Mephisto Waltz

Mephisto Waltz

1971

Director- Paul Wendkos

Cast- Alan Alda, Jacqueline Bisset, Barbara Parkins, Curd Jürgens, Bradford Dillman, Kathleen Widdoes, Pamelyn Ferdin

            

     Myles (Alan Alda) is a failed concert pianist turned music journalist. Paula (Jacqueline Bisset) is his supportive and sarcastic wife.  Myles is doing an interview with an aging aristocratic pianist, Duncan Ely (Curd Jürgens). Duncan comments that Myles has the perfect hands for a pianist and after hearing him play, compliments his skill (something the critics never did). His beautiful daughter, Roxanne (Barbara Perkins) agrees with him.

            

     Duncan and Roxanne start pulling Myles and Paula into their social circle, filled with the jaded super rich. Paula is weary of all of this sudden attention but Myles eats it up. In truth, Duncan is a Satanist who struck an interesting bargain with the devil. He maintains an ongoing incestuous relationship with his daughter Roxanne, and to make sure that they can keep it going they have developed a ritual where Duncan’s soul takes over Myles’ body. This isn’t a spoiler, you figure that out pretty early in the film. Besides, as soon as you see Curd Jürgens on the screen (probably best known to American audiences as the villain in the Bond film, The Spy Who Loved Me ), you know he’s up to no good.

            

     The real conflict of the film is what happens with Myles’ wife, Paula. How long will it take her to figure out what has happened? What will she do when she discovers the truth? What do Duncan (now in Myles’ body) and Roxanne have in store for her? Though I thought the majority of the film was pretty predictable, Paula’s ultimate solution caught me off guard.

           

     This is not a “scary” movie with lots of jumps and frights. This is more of a cerebral thriller along the lines of The Ninth Gate (though not as well done as that film). For many people it will be a little unsettling to see Alan Alda (known best as the joking doctor from M.A.S.H.) play a villain.  The highlight of the film is Jacqueline Bisset, who does a good job taking her character through the changes of happy to confused to paranoid.

           

     In the sea of Satanic conspiracy movies that came out from the late 60s to late 70s, this film can easily be lost. It can’t compare to the better known films of the genre like Rosemary’s Baby or The Omen. However, if you want a film that you haven’t seen a hundred times, this might interest you.