Secret Ceremony

Directed by JOSEPH LOSEY

Starring ELIZABETH TAYLOR MIA FARROW ROBERT MITCHUM

1968

Released 25 NOV

Blu-ray

s historians have pointed out time and again, the beginning of the dissolution and , Losey teamed up with Elizabeth Taylor twice in the space of one year, both for the Tennessee Williams adaptation, , and , taken from a short story by Marco Denevi. Both are equally “far out”, all things being equal, but it’s ’s more placid waters that produces an even more haunting, lingering spell – a mystery story whose crimes happened years ago, or are imminent. The film’s small handful of vivid star etchings coordinate perfectly: Taylor’s sexy-matronly heft ideally complements Mia Farrow's porcelain doll, always close to shattering, while Robert Mitchum, flexing an uncharacteristic knack for earthy insolence, stalks the fringes in a vile raincoat and a torpid chin-curtain of a beard.