User reviews

I worked for Marian/Polan talent agency. And I was an extra in this movie down in Miami. I had some car scenes during a chase. I met Milton Berle when I did the show girl scenes at the Fountain Blue hotel. I only met Anthony Quinn's double. I was chosen by Anthony Quinn to play the double for Faye Dunaway but my mother would not let me dye my hair blonde for the part. I am still upset over that. Working as an extra I learned that many scenes use doubles. http://www.flickr.com/photos/66013135@N00/3298029225/ Me at age 18.

I have the movie on tape. I thought it was quite a good action film. But it was not my favorite Anthony Quinn movie. It seemed too disjointed. I believe this was Faye Dunaway's second movie. In the same year she made Bonnie and Clyde which was a much better movie. I loved the scenery of Miami as I am a born native of Miami. The movie is a good look at Miami, the way it was before it was ruined.

Elliot Silverstein goes crazy with the mod visuals while directing this bizarre '60s concoction, fashioning it as both a modern-day war satire and a juvenile delinquency drama. Retired Mafioso Anthony Quinn is kidnapped by a ragtag group of punks (Faye Dunaway among them!); unfortunately, Quinn can't get any of his acquaintances or loved ones to pay his ransom, thereby putting him in-cahoots with the misguided young people. Ronald Austin co-wrote the screenplay with help from James D. Buchanan and future director Frank Pierson, yet the cast looks mostly perplexed on-camera (and audiences will most likely join them). The Supremes got a #1 hit song out of the title track, yet their version was not present in the print that I saw. *1/2 from ****

The Happening is one of those unfunny counterculture comedies that sprang up like so many magic mushrooms in the late sixties. In this one some hepcats and a hippie chick (Faye Dunaway in one of her first roles) kidnap super square Anthony Quinn in order to rake in the ransom from Quinn's mafia buddies (led by the always fun Oscar Homolka). Somewhere along the line Quinn takes charge of his own kidnapping and complications, if not hilarity, ensue. A perfect example of Hollywood totally misreading the teen zeitgeist of the period, The Happening also features one of the Supremes worst songs as it's title tune.

Of all the films one sees, there are a select few which you start out expecting one thing and end up with something completely different. Here is one unusual movie called " The Happening " which features the magnificent talent of the late great Anthony Quinn. The story written and directed by Ronald Austin begins with a group of young lay-abouts (Michael Parks, George Maharis, Robert Walker Jr. and Faye Dunaway) who take life as it unfolds or 'happens' and thus accept their motto ' Go with the flow baby. ' As with everyday, they do nothing, plan nothing and exact the same, allowing events to just take shape. On one particular day, they stumble upon a well-to-do suburban family, enjoying their upscale social life. However, that family is governed by a powerful, but retired Mob Boss, Roc Delmonico, (Anthony Quinn) who's wife Martha Hyer) believes he is to be kidnapped and held for Ransom. What Roc discovers is that all the people in his life who he believed cared for his safety and well being, create excuses for not being able to rescue him. Thus he is left to his fate at the hands of Kidnappers. Dismayed and deeply disappointed, Roc begins to suspect he has been deluded into thinking he was an important figure, Concluding the opposite, he joins his kidnappers and plots his revenge. A kooky, but surprisingly underrated film, Quinn gives a superb performance and thus elevates a comedic movie into a Classic. Oscar Homolka and Milton Berle make brief appearances. Well recommended for anyone seeking something different. ****

I caught this movie on late-night TV one night when I had nothing better to do and I'm not sure I might have been better off just doing nothing. I have a weakness for these kind of swingin' sixties movies, but even I couldn't take this junk. The story is about four alleged hipsters who kidnap a Mafia kingpin just for kicks, but then it goes from hijinks to pathos rather suddenly when the don realizes he can't extract the ransom money from his so-called "friends". I guess this is Hollywood's interpretation of what constituted coolness and hip in the late 60s, but in a post-Manson world, I don't know that there's anything funny about any of this. The music, surprisingly for the time, is just dreadful. The Supremes theme song is all right, but the rest of the soundtrack is a lot of Herb Alpert-ish tripe.

As for the acting, Michael Parks and George Maharis turn in the usual rotten performances. The big stars in the movie have a few good moments- Milton Berle as a restaurant owner has a fairly hilarious scene where he tends to various guest complaints. And Anthony Quinn as the Mafia don has a beautiful scene outside, I guess, Dodger Stadium, when it finally hits him that everyone has turned their back on him for the ransom money, and he becomes disturbingly violent and on the edge of tears, and Faye Dunaway says to the others, "I don't want to play this game anymore", which is a genuinely moving episode. But that's part of the problem with the movie: it can't quite reconcile the comedy with the sadness and back to comedy again. It's generally a lousy movie, only significant that it was Faye Dunaway's first big-time movie role, and not significant in any other way. 1 1/2 * out of 4

I saw this when it was first released in 1967. I was 27 and neither a hippie nor a flower child, but I'd loved movies for 20 years, and saw 150 or so movies in theatres every year. THE HAP- PENING is on my Worst List for '67 (not #1, though; that'd be SHOOT LOUD LOUDER...I DON'T UNDERSTAND), and to this day I can't think of anything positive to say about it.

