Patterns (1956) User Reviews (91)

stunning

[rupie · 8/10 · 18 September 2002]

I happened to stumble on this on TCM while channel surfing (I had seen the blurb in their program guide and had given it short shrift) and, although ten minutes or so into the movie I was immediately gripped by the acting. I stayed for the whole thing and was amazed at the quality of this practically forgotten movie with script by Rod Serling and superb performances by Van Heflin, Everett Sloane, Ed Begley and Beatrice Straight. Anyone who has been in the business world in even an incidental way will be taken by the way in which Serling has so effectively captured the machinations and power ploys in the corporate world. A bald description of the plot - ceo grooms upcoming exec to replace a company veteran - gives no idea of how exciting the realization is on screen (which is why I skipped past the program guide listing); it is simply gripping. Director Fielder Cook's work subsequent to this has been primarily in television.

If you're fortunate to find this rarity scheduled, by all means don't miss it.

I reserve the right to break your jaw.

[hitchcockthelegend · 9/10 · 9 February 2009]

Patterns centres around the fierce and dog eat dog world of an executive conglomerate company. Written by Rod Serling (he of The Twilight Zone fame) and based on his own play, it's a stunning picture that relies (and succeeds) on spiky dialogue and a trio of superlative acting performances. Not containing any music at all and filmed primarily within the confines of an interior setting, Serling and his on form director, Fielder Cook, have crafted probably the essential picture dealing with the harsh and at times brutal realities of big business ladder climbing.

Everett Sloane, Ed Begley and Van Heflin really provide the viewers with an acting tour de force. Sloane as the big boss Walter Ramsey, creates a strutting despotic character that is as memorable as it is harsh, here's a man who will not "pattern" a sacking of an employee, he would rather break him into resignation!, a totally vile and cruel "pattern" tactic. Begley (superbly playing weary emotion) plays the genial and honest William Briggs, who upon welcoming Van Heflin's Fred Staples to the company, realises it's likely to be at his own cost. This giving the film a deep emotional "pattern" as Staples (Heflin to me, donning a career high) gets conflicted about his role in this company, this leads us to a truly excellent finale as Heflin and Sloane go at each other with a gripping intensity that many modern actors could do no worse than to take note of, it really is something to behold.

A fabulous movie that comes highly recommended to anyone who appreciates dialogue driven films with intelligence pouring from every frame. 9/10

Corporate Power Play

[bkoganbing · 8/10 · 11 January 2011]

Patterns finds Van Heflin, newly arrived from Mansfield, Ohio where Everett Sloane's corporation has just bought out the factory where he was the plant manager. Sloane was impressed enough with Heflin to take him along to New York and make him a member of his company's board of directors. Vice President Ed Begley was impressed with Heflin's abilities as well and befriends him.

What Heflin doesn't realize is that he's the object of a corporate power play. Sloane is hard driving, ruthless executive usually in the kind of role Ed Begley plays. For once Ed Begley is a nice guy in a film. He's a decent soul unlike Sloane, but he's past his best years. Sloane doesn't want to fire him, just demean him enough so he'll quit. Begley's loyalties to the company stem from when Sloane's father ran the business and he can't see life beyond it.

All this comes out at the first board meeting that Heflin attends and later at a party that he and wife Beatrice Straight throw for the board members. Heflin is a confused man, caught between liking and admiring Begley and sadly knowing his future lies with Sloane.

A number of films were made in these years about corporate connivings at the top. Patterns can hold its own with any of them and that list would include Executive Suite, The Power And The Prize, Cash McCall, and B.F.'s Daughter in which Van Heflin co-starred with Barbara Stanwyck.

Patterns was originally a television drama and one of the best early scripts done by Rod Serling. Begley and Sloane repeated their roles, movie name Heflin was substituted for Richard Kiley. The filming still betrays its photographed teleplay origins, but the players more than compensate for the deficiencies there.

For a good look at how we saw corporate America in the Eisenhower years you can't do much better than Patterns or any of the other films I mentioned.

Rod Serling's landmark teleplay still speaks truth to power today.

[kingdaevid · 10/10 · 25 June 2004]

...Rod Serling is recalled today almost exclusively for his speculative fiction television series "The Twilight Zone" and "Rod Serling's Night Gallery." Perhaps that's understandable, given the out-of-sight-out-of-mind nature of today's audiences, and the fact that the generation Serling first impressed with this lean but powerful work in 1955 on the "Kraft Television Theater" is now well into the process of dying out. Still, the kinetic nature of PATTERNS, either in this theatrical film or in the kinescoped original TV broadcast, is not lost on today's first-time viewers. It helped that two of the three leads in this picture, Everett Sloan and Ed Begley, were carried over from the TV productions (Richard Kiley was replaced in this film by Van Heflin, giving perhaps his single greatest performance). But Serling's screenplay has not lost one bit of its relevance; in fact, I'm surprised nobody's thought of remaking this one...

