Believe in Me

Originally filmed in 1970 as "Speed is of the Essence" (the title of Gail Sheehy's story about her sister that appeared in New York Magazine), this virtually-unknown film so alarmed MGM in its unflinching depiction of drug abuse that the studio ordered extensive re-shoots directed by John G. Avildsen (who receives no screen credit). The mangled result briefly appeared in theaters in 1971 and then vanished into obscurity. MGM's attempt to make the movie more "palatable" and "upbeat" proved disastrous (What did the studio want--"Love Story" with needle marks?) Among the approximately 50 minutes of the original version that hit the cutting room floor were several poignant scenes featuring George Rose and Geraldine Fitzgerald as Jacqueline Bisset's parents, frightened and helpless when confronted in their placid Connecticut home by their daughter's decline into amphetamine addiction. Even so, the drastically re-edited release print still glows with the warmth, sincerity and lacerating honesty of the performances by Michael Sarrazin and Jacqueline Bisset. In fact, Francois Truffaut was so impressed by Ms. Bisset's multi-faceted portrayal of a doomed young woman that he subsequently cast her in "Day for Night." "Believe in Me" has never aired on commercial or cable TV, nor has it been released on videotape. It is apparently a "lost" film, and a shame, because Ms. Bisset's and Mr. Sarrazin's work is exemplary.