Okay, okay, the theme song was pretty good, and Faye Dunaway wore one of those bare midriff pantsuits so popular at the time. Other than that, Nada. Quinn, Maharis and Parks are among the worst actors in talking pictures, and Robert Walker Jr. would have been, if he'd had a career. No problem, his dad was bad enough for both of 'em.

The only question now is will the new Happening be as bad as the original? From what I hear and read, it'll be pretty close.

This was not a great movie. Probably barely a good movie if that. I give it a 7 because it was so much fun. It was a very summertime type of movie. Break out the suntan, break out the shorts and head to the nearest beach. Kidnapped by beatniks but not worth it to his fellow mobsters or loved ones, Mr. Quinn gives a great performance , when on the scale of things this movie is not cinematic art. I do not mean that in a bad way. Its the type of film you watch while drinking a couple or a few beers or more. Supremes song The Happening, the title cut fits in with this oddball movie. In many ways this movie sort of brought the hippie movement to main stream and not in a bad way. I liked this movie and took it for what it was . A fun movie and a very young , sexy Faye Dunaway . Do not expect much , have a party with old friends and reminisce about childhood times and if you are a bit younger like I am , mid 40s , just watch this film and enjoy it anyway. It will make you laugh and really thats what its all about folks.

In the late 1960s, a lot of previously respected classic actors apparently felt left out due to the rise of the hippies and so they tried desperately to fit in with this new culture. The results of these films are uniformly awful...and embarrassing. Lana Turner embarrassed herself in "The Big Cube" (all about LSD), Jennifer Jones did the same in "Angel, Angel Down We Go" (all about the evils of rock 'n roll and cults) and MANY actors and actresses embarrassed themselves in "Skidoo" (all about free love and the sexual revolution)...just to name a few. And, in "The Happening", Anthony Quinn hangs out with the hippiest and most annoying kidnappers in the history of Hollywood!

"The Happening" is not a wholly original film. Some story elements were in the previous movie, "Too Many Crooks" and some were reused in the 1980s film "Ruthless People". But there was one difference...these two other films are hilarious and well worth seeing.

The story begins in the woods where a bunch of hippies are sleeping as well as trying to sleep off the effects of various drugs. Suddenly, evil cops arrive and drive them all off. Three of these hippies soon meet up with another and they all go joyriding in a yacht. Soon, they quartet stop to play army soldier with some kids (why???) and in the process, the kids' father thinks they are kidnappers coming to get him. In fact, they had no such intentions...until he planted the idea in their minds...and soon they take the guy away and plan on charging a ransom for his return. In so many ways, the film IS "Ruthless People" in this regard...but with the most annoying committing the crime. So, instead of being funny, it is thoroughly annoying...to the point where I could imagine most viewers just turning it off and watching something, ANYTHING, else.

The bottom line is that much of the story is pretty good. But with hellishly annoying hippie-types trying to be funny...well, it's just trying! And, while SOME back in 1967 must have liked it, you'd be very hard pressed to find ANYONE who likes it and would recommend it today.

A rude awakening awaits a Miami gangster played by Anthony Quinn, as he is kidnapped, and then betrayed one by one by all the people he thought he could count on in life.

Quinn does a beautiful job of playing someone who suddenly realizes just where he stands in the world, and who he real friends are.

I guess this movie could be called a "dark comedy" in some regards, it nevertheless leaves you feeling good at the end as you see how masterfully Quinn's reassembles the pieces of his shattered world.

Hey, the premise is pretty good: some fairly appealing but terminally bored young people kidnap a restaurateur (Anthony Quinn), and then they find that neither Quinn's wife nor his business partner partner want him back. After spending some time with the old coot Quinn, they end up feeling sorry for him, and they help him wreak vengeance on the people who have been making his life miserable all these years. The performances are a bit idiosyncratic: Michael Parks working on his James Dean thing, but with blonde hair; George Maharis trying to look like a hippie in a ducktail; Robert Walker Jr being typically odd and, of course, a very young Faye Dunaway overacting broadly and getting away with it. Some of the hijinks might seem slow and lame, but some of it is funny, and I can't vouch for others' musical taste, but I like the theme song.

Noting in the credits Faye Dunaway was introduced. Fortunately for her, Dunaway's next film was Bonnie And Clyde.

I guess that Anthony Quinn wanted to try his hand at comedy and the best his agent could come up with is The Happening. It was a bad choice. If Quinn has a gift for comedy this was not the vehicle to demonstrate it.

4 nearly brain dead hippie types accidentally home invade Quinn's and Martha Hyer's home in Florida and accidentally kidnap Quinn and hold him for ransom. At that point Quinn finds out he's really not worth all that much to old associates like Milton Berle and Oscar Homolka. Even Hyer is put out by the whole affair.

At that point Quinn shows the amateurs how it is done.

The hippies are Dunaway, Michael Parks, George Maharis, and Robert Walker,Jr. all at varying stages of their careers. Michael Parks in The Happening at least stopped trying to imitate James Dean.

Best in here are Homolka and Berle.

