User reviews

The Fan begins as if it is going to be a study of an obsessed fan in contrast to the human fallibility of a celebrity, but it ends up being a routine thriller. The film gives the fan in question some background information to display his isolation and the value he gives the Lauren Becall character. Lauren Becall is also shown as having difficulty with middle age and divorce. The two character's stories are given equal time as the movie develops, but once the fan starts acting out violently, the standard thriller clichés kick in.

I get frustrated in movies where the conflict can be resolved if the characters would just act sensibly, but to string the movie along they have to be stupid. The epitome of that in this movie is in the fact that Lauren Becall's secretary - who knows that the fan is disturbed by the content of his letters - never thinks to write down the man's name in the event his obsession becomes a criminal matter.

There are some good things in the movie. Maureen Stapleton, in particular, gives an interesting performance and there is some interesting camera work in the theater rehearsals. In addition, Lauren Becall displays the qualities that have made her a Hollywood icon (even though based upon what is seen, it is doubtful that anyone would want to see this musical she is in). But the movie is brought down by a script that abandoned the character study aspects in favor of focusing on the cheap thriller qualities.

Hollywood legends in their twilight-years are what lifts this rather sub-standard, but callous thriller out the ho-hum mould. Refined performances by Lauren Bacall (which could be seen as a star vehicle for her), James Garner and Maureen Stapleton go along way and the chemistry they share is a pleasure to behold. That's not taking away from the rest of the cast, because everyone does an outstanding job… more so than the actual gaudy material deserves. A perfectly pitched Michael Biehn convincingly portrays a young lad who's a persistent admirer of an illustrious movie actress Sally Ross (Bacall). He constantly writes to her with each letter getting even more personal and disturbing, in which her long-serving secretary (Stapleton) at first hides from her. Soon enough it's gotten to the point that this fan would do anything to make his fantasy come true. Also showing up is commendable support by Hector Elizondo and Anna Maria Horsford. Watch out for the recognizable faces of Griffin Dunne and Dana Delany in minor parts. The problem mainly lies in its attempts for suspense and drama building, as it's too predictable and dry to be exhaustively effective. The shocks are nasty, but again lacking creditability and the lasting punch due to what characters are attacked or put under threat. The plot progression isn't as riveting. However Biehn's transformation from simple idol obsession to a possessively troubled mind is unnervingly intimate, especially when the narration has him reading out his letters before posting it. Ed Bianchi's black and white direction is technically sound, if mundanely slow-grinding which is bumped up by Pino Donaggio's vividly spiralling instrumental music score and grounded location work. Accessible, but unmemorable thriller.

Lauren Bacall, playing a star very much like Lauren Bacall, has one hugely obsessed fan out there in Michael Biehn. He'll do just about anything to gratify his obsession to be near here and that includes killing just about everyone else he views as a threat.

Even with the presence of a couple of really huge movie legends like Lauren Bacall and James Garner playing her ex-husband and better friend, the film is about The Fan. Michael Biehn is a truly terrifying human being and all the more so because at first glance he looks so incredibly normal and even hunky. Not someone you think would be obsessing over a middle-aged movie queen.

Bacall is really playing herself her. Her Sally Ross just like Lauren in that decade had transplanted herself from Hollywood to Broadway and was scoring great success. The scenes showing the rehearsal for her Broadway show is something I can easily imagine her doing when she was preparing for her role in Company. Bacall is a most famous tenant of that famous building the Dakota on Central Park West and with the angles of the shot we can't tell if it was in fact the Dakota, but it was on the park as there are shots of Biehn watching it from across the street.

The whole film was done on location in New York and one brief scene in the gay bar where Biehn picks up a victim to kill in order to make the police and Bacall believe he committed suicide was the legendary and notorious Haymarket. Back in the days before the AIDS plague hit, it was a legendary spot world wide for rent boys. It closed in the early Eighties as did many such establishments. I'd be curious to know how they got permission to shoot there. Still folks from the New York gay scene will recognize it.

