The Fan

source: The Fan

This movie, 1981's "The Fan" stars screen legend Lauren Bacall, Michael Biehn, and Maureen Stapleton. Bacall plays an actress of stage and screen Sally Ross. Biehn plays a man named Douglas Breene, who is a fan of Sally's, and Stapleton plays Belle Goldman, who is Sally's secretary. Douglas works in a record store, and is a fan of Sally. But he is not an ordinary fan; he has an out of control, psychological obsession of her that turns pretty ugly. He writes Sally almost every day expecting an answer from her directly, but gets answered by Belle. During this movie, you see how crazy, disturbed (and increasingly dangerous) Douglas is. A variety of odd things start happening. In one scene, he is in his apartment pretending to have a candlelit dinner with Sally, he sends Sally a very pornographic letter that gets answered by Belle in a reprimand, he sends another letter to her (in person) that he hopes she will receive, but it gets to Belle instead, he goes and buys a straight razor as a weapon, sees Belle in the hall of the subway station, goes up to her and cuts her face, then he goes after David, one of Sally's friends and slashes him (possibly kills him) at a public swimming pool, then goes after Sally's maid and kills her in the apartment by slashing her breasts (which was the real shocker), destroys the apartment, goes to a gay bar and sees a guy who looks almost exactly like him, and kills him by dousing gasoline on the guy and throwing a match on him to prove to Sally in a note that she is free, etc., then attends Sally's musical when it's almost over and goes backstage to kill other people (first the stage office manager, then Sally's new maid), and then there's the confrontation between Sally and Douglas (a small chase and then he catches up with her). Then, after a bit of his dialog of obsession he has with Sally and embraces her, she quickly stabs Doug in the neck and he is gone. I first saw this movie on TV years ago when I was a kid, and saw it again years later in the late '90s on Encore (taping it). The chilling incidental music is wonderful as well. I do like this movie a lot (but not the sadistic slayings). I am going to get the DVD of this movie soon. See it while you can!! Also, James Garner (from TV's "The Rockford Files") plays Sally's love interest. The actors were great; kudos to them!! Great movie, so why give it negative reviews, folks???

Pretty good, character-driven thriller based upon the novel by Bob Randall. Aging star of film and stage becomes the unhealthy obsession of a young fan, whose love for her will soon turn sinister! Solidly made tale of deadly obsession is a steady paced but ultimately intense thriller. It all builds to a great climax. The cast is the true highlight of this film though. Lauren Bacall is as great an actress as ever here in a role where she actually does play an actress. James Garner adds his talents has Bacall's ex-husband and Maureen Stapleton as Bacall's assistant. The most enjoyable performance however is that of a young Michael Biehen, who is not only a talented actor but probably the best-looking psycho to ever grace a movie screen. Pino Donaggio lends a bold musical score, while Bacall sings a few musical numbers. The Fan has more class and depth than an ordinary slasher film, which this film really should not be labeled as. The Fan is actually a well-crafted thriller with a great cast to boot. Genre fans should enjoy it. *** out of ****

I'm surprised that so many people think this film is so bad. Everyone in it is first-rate in the acting department, and the overall story is both fun and fascinating. It completely grabs your attention, from the opening credits, while Michael Biehn (who is excellent in his stalker role) is typing a letter to Lauren Bacall, underscored by Pino Donaggio's effective music. Bacall and Stapleton have tremendous chemistry, and their characters are utterly believable. So too, are the musical numbers which Bacall performs, during the film. Singer or not, Bacall was quite successful in musicals on Broadway, and the songs in the film, are the type she would have performed. Dialog appears unscripted and completely natural, particularly between Bacall and Stapleton. James Garner and Hector Elizondo, are solid in their supporting roles. This film is a favorite of mine. Recommended.

