The Worst Film Ever

It’s not bad or unwatchable but despite the amplitude of the spectacle, the end result is underwhelming.

Great movie. Not sure what people expected but I found it highly entertaining.

Exactly the movie you think it is, but not the movie you want it to be.

A young British heiress (Patricia Franklin) is kidnapped at an airport in Paris in this rather tough existentialist crime drama featuring Marlon Brando as the nominal leader of the gang of morally flexible criminals that include his drug addicted girlfriend played by Rita Moreno, her pickpocket brother (Jess Hahn) and Richard Boone at his most menacing as a pimp named Leer. They hold her in an isolated house on a desolate looking beach but discover a French police officer who likes to fish coincidentally happens to live nearby. The entire affair is heavy going with a group who thinks they can pull off this caper and avoid the underlying violence. Interesting tension develops between bad Boone and not-so-bad Brando, with Jess Hahn sort of stealing the show as a kind of non- violent pickpocket desperate just to get the money. In addition it's a pretty far way from where Rita Moreno was in West Side Story.

Released in 1968, "The Night of the Following Day" is a realistic crime drama featuring Brando as one of four professional criminals who kidnap a girl (a teenage Pamela Franklin) and hold up at a beach house in France. Richard Boone stars as the fiendish member, while Jess Hahn plays a likable loser, the brother of the pathetically drug addicted Rita Moreno.At the time of this picture Brando was 44 years old and never looked better physically -- very trim and blond. Brando didn't start getting fat until the later-70's when he was well into his 50's. In other words, people need to quit envisioning Brando as some fat dude; most of his life he wasn't. Most men in their mid-40's would kill to look as good as Brando did at the this age.BOTTOM LINE: Coming from the mid-60s when realism was fashionable this crime thriller is more of a crime drama, but suspense slowly builds to a compelling final act, which shows that crime doesn't pay, but people are redeemable if they qualify. There's also an unexpected twist that was fresh at the time, but is now eye-rolling.The film was shot during generally cloudy conditions in France and runs a short but sweet 93 minutes.GRADE: B-

A solid cast does well under capable direction by Hubert Cornfield, in this tale (scripted by Cornfield and Robert Phippeny, based on Lionel White's novel "The Snatch") of a kidnapping that ultimately goes awry, due to the nature of the players involved. A "chauffeur" (Marlon Brando) isn't so sure he wants to participate, especially when unreliable drug addict Vi (Rita Moreno) and dangerous creep "the leer" (Richard Boone) cause problems for him; his old chum Wally (Jess Hahn) convinces him to stick around. While this film does move slowly at times, Cornfield does a fine job in showing a part of Paris and the French countryside we don't always see; the exotic setting certainly doesn't hurt at all in the telling of this story. Lovely cinematography by Willy Kurant ensures a good look for the picture, while Stanley Myers supplies a very interesting, jazzy sort of music score. It's a nicely plotted tale, with entertaining twists and turns along the way, with some scenes of explicit violence and some of implied violence. The acting by the principals (you'll notice this isn't a particularly large cast) really is the glue that holds the whole thing together, with Brando getting a chance to emote in one scene but mostly playing it agreeably subtle. Moreno is very convincing (and sexy) in the role of the troubled Vi, and Hahn is quite likable in the role of a guy who you can see hasn't had much success in life and for whom you can root easily enough. Cute Pamela Franklin is extremely sympathetic in the role of the abused kidnap victim. However, Boone dominates the proceedings playing the kind of guy who will get under your skin before too long. Gerard Buhr is engaging as the friendly gendarme and Al Lettieri can be seen in the small role of the pilot. The atmosphere of the beach setting also plays no small part in the overall mood of the film. The ending may come off as unsatisfying to some viewers, but one thing to remember is that this kind of ending wasn't so much of a cliché 40 plus years ago when this was made. It does create a very sinister feeling, especially with that smile on Brando's face. (The actor, however, strongly disagreed on how things should end and it took some doing in order to come up with a final frame Cornfield could live with.) Not a bad bet for thriller fans, it's fairly chilling entertainment. Seven out of 10.

A young woman is seen on a flight that is bringing to France. As she exits the terminal, she is met by a chauffeur driving a Rolls Royce. We realize this is a girl from the upper classes. The surprise comes at an intersection where she is forced from the luxury vehicle and made to get into a dilapidated car. The worst nightmare comes true, she is being kidnapped.The men behind the caper take her to a solitary house by the ocean. Little do these people realize there is a local policeman who loves fishing nearby. At first, they get concerned, but there are more important things to consider, including the way they plan to exchange the young lady for the ransom money they are demanding from her wealthy father.The kidnappers turn out to be an assorted lot. There is Bud, the driver of the limousine, Leer, a hired gun from the United States, Vi, an airline hostess that happens to be on the flight where the victim travels. The fourth member is Wally, who happens to be Vi's brother and who has planned the snatching. It is clear not everything is well with them as Bud objects the inclusion of Leer, a sinister character, in the proceedings. Vi, on the other hand, has a drug problem; she is a cocaine addict, whose carelessness might put the whole process in danger. One feels for the innocent girl, who is helpless against the brutes that are holding her.Huber Cornfield was instrumental in getting Lionel White's novel "The Snatchers" to the screen. He wasn't a man with a lot of experience behind the camera though, and it shows. The basic problem is with the staging that, at times, seems weak. There is little logic in the way Mr. Cornfield and Robert Pippeny's screenplay that feels awkward at the most dramatic moments. Then, there was the notorious feud between the director and his star, Marlon Brando, who almost appears acting in a different film.Marlon Brando, a brilliant actor, was not an easy man to direct. He had strong ideas about acting and he tended to clash with whatever he thought was wrong. His Bud is a man that went along for the promise of riches that would be collected from the girl's father, but he also had a good side to himself in that he saw Leer for what he really was, a ruthless criminal. Bud and Vi were lovers, yet he felt she was beyond help and therefore she could derail the well made plans.Richard Boone, an excellent character actor, did not receive credit for directing some of the scenes involving Mr. Brando. He plays the creepy Leer who wanted more than just the money. Rita Moreno's wig made her look different in the opening scenes. There is no logic in her flight attendant's job, but we know she is Wally's sister. Drugs were not so prevalent in the late 1960s as they are today. Jess Hahn, an American actor that settled in France, makes an impression as the beefy Wally. Veteran actor Jacques Martin puts in appearance as the cafe owner. Gerard Buhr is the policeman that knows a lot more than what he lets on.The ending is left to the viewer's interpretation.