Ruthless men and the women who support them

[Marta · 16 January 2000]

Well-done story of corporate shark, owner of a vast conglomerate, who tries to break the VP he thinks can no longer do the job. Everett Sloane plays the heartless owner who nurtures his executives with bitter words and daily shouting matches. Ed Begley plays the downtrodden VP; he's more than able to take care of himself, but after years of fighting with Sloane he's exhausted. He's 62 and afraid he won't find another job and refuses to quit; he's worked for the company for 30 years and believes he's got a place there. Van Heflin is the executive brought in to replace Begley, unbeknownst to them both. After Sloane tells him of his plans, Heflin tries to tell the boss that he doesn't want the job. Begley is his friend. But deep down, he finds that he really does want it, just not at that cost. After a particularly brutal meeting where Sloane taunts and belittles Begley, Heflin begs the older man to resign to save his health. Begley staggers out of the meeting and collapses in the classically designed hallway. Heflin's anger is magnificent to behold as he stalks in Sloane's office after the tragedy. He tells the boss what he thinks of him, but Sloane doesn't care. He knows he's a bastard but he has a business to run. Heflin resigns, but Sloane badgers him into staying. Heflin does, but his own gargantuan terms, which include tripling his salary and writing into his contract that he hates Sloane's guts and that he reserves the chance to slug Sloane on the jaw in the future if he so decides, just like Begley always wanted to. He's made his pact with the devil and come out with his pride and ego intact.

This is a man's movie. Serling never wrote from the woman's point of view, and the women in this film are there for their men but not real players. Beatrice Straight is tried and true as Heflin's wife. Elizabeth Wilson is Begley's loyal secretary who is transferred to Heflin, and feels like she should quit if she has to change her loyalties; she is remotely treated as a sort of junior executive, given some male qualities by Serling but not strictly one of his womanly pillars. When she begins to like her new boss, she instructs him in all the ways that Sloane will try to drag him down and helps him through the dark waters of executive suite life.

This is the same corporate America Serling later wrote about in Twilight Zone and Night Gallery; "Walking Distance", "A Stop at Willoughby", and "They're Tearing Down Tim Reilly's Bar" are his famous trilogy focusing on the career of a harassed corporate pawn who is driven to emotional extremes by the greed and bias of the company and it's president. They are supposed to be based on his own experiences with the upper echelon of the networks, which are still legend. A Serling script of any kind is great, and this film, while difficult to watch since there is so much backstabbing, is an excellent example of how true to life he could be, and how he always rooted for the underdog.

The Movie Version of the Sterling Drama about Big Business

[theowinthrop · 10/10 · 18 October 2007]

There are two interesting changes in the film version of PATTERNS and the previous television drama version. First, Richard Kiley (unlike Ed Begley Sr. and Everett Sloane) was replaced in his part by Van Heflin. Secondly Begley's character Andy Sloane was changed in name to Bill Briggs. This may have been because of confusion for the audience in Begley's original name and his co-star's last name (Everett Sloane). But it is a minor change.

The thrust of the film's views on corporate philosophy in America remains as tough and unsentimental here as in the television version. Heflin's Fred Staples is a bit older than Kiley's, which slightly undercuts that figures' weakness (his naivety when he arrives in the world of high corporate politics) but it enables his growing friendship with Begley to seem more realistic - they are from closer age groups, and Begley can tell that Heflin is not trying to be a threat that a younger man might be. Sloane's Ramsay is still the human icicle, who is only interested in the growth and development of his corporation - and not with outdated ideas that Begley keeps pushing. That said, he still shows regret - after Begley dies we see Sloane back in the fatal board room where the tragedy occurred, and he is upset about the deadly result of his actions on Begley. But when confronted by a furious Heflin Sloane is ready to defend his policies and philosophy of the bottom line of business as well as anyone can.

The film is excellent, and if I favor the television play more it is simply that the television play was there first - and hit the right notes as well. I still recommend seeing the film if you can't see the original kine-scope of the television version. You won't be disappointed.

excellent corporate drama

[funkyfry · 7/10 · 16 January 2008]

This is the film version of Rod Serling's teleplay concerning the dangers and temptations of corporate culture in America. It features a top rate cast, with Van Heflin in the lead as Fred Staples, a young plant manager promoted to executive and moved to the city so he can eventually replace the aging William Briggs (Ed Begley Sr.). The puppet-master of the corporation, Walter Ramsey, is played by the great Everett Sloane. Sloane provides a very colorful and believable performance in a role that might have descended into camp in lesser hands. And to top it off Beatrice Straight appears in a role very similar to her Oscar-winning turn in "Network" of a few decades later -- the so-called "thankless wife" who actually has a lot of strength and offers her husband more than just the generic "support" but actually a profound challenge.

Since the word "Patterns" is never mentioned in the film it's worth pondering the choice of the title. I think most obviously it refers to the speech that Begley's character makes in his office when he talks about the ways that Ramsey and his kind try to make a worker uncomfortable, even to the lengths of perhaps driving them insane. He says they begin with small things, so that you think it's just your imagination. Eventually all these small indignities add up to an intolerable situation, but there's still nothing specific that one can point to as far as persecution. There is only the pattern of abuse.