I saw this movie when it first came out, and again when it first hit video. Columnist Liz Smith was in the opening scene as Sally Ross leaves the theater (prodding the star with silly questions) just before Sally is victimized by strong-hand pen theft. I wonder why this part was edited out of the DVD release, and what else might have been cut from the first print. Bacall might have reconsidered her participation in this flick if she had had a crystal ball, considering the stalker aspect of the movie and the fact that she lived in the apartment building where John Lennon also lived and was murdered at the time of filming. However, it is one of her better films, and we also get a taste of her Broadway musical talents. Her songs are Camp, but not in a trashy way. They stick with you; Crapriffic lyrics not withstanding. The book was a favorite of mine when it first hit paperback, and although the story remained the same in many ways, the ending and style are quite different. Read the book and compare.

I thought this film was much better than the critics made it out to be at the time. I found it to be an interesting character study of an obsessed fan, played by Michael Biehn. He was a new actor at the time and a total unknown, which helped in this role. He went to star in "The Terminator" and has had a decent career. The other co-star....well, you might have heard of her: Lauren Bacall. I read a lot of criticism of Bacall for this role, and think it is totally unjustified. She was just fine, thank you, playing a believable character: a veteran actress being talked by some deranged killer. With Maureen Stapleton, James Garner, Hector Elizondo, some great cinematography with wonderful close-up shots and a good score, what's not to like? It was a good thriller and deserves better ratings.

Solid acting by Bacall is the only thing that holds this slasher flick together. Biehn plays a psychotic young boy who's seen one too many of Ms. Bacall's films. He does nothing impressive. It's sad to see Garner wasted in such a secondary role.

Spoilers (not that it matters): This is the most ludicrously melodramatic line in the movie sung (actually spoken) by Lauren Bacall, an aging actress staging a comeback in a musical in this "suspense thriller". There is nothing suspenseful or thrilling in this movie, and the alleged musical the actress is starring again, seems to have been improvised on the spot instead of being fleshed out even minimally; which only serves to undermine an already unbelievable plot. The villain of the piece is a disturbed young man who has developed an obsession of this actresses old films. He is never explained, and we learn nothing about him, other than he has chosen complete isolation as he pursues his obsession. His sister comes to his apartment to try to talk to him before he shuts her out too. He remains at this level of anonymity for the rest of the film. If this was intended to add to the mystery or interest of the character, it doesn't succeed. We care nothing about this character, other than he appears to be a sad, lonely young man with little social skills. It's hard to believe however that a guy this good-looking with this good a voice, would be this lonely and isolated. If he were truly mentally ill, he would have been evaluated by now. The movie is mean-spirited and sadistic, only Maureen Stapleton seems to actually be alive and fleshed out in the movie, and James Garner seems to be there only as a prop as the boyfriend. I actually came across a copy of the book this movie was based on, in the value bin of a bookstore many years ago. I leafed through it, to see how a movie this bad could be based on a successful novel. The book is written as a series of "letters", which used to be a popular style in the late 1800s. In the book, the heroine is aloof, her secretary is abrasive (she actually responds to the fan's first letters by saying "Are you for real? Why don't you go bother another actress?" Something a real assistant to a celebrity would never do: antagonize an unknown loony.) The boyfriend is presented as an aloof lug. The villain is presented as an emotionally-numbed narcissistic verbose bore. The author is deliberately laconic about the heroine's demise at the end. In short, the book is deliberately written as emotionally distanced. Why the author thought this would be effective in a thriller, I have no idea. Why the book was a success is a true mystery. Unfortunately, the emotionally flat part of the book got translated into the screenplay. The older actress is never developed, the lonely and pathetic villain is never explored, and nothing actually "develops" in this movie. There is no arc of any kind. The actor playing villain pumps as much life as he can into a dead script and dead lines that do nothing to help him; to the point where you actually start feeling sorry for the actor, not scared of the character! This movie deserves to be forgotten about and obscured in film history. This may sound harsh, but it contributes nothing to the viewer, will waste two hours of your time, and will leave you wondering why it was ever made based on its screenplay. Lauren Bacall deserved much better than this, and why she didn't demand better is the biggest mystery about this movie. I'm sure it's not one of the films she enjoys talking about. I'm glad the "villain" of the piece, went on to bigger and better things. Bacall sings "I want it all!" at a point in this film; that's especially ironic, considering there's nothing here. Two stars.