Maureen Stapleton does a nice job as Bacall's secretary who answers her fan letters and who becomes Biehn's first victim as in his twisted mind she's keeping him from his obsession.

When all's said and done The Fan is a slasher flick, but it's a slasher flick with style.

The opening credit indicates that this is a Robert Stigwood production. So from then on, you have been warned. What is a guy known for The Bee Gees and the Grease movies doing getting involved in a slasher film? Well, it isn't all bad. The casting is very good on all fronts. Lauren Bacall stars as an aging actress trying her hand at Broadway late in her career. Michael Biehn, an upcoming talent who would make his mark mostly in James Cameron action movies, plays Douglas Breen who is an odd young man stalking her. James Garner offers fine support as Bacall's supportive ex husband. Maureen Stapleton is on hand as the put-upon secretary who first tries to warn her boss about this weirdo sending her letters. She is the first victim as Biehn begins to lash out violently after his advances are ignored. Several others also face his wrath before the finale.

The fine cast, good cinematography, and Pino Donaggio score do a decent job of window dressing this routine plot. They are just enough to make this watchable. The script cannot support the premise as the plot moves along, however. First of all, once the secretary is brutally slashed in a subway attack, Biehn stops using his last name and address on the letters he writes Bacall. And conveniently all his others with that in formation have been thrown out. Sure. There is a particularly brutal attack on Bacall's young new boyfriend in a YMCA swimming pool where he is basically gutted by Biehn in plain sight of several witnesses. No way he would have gotten out of there without being caught. No way. Several other scenes ring false as Biehn clearly stands out in the crowd while stalking Bacall. And just how exactly did he get into her secured building to kill the maid and trash the place??? Never explained. They didn't even try.

But still, it keeps you watching. The performances are better than the material deserves. Bacall plays her character honestly, and you can see the talent she still has in many phases. She was aging here, but gracefully and honestly. It didn't look like she'd had much surgery back then, and Botox may have not even been invented. If nothing else is on, you will probably find yourself watching this all the way through. 6 of 10 stars.

The Hound.

Douglas Breen (Michael Biehn) is a deranged young man who innundiates Sally Ross (Lauren Bacall) with fan letters.

The letters get increasingly creepy and Sally's secretary Belle (Maureen Stapleton) shields them from her which makes Douglas angrier.

The disturbed Douglas attacks Belle. Later he stalks Sally as she rehearses for a new musical and she get close to her ex husband Jake (James Garner.)

The Fan should had been an exploration of weirdly obsessed celebrity stalkers and the impact it has on the stars. It actually starts out as darkly humorous as Douglas provides the narration via the letters he types.

It becomes a tawdry slasher thriller and is so oddly paced. Apparently the producers decided to make it into a slasher film after the success of movies such as Dressed to Kill.

It ends up as hokey when you add the camp musical scenes. Then there is a bizarre scene where Douglas hooks up with a man in a gay club. He then sets him as the stalker by killing him and burning his body. It gives it a homophobic vibe.

Biehn is effectively freaky as Douglas Breen. Bacall and Garner look miscast and some of the scenes between them seem to belong to another movie altogether.

Another psychopathic fan movie and another considerable waste of the talents of the great Maureen Stapleton. Here she's secretary to a 'big star' and she's terrific for the short time she appears in the movie. The star being psychopathiically stalked is Lauren Bacall, who's actually quite good playing in full, imperious diva mode. The stalker is Michael Biehn, (excellent), and while the movie is trashy and often tasteless, (it's peculiarly homophobic), it's also surprisingly enjoyable in a bad movie kind of way. Unfortunately it's an ugly looking picture and the editing is somewhat perfunctory so points knocked off there. Otherwise, more than passable midnight movie fare.

