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RUNTIME
Did you know
86 minutes exactly — the "classic feature" runtime most directors aim for.
MoodPlayr · trivia#01
Believe in Me
"Pamela knew that life without David was only existing. She also knew that life with him would destroy her."
1971 1h 26m EN
💀
4.8
SKIP
★4.8TMDB · 8
DramaRomance
Synopsis
Spoiler shield
Remy is a medical student who has a flair for making his patients comfortable. His genuine concern for the patients in his charge marks him as a hot prospect in his internship program. Pamela works at a children's book publishing company. The two meet via Pamela's brother, who is also Remy's good friend. They fall in love and get an apartment in the East Village of New York. Soon after, the couple begins to indulge in speed and barbiturates. They become heavily addicted. Remy is thrown out of medical school and Pamela quits her job. Remy soon finds himself in debt with the local dealer, Stutter, who introduces his customer to heroin as a revenge for his late bill. Pamela faces the prospect of getting sober at her brother's clinic, but must leave behind a destitute Remy in order to do it.
“Pamela knew that life without David was only existing. She also knew that life with him would destroy her.”
Cast
Michael Sarrazin
Remy
Jacqueline Bisset
Pamela
Jon Cypher
Alan
Allen Garfield
Stutter
Kurt Dodenhoff
Matthew
Marcia Jean Kurtz
Nurse
Kevin Conway
Clancy
Roger Robinson
Angel
Credits
Behind the camera
- Director
- Stuart Hagmann
- Writers
- Israel Horovitz
- Languages
- English
- Countries
- United States of America
Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.
Did you know?
Fun facts 🍿
Cinephile deep dive
The take
Stuart Hagmann directs. Richard E. Brooks behind the camera. Fred Karlin scores. John C. Howard cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English.
Trivia
Things worth knowing
- 186 minutes exactly — the "classic feature" runtime most directors aim for.
- 255 years old — a genuine piece of film history.
- 3Lean credit list — fewer than 30 people officially credited.
- 4Directed by Stuart Hagmann, shot by Richard E. Brooks. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
- 5Original score by Fred Karlin. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
- 6Editor John C. Howard shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
- 7Michael Sarrazin and Jacqueline Bisset and Jon Cypher carry the top of the cast.
- 8Marketing tagline: "Pamela knew that life without David was only existing. She also knew that life with him would destroy her.".
- 9IMDB entry: tt0066822 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
- 10Only 8 TMDB ratings — you're getting ahead of the curve on this one.
- 11Classified under 14 themes, including "drug dealer", "drug addiction", "cocaine", "loss of job".
The technical file
- Cinematography
- Richard E. Brooks
- Original score
- Fred Karlin
- Editing
- John C. Howard
- Costume design
- Joseph G. Aulisi
- Runtime
- 86 min · 1h 26m
- Status
- Released
- Original language
- EN
Also by
Stuart Hagmann
Production companies
Who made it
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
US
Key crew
- Art DirectionRobert Gundlach
- ProducerIrwin Winkler
- ProducerRobert Chartoff
- Costume DesignJoseph G. Aulisi
- EditorJohn C. Howard
Themes & keywords
What it's about, really
- drug dealer
- drug addiction
- cocaine
- loss of job
- fired from the job
- heroin addict
- intern
- quitting a job
- speed freak
- medical student
- codependency
- medical intern
- shooting up
- enabler
Release history · US
When it landed
- Theatrical1971-12-08
