Patterns

source: Patterns

For some reason I missed seeing this film and was amazed at the great acting in this film and the photography around downtown Manhattan on Wall Street and Trinity Church. Van Heflin,(Fred Staples),"Airport",'70, plays a very successful business man from Ohio who obtains an executive position in the big time City of New York. Everett Sloane,(Walter Ramsey),"Somebody Up There Likes Me",'56, is the CEO and seems to have a great deal of problems with Ed Bagley,(William Briggs),"The Violent Enemy",'68 who is a Vice-President and so called pioneer of the company. Fred Stamples very first day in the board room experienced a horrible fight going on between Walter Ramsey and William Briggs. This film clearly shows how big business operated and the cut throat practices which are used to change peoples minds and careers. Van Heflin, Everett Sloane and Ed Bagley clearly showed their great acting skills in this film, which makes this a truly great Classic Film to view and enjoy!

I saw the original TV Play back in the olden days. Then this version in the 50's. The acting along with the story were both excellent. When you look at these fine actors, you see people who actually worked and learned their trade and craft over many years. Things seem to be a lot different today and it shows in the quality, of the majority of actors and films we have come to accept. Just put out a film and the people will buy a ticket, no matter whether good or not. They still make money with videos and the foreign market. Glad to have seen this again on the cable movie channel. Hope we get more .

Rod Serling adapted his own 1955 teleplay about inter-office politics in the industrial game, with Ed Begley and Everett Sloane reprising their television roles. Van Heflin plays the cheerful, hard-working executive from Ohio who gets a great new position in a plushy New York City skyscraper, only to learn quite quickly he is being groomed to take over for the Vice-President of Operations, a kind, well-liked man with a bad ticker who is constantly brow-beaten by his hot-shot, hot-headed boss. Heflin does some amazing work here, showing strength (and strength of reserve) in the different shadings of this new employee who just wants to do a fine job and not step on anyone's ego. As the boss who despises false modesty and gratitude, Sloane is perhaps too quick with his criticisms; circling poor Ed Begley like a shark at feeding time, Sloane devours without hesitation--and without nuance. This guy is the Boss From Hell, surely, but Sloane is encouraged to go overboard with his meeting-room tirades, which strike such a melodramatic chord that one is removed from the human tragedy at hand. It becomes a show-off exercise for both writer and cast. One feels that maybe the wrong person is dispatched near the climax, with the upbeat final tag leaving a sour taste for the film. **1/2 from ****

There are two interesting changes in the film version of PATTERNS and the previous television drama version. First, Richard Kiley (unlike Ed Begley Sr. and Everett Sloane) was replaced in his part by Van Heflin. Secondly Begley's character Andy Sloane was changed in name to Bill Briggs. This may have been because of confusion for the audience in Begley's original name and his co-star's last name (Everett Sloane). But it is a minor change. The thrust of the film's views on corporate philosophy in America remains as tough and unsentimental here as in the television version. Heflin's Fred Staples is a bit older than Kiley's, which slightly undercuts that figures' weakness (his naivety when he arrives in the world of high corporate politics) but it enables his growing friendship with Begley to seem more realistic - they are from closer age groups, and Begley can tell that Heflin is not trying to be a threat that a younger man might be. Sloane's Ramsay is still the human icicle, who is only interested in the growth and development of his corporation - and not with outdated ideas that Begley keeps pushing. That said, he still shows regret - after Begley dies we see Sloane back in the fatal board room where the tragedy occurred, and he is upset about the deadly result of his actions on Begley. But when confronted by a furious Heflin Sloane is ready to defend his policies and philosophy of the bottom line of business as well as anyone can. The film is excellent, and if I favor the television play more it is simply that the television play was there first - and hit the right notes as well. I still recommend seeing the film if you can't see the original kine-scope of the television version. You won't be disappointed.

Rod Serling is best remembered--if remembered at all--as the guy with the cigarette telling us in his carefully articulated manner that we were about to enter...the Twilight Zone. But Serling didn't stick exclusively to science fiction. For one thing he wrote "Requiem for a Heavyweight," turned into a pretty good film with Anthony Quinn, Jackie Gleason and Mickey Rooney. For another, he wrote this one, "Patterns," a tight, modest but memorable picture about Big Business in the '50s, when boardrooms were filled with white males and the secretary pool with white females. Heflin (who was never less than excellent in all his roles) has been hired out of his small Ohio business to join a big firm in New York. He quickly makes friends with Ed Begley, the firm's old timer who, it soon becomes clear, is being squeezed out by hard-nosed Everett Sloane. Therein lies the tension in the film. Unlike the big corporation in "Executive Suite," which is clearly a furniture manufacturer, Slone's company is only vaguely defined, apparently a holding company with its fingers in many pies. We get just enough of the workings of the company to give it an authentic feel. The bulk of the picture is the Sloane-Begley conflict, which Heflin gets drawn into. Sloane's single-minded character is encapsulated in a quick scene: Begley's teen-age son is waiting for his father after hours in the hall. Sloane walks by and the boy says, "Good evening, Mr. Ramsey" "Hello, Paul," says Ramsey as he passes. "Taking your vitamins, are you?" "I guess so, sir." There's one little bit of logic that doesn't ring true. After a heated exchange with the boss, Begley is stewing alone in his office. Heflin, trying to give sound advice to him, asks why he doesn't retire. "Because," says Begley, "I'm 62 years old and I don't think I could get another job." Begley has worked for the company for 30 years and in those days of secure pensions he surely could retire. Why indeed doesn't he? But "Patterns" is a model of tight, fat-free film making (no godawful background music, for one thing) that should be aired much more often than it is.