I'm surprised that so many people think this film is so bad. Everyone in it is first-rate in the acting department, and the overall story is both fun and fascinating. It completely grabs your attention, from the opening credits, while Michael Biehn (who is excellent in his stalker role) is typing a letter to Lauren Bacall, underscored by Pino Donaggio's effective music. Bacall and Stapleton have tremendous chemistry, and their characters are utterly believable. So too, are the musical numbers which Bacall performs, during the film. Singer or not, Bacall was quite successful in musicals on Broadway, and the songs in the film, are the type she would have performed. Dialog appears unscripted and completely natural, particularly between Bacall and Stapleton. James Garner and Hector Elizondo, are solid in their supporting roles. This film is a favorite of mine. Recommended.

Lauren Bacall isn't the first person you'd expect to appear in a dressed up slasher film, but here she is - running away from a psychotic fan in between rehearsing some of the strangest musical numbers you've ever heard and seen in your life.

Bacall plays a Broadway actress who's attracted the attention of an obsessive fan played by Michael Biehn. He writes her letters all the time and has just recently taken to killing off her friends and confidants as the opening of her new musical looms in the horizon.

The Fan isn't incredibly explicit, but there's enough slashing and gore to make you wonder if Bacall actually read the script before signing on or not. The attacks by mostly razor aren't as graphic as something out of a Friday the 13th film, but there not exactly less is more either. All the attacks are shockingly mean spirited and Biehn really dials up the crazy in his performance.

Setting off some of the unpleasantness are the musical numbers from the show within a show and, in traditional Hollywood fashion (see also: Staying Alive), the musical itself seems to make absolutely no sense. I still can't figure out what this show is supposed to be about. Is it a musical about a menopausal woman's A jaunty musical revue? Who knows?

The Fan is a sometimes uncomfortable mesh of slashing and psychodrama, but it's never dull and that has to count for something.

Unbearably campy and unshamingly cashing on the success of "Woman of the year" on Broadway, this idiocy should embarrass everyone involved with it.

And then...there's Lauren Bacall, painfully singing yet breathtakingly alluring, James Garner, who's impossible not to like, and pre-Terminator Michael Biehn understandably obsessed with Bacall's glamorous aura. It's delicious junk food: absolutely trashy, disposable and a mouth watering pleasure.

Interestingly, Maureen Stapleton played a ridiculous and self pitying character in this movie the same year she earned her Oscar for her larger than life portrayal of Emma Goldman in "Reds".

Douglas Breen (Michael Biehn) is a disturbed young man who incessantly writes fan letters to actress Sally Ross (Lauren Bacall). As Douglas's obsession over Sally becomes more and more extreme with threats of escalation, Sally takes on the lead role in a musical as she deals with insecurities about her age as well as the added stress of her stalker and his effects on her life.

The Fan is a 1981 adaptation of Bob Randall's 1977 novel of the same name which was acquired producer Robert Stigwood who centered the film as a vehicle for Lauren Bacall after other actresses were considered. The movie went through a number of different re-writes, a director switch with Waris Hussein dropping out and being replaced with Edward Bianchi, the initial studio Filmways going bankrupt leading to pickup by Paramount, and even a reshot ending and an uncomfortable parallel to the real life murder of John Lennon. Upon release, the film received negative reviews and was often lumped in with the slasher films of the early 80s "slasher glut" (despite the film being more of a thriller) and the film only made about $3 million against a $10 million budget. Bacall herself was not a fan of the film saying the producers upped the level of violence from when she first signed on, but did state some of her best work was done as Sally Ross. In the end, The Fan is very C-level material giving A-level treatment.

To start off on the positive, Lauren Bacall is right to compliment her work in the film because it is a really solid performance from her. Bacall's Sally Ross is a multi-layered character who's in a stage of uncertainty in her career while also dealing with the baggage of having an ex-husband (wonderfully played by James Garner) who is now marrying a younger woman and the backstage drama involving Sally undertaking a new venture into musical theater leads to some impressive sequences which are pretty indicative this is a Stigwood production because of their strong production design and catchy soundtrack. The movie is very stylishly shot with lots of impressive camera work on display and set design that's undeniably eye catching. What doesn't work as well is the actual thriller plot which honestly just feels kind of standard and workman like.

