Seconds was greeted with such hostility at the Cannes Film Festival that director John Frankenheimer refused to leave nearby Monte Carlo to attend the post-screening press conference. Arthur Hamilton (John Randolph) is experiencing a mid-life crisis, unfulfilled by career and family, when he is offered the opportunity of a new identity with which to build a new life by the mysterious Company. He re-emerges as bohemian artist Tony Wilson (Rock Hudson). However, finding it difficult to adjust to his new persona, he finds himself in increasing danger with the Company. Strikingly shot by James Wong Howe, Hamilton’s Faustian pact makes for chilling viewing. (Notes by Kevin Coyne.)

This event is part of our Films Maudits (cursed films) season running throughout August; focusing on films that have been unfairly maligned or overlooked on their original release. The term has it’s origins from a festival in 1949, curated by Jean Cocteau, amongst others, which celebrated these neglected and disregarded films.