Even though I missed the first few minutes of this film on TCM, I was completely hooked as soon as I attempted to scroll past it. Terrific immorality play complete with simplified characters purely drawn, acid dialogue and a sterling cast of character actors. Van Heflin does an amazing turn as a basically moral person who is drawn into the morass of not just corporate survival but domination. The entire cast has great fun with Serling's intense screenplay, complete with scenery-chewing of the highest order. The final confrontation between Heflin and Sloane is simply delicious. Why hadn't I heard of this film before? It brings to mind certain segments of Citizen Kane (and not because of Sloane's presence) and The Sweet Smell of Success. Highly reccomended.

Patterns is a lesser-known film version of big business intrigue. A much more famous example of this type of film is Executive Suite, but despite that film's big budget and numerous stars, Patterns (with its tight script by Rod Serling and superb acting) blows Executive Suite out of the water. Van Heflin plays a factory manager brought to New York City from Ohio. Everett Sloane plays the ruthless head of the company, and Ed Begley is the harassed company man who is nearing retirement. Sloane hates Begley's outmoded ways of doing business and grooms Heflin to take over. But Heflin and Begley become friends, and Heflin doesn't want to get ahead at the expense of his friend. The dynamic between these three very different characters forms the gripping premise of the film. The best scene is when Begley, having stayed late to finish some work, is contemplating doing terrible things to his boss, Sloane. Heflin drops by to speak with him and sees what a distraught state of mind Begley is in and tries to convince him that he should retire. Begley works himself up into such a state that he begins shouting, but right about then, his son comes by looking for his dad because he promised to take him to a ballgame. Begley doesn't want his son to see him in that state of mind and implores Heflin to tell him he's gone home. From this point the film works toward its powerful climax. Heflin is superb, as are Sloane and Begley. All were very well respected character actors and so it is not correct to say the cast is filled with unknowns. The remainder of the cast is also good but has less to do. Patterns deserves to be better known than it is. Don't miss it.

Patterns centres around the fierce and dog eat dog world of an executive conglomerate company. Written by Rod Serling (he of The Twilight Zone fame) and based on his own play, it's a stunning picture that relies (and succeeds) on spiky dialogue and a trio of superlative acting performances. Not containing any music at all and filmed primarily within the confines of an interior setting, Serling and his on form director, Fielder Cook, have crafted probably the essential picture dealing with the harsh and at times brutal realities of big business ladder climbing. Everett Sloane, Ed Begley and Van Heflin really provide the viewers with an acting tour de force. Sloane as the big boss Walter Ramsey, creates a strutting despotic character that is as memorable as it is harsh, here's a man who will not "pattern" a sacking of an employee, he would rather break him into resignation!, a totally vile and cruel "pattern" tactic. Begley (superbly playing weary emotion) plays the genial and honest William Briggs, who upon welcoming Van Heflin's Fred Staples to the company, realises it's likely to be at his own cost. This giving the film a deep emotional "pattern" as Staples (Heflin to me, donning a career high) gets conflicted about his role in this company, this leads us to a truly excellent finale as Heflin and Sloane go at each other with a gripping intensity that many modern actors could do no worse than to take note of, it really is something to behold. A fabulous movie that comes highly recommended to anyone who appreciates dialogue driven films with intelligence pouring from every frame. 9/10

Well-done story of corporate shark, owner of a vast conglomerate, who tries to break the VP he thinks can no longer do the job. Everett Sloane plays the heartless owner who nurtures his executives with bitter words and daily shouting matches. Ed Begley plays the downtrodden VP; he's more than able to take care of himself, but after years of fighting with Sloane he's exhausted. He's 62 and afraid he won't find another job and refuses to quit; he's worked for the company for 30 years and believes he's got a place there. Van Heflin is the executive brought in to replace Begley, unbeknownst to them both. After Sloane tells him of his plans, Heflin tries to tell the boss that he doesn't want the job. Begley is his friend. But deep down, he finds that he really does want it, just not at that cost. After a particularly brutal meeting where Sloane taunts and belittles Begley, Heflin begs the older man to resign to save his health. Begley staggers out of the meeting and collapses in the classically designed hallway. Heflin's anger is magnificent to behold as he stalks in Sloane's office after the tragedy. He tells the boss what he thinks of him, but Sloane doesn't care. He knows he's a bastard but he has a business to run. Heflin resigns, but Sloane badgers him into staying. Heflin does, but his own gargantuan terms, which include tripling his salary and writing into his contract that he hates Sloane's guts and that he reserves the chance to slug Sloane on the jaw in the future if he so decides, just like Begley always wanted to. He's made his pact with the devil and come out with his pride and ego intact. This is a man's movie. Serling never wrote from the woman's point of view, and the women in this film are there for their men but not real players. Beatrice Straight is tried and true as Heflin's wife. Elizabeth Wilson is Begley's loyal secretary who is transferred to Heflin, and feels like she should quit if she has to change her loyalties; she is remotely treated as a sort of junior executive, given some male qualities by Serling but not strictly one of his womanly pillars. When she begins to like her new boss, she instructs him in all the ways that Sloane will try to drag him down and helps him through the dark waters of executive suite life. This is the same corporate America Serling later wrote about in Twilight Zone and Night Gallery; "Walking Distance", "A Stop at Willoughby", and "They're Tearing Down Tim Reilly's Bar" are his famous trilogy focusing on the career of a harassed corporate pawn who is driven to emotional extremes by the greed and bias of the company and it's president. They are supposed to be based on his own experiences with the upper echelon of the networks, which are still legend. A Serling script of any kind is great, and this film, while difficult to watch since there is so much backstabbing, is an excellent example of how true to life he could be, and how he always rooted for the underdog.