Secret Ceremony

R

1968

1 hr. 49 min.

Drama

List

64%

14 Reviews

Tomatometer

54%

250+ Ratings

Audience Score

While riding a London bus, a mysterious young woman named Cenci (Mia Farrow) mistakes Leonora (Elizabeth Taylor), a middle-aged prostitute, for her recently deceased mother. Leonora, who has lost a child, accepts Cenci's bizarre invitation to move into her mansion, live with her and act as her mother. At first, the two live happily together, but when Cenci's stepfather, Albert (Robert Mitchum), returns to the estate, Cenci's shocking past begins to unravel.

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Audience Member

Mia Farrow, as usual, aces it when playing a mentally unstable and manipulative character; Liz Taylor, on the other hand, does not seem to have been in the mood for making a movie as she bares the minimum in performing her role. All in all, Secret Ceremony is worthy of your time as a film lover.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

01/24/23

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Audience Member

A bizarre, twisted tale, directed by Joseph Losey. Excellent cast. Elizabeth Taylor, Mia Farrier and Robert Mitcham. Fascinating and engrossing. Quite controversial in 1968.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

03/18/18

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Audience Member

While this is not a good movie, it has an odd psycho-sexual undertone that makes it surprisingly interesting.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

02/22/23

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Audience Member

A bizzare, ungodly film that has all sorts of nasty behaviours at work. Taylor and Farrow make a love lost pair with stepfather Robert Mitchum making things worse with his incestious prescence. Each Taylor and Farrow think they have been reborn meeting thier supposedly dead loved ones. Slow paced it made me want to leave several times until Mitchum arrives. [img]http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/e/ec/SecretCeremony%2768.jph.jpg/220px-SecretCeremony%2768.jph.jpg[/img] Secret Ceremony is a 1968 film, produced in Britain and released by Universal Pictures. Based on the book by Argentine writer Marco Denevi, it stars Elizabeth Taylor, Mia Farrow, Robert Mitchum, Pamela Brown, and Peggy Ashcroft. Joseph Losey directed, from a script by George Tabori. [img]http://t2.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcTPMyugIKOtUutIWpAep3QZDMmeafONNcbgjpl25d-bXA-83Y1YlQ[/img] Not what it seems, Farrow is childlike here. If you are a fan of Mitchum, you'll have to see him half way through the film and then not too often after that. His role of an incest stepfather, if in fact he was that, is not becoming of the personna of a Robert Mitchum. But Taylor is convinced he is a rat so in the end she does something about it. [img]http://t0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcRMpUu0MmiqNEqKc_FQbzs0VwM9z5wbbS8GsTrIVtk4fQEsUKZq9A[/img] Robert Mitchum as the incestious stepfather SEE the trailer here: http://www.tcm.com/mediaroom/video/353288/Secret-Ceremony-Original-Trailer-.html Worth watching if you can tolerate the very slow pace of the film. A plus for the film is a very young 23 year old Mia Farrow who pretends sex with herself a few times and even having a child. Her stepfather, Mitchum, advises Taylor she is a nut case headed for suicide. SEE the entire film here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CH3gvC1PXY4 [img]http://t3.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcRqT3gDqN5QHMMRV-vW2h2UhL3u-iX5PHSoKHiETHY6V6VlDt-0[/img] Here the two are like mother and daughter in bath NOTES: 1 There are apparently varying versions of the film, the result of Universal Pictures' tampering with Losey's original cut, possibly to de-emphasize the lesbian aspects of the Taylor-Farrow relationship. 2 Critical reception of the film has tended to be mixed, with some critics essentially maintaining that it is a bad film but yet one that can be enjoyed due to a certain camp quality evident in Losey's mise-en-scène and the actors' performances. However, other film analysts regard the film as compelling because of its deep psychological portraits. REVIEWS: 80% Elizabeth Taylor is intriguing as a slightly overweight prostitute. Despite those flaws, her beauty is still beyond compare. I dare anyone to pull off... 50% Now this--THIS--is a weird movie. [img]http://t0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcR-4F0pp-eq7z_kwiu2z7H8d8aDzDon0NaSfhEIlnOx77iXXY3InQ[/img] Farrow is excellent as the rape victum of Mitchum, or so it seems Distributed by Universal Pictures Release date(s) 1968 Running time 105 min. Box office $3 million (US/ Canada rentals) [img]http://t2.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcR5ZYW9eaFl8UBMJ6TZol6tV7Q7oK5pjRMWVhiEuq3HI64VFEpChg[/img] A powerhouse performance by Farrow and Taylor

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

01/19/23

Full Review

Audience Member

This movie was dark and somewhat disturbing yet alluring and involving unlike one I have seen in a long time. Taylor again seems extremely well suited to this role; prostitute who plays mother to mentally disturbed girl (Farrow in a chilling and at times annoying performance). The two find in each other what each has lost. The two spend their days in the lavish and isolated mansion eating in bed and play acting with one another. It is not until Taylor's character learns the true extent of Cenci's mental disturbance that the film is thrown in a different direction. Cenci snaps out of her delusion and the two part ways, that is until the chilling conclusion. This film surprised me, it's slow moving and intense and lingers in your mind after viewing. It's simple, both in plot and setting. The simplicity helps the believability of these two characters clinging to each other as they have nothing else. Highly recommend to anyone who is a Taylor fan or those interested in psychological thrillers, it's quite brilliant in its own way.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

02/09/23

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Audience Member

This is one of the worst movies ever made. Atrocious on every conceivable level.

Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars

02/15/23

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Joseph Losey

Director

Elizabeth Taylor

Leonora

Mia Farrow

Cenci

Robert Mitchum

Albert

Peggy Ashcroft

Hannah

Pamela Brown

Hilda

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TIME Magazine

Losey has shown skill at conjuring up corruption and terror. Here he is undone by his scenarist, George Tabori, who attempts a ghostly esthetic melodrama in the style of Henry James.

Mar 23, 2011

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Variety Staff

Variety

Moody, leisurely developed and handsomely produced.

Jul 22, 2008

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Time Out

Losey's mannered direction, somehow entirely appropriate, makes for a memorable film.

Feb 9, 2006

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Jas Keimig

The Stranger (Seattle, WA)

Secret Ceremony is a great, unhinged watch...

Jan 20, 2022

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Sara Century

The Cultural Gutter

The tempestuous moods and upsetting subject matter of Secret Ceremony make it impossible to forget.

Rated: A+

Feb 24, 2021

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Nicholas Bell

IONCINEMA.com

Farrow is creepy as the ethereal and child-like Cenci, and the two women play quite well off one another.

Rated: 3.5/5

Jul 30, 2020

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Synopsis

While riding a London bus, a mysterious young woman named Cenci (Mia Farrow) mistakes Leonora (Elizabeth Taylor), a middle-aged prostitute, for her recently deceased mother. Leonora, who has lost a child, accepts Cenci's bizarre invitation to move into her mansion, live with her and act as her mother. At first, the two live happily together, but when Cenci's stepfather, Albert (Robert Mitchum), returns to the estate, Cenci's shocking past begins to unravel.

Director: Joseph Losey
Production Co: Universal Pictures
Rating: R
Genre: Drama
Original Language: English