start in life. To cover the "disappearance," a middle-aged male cadaver is "killed" in a hotel fire. Hamilton submits to the operation that will turn him into a "Second," and when the bandages are removed, he's shed twenty years (and is now portrayed by Rock Hudson). The Company creates a new identity for Hamilton, relocating him in a hedonistic California beach community. Celebrating during a local wine festival, Hamilton has his revelry cut short when he learns that all his new young friends are Seconds like himself. Feeling trapped in these surroundings, Hamilton demands that The Company provide him with a new body. That's when he discovers -- to his horror -- where The Company gets the old bodies to burn in those hotel fires. John Frankenheimer directs. Cast also features Salome Jens, Jeff Corey, Richard Anderson and Murray Hamilton. (Paramount) (Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide)

 View the theatrical trailer for this film on YouTube.com.

1 nomination