The Reincarnation of Peter Proud *** (1975, Michael Sarrazin, Jennifer O’Neill, Margot Kidder) – Classic Movie Review 3326

Director J Lee Thompson’s hypnotic 1975 fantasy thriller The Reincarnation of Peter Proud stars Michael Sarrazin as a college professor called Peter Proud, who experiences flashbacks from a previous incarnation and finds that a TV documentary helps him to discover the source of his regular dreams of a murder in a previous life.

He finds himself together with his previous incarnation’s wife, Marcia Curtis (Margot Kidder), who sees he is exactly like her dead husband, Jeff (Tony Stephano). Peter falls into a passionate relationship with Marcia and Jeff’s daughter Ann Curtis (Jennifer O’Neill). But Marcia recognises the incestuous nature of this relationship and tries to keep them apart. And then Peter realises his dreams actually exist…

Max Ehrlich adapts his own unusual novel that is the fascinating basis of this modest but intriguing and unique psychological horror mystery chiller. Even if the performances and screenplay are maybe a fraction underpowered, the movie ends up engaging and entertaining in its mesmerisingly laid-back kind of way, helped a lot by Jerry Goldsmith’s score.

With his soulful eyes and introspective gaze, Sarrazin is ideally cast as a lost soul searching for his identity. The film, though, was a critical and box office failure, unfairly damaging Sarrazin’s career.

Also in the cast are Cornelia Sharpe, Paul Hecht, Stuart Thomas [Tony Stephano], Norman Burton, Anne Ives and Debralee Scott.

The Reincarnation of Peter Proud is directed by J Lee Thompson, runs 105 minutes, is made by Bing Crosby Productions, Cinerama Productions and Fuqua Industries, is released by AVCO Embassy (1975) (UK) and American International Pictures (1975) (US), is written by Max Ehrlich, from his novel, is shot in Technicolor by Victor J Kemper, is produced by Frank P Rosenberg and is scored by Jerry Goldsmith.

It was shot in April 1974 in Springfield, Amherst, Holyoke, Northampton, Deerfield, and Longmeadow, Massachusetts.

Canadian-born Margot Kidder (1948–2018) was six months younger than O’Neill but she plays her character’s mother. Kidder died on 13 May 2018 in Livingston, Montana, by suicide by drug and alcohol overdose.

Canadian-born Michael Sarrazin was born on 22 1940 in Québec City. After a brief battle with cancer, he moved to Montreal to be near his family and died there aged 70, on April 17 2011.

© Derek Winnert 2016 Classic Movie Review 3326

Link to Derek Winnert’s home page for more reviews: http://derekwinnert.com/