There are other "patterns" as well in the film, most profoundly the theme of transference from father to son, the idea that the son could or should "follow" the father and be as much like him as possible. Briggs complains that Ramsey is not even half the man that his father, who started the company, was. Ramsey for his part sees Briggs as a kind of surrogate for his father and it's not unreasonable to see his torture of the older man as a form of revenge or even dis-association with the father figure. By transferring his identification with the father onto this other man, Ramsey enables himself to consciously define himself as something different and seeks to break the "pattern" of father/son succession that is supposed to sustain the corporate power structure in the traditional hierarchy. And perhaps most disturbingly, by the end of the film Staples seems to be ready to take his place in the hierarchy and attempt to succeed Ramsey himself as the focus of power. Staples becomes a surrogate father to Briggs' son because Briggs is too busy, buying the son traditional masculine items like guns and taking him on sporting trips. This is all part of the process of his taking Briggs' place both in the corporation and perhaps in a broader sense as a responsible or traditional "man of the house" as opposed to a man of the world. But in the end the son is nowhere to be seen and there are only two bitter and competitive men ready to cut each other's throats.

Outstanding film

[rclements3-2 · 10/10 · 14 September 2005]

Patterns is a lesser-known film version of big business intrigue. A much more famous example of this type of film is Executive Suite, but despite that film's big budget and numerous stars, Patterns (with its tight script by Rod Serling and superb acting) blows Executive Suite out of the water.

Van Heflin plays a factory manager brought to New York City from Ohio. Everett Sloane plays the ruthless head of the company, and Ed Begley is the harassed company man who is nearing retirement. Sloane hates Begley's outmoded ways of doing business and grooms Heflin to take over. But Heflin and Begley become friends, and Heflin doesn't want to get ahead at the expense of his friend. The dynamic between these three very different characters forms the gripping premise of the film.

The best scene is when Begley, having stayed late to finish some work, is contemplating doing terrible things to his boss, Sloane. Heflin drops by to speak with him and sees what a distraught state of mind Begley is in and tries to convince him that he should retire. Begley works himself up into such a state that he begins shouting, but right about then, his son comes by looking for his dad because he promised to take him to a ballgame. Begley doesn't want his son to see him in that state of mind and implores Heflin to tell him he's gone home. From this point the film works toward its powerful climax.

Heflin is superb, as are Sloane and Begley. All were very well respected character actors and so it is not correct to say the cast is filled with unknowns. The remainder of the cast is also good but has less to do.

Patterns deserves to be better known than it is. Don't miss it.

Forgotten Serling

[kirbylee70-599-526179 · 7/10 · 21 October 2016]

For most of us the name Rod Serling brings images to mind of him hosting either THE TWILIGHT ZONE or NIGHT GALLERY. He stepped forward at the beginning of each series to introduce us to various tales of mystery and macabre each week. And while those two series will forever be connected to his name Serling also wrote much more that many of us either forgot or weren't even aware of.

Serling wrote for numerous anthology drama series. He wrote the screenplay for SEVEN DAYS IN MAY, ASSAULT ON A QUEEN and THE PLANET OF THE APES. Surprised yet? He made a name for himself on many of those early dramatic TV series and from those gained enough support to do the shows he was famous for. But what about those early shows or films? PATTERNS was one such story written by Serling. Done in 1955 for Kraft Television Theater the screenplay (which won him an Emmy) was then adapted for film to play in theaters. It now arrives on blu-ray from The Film Detective, a company determined to offer classic fare on blu-ray given the star treatment for reasonable prices.

The story itself is about Fred Staples (Van Heflin), a businessman from Ohio who has been tapped to work in the home office of New York City by the head of his company Mr. Ramsey (Everett Sloane). Moving into a fully furnished house with his wife Nancy (Beatrice Straight) and then arriving at the headquarters to find a plush office awaiting him it is easy to see Fred being swept up in all that is going on.

But there is something going on behind the scenes as well. Fred's direct supervisor is Bill Briggs (Ed Begley), the last remaining board member there since the company was founded by Ramsey's father. In ill health Briggs has just recently returned and anxious to get back to work. He finds a friend in Fred and as his mentor the two work to promote some changes in the company. What neither counted on was the fact that Ramsey brought Fred in not to aid Bill but to replace him.

Bill and Ramsey rarely see eye to eye. Briggs is also a lone voice when it comes to arguing things being considered by Ramsey. It seems the son is not the man his father was, more intent on creating a conglomerate by buying smaller companies than by actually owning companies that build and provide for workers. No this is not an propaganda piece when it comes to that part of the story but does show that companies need to rely on their employees as much as the business end of things.

As the weeks go by things begin to become more apparent to Fred and he's uncomfortable with that fact. He likes Bill and considers him a friend. He starts to see what Ramsey is really like. And an eventual showdown between Fred and Ramsey is inevitable. How that comes to take place, the sad state of affairs that leads to it, helps to build the story to a crescendo.

All that being said the movie does offer a solid drama but at the same time moves like what it was, a teleplay that was turned into a feature film. The pacing is slow and the characters are placed on display with little chance to develop them, instead letting us get used to who they are by their actions and deeds and less by the subtle nuances that most films allow. This is not to say it's a bad movie but know this going in and it will be more enjoyable.

If you love classic television, even though this is a feature film, you'll enjoy this one. If you're a fan of Rod Serling you'll want to make sure this is a part of your collection. As with previous releases from The Film Detective they provide a quality transfer of the film that I'm sure has never been seen this well prior. For that alone, and for the sake of history, it's good to see PATTERNS arrive this way.

