''Catch My Soul'' is a 1974 film produced by Jack Good and Richard M. Rosenbloom, and directed by

Patrick McGoohan Patrick Joseph McGoohan (; March 19, 1928 – January 13, 2009) was an Irish-American actor, director, screenwriter, and producer of film and television. Born in the United States to Irish emigrant parents, he was raised in Ireland and Engla ...

. It was an adaptation of Good's

stage musical Musical theatre is a form of theatrical performance that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance. The story and emotional content of a musical – humor, pathos, love, anger – are communicated through words, music, movement ...

of the same title, which itself was loosely adapted from

William Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's natio ...

's ''

Othello ''Othello'' (full title: ''The Tragedy of Othello, the Moor of Venice'') is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare, probably in 1603, set in the contemporary Ottoman–Venetian War (1570–1573) fought for the control of the Island of Cyp ...

''. It was not a critical success.

Plot

Cast

Richie Havens Richard Pierce Havens (January 21, 1941 – April 22, 2013) was an American singer-songwriter and guitarist. His music encompassed elements of folk, soul (both of which he frequently covered), and rhythm and blues. He had a rhythmic guitar styl ...

Lance LeGault William Lance LeGault (May 2, 1935 – September 10, 2012) was an American actor. He was best known as U.S. Army Colonel Roderick Decker in the 1980s American television series ''The A-Team''. Early and personal life LeGault was born May 2, 193 ...

Iago Iago () is a fictional character in Shakespeare's ''Othello'' (c. 1601–1604). Iago is the play's main antagonist, and Othello's standard-bearer. He is the husband of Emilia, who is in turn the attendant of Othello's wife Desdemona. Iago hat ...

Season Hubley Season Hubley (born Susan Hubley; March 14, 1951) is an American retired actress and singer. Best known for Nikki in '' Hardcore'' (1979), Priscilla Presley in '' Elvis'' (1979), and Angelique in ''All My Children'' (1992–1994). Early life Hu ...

Desdemona Desdemona () is a character in William Shakespeare's play ''Othello'' (c. 1601–1604). Shakespeare's Desdemona is a Venetian beauty who enrages and disappoints her father, a Venetian senator, when she elopes with Othello, a Moorish Venetian ...

Tony Joe White Tony Joe White (July 23, 1943 – October 24, 2018), nicknamed the Swamp Fox, was an American singer-songwriter and guitarist, best known for his 1969 hit " Polk Salad Annie" and for " Rainy Night in Georgia", which he wrote but which was first ...

- Cassio ("a wino from

Baton Rouge, Louisiana Baton Rouge ( ; ) is a city in and the capital of the U.S. state of Louisiana. Located the eastern bank of the Mississippi River, it is the parish seat of East Baton Rouge Parish, Louisiana's most populous parish—the equivalent of count ...

") (requires login) *

Susan Tyrrell Susan Tyrrell (born Susan Jillian Creamer; March 18, 1945 – June 16, 2012) was an American character actress. Tyrrell's career began in theater in New York City in the 1960s in Broadway and off Broadway productions. Her first film was '' Sho ...

- Emilia *

Delaney Bramlett Delaine Alvin "Delaney" Bramlett (July 1, 1939 – December 27, 2008) was an American singer and guitarist. He was best known for his musical partnership with his wife Bonnie Bramlett in the band Delaney & Bonnie and Friends, which included a w ...

Bonnie Bramlett Bonnie Bramlett (born Bonnie Lynn O'Farrell, November 8, 1944) is an American singer and occasional actress known for performing with her husband, Delaney Bramlett, as Delaney & Bonnie. She continues to sing as a solo artist. Life and career ...

*Raleigh Gardenhire *

Billy Joe Royal Billy Joe Royal (April 3, 1942 – October 6, 2015) was an American country soul singer. His most successful record was " Down in the Boondocks" in 1965. Life and career Born in Valdosta, Georgia, to Clarence and Mary Sue Smith Royal, and rai ...

*Wayne Waterhouse

Production

Shakespeare's tragedy of

revenge Revenge is committing a harmful action against a person or group in response to a grievance, be it real or perceived. Francis Bacon described revenge as a kind of "wild justice" that "does... offend the law ndputteth the law out of office." Pr ...

and

racism Racism is the belief that groups of humans possess different behavioral traits corresponding to inherited attributes and can be divided based on the superiority of one race over another. It may also mean prejudice, discrimination, or antagonism ...

had been retitled for the London stage and relocated from

Venice Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400 bridges. The isla ...

