History of Hollywood, like many other histories, spawned its share of conspiracy theories. In an ironic twist, the Hollywood film that became the subject of conspiracy theories had itself been based on one of the most popular conspiracy theories of the 20th century. That film was Winter Kills, a 1979 thriller-comedy directed by William Richert, one of the most obscure but also one of the more interesting films of its time.
The protagonist, played by Jeff Bridges, is Nick Kegan, a young man who happens to be half-brother to Tim Kegan, a charismatic and popular US president who was assassinated nineteen years ago. The official investigation named Willy Arnold, later killed in police custody by nightclub owner Joe Diamond (played by Eli Wallach), as the sole culprit, and this is not disputed by Nick or the rest of his family, led by wealthy and influential patriarch “Pa” Kegan (played by John Huston). Nick begins to doubt the official truth after he meets Fletcher (played by Joe Spinell), a mysterious dying man who claims to be one of the real assassins. His deathbed confession brings Nick to Philadelphia where he discovers a hidden rifle allegedly used in the assassination. Before he has the opportunity to do anything about it, people involved in his investigation start getting killed and Nick himself barely escapes assassination attempts. He reluctantly agrees to seek his father’s aid and his quest leads him to a series of bizarre characters whose revelations about powerful forces and dark motives behind his half-brother’s assassination might or might not be true.
The film is based on the novel by Richard Condon, an author best known for The Manchurian Candidate, a 1959 political thriller that, together with its famous 1962 screen adaptation, gained a prophetic reputation due to disturbing similarities between its plot and certain details of the JFK assassination. In 1974, that real-life event and subsequent conspiracy theories were the basis for Condon’s treatment in the form of a roman à clef, and those familiar with JFK conspiracy lore would probably have fun connecting “Papa Joe” Kennedy, Jack Ruby, Sam Giancana or Judith Exner with their thinly disguised fictional counterparts, as well as its plot revelations with various popular speculations about people and organisations behind the most infamous assassination in history. While adapting the book, Richert concluded that Condon’s portrayal of the United States as a country under the rule of an omnipresent and all-powerful entity that transcends political establishment, big business and organised crime was too depressing for the average viewer. Instead of going down the naturalistically disturbing route of films like The Parallax View, he decided to make it a black comedy.
That wasn’t a bad idea by itself, and the casting of Jeff Bridges as a young, idealistic and at times charmingly naive protagonist provided a good contrast with various sinister, bizarre and depraved characters, including the protagonist’s father, wonderfully played by John Huston. Richert’s inexperience, however, showed in not providing a proper balance between serious content and black humour, and an example of this can be seen in the symbolic use of a mysterious smiling bicycle lady who appears every time a major act of violence is about to occur. Richert also had a very respected cast who were often tragically underused in largely unnecessary roles, including names such as Dorothy Malone and Toshiro Mifune. On the other hand, Anthony Perkins was well-cast in the role of powerful director of Kegan’s data collection centre, and in its sinister and pathetic presence, today’s audience might easily recognise real-life personalities like Mark Zuckerberg. One of the more inspired casting choices was model Belinda Bauer in her first film role as the protagonist’s enigmatic girlfriend; despite being romantically involved with Richert in real life, she excelled in a sex scene with Bridges that is both graphic and comical at the same time.
Not all of the film’s problems were Richert’s fault. Winter Kills became (in)famous for an extremely long and difficult production beset with all kinds of logistical and financial problems, most stemming from the refusal of major studios, allegedly after some “friendly suggestions” from the powerful Kennedy family, to back the project. One of its original producers, Leonard Goldberg, was allegedly involved in the marijuana smuggling business and shortly after the premiere fell victim to an apparent gangland-style execution. Winter Kills had its production officially shut down three times, with Richert and the rest of the crew often working without pay and finishing the film only through some ingenious and complicated financial schemes. After the film finally appeared in cinemas, it quickly disappeared after a surprisingly short and limited distribution, and Richert had to wait for almost a decade until his next and last film A Night in the Life of Jimmy Reardon. Whether some dark forces had something to do with it or not is beside the point; among cinephiles, Winter Kills became the subject of conspiracy theories which later guaranteed its cult status. Today, with the JFK assassination being replaced by other, more relevant events that spark conspiracy theories, this film, despite being somewhat unfinished and rough around the edges, can still be recommended as an entertaining piece of cinema even to viewers who don’t care much about secret cabals or events that happened many decades ago.
RATING: 6/10 (++)
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