''Catch My Soul'', also known as ''Santa Fe Satan'', 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 of film, television, and theatre. Born in New York City to Irish parents, he was raised in Ireland and England. He began his career in England during t ...

. It was an adaptation of Good's

stage musical Musical theatre is a form of theatre, 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, ...

of the same title, which itself was loosely adapted from

William Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 23 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 nation ...

's ''

Othello ''The Tragedy of Othello, the Moor of Venice'', often shortened to ''Othello'' (), is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare around 1603. Set in Venice and Cyprus, the play depicts the Moorish military commander Othello as he is manipulat ...

''. It was not a critical success.

Plot

Cast

Production

Shakespeare's tragedy of

revenge Revenge is defined as committing a harmful action against a person or group in response to a grievance, be it real or perceived. Vengeful forms of justice, such as primitive justice or retributive justice, are often differentiated from more fo ...

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 (human categorization), race or ethnicity over another. It may also me ...

had been retitled '' Catch My Soul'' for the London stage and relocated from

Venice Venice ( ; ; , formerly ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 islands that are separated by expanses of open water and by canals; portions of the city are li ...

Piccadilly Piccadilly () is a road in the City of Westminster, London, England, 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 (England), A4 road that connects central London to ...

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

New Mexico New Mexico is a state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States. It is one of the Mountain States of the southern Rocky Mountains, sharing the Four Corners region with Utah, Colorado, and Arizona. It also ...

desert; filming took place in Española and Santa Fe. The title comes from act 3, scene 3 of Shakespeare's play, in which

declares his love for Desdemona, "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 to war or violence. The word ''pacifism'' was coined by the French peace campaigner Émile Arnaud and adopted by other peace activists at the tenth Universal Peace Congress in Glasgow in 1901. A related term is ''a ...

leader of a

hippie A hippie, also spelled hippy, especially in British English, is someone associated with the counterculture of the 1960s, counterculture of the mid-1960s to early 1970s, originally a youth movement that began in the United States and spread to dif ...

commune, Iago appears to be the

Devil A devil is the mythical 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 conce ...

incarnate who "fits all the negative stereotypes of dropouts 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. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

music.

AllMovie AllMovie (previously All Movie Guide) is an online database with information about films, television programs, television series, and screen actors. , AllMovie.com and the AllMovie consumer brand are owned by RhythmOne. History AllMovie was ...

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

gospel Gospel originally meant the Christianity, Christian message ("the gospel"), but in the second century Anno domino, AD the term (, from which the English word originated as a calque) came to be used also for the books in which the message w ...

show in the Southwest. He was terribly wrong."''Catch My Soul'' (1974)
at

''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 Columbo (character), Lieutenant Columbo, a homicide detective with the Los Angeles Police Department. After two pilot episodes in 1968 and 1971, the show originall ...

''. In an interview with ''

Première A premiere, also spelled première, (from , ) is the wikt:debut, debut (first public presentation) of a work, i.e. Play (theatre), play, film, dance, musical composition, or even a Performing arts#Performers, performer in that work. History R ...

'' magazine in 1995, McGoohan gave some insight into why the film had failed: Of the 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 music, folk, soul music, soul (both of which he frequently cover song, covered), and rhythm and b ...

was well known from his appearance at

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

, but this was his first acting role; Lance LeGault had some experience, but not playing major roles; likewise Season Hubley and Susan Tyrrell. Tony Joe White 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 Life of Jesus in the New Testament, Gospels' accounts of Passion of Jesus, the Passion, the work interprets ...

''. It failed as an arthouse film, was retitled ''Santa Fe Satan'', and reissued as a

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

exploitation film An exploitation film is a film that seeks commercial success by capitalizing on current trends, niche genres, or sensational content. Exploitation films often feature themes such as suggestive or explicit sex, sensational violence, drug use, nudi ...

. 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, '' Fi ...

was equally scathing, his description being

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

to tie-in with the film.

Vincent Canby Vincent Canby (July 27, 1924 – October 15, 2000) was an American film and theatre critic who was the chief film critic for ''The New York Times'' from 1969 until the early 1990s, then its chief theatre critic from 1994 until his death in 2000. ...

for ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'', 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

External links

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