Superb little gem, almost unknown

[smokehill retrievers · 10/10 · 17 September 2002]

One of Rod Serling's finest efforts, turned into one of the finest commentaries on the corporate rat-race ever put on film. Watching old pro actors like Everett Sloane and Van Heflin remind us of how weak and limited most of our big-salary "actors" truly are today. Comparing the REAL Ed Begley with the scrawny, whining little namesake that sprung somehow from his loins is indeed the definitive statement on how low the acting "profession" has sunk.

This is a gripping, vicious film that claws at the corporate beast and the greed that grips us all. We may not like it, but it's in all of us, and this forces us to see both the good and the bad sides of it -- though the bad side is emphasized more strongly, of course.

You will see few films better than this and will probably wonder why you never heard of it before. Along with the better-known "Requiem for a Heavyweight," this is one film that shows the raw power that Serling could deliver when left on his own.

Superb, superb, superb.

The mental and emotional toll big-city business takes on its workers; still relevant, though overacted...

[moonspinner55 · 6/10 · 9 March 2008]

Rod Serling adapted his own 1955 teleplay about inter-office politics in the industrial game, with Ed Begley and Everett Sloane reprising their television roles. Van Heflin plays the cheerful, hard-working executive from Ohio who gets a great new position in a plushy New York City skyscraper, only to learn quite quickly he is being groomed to take over for the Vice-President of Operations, a kind, well-liked man with a bad ticker who is constantly brow-beaten by his hot-shot, hot-headed boss. Heflin does some amazing work here, showing strength (and strength of reserve) in the different shadings of this new employee who just wants to do a fine job and not step on anyone's ego. As the boss who despises false modesty and gratitude, Sloane is perhaps too quick with his criticisms; circling poor Ed Begley like a shark at feeding time, Sloane devours without hesitation--and without nuance. This guy is the Boss From Hell, surely, but Sloane is encouraged to go overboard with his meeting-room tirades, which strike such a melodramatic chord that one is removed from the human tragedy at hand. It becomes a show-off exercise for both writer and cast. One feels that maybe the wrong person is dispatched near the climax, with the upbeat final tag leaving a sour taste for the film. **1/2 from ****

excellent acting

[blanche-2 · 8/10 · 14 December 2008]

Van Heflin, Everett Sloane, Ed Begley, Beatrice Straight, and Elizabeth Wilson star in "Patterns," a 1956 film written by Rod Serling and directed by Fielder Cook. The drama had previously been written for television and starred Richard Kiley in the Heflin role.

Heflin plays a young man named Fred Staples, a small-town manager who is brought into a large firm by the President, Ramsey (Sloane). It's apparent to the viewer (and everyone but Staples) that he's been hired to replace one of the vice presidents, Bill Briggs (Begley). Staples admires Briggs and the humanity that he brings to his job, but he's the last of the old firm back when it was run by Ramsey's father, a compassionate man who cared about the workers. This Ramsey only cares about dollars and cents and efficiency. He's determined to force Briggs out.

Back in the '50s, big business movies were all the range, with films like "Women's World" and "Executive Suite" tackling the subject. The interest in the subject was possibly due to all of the postwar expansion in this country. "Patterns" is the best of the lot, realistic in its tone and with tremendous acting. The women are mere accompaniment - wives and secretaries - and certainly reflect the times.

Richard Kiley brought a naivete to the role of Staples that Van Heflin, because he's older, doesn't have, but he's still very effective as an honest, smart and decent man who's ambitious but doesn't like Ramsey's tactics. Ed Begley is sympathetic as a man past his prime who can't let go but whose job and daily battles are killing him. Everett Sloane does a great job as the ruthless Ramsey, who won't allow emotion into his business sense. We get a hint that he's not as unfeeling as he appears, but he's never going to let anyone else see it.

A really strong film, highly recommended.

Sleeper corporate quasi-morality play - dry, dull and theatrical at first, later dramatic and cerebral- well-written, well-acted and well-shot.

[declancooley · 7/10 · 25 February 2023]

For a very quiet night in, I recommend Patterns - a corporate newcomer joins a conglomerate and is wowed by the welcome he receives; but there is a darker reason to be concerned when the undercurrents in the staff simmer and boil over. This is a tense triangular tale - like a fairy tale for modern times: the King has 2 princes - but one must replace the other. Who will replace who - and who might take the throne? This is quite a cerebral take on the conflicts in capitalism - the answers do not turn out to be as obvious as one might have thought - and the final configuration of power that is created is a sophisticated and ironic one. The moral of the story is left quite ambiguous - people want to improve the world and have differing ways of going about it - but their revolving places in power are determined by a mechanism of power-taking where one can end up becoming the thing you were ostensibly fighting - in a manner that one has little control in; in fact, the actual agent and engine of this pattern is, if not impersonal, then entirely unconscious with evolution at the wheel. What could change it? Waxing philosophical is one of the very positive effects of this very deep contemplation of corporate politics. A solid piece of work worth a watch.

Why are you shouting at me?