While Michael Biehn is a good actor and does the best he can with the material, I personally feel it was a mistake to show the film from both Sally and Douglas' point of view and feel that through most of the movie Douglas' presence should've been solely through his letters (maybe read in voice over) and his actions committed off camera. The time where Biehn's performance is most intense is during the opening credits where the camera pans over his desk and typewriter as he writes a letter to Sally and because we don't see him it makes the scene more intense. There's nothing wrong with Biehn's performance per se, but there's just not all that much in terms of commentary or intensity. For comparison Martin Scorcese would do the movie The King of Comedy two years later that focused on this story from the POV of Rupert Pupkin and if you compare it to the 1968 film Targets which had a similar but more detached plot, the movie was allowed to be more intense because it didn't dive into the killer.

The Fan I feel is worth seeing for Bacall's performance alone and it is stylish movie even if the material isn't at the level of the style. With how underwhelming the thriller side of this story is, you almost wish they'd just done away with the stalker fan aspect of the story and solely made it a drama about Sally Ross at a certain point in her career. It's perfectly serviceable for what it is, but it's also got clear signs of interference to make something less bold and more exploitative (including a very apparent reshot ending).

Psychotic loser (Michael Biehn) is obsessed with aging stage actress (Lauren Bacall). His obsession turns deadly when he feels rejected by her. Admittedly this isn't a great movie and most of its value comes from unintended comedy. But that's something at least. This was Lauren Bacall's last starring role in a major film. She looks good for her age. She is often cited as one of the movie's flaws, with her critics saying her acting style is outdated and not in sync with her co-stars. While I can see where they're getting that, I think it's an overstated criticism. She's not Norma Desmond, for crying out loud.

The movie is essentially just a minor slasher flick with pretensions of being a more respectable thriller. Michael Biehn's stalker character is less scary than comedic. One can't help but laugh at some of the cringeworthy lines Biehn is given in this film ("We will be lovers very soon, my darling. And believe me, I have all the necessary equipment to make you very very happy."). And those musical numbers! Oh brother what were they thinking? It's pretty ridiculous trash but enjoyable on some level. Notable for perhaps being the only movie in which Lauren Bacall makes a booty call (to James Garner, no less).

I am definitely not a fan of 1981's The Fan. The movie has a nice premise and some interesting characterization. The film received lots of media attention because it came out only mere weeks after John Lennon was shot to death by a crazed former fan. Talk about wrong timing! The movie started out well as the movie explores the actions and the ideas of fandom and how intense it can be, as well as a middle-aged actress stuck in her own thoughts about divorce and middle-age. But halfway through, the film becomes your standard, cliched thriller that relies upon unnecessary violence. The producers were impressed with the Friday the 13th box office, so they unwisely changed the ending to make the film appeal to those who went to see that movie. Well.....they failed as this movie ended up being one of the biggest box office bombs of the year.

According to reports, the movie set was not a fun one. Everyone apparently disliked each other and no one was happy with the end result. Considering the central theme that seemed like a good idea at the time (and still prevalent today in the world of toxic fandom), it's certainly disappointing. The main star of the film-Lauren Bacall refused to promote and acknowledge the film because she was shocked at the level of gore and violence added to the film. Michael Biehn, who played the stalker Douglas, did not act for another two years because this film drained so much out of him. The director, Ed Bianchi was essentially shunted into directing television episodes-which may have been good because he directed great episodes of many TV series.

Douglas Breen (Michael Biehn) is a lonesome record store employee. He considers himself a true fan of middle-aged actress Sally Ross (Lauren Bacall). He sends her letters of love that are downright creepy. But they are intercepted by Sally's publicist, Belle Goldman (Maureen Stapleton) and she sends formal letters in return. That angers Douglas and his love turns into hate. Douglas now has to act on his hatred with one target in mind.

