[Marxism] Ellis Sharp on "Morgan"

[Louis Proyect]

http://ellissharp.blogspot.com/
Saturday, September 30, 2006
Morgan – A Suitable Case for Treatment

A cult classic from the ‘sixties directed by 
Czech born filmmaker Karel Reisz (The French 
Lieutenant’s Woman), Morgan – A Suitable Case for 
Treatment stars British character acting legend 
David Warner in his first and only lead role.

That’s what it says on the DVD case. I learned 
that it was also Vanessa Redgrave’s first movie.

Cut with scenes from King Kong and Tarzan films, 
Morgan’s depiction of madness, dark humour and 
vintage performances made it the 1960’s wildest, 
funniest and most provocative comedy.

Which is overstating it a bit, I’d say. It’s 
certainly a very strange film and worth watching 
once. I remember seeing it years ago on TV and 
thinking it was terrific. But the second time 
round – a lot less so. The last ten minutes are 
very striking. But I’m not really convinced it 
adds up to all that much. I’m with Graeme Clark 
when he says that “For a while, this was one of 
the most popular cult films of the sixties, but 
its sparkle has faded these days.”

Morgan is supposed to be a painter who has 
cracked up and no longer paints. But having 
introduced that theme the movie then abandons it. 
The central focus is on his attempts to win back 
his ex-wife in the immediate aftermath of their 
divorce and prevent her from marrying an art 
dealer smoothie (who is played by Robert 
Stephens). This is handled as a knockabout 
comedy. Morgan identifies with a gorilla and 
dresses up in a gorilla outfit. I didn’t find 
this sidesplittingly funny. It’s hard to care 
about any of the characters. The Redgrave 
character is drippy and indecisive and spends 
most of the movie smiling sweetly. The Stephens 
character is a blank – nothing more than an 
upper-class chap. Morgan’s descent into madness 
is handled whimsically, as a lighthearted joke. 
Hallucinations in the form of stock African 
wildlife footage soon start to grate.

As a satire the movie seems unfocused. The class 
divide is a central theme but the movie also 
handles this in a soft, whimsical way. Morgan’s 
mum is an old-style working class Communist, 
forever reminding Morgan of his late father’s 
struggle on behalf of the workers. In one scene 
they visit Karl Marx’s grave. At the end of the 
movie Morgan imagines himself being executed in a 
surreal modern version of Stalinist repression. 
But for a movie released in 1966 and ostensibly 
about class and politics it didn’t seem to be 
making any significant points about the seismic 
shifts in British society, either socially, 
culturally or politically. It’s just a long 
sequence of comedy sketches. It has the rigour 
and strength of marshmallow. It lacks the rage and spleen of genuine satire.