You won't be disappointed!

Very Cool!!!

It's a good bad... and worth a popcorn matinée. While it's easy to lament what could have been...

The movie really just wants to entertain people.

I love Elizabeth Taylor. Young, skinny, fat, old. I like every version through the ages. But this is an unmitigated pile of pretentious garbage that eve she can't rescue. Robert Mitchum surely was doing satire of himself. And Mia Farrow, my goodness, she is terrible. She made one good movie her entire career - Rosemary's Baby - and everything else she was ever in she partly or entirely ruined. I'm going to try to forget I ever heard of this movie.

What an unexpected, odd, treat. Films that travel undetected, spotted by accident - as it was in my case. I was reading about this startling Argentinean writer, Marco Denevi, when I discovered that one of his short stories had been adapted for the screen, directed by Joseph Losey of "The Servant" fame and with a cast to die for. Elizabeth Taylor as a prostitute that takes advantage of a peculiar girl, played with real zest by Mia Farrow who mistakes her for her mother, and Robert Mitchum, as the disruptor. This classy if bizarre production also includes Pamela Brown and Peggy Ashcroft in the cast. I enjoyed the weirdness thoroughly. It unsettled me and made me wonder how this film had been received in 1968. Apparently not very well. The one thing that made people talk about Secret Ceremony at the time was an infamous still with Elizabeth Taylor and Mia Farrow in a bathtub together. For lovers of the odd and unique this is a real treat.

Secret Ceremony (1969) *** (out of 4)Extremely bizarre psychological thriller from director Jospeh Losey about the strange relationship between a prostitute (Elizabeth Taylor) and a young woman (Mia Farrow) living alone in a large house. The Farrow character thinks that Taylor is her dead mother and Taylor sees that the girl resembles her dead daughter and things just grow more bizarre from here. SECRET CEREMONY is apparently available in a couple versions and most point out that the alternate, studio cut of the film is pretty bad but I'm not sure what the differences are. The version I watched was the uncut one and whenever rape and incest are the most normal things going on you know you're watching something completely different and strange. This is one crazy movie from start to finish and I think it's safe to say that many people will hate this thing and probably won't make it through to the end. In fact, I'd say that if the film doesn't grab you in the first ten-minutes then it's probably best to hit the stop button because I feel the opening sequences are the most important in the film in terms of getting you involved for everything that's going to follow. The brilliant acting and directing in these first ten-minutes were something I found quite special because there's no dialogue and the two actresses must tell us everything we need to know with their eyes and body gestures. Just take a look at Farrow as she stalks Taylor trying to figure out if she's her dead mother or not. Check out Taylor once she realizes that this strange woman looks like what her dead daughter would have at this age. This is an extremely bizarre way to start up a friendship and the movie has a deliberately slow pace with one crazy thing happening after another. Taylor and Farrow deliver some of the best work of their career and the way the two play off another another is something truly terrific to watch. There's no question that Farrow's character is quite demented and the way the actress pulls this off is rather remarkable. Taylor gets some extremely tough scenes to play because while her character isn't quite as crazy, there's no doubt she has a few loose screws. Robert Mitchum plays the possible rapist step-father who has some sort of strange control over the girl. Mitchum, as one would expect, comes off perfectly creepy and the actor does a very good job with the part. Director Losey does a brilliant job building up this rather creepy and unsettling atmosphere. I thought the director did a great job at building all this craziness up and bring it all together in the end. The music score by Richard Rodney Bennett is also another major plus. Again, this is about as art-house as you can get but if you can get caught up in the story, the brilliant acting and directing really make it worth sitting through.

Grieving the loss of her daughter, beautiful church-going prostitute Elizabeth Taylor (as Leonora) is "picked up" by wealthy psychopathic Mia Farrow (as Cenci). Coincidently, Ms. Farrow is grieving the death of her mother "Margaret", who looks a lot like Taylor. The two women form a surrogate "mother/daughter" relationship, with Ms. Taylor moving into Ms. Farrow's beautiful mansion and assuming the parental role. Taylor hides when poor relations Peggy Ashcroft (as Hannah) and Pamela Brown (as Hilda) come over to steal things from Farrow's beautifully furnished home; later, Taylor tells the old biddies to stop their thievery. Soon, Farrow's older step-father Robert Mitchum (as Albert) returns...Apparently, Mr. Mitchum and Farrow had a mutually pseudo-incestuous "father/daughter" interest. Farrow must have also had a kinky thing for mummy "Margaret", since she likes to bed and bathe with Taylor as well as straddle and kiss her back. After much bizarre behavior, "Secret Ceremony" cumulates in the titular event.Joseph Losey seems to be driving on an "arty" highway with this strange psychological drama, but "Secret Ceremony" crash lands at a dead-end for the accomplished director. Farrow, following her acting triumph in Roman Polanski's "Rosemary's Baby" (released earlier in 1968), is surprisingly ineffective; she should have received 30 lashes with the laughable, too-thick wig they had her wear. Mitchum is also funny, especially when made to appear with some ludicrous-looking whiskers. Taylor, acting in familiar territory, performs well; probably, she received most of the hoots and bad reviews, but she at least helps us understand what her character is about, and how she relates to the confusion.***** Secret Ceremony (10/23/68) Joseph Losey ~ Elizabeth Taylor, Mia Farrow, Robert Mitchum, Peggy Ashcroft