The performances are may have what saved this film from a complete trainwreck. Lauren Bacall was fantastic (except for the ending) and she really explores the idea of what it's like to be an aging actress in the film industry. Michael Biehn does give us a sense of worst-case scenario of what a toxic fan could be like. He does allude an atmosphere of menace. Maureen Stapleton may have given the best performance of the film. She does well as the no-nonsense publicist. I liked James Garner, but I thought he was wasted here.

Overall, The Fan was a big disappointment for me. It had an interesting premise, but the film was not executed properly. The producers had the wrong idea of turning this movie into an overly-violent slasher film in the second half. The film is really not memorable which is a shame given the cast. The cast tried what was given to them, but in the end all we get is a disappointing movie. I knew this film would be a disappointment when I first saw the film's poster. A terrible ripoff of The Godfather movies. Sigh....

My Grade: C-

When I first saw *The Fan* in 1981, I thought it was a stylish, gripping thriller. Upon viewing it almost 25 years later, I remain correct – in 1981 it *was* a stylish, gripping thriller, but not any more. It contains several of those "Who would pay money to see that?" performances-within-performances that we have written about before. This time, the perpetrator is Lauren Bacall, playing a Broadway actress (naturally) who talks/sings her way through a few self-important numbers about what it's like to be a famous star. The numbers are simply awful and for people who already have a bad attitude about Broadway, this is the kind of routine that gives them plenty of ammunition for hating it. The best things about Bacall's performance are her Halston clothes. Riding high from his days as the conquering hero of the Seventies, Halston was going through major personal and business problems at this time, but the clothes produced at that time are nothing short of magnificent American classics. In addition to the traditional Halston looks of cashmere twinsets paired with straight-legged slacks with gorgeous trenchcoats draped over the shoulders, Bacall wears a few of Halston's most spectacular creations. Though much of the most interesting details are lost on the screen, Bacall wears Halston's "spiral-cut" caftans created from a single piece of fabric with a single seam that winds around the body. The way they drape and mold to the body is a testament to Halston's incredible creative abilities. The clothes, as beautiful relics of that era, are the best thing about this movie.

Someday, somebody will make a good movie examining the grim nature of parasocial relationships. Movies about stalking and obsession usually involve people who know each other, but it's even creepier when a fan will do anything to establish contact with a celebrity they become obsessed with. Such is 'The Fan," which isn't a serious examination of anything, nor is it as violent as some reviewers contend. I suspect, however, that it would have been if it hadn't undergone multiple rewrites and had a more generous budget.

One scene in particular-- shot underwater when the stalker slashes a man in a swimming pool-- was a terrific idea for a horror image, but it was minimally executed. In contrast, another brief scene, really a single shot-- aerial, of parallel rows of park benches in the snow, with some benches askew and the stalker sitting alone on one-- showed creative care that strongly suggests how much better the movie might have been with more time and money.

Ed Bianchi rose from directing TV commercials to shows including "Deadwood" and "Boardwalk Empire," so he's a pro and he keeps the action clipping along here, with plenty of creative help from British cinematographer Dick Bush, frequent collaborator with Ken Russell and Blake Edwards, and a really fine cast. Lauren Bacall does some of her best work as the celebrity, supported by James Garner as her loyal ex, Maureen Stapleton as her feisty secretary, Hector Elizondo as a no-nonsense detective, Dwight Schultz as a theater director (a minor role but Schultz's gifts are usually squandered), and young Michael Biehn, very effective as the handsome young psychopath.

What doesn't help at all is the tediously generic music, a disappointment from seasoned horror-film composer Pino Donaggio, who scored "Don't Look Now" and half a dozen films for Brian De Palma, including "Blow Out" the same year, during which he also scored "The Howling" for Joe Dante, and "The Black Cat," an Italian horror film. Maybe he ran dry.

THE FAN is based on a book of the same name and had the producers left the story intact without changing so many things (including the ending), they might have had a more profitable thriller on their hands.

