In 1970, a film was released, directed by Vincente Minelli & based on a hit Broadway show, “On A Clear Day You Can See Forever.” I finally caught up with it, fascinated by the idea of a movie studio green lighting an expensive movie about reincarnation with a major box office star, Barbra Streisand. It included a mention of possibly accessing Future lives (in the most cynical way)!
The film concerns a psychiatrist who is treating a patient, Daisy, who is so incredibly suggestible to hypnosis that she goes into a deep trance while another person is being hypnotized in a demonstration class. The client, played by Barbra Streisand, just wants to quit smoking but keeps going back to a 19th century life as a glamorous seductress trying to escape Dickensian poverty. The psychiatrist Marc, played by French actor Yves Montand, is baffled and dismissive of reincarnation. That is, until further treatments open him to the possibility that something real is occurring in his office sessions.
The shift I didn't expect comes when the psychiatrist is forced to either stop talking about his reincarnation work (which somehow causes near riots on the campus of the school where Marc teaches) or resign. The college president informs Marc that an aging rich donor, Mr Stratton, wants him to continue his studies, and even open a permanent department devoted to reincarnation.
The college president, Mr. Mason is played by comedian Bob Newhart:
Mason: But Mr. Stratton wants proof. It occurred to him that if it’s possible to identify one’s previous incarnations, it might also be possible to determine one’s future ones. In which case Mr. Stratton could leave his money to himself.
Marc: Meaning, if he can’t take it with him, he’ll come back and get it?
Mason: Yes. Well, what do you think, Marc?
Marc: It’s the chance of a lifetime. Of all my lifetimes. You’re not happy about it, are you?
Mason: No, I’m not happy. I think reincarnation is appalling. It kills ambition, perpetuates human misery, and propagates false hopes. And is obviously a pack of lies.
Marc: Then how can you accept his proposition?
Mason: I may be wrong.
It never occurred to me that a scientific materialist, like the college professor, could think that opening ourselves to the possibility that we have lived many lives, and may live many more after this one, could:
kill ambition
perpetuate human misery
and propagate false hopes.
There is a tearjerker of a song that features these lyrics:
What did I know/
Where did it go/
What did I have/
That I don’t have now?
Obviously the composer Burton Lane and screenplay author Alan Jay Lerner had a more optimistic view about the reincarnation experience. Daisy leaves her uptight fiancee for a chance at love with her rich hippy stepbrother (!?) played by Jack Nicholson in an early role. And the cynical psychiatrist has his mind blown (and consciousness expanded), going back to his wife a changed man. The songs are great, and Barbra Streisand is an incredible singer. I found this on Hoopla but it’s not available on the usual streaming platforms at the moment. Worth a watch.
PS - In 2021, when I was only able to watch the YouTube excerpts, I wrote about the source material for the play:
https://pastlivesproject.org/the-past-lives-project-blog/a-1960s-reincarnation-musical