[ArtVandelayImporterExporter · 4/10 · 15 November 2021]

The boss yells at the old exec he wants to get rid of.

He yells at the new guy hired to replace him.

He can barely avoid shouting at the new guy's wife.

Was the director afraid of reeling in the guy? Because by the halway mark I couldn't take it anymore.

Then all of a sudden Heflin starts yelling at his own wife. Maybe the director was deaf and asked the entire cast to speak up.

Decent idea for a TV show stretched thin for the big screen. Gave me a headache.

Short and Sour View of Office Politics.

[Poseidon-3 · 18 September 2002]

This tight, intense little film has been rarely seen in recent years (although the original teleplay on which it is based was a huge hit.) It's impact has been dulled slightly (mostly because it's ideas have been stolen for other countless TV shows and movies), but it's basic story is still as relevant as ever. Heflin is a small town plant manager whose company has been swallowed up by Sloane's conglomerate. Sloane moves him up to the executive level of the conglomerate and sets him up with a beautiful home, a fancy office and a top secretary. Soon, however, Heflin realizes that his promotion may have more to do with leverage against one of Sloane's adversaries, his vice president, Begley. Straight is Heflin's materialistic wife who urges him to succeed no matter what the moral cost. Wilson is Begley's secretary who finds herself torn between personal loyalty and company loyalty. The film is a curt 83 minutes and wisely unpadded with excess subplots. The acting is uniformly strong. Heflin is able to display a wide range of emotion. Begley, often cast as overbearing boors, is able to show a more vulnerable side. Sloane is the one who almost goes over the top. He shouts wildly at the drop of a hat and doesn't allow anyone to finish a sentence. One hopes that his type of management wouldn't be tolerated in today's world, but it very well may be. Wilson comes across very solidly in one of her better screen roles. She's given many quiet moments that display her internal struggle. (She would later put a comedic spin on the whole office thing with her wondrous turn in "9 to 5".) Straight is good, but isn't really a focal point of the story. The film has a dim view of corporate America and the unsettling feelings in the office begin right away. Though the times have changed, this story still holds value today and is an arresting work to watch.

"So I'm not nice - so what!!!"

[kidboots · 10/10 · 24 September 2008]

I was looking around for a film to watch the other night and I immediately thought of "Patterns". It is a brilliant, brilliant depiction of big business ruthlessness that I think is still valid today.

With an incisive script by Rod Serling (who created "The Twilight Zone") - it was initially a TV play. Van Heflin plays Fred Staples with compassion but hardness - he is wonderful in the role. Ed Begley is brilliant as the likable Bill Briggs, who has outlived his usefulness to the company. The real star, in my opinion, is Everett Sloane as Walter Ramsey - the ultimate in ruthlessness. His performance is absolutely riveting - I am surprised "Patterns" didn't win any Oscars for the acting performances. "I didn't hire you to like me!!", "So I'm not nice - so what!!" Beatrice Straight, who won a Best Supporting Actress Oscar for her role in "Network" 20 years later, plays Fred's wife Nancy, whose head is turned by the up market world she is tossed into.

It is the actor's performances that make this film so memorable. William Briggs talking about what life was like when he first started with the company - "the first time I went home I was wearing "spats". My father said "you went to New York to see the sights and now you've become one". Elizabeth Wilson as Brigg's secretary (she is re-assigned to Staples, that is when she realises something is wrong) - she has some excellent scenes as well.

Fred Staples is bought up from Ohio as the bright young hope of the company, although at first he is dazzled by the big New York skyscrapers. He is instantly made welcome by Bill Briggs, who takes him under his wing. Too late Fred realises that he has been brought to New York to take over Bill's job. They share the same ideals and care about people, although Staples is younger and very dynamic and is able to stand up to Ramsey when needed. Ramsey wants Briggs to resign so is constantly cutting him down to size and belittling him in office meetings. As Bill says "a situation is created". Briggs and Staples have been working on a project together but when Ramsey is invited to a cocktail party given by the Staples, Nancy shows Ramsey the project, neglecting to mention Briggs part in the work. Nancy is proving ruthless in her own way.

The film doesn't end the way you would expect but it is extremely satisfying.

I didn't hire you to like me!...

[AlsExGal · 8/10 · 26 November 2009]

..Thus utters the President of a company in a showdown with the film's protagonist. This sums up this film the same way "Greed is Good" sums up Wall Street 30 years later.

This movie is very good at portending the future of American business 25 years before the age of the billionaire-boys-who-won't-grow-up and right-sizing began in the early 80's. Fred Staples (Van Heflin) is the 30-something industrial relations expert at a small plant in Ohio that has been bought by Walter Ramsey's (Everett Sloane's) company. He is courted by Ramsey for an executive position at the parent company's headquarters in New York. He arrives full of small town values and good ideas, and really likes his new boss, VP William Briggs (Ed Begley).

However, soon he realizes what is really happening. He hasn't been hired to help Briggs, he's been hired to replace him. There is no love lost between Briggs and Ramsey. Briggs, at 62, sees Ramsey as only in the President's chair because his dad started the company. Briggs also sees Ramsey as discounting the human element, thinking it a small thing to shut down a plant for six months while it retools although it comprises half the payroll of the village in which it sits. Ramsey says in the long run the village will be better off because the retooled plant will employ twice as many people as before. Briggs sees growth as something coming from the productivity and loyalty of the employees. Ramsey sees the need for acquisitions as a tool for growth in a world of ruthless competition.

