The above still photos come from the movie Phaedra produced and directed by Jules Dassin in 1962. Although the film has nothing to do with the classic tragedy of Euripides, its storyline resembles the Greek myth of Phaedra, and it basically retells the said tragedy in the modern-day setting.

In modern Greece, Phaedra lives as a wife of a wealthy shipping magnate. The counterpart of Hippolytus is named Alexis—played by Anthony Perkins—who, unlike the ancient prince, begins an affair with his stepmother played by Melina Mercouri, who appears more beautiful than ever.

Anthony Perkins shows a great performance as the fragile stepson who gets trapped in the lure of his father’s wife. When it was released for the first time, the film received a rather harsh and hostile criticisms because of the “incestuous” relationship and some sensual scenes. However, it remains a nostalgic and excellent movie, and I believe, it deserves remaking on the VHS or DVD. In fact, the film became one of the most erotic—though not explicit—and tragic films of the 60s with a memorable musical score.

I first saw Phaedra during the late 60s in Japan. I find it hard to understand why the film seems to have disappeared so completely. Some say, only bootleg copies are available. Does the critical response at the time of its first release still bother the executives of the reproduction firms?

Or is the Alexander Onassis Foundation buying all the available copies? As you probably realize, there exist obvious similarities between the cast and the real Greek personage. If you see the movie, you can easily identify the shipping tycoon with Aristole Onassis, the young wife with Maria Callas, and her stepson with Alexander Onassis.

In some cases, the resemblance seems too much for the Onassis family to overlook because, as in the film, the son lost his life not in the car accident but in the airplane clash in 1973, as if the film implied this tragedy as well.

In any case, the film left a lasting impression with me. Raf Vallone played superbly as the powerful shipping tycoon. Melina Mercouri and Anthony Perkins acted brilliantly as a couple entrapped in forbidden love. From beginning to end it captured my emotions in a whirlwind story, and the dark ending charged me up with the misterious nature of love and destiny. The ancient tragedy indeed got transplanted in the modern-day setting and almost turned into a thrilling tale in its quick, tight action.

In retrospect, just as the film Forrest Gump turned out a finer story than the somewhat unpleasant original novel, Jules Dassin’s Phaedra seemed to outperform Jean Racine’s 1677 play, which was in turn based on Euripides’ Hippolytus.

It makes perfect sense to set a Greek classic in the family of a Greek billionaire shipping tycoon—the world’s new type of royalty—and to involve an expensive and elegant automobile (Aston Martin DB4GT, I believe) as a power symbol. The whole setting reminds me of the powerful ancient royal family of Theseus and their tragedies.

Jules Dassin must have incorporated his own artistic—as well as political—messages into this tragic film, which was made during the height of the cold war. Mind you, President John F. Kennedy was assassinated in the following year. In a sense, Jules Dassin was a victim himself of this cold war.

Born Julius Dassin in 1911, in Middletown, Connecticut, as one of eight children of a Russian Jewish immigrant barber, he moved with his family to the Harlem district of New York City and attended high school in the Bronx. After studying drama in Europe, he made his debut as an actor in 1936 with New York’s Yiddish Theater. He later wrote radio scripts and in 1940 went to Hollywood, where, after a brief induction as an apprentice director at RKO, he began directing shorts for MGM. Soon he became feature director. Although his films boasted big stars like Joan Crawford, John Wayne, and Charles Laughton, his MGM pictures turned out inconsequential, mildly entertaining suspense and comedy fare.

In the late 40s, however, Dassin seemed to have found his stride with three dynamic on-location slice-of-life dramas (Brute Force, The Naked City, and Thieves’ Highway) that earned him renown in Europe as the first American “neo-realist”. But just as he gained recognition as a director with something to say and an interesting way of saying it, he was forced into exile in Europe as a result of the infamous HUAC (House Un-American Activities Committee) hearings, in which he was identified as a Communist by Edgar Dmytryk.

In the turbulent 60s, many conspiratory events took place and Aristole Onassis might have taken part in some of those incidents as Bruce Roberts descrcibed his involvements in the Gemstone File, although many dismiss this file as a big bunch of crap—the most notorious rant in conspiracy history. However, there is no smoke without fire.

After all, there are few films that you remember like the nostalgia of a lost love, and Phaedra is one of such movies.

By the way, if you haven’t visited the ancient Phaedra, please do so by clicking the above link.

Wanna buy “Phaedra” movie? Click the box at left, and then enter Phaedra in the search box. It will take you to the auction site.