Piccadilly Piccadilly () is a road in the City of Westminster, London, to the south of Mayfair, between Hyde Park Corner in the west and Piccadilly Circus in the east. It is part of the A4 road that connects central London to Hammersmith, Earl's Cou ...

; for the film, the location of the drama was moved to the

New Mexico ) , population_demonym = New Mexican ( es, Neomexicano, Neomejicano, Nuevo Mexicano) , seat = Santa Fe, New Mexico, Santa Fe , LargestCity = Albuquerque, New Mexico, Albuquerque , LargestMetro = Albuquerque metropolitan area, Tiguex , Offi ...

desert; filming took place in Española and Santa Fe. The title comes from Act III, Scene III of Shakespeare's play, in which

declares his love for

, "Perdition catch my soul / But I do love thee! And when I love thee not, / Chaos is come again." Although much of the plot remains intact, Othello, the "noble Moor" becomes the

pacifist Pacifism is the opposition or resistance to war, militarism (including conscription and mandatory military service) or violence. Pacifists generally reject theories of Just War. The word ''pacifism'' was coined by the French peace campaig ...

leader of a

hippie A hippie, also spelled hippy, especially in British English, is someone associated with the counterculture of the 1960s, originally a youth movement that began in the United States during the mid-1960s and spread to different countries around ...

commune,

appears to be the

Devil A devil is the personification of evil as it is conceived in various cultures and religious traditions. It is seen as the objectification of a hostile and destructive force. Jeffrey Burton Russell states that the different conceptions of ...

incarnate who "fits all the negative stereotypes of

dropout Dropout or drop out may refer to: * Dropping out, prematurely leaving school, college or university Arts and entertainment Film and television * ''Dropout'' (film), a 1970 Italian drama * "The Dropout", a 1970 episode of ''The Brady Bunch'' ...

s with his scruffy beard and unwashed look" and Desdemona becomes a "white round-faced girl with granny glasses".

had earlier starred in the successful 1962 modernisation of the Othello story, '' All Night Long'', which had been moved to 1960s London and fuelled by

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a majo ...

music. AllMovie's reviewer points out that "perhaps he thought lightning would strike twice in moving it to a

gospel Gospel originally meant the Christian message (" the gospel"), but in the 2nd century it came to be used also for the books in which the message was set out. In this sense a gospel can be defined as a loose-knit, episodic narrative of the words a ...

show in the Southwest. He was terribly wrong." ''Catch My Soul'' would be the only film to be directed by McGoohan, although he later directed some episodes of ''

Columbo ''Columbo'' () is an American crime drama television series starring Peter Falk as Lieutenant Columbo, a homicide detective with the Los Angeles Police Department. After two pilot episodes in 1968 and 1971, the show originally aired on NBC f ...

''. In an interview with ''

Premiere A première, also spelled premiere, is the debut (first public presentation) of a play, film, dance, or musical composition. A work will often have many premières: a world première (the first time it is shown anywhere in the world), its f ...

'' magazine in 1995, McGoohan gave some insight into why the film had failed: Of the cast,

was well known from his appearance at

Woodstock Festival Woodstock Music and Art Fair, commonly referred to as Woodstock, was a music festival held during August 15–18, 1969, on Max Yasgur's dairy farm in Bethel, New York, United States, southwest of the town of Woodstock. Billed as "an Aquari ...

, but this was his first acting role;

had some experience, but not playing major roles; likewise

and

was already fairly well known as a musician. Allmovie's Craig Butler was moved to comment "Laughable also describes every dramatic performance, as do horrible and unbelievable."

Reception

The film appeared at the same time as ''

Jesus Christ Superstar ''Jesus Christ Superstar'' is a sung-through rock opera with music by Andrew Lloyd Webber and lyrics by Tim Rice. Loosely based on the Gospels' accounts of the Passion, the work interprets the psychology of Jesus and other characters, with ...

''. It failed as an

arthouse film An art film (or arthouse film) is typically an independent film, aimed at a niche market rather than a mass market audience. It is "intended to be a serious, artistic work, often experimental and not designed for mass appeal", "made primarily ...

, was retitled "Santa Fe Satan", and reissued as a

drive-in A drive-in is a facility (such as a restaurant or movie theater) where one can drive in with an automobile for service. At a drive-in restaurant, for example, customers park their vehicles and are usually served by staff who walk or rollersk ...

exploitation film An exploitation film is a film that tries to succeed financially by exploiting current trends, niche genres, or lurid content. Exploitation films are generally low-quality "B movies", though some set trends, attract critical attention, become hi ...

