Something Wild * (1961, Carroll Baker, Ralph Meeker, Mildred Dunnock, Martin Kosleck, Jean Stapleton, Clifton James) – Classic Movie Review 10,004

Director Jack Garfein’s offbeat 1961 black and white film Something Wild stars Carroll Baker as assaulted Mary Ann, a young rape victim who starts a new life with the violent garage mechanic Mike (Ralph Meeker) who saves her from a suicide attempt.

Then she finds herself at his mercy, when he imprisons her in his basement apartment, hoping she will fall in love with him, in this unsatisfying, oddball and very off-putting drama.

The unconvincing performances do not help, but then the players are stuck with an off-target screenplay by Jack Garfein and Alex Karmel, based on the novel Mary Ann by Karmel.

Diane Ladd, aged 26, appears in a walk-on in her film debut, and it is also Doris Roberts’s film debut.

Also in the cast are, Mildred Dunnock, Charles Watts, Martin Kosleck, Jean Stapleton, Clifton James, George L Smith, Ken Chapin, Ginny Baker, Tanya Lopert, William Hickey, and Logan Ramsey.

Aaron Copland replaced Morton Feldman to compose the score. Carroll Baker recalled: ‘The production company wouldn’t pay Aaron Copland’s fee to do the score, so Jack [Garfein] and I paid him ourselves. I had to appear in two or three Westerns after that just to make up the difference.’ Copland re-arranged his music for concert performances, published in 1964 as Music for a Great City, and recorded by Copland as conductor.

Baker was married to Garfein but they divorced in 1969. His only other film is The Strange One (1957) with Ben Gazzara and Pat Hingle. He died on 30 December 2019, aged 89.

Something Wild is directed by Jack Garfein, runs 113 minutes, is made by Prometheus Enterprises, is released by United Artists, is written by Jack Garfein and Alex Karmel, based on the novel Mary Ann by Alex Karmel, is shot in black and white by Eugen Schüfftan, is produced by George Justin, is scored by Aaron Copland and is designed by Richard Day and Albert Brenner.

It is part of the Criterion Collection.

It is filmed in New York City.

Czech-born Jack Garfein survived the Auschwitz concentration camp and came to the US at 15. He joined the Actors Studio, and married one of his fellow students, Carroll Baker.

Carroll Baker starred in the Westerns How the West Was Won and Cheyenne Autumn.

© Derek Winnert 2020 Classic Movie Review 10,004

Check out more reviews on http://derekwinnert.com