BroadcastChic Excellent, a Must See

SincereFinest disgusting, overrated, pointless

ChicDragon It's a mild crowd pleaser for people who are exhausted by blockbusters.

Zandra The movie turns out to be a little better than the average. Starting from a romantic formula often seen in the cinema, it ends in the most predictable (and somewhat bland) way.

christopher-underwood Strange little film and perhaps not the sort I would normally be drawn to but it drew my attention when my Clint Eastwood box set arrived because of the recent remake with Nicole Kidman. I had got the impression that the new film, although many seem to have liked it, was a whole lot of nothing and yet from the storyline the film before seemed to have some promise. Director Don Siegel had a thing going with Eastwood at the time, having just made three together including Coogan's Bluff and with Dirty Harry being the next film. Eastwood is very good in this as are all the cast and it is not easy because some of the girls are quite young and there is a mixture of emotions required as the ladies of the school run the gamut of hostility, hospitality, romantic attachment, then lust, jealousy and vengeance. Eastwood is indeed beguiling but he has to survive in a building full of females vying for his favours one way or another. There is sex and considerable violence, which I understand there is not in the remake and there are some sexual taboos missing from the new one as well and crucial references to race, slavery and religion. Hard to see why Coppola bothered really, but this original is worth a look, particularly if you are an Eastwood fan and may easily have missed this one..

slightlymad22 The Beguiled (1971)Plot In A Paragraph: While imprisoned in a Confederate girls' boarding school, an injured Union soldier (Eastwood) cons his way into each of the lonely women's hearts, causing them to turn on each other, and eventually, on him.One of my favourite non sequel/western Clint Eastwood movies and it was a total failure at the box office!! Universal inexplicably marketed it as an action flick, using an image with Clint holding a pistol on the poster, despite him not holding a pistol in the movie. We see him fire a rifle during a flashback, but that's it.It's a slow burner, but Clint's performance is full of charm and it's well directed by Don Siegel too. Geraldine Page, Elizabeth Hartman and Pamelyn Ferdin all put in good performances, but it's the gorgeous, 17 year old Jo Anne Harris (who Clint had an affair with) who leaves the biggest impression as the teenage tease Carol. Sadly, this movie didn't even gross $1 million at the domestic box office.

LeonLouisRicci Back Before Clint Eastwood succumbed to Over-Adulation and Unwarranted Praise He did His Best Work under the Tutelage of Good Director's like Sergio Leone and Don Siegel. Here between the Spaghetti Westerns and Dirty Harry came this Underseen and Under-appreciated Oddball Film. A Sexy, Gothic, Horror Story set in the Civil War about a Wounded Soldier taken In by an All Girl's School who becomes the Center of Attention and the Outlet for Repressed Sexual Desires. Eastwood Plays the Villainous Viper for all its worth and Manipulates the Females Stroking Libido after Libido until All are Under His Spell. Or is it the Other Way Around?This is a Disturbing and Daring Film that still Resonates and Repulses Today. A Forgotten Film that was a Flop among the more Categorical Output from Clint at the Time. It's an Art Film and has a Distinctive European Flavor. The Movie Plays on the Edge from the very Beginning and it is an Ensemble of Effective Acting from All involved. Even Eastwood Stretching His ability to the limit Succeeds as His Lack of Talent is always Pulling Him back. That's a Testament to the Power of the Story and His Co-Stars.Overall, a Very Distinctive One of a Kind for Eastwood, and even Director Don Siegel Stretches to make this a Unique Experience. Siegel says its His Favorite Directorial Effort. One can See why. It is so Demanding and Off Beat and Everyone involved Came Together to make this a Cunning and Crafty Picture. It is an Unsung and Obscure Gem.

zardoz-13 "The Beguiled" is about as unusual a Clint Eastwood movie as you are ever watch. This Malpaso-Universal Pictures co-production qualifies as a Gothic melodrama set during the early days of the American Civil War. The setting is the Farnsworth School for Girls in southern Louisiana, not too far from the Mississippi border. To put things into perspective, Confederate troops passing by the school mention to the ladies the imminent battle of Champion Hill. Champion Hill occurred in May 1863 with the Confederating losing it before the eventual loss of Vicksburg that served to cut the South into two sections. Anyway, during a skirmish between Union and Confederate forces, a young soldier with the 66th New York, John McBurney (Clint Eastwood of "Dirty Harry") is wounded. Amy (Pamelyn Ferdin of "The Toolbox Murders") is out scouring the countryside for mushrooms when she stumbles onto him and saves him from capture. The head mistress and owner of the Farnsworth School, Martha (Geraldine Page of "Sweet Bird of Youth"), isn't overjoyed with helping this wounded Yankee. As it turns out, McB—as he prefers to be called—was wounded in the lower right leg. McB's arrival at the school polarizes the six students, one teacher, and the slave Hallie. Martha places McB in the music room, and Hallie (Mae Mercer of "Frogs") and she bathe and shave him. Some of the girls detest McB's presence and consider Martha's action treasonous to the Southern clause, while others just want to take advantage of his masculine presence. Since he is the only man in the house, McBurney decides to capitalize on his sexual prowess and he generates a rivalry between the older lady Martha, her shy teacher Edwina (Elizabeth Hartmann of "Walking Tall") and some of the other young ladies. The outcome is not good as McB discovers to his own chagrin. Don Siegel directs this yarn with considerable subtlety, and visual metaphors abound. The principal visual metaphor is a crow tethered to an upstairs balcony by one leg who is injured. At one point, Siegel superimposes a shot of the crow over a shot of the young Yankee when he is confined to his bed in the music room. All of these women and girls are differentiated so "The Beguiled" possesses characters with depth and difference. McBurney rarely tells the truth about himself because he is terrified that Martha will hand him over to the Confederates and he will wind up in Fayette Prison, the equivalent of Andersonville. At one point, just as Martha is poised to turn McB over to the Confederates, she watches in horror as a wounded Union soldier tries to escape and the Confederates retrieve him without resorting to force. She learns that this abject trooper only wanted a quick death rather than a lingering one in a rebel prison. "The Beguiled" is not conventional in any respect either. At the outset, you get the feeling that something more than is obvious is going on between Martha and her one and only instructor Miss Edwina. As it turns out, Martha not only had an incestuous relationship with her brother, who has gone missing, but also she has feelings for Edwina. After she beds down McB in the music room, she has a dream about having threesome sex with Edwina and McB. During the first third of "The Beguiled," McB acquaints himself with the women, develops a bond with Martha and she refuses to turn him over to the authorities. At one point, he helps her repulse an attack from southern intruders. During the second third, he shares the sheets with three women, and incites Miss Edwina when she catches him with a student. Edwina knocks McB down the spiral stair, splinters his leg, and reopens the wound. Martha has to operate and amputate his leg. This turns McB against the women. Ironically, Edwina forgives him and wants to marry him. McB makes the fatal mistake of striking out at little Amy and killing her turtle Randolph. Amy picks the mushrooms that the ladies cook for him. Indeed, our tough, flinty-eyed hero dies in the end of poisoning, and it is the least of the women who killed him. "The Beguiled" is a fascinating film about complicated relationships. Don't be misled by the opening credits with all the Civil War era photographs.