By Erin Free
In this regular column, we drag forgotten made-for-TV movies out of the vault and into the light. This week: the 1970 conspiracy thriller The Brotherhood Of The Bell, starring Glenn Ford, Rosemary Forsyth, Dean Jagger, Will Geer and Larry Pine.
Paranoid conspiracy thrillers really took flight in the 1970s, with classics like 1974’s The Parallax View and 1976’s All The President’s Men (both by Alan J. Pakula, a true master of the genre) almost coming to define this dark, anxiety-inducing corner of cinematic history. Key forebears to 1970s paranoid conspiracy thrillers were three great films from John Frankenheimer, who rivalled Pakula for excellence in this field. 1962’s The Manchurian Candidate, 1964’s Seven Days In May and 1966’s Seconds are all brilliant depictions of both political duplicitousness and personal isolation in the face of near-insurmountable power blocks.
Obviously influenced by these classics is the classy telemovie The Brotherhood Of The Bell, which was first broadcast on major US network CBS on September 17, 1970. Directed by telemovie titan and Unsung Auteur Paul Wendkos, and penned by episodic TV specialist David Karp from his own novel, The Brotherhood Of The Bell is a taut, “man alone” thriller immeasurably aided by the presence of star Glenn Ford, a major Hollywood leading man who affords the production a real sense of class. Ford’s powerful brand of gravitas also effectively wrong-foots the audience; this is not a man expected to be on the “outside”, making his plight even more disturbing.
Ford is college professor Andrew Patterson, who has enjoyed much success during his life. He’s highly regarded on campus, is respected by his peers, and has a beautiful wife in the charming and caring Vivian (Rosemary Forsyth). Unbeknownst to Professor Patterson, however, much of this success has been due to the underhanded involvement of The Brotherhood Of The Bell, the powerful secret society that he rather naively joined while a freshman at college.
A seemingly all-powerful cabal of shady political and big-business figureheads, The Brotherhood eventually comes calling with a dire request for Professor Patterson; the secret society has the power to provide much for its brethren, but its rules also plainly state that all requests from The Brotherhood must be agreed to. Though Professor Patterson tries to oblige, everything goes wrong, and he is placed in a desperate moral quandary. When he attempts to extricate himself from The Brotherhood Of The Bell, the group responds in kind, and Professor Patterson very quickly realises just how powerful and connected they really are.
This is when the paranoia – though in this case, they really are out to get him – really kicks in, as Professor Patterson tries to expose The Brotherhood, and is cut off at every turn. The tendrils of the secret cabal extend into every corner of his life, even his family. The power of The Brotherhood is so expansive that Professor Patterson is so alone and adrift that he eventually resorts to appearing on a sensationalist tabloid TV program (hosted by a bullying, blustering William Conrad in a performance that would even put Bill O’Reilly to shame) to get his point across. But Professor Patterson is a keen intellect, and he eventually thinks he might have a way to beat The Brotherhood.
Professor Patterson ‘s provoked descent into near madness is brilliantly captured by director Paul Wendkos, who peels out a stunning set of Dutch angles and loopy, disorienting camera tricks, constantly shooting through glass and against mirrors to create a growing sense of confusion and isolation. It’s a bewildering joy to watch, and is decidedly more baroque than the usual telemovie.
Strongly performed (Dean Jagger is appropriately sinister and condescending as a Brotherhood figurehead, while Will Geer steals all his scenes as Patterson’s tough, working class father; also look out for future CHiPS star, and father of Chris, Larry Pine) and flashily directed, The Brotherhood Of The Bell is a tightly controlled and utterly gripping small screen conspiracy thriller.
Availability: The Brotherhood Of The Bell is very easy to find online, and it’s in pretty good shape too, considering its vintage.
