Moment to Moment

Plot

Mervyn LeRoy, one of the best-known directors of Hollywood's Golden Age, wrapped up his career behind the camera with this suspense drama. Kay Stanton (Jean Seberg) is the wife of well-known psychiatrist Neil Stanton (Arthur Hill). Neil's international reputation often keeps him on the road lecturing at medical conferences, leaving Kay alone at home. Bored and craving attention, Kay becomes involved with a handsome Naval officer named Mark Dominic (Sean Garrison), but the affair is often rocky, and one day, in the midst of an argument, Kay accidentally shoots Mark. Convinced that Mark is dead, Kay panics and calls her friend Daphne (Honor Blackman). With Daphne's help, Kay drags Mark's body to a car, and they drive to a deep ravine, where they toss the body in. Shortly afterward, Kay calls the police to report that a dead body is in the ravine, without giving her name. But they learn that the body was not found; as it turns out, Mark was only wounded in the shooting, and he now waits in a hospital ward, recovering from his wounds and suffering from amnesia. Moment to Moment was made at a time when leading lady Jean Seberg was getting most of her work in European films; she wasn't to make a picture for a U.S. studio for another three years. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Review

It's hard to believe that a director as experienced and skillful as Mervyn LeRoy is responsible for Moment to Moment. LeRoy could almost always be counted on for a minimum level of expertise, even if he sometimes had his ups and downs. But the director seems to have checked his interest at the door with Moment, and the result is a very bad movie -- but, crucially, one of those bad movies that is easy to love. Moment has a plot that only Hitchcock could pull off -- and he would know that it would need a tremendous amount of work before it could be made workable, let alone believable. It doesn't help that Alec Coppel and John Lee Mahin's dialogue is, let us say, not exactly on the level of Shakespeare. There are plenty of howlers along the way, and many moments that will have bad movie mavens shaking their heads with glee. Jean Seberg is surprisingly flat, which adds to the fun, and Honor Blackman is a lively, campy delight. Sean Garrison is around for male eye candy, and Arthur Hill is amusingly lost as a psychiatrist who doesn't notice what a lunatic his own wife is. There's some great Riviera scenery -- but a surprising amount of the film is clearly filmed on a studio backlot. Those in the mood for a good old really bad film will enjoy Moment, but those with no tolerance for this kind of thing should definitely pass it by. ~ Craig Butler, Rovi

Cast

• Jean Seberg - Kay Stanton
• Honor Blackman - Daphne Fields
• Sean Garrison - Mark Dominic
• Arthur Hill - Neil Stanton
• Gregoire Aslan - Inspector DeFargo

Peter Robbins - Timmy Stanton; Donald Woods - Mr. Singer; Walter Reed - Hendricks; Albert Carrier - Travel Agent; Lomax Study - Albie; Richard Angarola - Givet; Georgette Anys - Louise

Credit

Alexander Golitzen - Art Director, Alfred Sweeney - Art Director, Rosemary Odell - Costume Designer, Mervyn LeRoy - Director, Philip W. Anderson - Editor, Stanley Warnow - Editor, Henry Mancini - Composer (Music Score), Bud Westmore - Makeup, Harry Stradling - Cinematographer, Mervyn LeRoy - Producer, John P. Austin - Set Designer, John McCarthy - Set Designer, Alec Coppel - Screenwriter, John Lee Mahin - Screenwriter, Yves Saint Laurent - Costume/Wardrobe, Alec Coppel - Short Story Author

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