Fred is put in the middle of all of this. Hand-picked by Ramsey, he sees reports that he and Briggs worked on together having total credit given to himself. Briggs' secretary of seven years is taken from Briggs and given to Fred. Basically, Ramsey is choking Briggs out with a death of a thousand cuts and small humiliations. In these days it still wasn't fashionable to fire employees with 30 years of tenure, so Ramsey hopes to get Briggs to resign. Fred protests all of this - to some degree - but even he admits to his wife he doesn't protest too much because he wants this job. It's not about the money, but the challenge. Ramsey realizes this and exploits this knowledge to ultimately corrupt Fred, all the while having Fred believe that he has won his round with the devil.

Actually, both Ramsey and Briggs have valid points in how to best run the business. Ramsey may be portraying the ruthless side of the business in this film, but in today's world he would be considered a humanitarian. He wouldn't be retooling a plant to double its size. He'd be shipping the jobs overseas, and he wouldn't give a second thought to outright firing someone he thought was too old for the job regardless of years of service. Written by Rod Serling, this film is scary in how accurate it is in depicting today's business world. The performances are wonderful. Ed Begley, so often playing the heavy, is poignant as the aging VP trying to hold on to a place in the world where he still feels he has value while trying to raise a teenage son. Beatrice Straight has a small but important role as Fred's wife who tries to get him to be honest with himself about his own motivations. Highly recommended.

"And grandfather clocks WERE good clocks..."

[evening1 · 7/10 · 25 December 2022]

You get a glittery new promotion into the heights of corporate capitalism, only to discover that your good fortune spells doom for a principled, old-school colleague in the C-suite.

Such is the predicament of Fred Staples (Van Hefflin), fresh in to Manhattan from success in the smaller pond of Ohio. Appalled at the humiliation of sixtyish vice president Bill Briggs (Ed Begley) --"In the old days, things were simpler" -- Staples gives as good as he gets to ruthless company boss Staples (Everett Sloane), setting a stunning example of integrity in the face of expedience and prostration to the bottom line.

The exchanges in this film are fascinating to watch and psychologically astute. The black-and-white production, written by Rod Serling before his "Twilight Zone" franchise, is also intriguing for its strong, astute women, including Beatrice Straight as Staples's wife and Elizabeth Wilson as his secretary.

This is a compelling indictment of the trashing of timeless ethics and morals. Do we care where this will lead?

Nice writing....

[planktonrules · 8/10 · 3 September 2010]

"Patterns" is a film that was originally a television play. Like other exceptional teleplays such as "Marty" and "Days of Wine and Roses", Hollywood decided to remake the story--but with production values far better than the live TV broadcast. Yes, the teleplay for "Patterns" was originally done LIVE--and I sure would love to know if I can find a copy of the original show. If it's available, let me know--I'd love to compare it to this United Artist film.

The movie begins with Van Heflin arriving at a new job working on the board of a corporation. Although he's happy to be there, he soon becomes dismayed to see how tough things are for a long-time board member (Ed Begley), as it seems that the intention is to slowly ease Begley out and have Heflin take over these duties. The problem is that Begley is a nice guy and he has a lot of good ideas...but somehow, for some reason, the CEO (Everett Sloane) hates Begley--and treats him like dirt. Tune in to see where all this goes--it's well worth the wait.

The film, like another of Rod Serling's famous teleplays ("Requiem for a Heavyweight"), is great for two reasons. First, the writing is exceptional. Second, like "Requiem", the story features some very dark characters--and gives them great gritty dialog. While the story is VERY simple, because the characters are so interesting, you can't help but admire the film. It's NOT an especially exciting or glitzy production, but is quality throughout thanks mostly to the writing but also to some wonderful second-tier actors who made the most of the material. They were second-tier because they were not the most famous actors--more journeymen who knew their craft.

UPDATE: I found a copy of the teleplay on YouTube and so can you.

Corporate Melodrama

[kenjha · 7/10 · 30 December 2011]

The ruthless head of a corporation tries to force out the vice president who he views as soft. The subject matter of corporate greed at the expense of humanity is still as relevant today as it was half a century ago when the film was made. Serling's script includes some keen observations. However, it does feel a bit too much like a play, with characters giving big speeches. It also veers at times to the overly melodramatic. There are fine performances from Heflin, Begley, and Sloane. This was the second film for Straight, who won an Oscar for "Network," and Wilson, who played Dustin Hoffman's mother in "The Graduate."