. Critical reviews of ''Catch My Soul'' were generally negative, '' Time Outs reviewer describing it as

Leslie Halliwell Robert James Leslie Halliwell (23 February 1929 – 21 January 1989) was a British film critic, encyclopaedist and television rights buyer for ITV, the British commercial network, and Channel 4. He is best known for his reference guides, '' F ...

was equally scathing, his description being AllMovie's Craig Butler was able to say that "some of the musical performances, especially from Richie Havens and Tony Joe White are quite good, and much of the music is worth hearing ... removed from the movie." Nevertheless, his overall assessment is "a train wreck of a movie that inspires awe and that makes one appreciate a time when awful movies could be so bad in such an interesting way."

Soundtrack

A soundtrack album was issued by

Metromedia Metromedia (also often MetroMedia) was an American media company that owned radio and television stations in the United States from 1956 to 1986 and controlled Orion Pictures from 1988 to 1997. Metromedia was established in 1956 after the DuMon ...

to tie-in with the film. ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' reviewer, in line with others, commented "Forget the movie and get the soundtrack album." ;Track listing # ''"Othello, Pt. 1"'' - Tony Joe White. Sung by Tony Joe White # ''"Wash Us Clean"'' - Jack Good, Tony Joe White. Sung by Tony Joe White # ''"Catch My Soul, Pt. 1"'' - Jack Good, Tony Joe White. Sung by Lance LeGault # ''"Working on a Building"'' - Tony Joe White. Sung by Richie Havens # ''"Othello, Pt. 2"'' - Tony Joe White. Sung by Tony Joe White # ''"Catch My Soul, Pt. 2"'' - Jack Good, Tony Joe White. Sung by Lance LeGault # ''"Open Our Eyes"'' - Leon Lumkins. Sung by Richie Havens # ''"Backwoods Preacher Man"'' - Tony Joe White. Sung by Tony Joe White # ''"Looking Back"'' - Delaney Bramlett, Tony Joe White. Sung by Tony Joe White # ''"Eat the Bread-Drink the Wine"'' - Jack Good, Tony Joe White. Sung by Lance LeGault # ''"That's What God Said"'' - Delaney Bramlett. Sung by Lance LeGault. Sung by Delaney Bramlett # ''"Chug-A-Lug (The Drinking Song)"'' - Delaney Bramlett. Sung by Bonnie Bramlett # ''"I Found Jesus"'' - Delaney Bramlett. Sung by Delaney Bramlett # ''"Run, Shaker Life"'' - (unknown). Sung by Richie Havens # ''"Catch My Soul, Pt. 3"'' - Jack Good, Tony Joe White. Sung by Lance LeGault # ''"Book of Prophecy"'' - Jack Good, Richie Havens. Sung by Richie Havens # ''"Othello, Pt. 3"'' - Tony Joe White. Sung by Tony Joe White # ''"Lust of the Blood"'' - Jack Good, Ray Pohlman. Sung by Lance LeGault # ''"Tickle His Fancy"'' - Allene Lubin. Sung by Susan Tyrrell # ''"Why"'' - Jack Good, Emile Dean Zoghby. Sung by Richie Havens # ''"Othello, Pt. 4"'' - Tony Joe White. Sung by Tony Joe White # ''"Catch My Soul, Pt. 4"'' - Jack Good, Tony Joe White. Sung by Lance LeGault # ''"Put Out the Light"'' - Jack Good, Ray Pohlman. Sung by Richie Havens # ''"Othello, Pt. 5"'' - Tony Joe White. Sung by Tony Joe White.

References

All references to ''Othello'', unless otherwise specified, are taken from the

Folger Shakespeare Library The Folger Shakespeare Library is an independent research library on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., United States. It has the world's largest collection of the printed works of William Shakespeare, and is a primary repository for rare mater ...

's ''Folger Digital Editions'' texts edited by Barbara Mowat, Paul Werstine, Michael Poston, and Rebecca Niles. Under their referencing system, 3.3.100–101 means act 3, scene 3, lines 100–101.

External links

* * {{Authority control 1974 films Films based on Othello Films set in New Mexico 1970s musical films Films directed by Patrick McGoohan Films based on adaptations Cinerama Releasing Corporation films American musical films 1970s English-language films 1970s American films