Horror fans in 1981 were expecting much more gore from their slasher flicks than THE FAN was willing to exploit, being that the story is about an obsessed fan with only one thing on his mind when he is rejected. His vengeance is a blood-thirsty one, but the script is too slow and talky for its own good, pretending to have psychological overtones when it really just wants to get the nasty business over with.

LAUREN BACALL plays a variation of herself as an aging drama queen, a Broadway actress with modest musical talent, who is burdened with a stream of fan letters from an unbalanced admirer. MAUREEN STAPLETON is the secretary who has to bear the brunt of Bacall's rudeness and JAMES GARNER is her amiable ex-husband who has little to do when most of the film's focus is on the fan, played by MICHAEL BIEHN.

Summing up: Best described by Leonard Maltin as "an exploitation cheapie in dress clothes", it's not as good as the cast would suggest.

Some thrillers, even though less than perfect, are worth seeing at least once. This adaptation of the Randal novel, made up of written correspondence between characters, is not perfect but it's worth a watch. The makers faced a difficult situation when it came to the film's ending, as it was wrapping up production when NYC resident (and Lauren Bacall's neighbor) John Lennon was slain by a psychotic fan. I give them credit for what they did, even if it didn't best serve the movie. They deserved a better script, but the talented leads are very natural together. They make it believable and it's not overtly, senselessly gory in the Michael Myers/Jason/Freddy tradition. The young Michael Biehn makes a convincing and pathetic psycho. To the naysayers who like to take potshots at Lauren Bacall's casting, remember that for decades, Broadway has featured many big acting names-not known for their singing talents-in successful shows. Ms Bacall, for example. I saw her in 'Woman of the Year' and she earned her Tony. So in the film, Sally Ross' foray into her first musical really isn't that hard to buy. (Oh, and the snobs out there can stop the sniping about 'Hearts, Not Diamonds' too. It's a sweet, intimate little number.) The Fan' isn't at the top of the thriller heap, but there are enough pluses to make it worth a watch.

The fan 1981 feels absolutely cheap besides the successful actors/actresses who play in this movie. Although this movie plays out and ends up being pretty good overall and I actually enjoyed the film, the pacing is pretty good, it gradually gets more interesting as the movie goes on. If you get past the sleazy ness of the film, I think it's rather enjoyable.

THE FAN (1981) is a surprisingly graphic psycho-thriller made in the wake of DRESSED TO KILL and inspired by that movie; they've even brought Pino Donaggio in to do the score. This one's rarely screened these days, but it does have its moments. Michael Biehn, in his big screen debut, plays an obsessed fan of Broadway star Lauren Bacall, and as it turns out he'll do anything in his power to get close to her.

This isn't a perfect film. It's quite slow in places, a little too laboured at times, and the director's scene transitions leave something to be desired; they're almost amateurish. But Biehn's excellent; years before his best-known Cameron roles he burns up the screen with a truly scary performance in this one. The razor scenes are also very nasty and have a real touch of the giallo to them.

Sally Ross is a talented, hugely popular actress set to do her first musical, but her world is torn apart when a stalker turns a nightmare into reality.

I enjoyed this, I'm all for a thriller, and all for a slasher film, The Fan is a good combination of the two. It's not great, but it's not bad, some of the reviews are very unfair. What I would say is that the presence of Lauren Bacall transforms it from an average film to a pretty good one.

I remember reading somewhere that this film was originally intended for Elizabeth Taylor, and it's the kind of film I could picture her in, and not enjoying it, this makes you realise how good Bacall was. Seeing Bacall rehearsing with the dancers, shows how versatile and talented she was.

The swimming Pool scene was one of the best parts, that really was a chilling sequence. The final encounter is suitably dramatic and camp.

I liked the music very much, it's atmospheric, and adds to the atmosphere of the film. Pacing is a little bit of an issue in parts, and some of the acting is a little ropy, but overall this near video nasty is worth your time.

Better than some of the reviews would lead you to believe. 7/10.