Sorry laugh wise, this film just ain't happening.

OK, it's got Tony Quinn, who, depending on your view, either chews the scenery, or put in a GREAT performance, in every film he's in. I first saw him in "la Strada", and my theory is that, if he's good enough for Fellini, he's good enough for me. The last five minutes of Zorba the Greek" will live in my heart forever...this man had the heart of TEN men! Howver, in this movie, he had to play a relatively subdued, nuanced, role...which he handled like a Gig Young, or a Tony Randall---(i.e. perfectly)! The real treat was seeing three of the greatest young actors of the time: Faye, Michael Parks, and George Maharis, having a lot of fun playing things out. I cannot fathom why Parks and Maharis did not become major stars---Parks, in particular, was AMAZING--perhaps he was (wrongly) deemed to be a Jimmy Dean wannabe. Dunaway--who has NEVER given even a merely above-average performance (she is our "GREAT American ACTRESS!)---gave clear signs of her future greatness to be seen later in "Bonnie & Clyde", the amazing and prophetic "Network", "Chinatown" and all the fabulous work she has done. BTW, I am NOT writing as someone who has only recently first seen this film years after it was made: I saw it then, when I was 12, and was astonished by its greatness. It's very hard to find now, but I saw it again a few weeks ago in an art-house---and it STILL holds up. It's a TERRIFIC film! FIND IT. WATCH IT. A GREAT FILM. The director was a genius---he's like an Eisenstein---look at the techniques he invented--they are in EVERY film now!

During a break, ensconced Miami gangster Anthony Quinn (as Roc Delmonico) is accidentally kidnapped by gigolo George Maharis (as Taurus) and three thrill-seeking college students: Michael Parks (as Sureshot), Robert Walker Jr. (as Herby), and Faye Dunaway (as Sandy). And, Frank DeVol plays Herb Alpert.

"The Happening" is an excellent roller-coaster trip, which just misses being a perfect ten. It really loses its "cool" after Mr. Quinn and the "gang of four" return to destroy Quinn's living room. Filmmakers should have considered moving The Supremes' excellent "vocal version" of the title song up from the end credits, to replace the instrumental version of the song played during the living room mess-up, and ended the film there. The "darker" points made during the last act put a damper on the proceedings; they had already been made, more effectively and subtly, earlier.

The mix of writers (Ron Austin, James Buchanan and Frank Pierson), actors, and director (Elliott Silverstein) result in some inspired, (improvised ?) lunacy. Direction and editing (Philip Anderson) are outstanding. Even nature is cooperative - witness the gulls and waves in the background when Quinn calls his wife to request the ransom money. The actors are blocked beautifully; and, the darkly comic scene ends with the blackbird flying off to the left of the screen. This sequence, in particular, raises the film well above ordinary.

"The Happening" has both laugh-out-loud and smug chuckling moments. The cast references several Hollywood classics: Mr. Parks' James Dean is the most obvious; but look out for smaller nods from Quinn ("Gone with the Wind"), Mr. Maharis ("West Side Story"), Mr. Walker Jr. ("Gypsy"), and Ms. Dunaway ("A Streetcar Named Desire"). Milton Berle (as Fred) and Martha Hyer (as Monica) are perfect in their supporting roles; and, Oskar Homolka (as Sam) is simply hilarious. Try to fend off some restlessness during the last act; "The Happening" is a great trip.

********* The Happening (3/22/67) Elliott Silverstein ~ Anthony Quinn, George Maharis, Robert Walker Jr., Michael Parks

Funny thing is I'm a child of the 60's & 70's. I remember seeing this when it was first released and I loved it! I saw it recently as an adult and it sucked the big one. Oh well. Pass on this film, It has nothing to say and just isn't funny. Unless you're 13. Put it in the same category as X Men. Good now, sucks later.

It all begins showing the vestiges of a crazy party of carefree young people on a Miami island, the police arrive and everything turns into chaos, four boys and a girl escape aboard a stolen speedboat. Seeing that they entertain their time they end up in the house of a former mob boss. The man is convinced that it is a kidnapping and he offers to be taken alone to protect his family. The group of crazy young people find it fun to humor him and take him captive to an abandoned house. The man is convinced that his loved ones will raise the ransom money but to his great surprise he discovers that no one cares about his life and no one is willing to pay a penny for the ransom, not even his mother. Dislocated and checking the farce that surrounded him, he hatches an ingenious plan to take revenge on everyone. The rhythm of this movie does not drop for a single moment, it is a mixture of comedy, drama and police. The cast is top notch, Anthony Quinn, Faye Dunaway, Michael Parks, Robert Walker jr., George Maharis and Milton Berle among others. The highlight of the film is the change between the first part and the second, where you never know where all this madness will end. A brilliant movie that has been unfairly forgotten and that is highly recommended.

My friend and I, laughed so hard, had a hard time walking out of the theater. Lucille Ball also had a cameo appearance in the movie. Lucy was the wife of Anthony Quinn, and showed her in bed with Uncle Milty.

As for the slam on the Supreme's song "The Happening", I still like it, and it always brings back the good times, my friend and I had that day at the movies.