Seconds

John Randolph stars as Arthur, an unfulfilled bank executive who undergoes a clandestine medical procedure to be reborn as a younger man – played by Rock Hudson.

Arthur has been receiving mysterious phone calls from his friend Charlie, who seems to have returned from the dead. Charlie knows that Arthur is unhappy and disillusioned with his life, so he insists that Arthur go to a mysterious downtown address. There, Arthur’s invited to sign up for a clandestine medical procedure that will end his life as he knows it and transform him into a completely new person: younger and more handsome.

Soon, Arthur realises he cannot turn back.

Curator’s note

Seconds is possibly the most important film in Rock Hudson’s career. It speaks to the actor’s own real-life reinvention from a young man named Roy Scherer to the movie star Rock Hudson: the persona that film studios carefully crafted for him. Many consider Seconds to be the actor knowingly decoding his identity for audiences.

Beyond this, Seconds also explores resonant fantasies of reinvention, reversing the ageing process and the chance to relive our lives with the wisdom we’ve gained.

Seconds screened in competition at the 19th Cannes Film Festival. Despite underperforming at the box office during its original release, it earned an Oscar nomination for its truly striking cinematography and is ripe for rediscovery today.

– Reece Goodwin, Film & TV Curator