The plot = A renowned Broadway actress Sally Ross (Lauren Bacall) becomes the object of an obsessed fan played brilliantly by Michael Biehn affections when his countless letters goes un-noticed he feels rejected by her, and starts to terrorise the people in her life until the big moment when he finally gets to confront her. The Fan (1981), not to be confused with the 1996 thriller which starred Wesley Snipes and Robert De Niro, which also had a similar storyline and was absolutely rubbish. This version is much much better. This is a tense psychological thriller which has slight nods to early giallo thrillers. But at times this movie does get a little boring, but it was saved by stand out performances by both Lauren Bacall and Michael Biehn. THE FAN is one confused movie. Obviously aiming for a more adult audience, but in a year that the 'teenie-kill' epic had come to a crescendo the makers couldn't resist throwing in an exploitative angle- but unfortunately not exploitative enough. Some of the scenes are effective though, like where Biehn slices open a man's stomach while he's in the swimming pool and also Michael Biehn's seemingly unhinged performance, as he furthers descends into madness, which was a real highlight, so glad he went to bigger and better things. And Lauren Bacall playing the spoilt Broadway actress was a real hoot, obviously following the likes of Joan Crawford and Bette Davis into the ageing actresses in horror's genres, but sadly Lauren Bacall got a lot of flack for starring in this, because of the sleazy elements that this film has. Although I did enjoy her musical numbers, even though they were cringe worthy and embarrassing, I found them a real hoot, and the romance angle with James Garner, which showed some real chemistry. And the final confrontation between the two leads was rewarding in my opinion and well executed. All in all The Fan is a rewarding viewing experience, a little dull at times but saved by Michael Biehn's outstanding obsessive performance.

Lauren Bacall was rocking Broadway in 1981 as "Woman of the Year" when this last ditched effort of the "hags in horror" series, referring to the abundance of aging actresses who kept their career going in fright fests, usually in fright wigs or carrying some sort of cutting device. Bacall still looked gloriously gorgeous at this point (as she would through the remainder of her long life), so it is unfortunate that while still popular, she would be tied in with something that at the time was as reviled in the gay community as "Cruising" and "Windows". You can't tick off a show queen and expect to get away with it. That is the point of this whole movie. Bacall is a legendary star who is unfortunately the idol of the obsessed Michael Biehn, a handsome young man who has built a shrine to the diva he worships. He writes letters to her and she always politely responds. But something for her isn't right after the letters keep coming, and she politely ends the continuing correspondence. Biehn blames this on her secretary (the always wonderful Maureen Stapleton) and takes it out on her in a bloody sequence that is very graphic. This makes him the target of an investigation, and that means Biehn must go into hiding which results in one of the most horrific murder sequences where unfortunately an innocent gay man is the victim. Bacall's lover (James Garner) is determined to protect her, but obsessively crazy knows no reality, and as we know from history over the years, innocent stars can't stop them no matter how much security they have. Still offensive today, it doesn't resonate the deep hatred that gay audiences had for this back in the 1980's. It is actually extremely camp, with its Marvin Hamlish musical numbers so rapidly written and so hastily staged that they resemble something from a notorious 80's flop more than something that became a major hit. Of course, tastes have changed since Bacall was "one of the girls whose one of the boys", and that is why so very few of these late 70's/early 80's musicals (the major hits not included) are never revived. Had the film been done a bit more sensitively and not bitten at the gay community, it might have had less animosity towards it. But in reflection, if you simply look at it as a product of its time and dismiss the "psychotic show queen" as simply an error of its time, you may have a good time, either fighting off the chills of the slasher sequences or the giggles over the campy musical numbers.