Main Cast: Lauren Bacall, James Garner, Maureen Stapleton, Michael Biehn, Hector Elizondo
Release Year: 1981
Country: US
Run Time: 95 minutes
MPAA Rating: R
Plot
Lauren Bacall more or less plays herself in The Fan. Cast as famous Broadway musical comedy star Sally Ross (with an astonishing lack of temperament!), Bacall finds herself the unwilling love object of psychotic fan Douglas Breen (Michael Biehn). As security around Ross tightens, Breen vows that if he can't have Ross, no one else can. James Garner and Maureen Stapleton are underused as, respectively, Bacall's ex-husband and mother-hen secretary. Based on a good novel by Bob Randall, The Fan comes off as a slightly more expensive "stalker of the week" TV movie. Still, the film proved grimly prescient in the light of John Lennon's assassination (which occurred after the film was completed, but before its release) and the ongoing dilemma of current Broadway stars (even the lesser lights) who are forced to hire bodyguards to protect them from worshipful wackos. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Review
This big-budget attempt to combine suspense and show business commentary has plenty of gloss but lacks the inventive, substantial script necessary to make such an odd premise work. The Fan's biggest problem is its stylistic schizophrenia: the film's thrills are often diluted by the inordinate amount of time devoted to all the drama regarding Sally Ross' "comeback" and there is an overblown musical number near the end that virtually stops the film's momentum cold. Despite the stellar cast, The Fan is ultimately just another slasher movie - and a rather unpleasant one at that (there is one killing whose homoerotic subtext got the film in a lot of trouble with the gay community). In terms of storytelling, the script is riddled with plot holes and characters whose behavior defies common sense (i.e.: no one takes Douglas seriously until it is too late, despite an array of obvious warning signs). The cast gives the material their all but are limited by the paper-thin characterizations they have been given: Michael Biehn struggles gamely a villainous role that unfortunately degenerates into self-parody, Lauren Bacall is saddled with a 'grand dame' characterization that feels a few decades out of date and James Garner's role is so underwritten that he comes off as a non-entity. Director Edward Bianchi layers on plenty of visual style and creates some striking sequences in the process (a pool-set slashing is horrifying yet dazzlingly stylish, a la Brian DePalma) but can't overcome the derivative, confused script. As a result, The Fan can only be recommended to fans of unintentionally campy spectacles. ~ Donald Guarisco, All Movie Guide
Anna Maria Horsford - Emily; Kurt Johnson - David; Feiga Martinez - Elsa; Reed Jones - Choreographer; Ed Crowley - Caretaker; Jean de Baer - Stage Manager; Dana Delany - Saleswoman; Ann Pearl Gary - Fan; Kaiulani Lee - Douglas' Sister; Donna Mitchell - Hostess; Lionel Pina - Customer; Justin Ross - Dancer; Dwight Schultz - Director; Robert Weil - Pop; Jim Wolfe - Dancer; Griffin Dunne - Production Assistant; Tim Elliott - Stagehand; Terence Marinan - Young Man in Bar; Miriam Phillips - Woman on Steps; Themi Sapountzakis - Markham; Stephanie E. Williams; Alixe Gordin; Victoria Vanderkloot - Pen Thief; George Peters - Doorman; Charles Blackwell - John Vetta; Erik van Valkenburg
Credit
Paul Bryan Eads - Art Director, John Nicolella - Associate Producer, Bill Oakes - Associate Producer, Alixe Gordin - Casting, Arlene Phillips - Choreography, Jeffrey Kurland - Costume Designer, Tom McKinley - Costume Designer, Herbert W. Gains - First Assistant Director, Edward Bianchi - Director, Alan Heim - Editor, Kevin McCormick - Executive Producer, Pino Donaggio - Composer (Music Score), Marvin Hamlisch - Songwriter, Santo Loquasto - Production Designer, Dick Bush - Cinematographer, Joan Bradshaw - Production Manager, Robert Stigwood - Producer, Les Bloom - Set Designer, Chris Newman - Sound/Sound Designer, Jim Lovelett - Stunts, Norman Wexler - Screenwriter, Diana Hammond - Screenwriter, John Hartwell - Screenwriter, Priscilla Chapman - Screenwriter, Bob Randall - Book Author, Tim Rice - Lyricist
This movie received a lot of attention because it was released a few months after the murder of John Lennon, who was shot to death by Mark David Chapman, a former fan. However, it was a critical and commercial failure.
Synopsis
Douglas Breen (Michael Biehn) is a deranged young record salesman who is obsessed with glamorous stage and screen star Sally Ross (Lauren Bacall). He has been writing obsessive fan letters to her and when Sally's secretary (Maureen Stapleton) disregards the letters, deeming them not worthy of Sally's time, Douglas feels he is being ignored and decides to take whatever steps are necessary to eliminate the people who stand between him and his favorite star.