Nobody's perfect

[schappe1 · 8/10 · 3 September 2006]

This is another review from my mini-marathon of original live TV classics and the movies they made of them. I've done "Marty" and will do "Requiem for a Heavyweight", "Bang the Drum Slowly" and "The Days of Wine and Roses". I'd love to see the original "12 Angry Men" with Bob Cummings but it doesn't seem to be available. I'd love to see a cable channel devoted to these old shows, even some non-classics if they represented early work by famous actors, directors and writers, (as so many of them did). But this will do for now. (Note: the 1955 TV Patters is hard to find on the IMDb. It doesn't seem to appear on the actor's credits. Look for Kraft Television Theater, Season 8. Strangely, the videotape of the TV Patterns also has Van Heflin on the cover, even though Richard Kiley played his role in that production.) "Patterns" was the teleplay that first made Rod Serling a big name in 1955. Of all these shows, this is the one where the film, which was made in 1956, is most similar to the play simply because most of the action takes place in corporate offices and a boardroom. The film is somewhat longer and has some establishing shots filmed on what appear to be the actual streets of New York. The script for the movie has only minor differences. The real difference is in the casting and there it's primarily the lead role.

In the play, Richard Kiley plays Fred Staples, a former football All-American who has proved himself as an executive for a small business back in Ohio and now has been hired by a big tycoon, Walter Ramsey, played by Everett Sloane, (in both versions), in the greatest performance of his distinguished career. Ed Begley, (also in both) plays the only executive in the firm who is willing to stand up to Sloane and who has taken so much abuse over the years that it's affecting his health. (Interestingly, Begley's character in the TV version is called Andy Sloane bit this is changed to Bill Briggs in the film: perhaps the only instance in which the same actor played the same character in two different productions of the same story, but the character had two different names. I wonder if it has something to do with Everett Sloane playing the boss, although I don't know what.) Elizabeth Wilson is strong as the loyal secretary in both, (se would turn up a generation later in 9 to 5). Ronnie Welsh is Begley's son in both. Both versions were directed by Fielder Cook. I like the way Cook handled the death scene, shooting it from the dying man's prospective, in the film.

The big difference is that Van Heflin played Staples in the film. Kiley is a fine actor and does a nice job playing a "nice guy" torn between his sensitivity and his ambition. Somehow, though, Heflin is even better. He has a gravitas Kiley, (at least in this early role), seems to lack. He just seems to carry a great moral force with him along with a basic friendliness and ideals. His wife is played by Beatrice Straight, who 20 years later won an Oscar for playing the wife of William Holden's corporate executive in "Network". Straight here is a glamorous, seductive and ambitious, not in an evil way but it's clear she's wants to be the "woman behind the successful man". I find her a little more interesting than June Dayton who plays the role in the TV version. You can spot a future TV series star in each version: Elizabeth Montgomery is a secretary in the TV version and Andrew Duggan shows up as one of the executives in the film.

The strength of the script is that no character is shown as all good or all bad. Begley is admirable in the way he maintains his values at the expense of his health but why does he keep taking all this abuse instead of finding a place in life where he can actually accomplish something? He talks about putting his kid through college but it seems he just doesn't want to give up his executive position. Kiley/Helfin have values but ambitions as well that keep them from leaving. Sloane is a monster but he defends himself with the "all boats rise with the tide" theory that by building a successful business it will help everyone in the long run. He also senses that he needs something more than "yes" men around him and so he will never fire Begley, (even if he kills him) and wants the new guy to stay and take his place.

Finally we come to the essential question: Are SOBs like Sloane necessary to make the tough decisions that have to be made that benefit us all? They would certainly have us believe that. They have to defend themselves so often that they keep saying that. But I've seen "nice" guys make tough decisions, too. I've seen decisions made with regard to their immediate effect on people. It can be done that way, you know. Characters like Sloane are the way they are because that's what they want to be, not because we need them to be that way.

Drama About Business More Than Meets Expectations.

[rmax304823 · 7/10 · 26 October 2011]

This is better than it has a right to be.

Engineer and expert in industrial relations Van Heflin is recruited from a small plant in Ohio to be on the staff of a large business organization in New York. The Vice President is elderly Ed Begley, friendly, affable, treated as dogsbody by the heartless President (or CEO or whatever he is) Everett Sloan. Heflin and Begley work together and become friends. Sloan is a hard head. He insults Begley openly during board meetings whenever Begley expresses a humanistic sentiment. And when Begley and Heflin submit a joint report, Sloan gives all the credit to Heflin, trying to humiliate Begley to such an extent that he resigns. But Begley has other ideas. He dies instead.

First of all, it's impossible not to notice that Van Heflin gives a fine performance. Sitting behind his office desk, he hunches his shoulders, stretches his arms, and groans, "Man, it's been a long day," and we believe him completely. Compared to Heflin, all the others in the cast seem to be acting, although they're professionals like Sloan, Andrew Duggan, Elizabeth Wilson, and the rest.

Next, the story and dialog are resolutely middle brow, as all of Rod Serling's work was. The arguments and conversations leave little doubt about the sentiments behind them, and sometimes they're repetitious. Twice, Sloan uses the term "tongue clucking" to describe Begley.

And yet, the formula for a movie like this requires that the nice guy from Ohio quit the jungle of New York and return to the peace of the boondocks -- but that doesn't happen here. The ending is better than that. In "Other People's Money," Danny De Vito represents the cold logic of the owner, while Gregory Peck cares about the company's tradition. It ends in De Vito winning and Peck losing. (Except for a silly happy ending.) In "Patterns," nobody really wins or loses.

