The Public Eye
Waiting for me at home last night was a mysterious package from Japan. Inside was an unmarked VHS tape. Hmmm…thoughts of The Ring flashed through my mind. Would watching this tape end with creepy little Japanese kids with bad hair crawling out of my television? With some trepidation I popped it in the machine and squealed with delight (to the extent that it is seemly for a forty-four year old man to squeal).
It was a copy of a very rare and delightful movie that I have wanted to see for years: The Public Eye (or as it is sometimes known: Follow Me). It’s mentioned in my review of Franco Zeffirelli’s Romeo and Juliet (see 28 April 2008).
It’s a wonderful movie and must have had a profound impact on me as a kid. I could consciously remember only snippets of it, such as the “leaning tower of Pisa” desserts, the macaroons and the fact that they go and see Romeo and Juliet. Subconsciously, I suspect that my great love for the view across the Serpentine from Kensington Gardens and the Peter Pan statue may have its roots in seeing this movie.
The movie stars Topol, Mia Farrow and Michael Jayston. All three are excellent. Topol in particular is mesmerising. The plot is straightforward: A strait-laced British banker hires a strange private detective (Topol) to follow his free-spirited American wife (Farrow), whom he suspects is cheating on him. The wife becomes aware of the detective following her, and leads him through London in a sort of a game. Soon this attention from the detective is providing her with the love and fun she is lacking from her British husband. The detective explains to the husband that his wife is not cheating on him, but just needs more affection and fun in her life, and challenges him to provide her with this.
The scenes where Topol and Farrow follow each other through the streets of London are some of the most lyrical, touching and fun to watch scenes I have ever seen.
I am forever in the debt of a true gentleman, who goes by the moniker of “humbleradio” from Tokyo for sending me this movie. Read his review of The Public Eye on IMDB: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0069131/ and check him out on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/user/humbleradio
By the way, in addition to the actors this movie has further impeccable credentials. The score is by John Barry (James Bond) and it’s directed by Carol Reed (The Third Man, Night Train to Munich, etc.)
It was a copy of a very rare and delightful movie that I have wanted to see for years: The Public Eye (or as it is sometimes known: Follow Me). It’s mentioned in my review of Franco Zeffirelli’s Romeo and Juliet (see 28 April 2008).
It’s a wonderful movie and must have had a profound impact on me as a kid. I could consciously remember only snippets of it, such as the “leaning tower of Pisa” desserts, the macaroons and the fact that they go and see Romeo and Juliet. Subconsciously, I suspect that my great love for the view across the Serpentine from Kensington Gardens and the Peter Pan statue may have its roots in seeing this movie.
The movie stars Topol, Mia Farrow and Michael Jayston. All three are excellent. Topol in particular is mesmerising. The plot is straightforward: A strait-laced British banker hires a strange private detective (Topol) to follow his free-spirited American wife (Farrow), whom he suspects is cheating on him. The wife becomes aware of the detective following her, and leads him through London in a sort of a game. Soon this attention from the detective is providing her with the love and fun she is lacking from her British husband. The detective explains to the husband that his wife is not cheating on him, but just needs more affection and fun in her life, and challenges him to provide her with this.
The scenes where Topol and Farrow follow each other through the streets of London are some of the most lyrical, touching and fun to watch scenes I have ever seen.
I am forever in the debt of a true gentleman, who goes by the moniker of “humbleradio” from Tokyo for sending me this movie. Read his review of The Public Eye on IMDB: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0069131/ and check him out on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/user/humbleradio
By the way, in addition to the actors this movie has further impeccable credentials. The score is by John Barry (James Bond) and it’s directed by Carol Reed (The Third Man, Night Train to Munich, etc.)
posted by Adriaan van Jaarsveldt at 11:37 AM
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