A Fine Madness

source: A Fine Madness

Trailer—A Fine Madness

A Fine Madness

This 1966 comedy by Warner Brothers pretty much nailed the fad of "free love" from the sexual revolution. Sean Connery plays Samson Shillitoe, a divorcée who's remarried. But he accommodates other women as well – any and all, who come on to him. It's definitely not a family film, and not much of a comedy either. The only reason I could see Connery and Joanne Woodward (who plays Rhoda Shillitoe) doing this film is for their roles. They are very good at these diverse, different characters, and show their acting talent. But for their excellent acting, "A Fine Madness" wouldn't rate more than one star. The screenplay is downright terrible, and the story has more holes than a slice of Swiss cheese. Comedies are supposed to make one laugh, but this one fails on that score as well.

"A Fine Madness" is a very strange movie. It stars Sean Connery (with a very strange performance, one of his worst - somewhere between Bond and a plain ruffian; frankly, I don't think Connery is apt for any comedy at all) plus a lavish supporting cast consisting of renowned character actors - but, still, the film is horrible. It has an absolutely inane screenplay, and Irvin Kershner's (lack of) direction leaves a most confusing impression, even considering the somewhat strange Sixties style which was "en vogue" then. (John Addison's score, however is quite enjoyable.) You never know what's going to happen, and worse, you're not even interested in any of it. Nothing is truly funny, and some aspects are merely annoying (at least by today's standards), e.g. the jocularity of a man beating up his female companion. Samson Shillitoe is a despicable character, so you don't really convey any empathy for him or his needs. - What a waste of talent.

Samson Shillitoe (Sean Connery) is a frustrated poet and a ladies' man in NYC. He's hounded for alimony payments and threatened with jail. His live-in supportive waitress girlfriend Rhoda (Joanne Woodward) gets him a poetry reading gig at a high-class ladies group and it goes badly. She sends him to psychiatrist Dr. West to fix his writer's block. Samson wants his money back but West directs him to a sanitarium for some peace and quiet. Dr. Menken wants to perform a lobotomy on him. Samson is bitter and angry. It's very unBondlike. In other ways, he's very Bond. He's not likable either way. The movie has a couple of slapstick scenes that border on comedy. It's a strange little film showing Connery in a different light.

A Fine Madness (1966) Plot In A Paragraph: Samson Shillitoe (Connery) a genius poet, who is irresistible to women but is plagued by writer's block. I hate this movie. I bought a copy from France when I hadn't seen it, but wanted to complete my Connery collection. The collector in me is glad I did, but personally I wish I hadn't wasted my money. If you find Connery using his wife (Joanne Woodward) as a punching bag funny, you may enjoy it, but I don't find anything to laugh about here!! I will applaud Connery for trying something totally different in an attempt to move away from Bond, but I wish this wasn't the movie he chose to do so!! This is only the second time I watched it, and I have turned it off. A Fine Madness tanked at the box office.

When actors look back on their life's work, there will be film that they will wonder why they ever agreed to be part of it. I suspect that this might be the case with this film for two very fine and talented actors. Sean Connery and Joanne Woodward. The central premise of a self centred, self obsessed, wife abusing poet called Samson being chased for various reasons by various people and creating havoc is a limp plot. Even for the 1960's. As usual Sean Connery plays Sean Connery, but without his usual charismatic charm. Joanne Woodward's shrill whine becomes annoying after ten minutes of listening to it, and the supporting actors all look slightly embarrassed, as if the director just said, "Go for it, we've got James Bond, so it should be a hit." Not even a slightly good film, not even slightly a bad film, just an appallingly terrible film.

A largely underrated film. Released in 1966 (a year after Thunderball), Connery obviously wanted a departure from the static James Bond debonair and so took on the volatile character - Samson Shillitoe (erratic poet). The transition is not a complete alienation of the Bond character. He still gets the girls, though there is some poising and strutting. If you think of this movie as a precursor to Kubrick's "A Clockwork Orange" it is brilliant in sort of a "The Odd Couple" sitcom vein. Those looking to see "action hero" Sean Connery will probably be disappointed. "A Fine Madness" looks to be inspired by the antics of Charles Bukowski and the revival of the dialog between pyschotherpy, psychopharmacology and brain augmentation in the early-mid 60's.

The idea that free-spirited creativity is a social disorder that must be cured by a well-meaning but thoroughly incompetent psychiatric establishment is the theme here, and one quite familiar to anybody who has seen One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest. Sean Connery was a great choice to play a blocked, womanizing writer at the core of the drama and he centers the film with his amiable exuberance. Comparisons to Cuckoo's Nest are inevitable, and this film lacks the other's stifling power and resonance, but it shares a common vision of the psychiatric profession acting as a microcosm of authoritarian abuses in society at large. Still, this is a funny and charming, much lighter satire on the same subject, energetically directed by Irvin Kirschner, and enjoyable for Connery fans in any case.