A man (Terence Stamp) kidnaps a woman (Samantha Eggar) and holds her hostage just for the pleasure of having her there.
In his autobiography, Stamp confessed surprise as being chosen for the role, expecting Anthony Perkins or John Hurt to play Clegg. Having been chosen, he assumed (as had most others) that Julie Christie — regarded at that time as the best young actress of the era — would be given the role of Miranda, but Wyler chose Eggar because he thought it would introduce the correct air of sexual tension and awkwardness between the two protagonists. Wyler also knew Eggar had turned Stamp down when they both were studying together at Webber Douglas Academy of Dramatic Art.
I think this casting is both devious and brilliant. I don't think of Wyler as one of "those" directors, but maybe I should. Casting a woman to make Stamp uncomfortable, and then torturing Eggar on the set... he may be much more of the mean-spirited and exacting type than he comes across from his earlier films.
Allegedly, the original cut ran over an hour longer. Most of the time I don't really want movies to be longer than 90 minutes to two hours. But this is a film I could use more of. It was perfect, and at the risk of ruining that perfection, I would like to see what more was filmed.