Serling deals here with one of his obsessions. Old age and nostalgia for one's youth. The arena here is the world of business but the contest is man against social change, just as it was to be in many of the best "Twilight Zone" episodes. Begley wonders what happened to the corporation. In "the old days" the president, Sloan's father, could walk through a plant and be called by his first name. Now it's all shuffling papers and the people have gotten lost.

Sloan, in his pitiless arrogance, is like Nietzsche's Ubermensch. Neitzsche, in thrall to post-Darwinism's embrace of evolutionary science, believed that the social Darwinists didn't go far enough. They rejected the superstition of religion without dumping the accompanying Christian moral values of generosity and compassion. Sloan happily dumps them. He welcomes Heflin's hatred and promotes him to Vice President.

Fortunately, you don't have to know a thing about business and "enterprises" and such to follow what's going on. If that were necessary, I'd have been lost. When I was a Teaching Assistant at a semi-exclusive school I was dating a girl who casually mentioned that her father was a Vice President at (insert name of a huge corporation you've heard of). I gasped, and in my reply managed to convey some surprise. She minimized the importance of her father's job because "they have twenty-one Vice Presidents." My own father was an alcoholic wastrel who was fired from his last job as night attendant at Hub Cap Joe's Gas Station in Keyport, New Jersey.

Trust me when I tell you that the machinations you'll witness in this film are easily grasped and depend far more on character than on the details of running a business.

I don't want to run out of room here, but I have to squeeze in some mention of the main set -- a long hallway that buzzes with activity during the day and turns into a darkened bats' cave at night. The director adds some nice dramatic touches. After Begley's demise, Sloan enters the empty office and sits behind the desk, touching Begley's things. He seems to be crowing internally at his final victory, but then he suddenly bows his head -- signaling what? The director is sometimes overemphatic too. People shout when they'd be more convincing if their voices were strangled with anger.

Anyway, I liked it quite a lot, especially considering its unpromising subject matter. It's at least as good as "Executive Suite."

this taut, gripping drama about corporate power put Rod Serling on the map.

[barrwell · 9/10 · 11 January 2011]

I know todays movie audience has much different tastes than they did in 1956, but personally I still want a good story, dynamic acting and sharp dialog. Patterns delivers, and I can't believe I just saw this excellent film for the first time. Rod Serling is a master when it comes to delving into the depths of the human psyche in a way that is interesting and profound...and truly transcends time. Patterns is a character study laced with a lot of potent commentary as it explores the lives of three men at the top of a large corporation.

Walter Ramsey (Everett Sloane) runs the company his father built, and has just hired Fred Staples (Van Heflin) away from a small firm in Ohio. Fred forms a friendship with the number two man Bill Braggs (Ed Begley), a long time employee who lately has had health problems. After Fred embellishes some of Bill's ideas as they combine on an annual business plan, he thinks he's getting too much of the credit and that Bill's ideas aren't appreciated enough and starts asking questions.

It ends up that Ramsey is trying to force Bill out by continually browbeating and embarrassing him so he can replace him with Fred. Fred is furious that he is being used by the boss and defends Bill and urges him to stand up for himself. Bill says something like "this is too big of a job to walk away from, I won't resign...and he won't fire me after 30 years". Fred is caught between his quiet ambition and his loyalty to a friend, but one thing seems sure...a big confrontation is coming.

I think one reason there are so many special effects and shootouts in movies today is because the actors can't command the screen the way their counterparts from previous eras did. It's a pleasure watching this powerhouse trio and they are each excellent, but Begley (cast against type) stands out to me as the jaded, defeated Bill; it shows how little some things change as Bill laments about the new meaning of corporate growth and tells of how Ramseys' father used to walk the factory floor and knew all the employees on a first name basis. That confrontation between Fred and Bill is so compelling and well-acted...it reminded me that I had worked in companies like this, where the 2nd generation took over and destroyed the organizations culture to make few more dollars.

Patterns has a lot to say about corporate America as well as the human condition and reminds us that much of the disease that has rotted the soul out of our country didn't necessarily start in the Reagan era but a few decades earlier. Leave it to Rod Serling to put it on the screen better than anyone else...he was a true genius and Patterns proves this once again.

Major cop-out

[dlynch843 · 5/10 · 13 December 2018]

Spoilers----Heflin shouda punched out Sloane and then left with his wife. Agree with one review here that the ending left a sour taste. Read Vonnegut's short story "A Deer in the Works", written around the same time. The protaganist did the right thing there, but not in 'Patterns'. Some good acting by Heflin, but Sloane's perfomance was over done. Fault that to Serling.

Timeless autopsy of corporate viciousness

[mofo-3 · 17 January 2000]

Even though I missed the first few minutes of this film on TCM, I was completely hooked as soon as I attempted to scroll past it. Terrific immorality play complete with simplified characters purely drawn, acid dialogue and a sterling cast of character actors. Van Heflin does an amazing turn as a basically moral person who is drawn into the morass of not just corporate survival but domination. The entire cast has great fun with Serling's intense screenplay, complete with scenery-chewing of the highest order. The final confrontation between Heflin and Sloane is simply delicious. Why hadn't I heard of this film before? It brings to mind certain segments of Citizen Kane (and not because of Sloane's presence) and The Sweet Smell of Success. Highly reccomended.