A Fine Madness
| A Fine Madness | |
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original movie poster
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| Directed by | Irvin Kershner |
| Produced by | Jerome Hellman |
| Written by | Elliott Baker |
| Starring | |
| Music by | John Addison |
| Cinematography | Ted D. McCord |
| Edited by | William H. Ziegler |
| Distributed by | Warner Brothers |
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Release date
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Running time
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104 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Box office | $1.8 million (est. US/ Canada rentals) |
A Fine Madness (1966) is a motion picture comedy based on the 1964 novel by Elliott Baker that tells the story of Samson Shillitoe, a frustrated poet unable to finish a grand tome. It stars Sean Connery (in the midst of his James Bond roles), Joanne Woodward, Jean Seberg, Patrick O'Neal and Clive Revill. It was directed by Irvin Kershner.
Samson Shillitoe, a poet, lives in Greenwich Village with Rhoda, a waitress who stands by him through all his troubles.
When Samson cannot find the inspiration to finish his latest poem, he becomes belligerent and depressed. Samson is continually pursued by a debt collector after his late alimony payments to a previous wife; if Samson doesn't pay he will be arrested. Samson eventually assaults a police detective who accompanies the debt collector.
Samson has other troubles when he loses his job as an office cleaner when he has sex with a secretary (Sue Ane Langdon) whilst his carpet cleaning machinery fills the office with soap suds. However, Samson does earn a $200 fee for doing a recital of his poetry to a woman's group that ends in disaster.
On Samson's behalf, but unknown to him, Rhoda seeks the help of psychiatrist Dr. West (Patrick O'Neal), who claims to be able to cure writer's block.
Rhoda gives Dr. West the $200 she collected for Samson's lecture to treat Samson for what she fears will become suicidal depression if he can't finish his poem. Dr. West reluctantly agrees to see him, and when Samson confronts the Doctor about the return of his money, West is fascinated by Shillitoe and persuades him to become a patient. In order for Samson to be away from the chaos of his life in the city that he might finish his poem, Dr. West arranges a stay for him in a sanitarium upstate.
Another doctor at the sanitarium, Dr. Menken (Clive Revill) is also interested in Samson, but for the purpose of experimenting on him with a new surgical technique to quell his violent temper. He persuades Rhoda to agree to the surgery. Dr. West and two other colleagues vehemently oppose such a procedure, as it is too close to a lobotomy to be safe.
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