A Time to Die (1982 film)

Last updated

A Time to Die
Atimetodie.jpg
Original movie poster
Directed by Matt Cimber
Joe Tornatore
Screenplay byJohn F. Goff
Matt Cimber
Willy Russell
Based on Six Graves to Munich by Mario Puzo
Produced byCharles Lee
Starring Edward Albert
Rex Harrison
Rod Taylor
Music by Robert O. Ragland, Ennio Morricone
Production
company
Carnation International Pictures (CIP)
Distributed byAlmi Group
Release date
1982
Running time
91 minutes
CountryU.S.
LanguageEnglish

A Time to Die or Seven Graves for Rogan is a 1982 war-drama-criminal film directed by Matt Cimber and Joe Tornatore and starring Edward Albert, Rex Harrison, and Rod Taylor. An alternate title was Seven Lives for Rogan.

Contents

The film was based on Mario Puzo's 1967 novel Six Graves to Munich , which was an expansion of the original 1965 eponymous short story. It was shot in 1979. [1] The producer had additional scenes written and shot without the involvement of the original writer and director. [2] Additional music for the film score was by Ennio Morricone. The film was produced by Charles Lee.

Premise

A World War II vet, former U.S. Intelligence officer Michael Rogan, sets out in 1948 to avenge the death of his wife and unborn child at the hands of Nazis and his own torture and botched execution. His targets are four Germans, a Sicilian, and a Hungarian who committed the atrocities.

He travels to Hamburg, Berlin, Sicily, Budapest, and Munich to seek out his torturers. American intelligence agent Jack Bailey tracks his every move.

Cast

Production

A Time to Die was based on the 1967 novel Six Graves to Munich by Mario Puzo under the pseudonym Mario Cleri. [3] Puzo had expanded the original 1965 eponymous short story published in Male magazine in the November issue.

Amsterdam, Holland was the principal filming location. The film was produced by Carnation International Pictures (CIP). The Almi Group was the distribution company.

The film marked the final feature film appearance of Sir Rex Harrison. After the filming, Harrison retired from film and returned to the stage for remainder of his life.

Related Research Articles

<i>The Godfather</i> (novel) 1969 novel by Mario Puzo

The Godfather is a crime novel by American author Mario Puzo. Originally published in 1969 by G. P. Putnam's Sons, the novel details the story of a fictional Mafia family in New York City, headed by Vito Corleone, the Godfather. The novel covers the years 1945 to 1955 and includes the back story of Vito Corleone from early childhood to adulthood.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mario Puzo</span> American author, screenwriter, and journalist

Mario Francis Puzo was an American author and screenwriter. He wrote crime novels about the Italian-American Mafia and Sicilian Mafia, most notably The Godfather (1969), which he later co-adapted into a film trilogy directed by Francis Ford Coppola. He received the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay for the first film in 1972 and for Part II in 1974. Puzo also wrote the original screenplay for the 1978 Superman film and its 1980 sequel. His final novel, The Family, was released posthumously in 2001.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rex Harrison</span> English actor (1908–1990)

Sir Reginald Carey "Rex" Harrison was an English actor. Harrison began his career on the stage in 1924. He made his West End debut in 1936 appearing in the Terence Rattigan play French Without Tears, in what was his breakthrough role. He won his first Tony Award for Best Actor in a Play for his performance as Henry VIII in the Broadway play Anne of the Thousand Days in 1949. He returned to Broadway portraying Professor Henry Higgins in My Fair Lady (1956) where he won the Tony Award for Best Actor in a Musical.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rod Taylor</span> Australian actor (1930–2015)

Rodney Sturt Taylor was an Australian actor. He appeared in more than 50 feature films, including Young Cassidy (1965), Nobody Runs Forever (1968), The Train Robbers (1973) and A Matter of Wife... and Death (1975).

<i>Superman: Last Son of Krypton</i> Book by Elliot S. Maggin

Superman: Last Son of Krypton is a novel written by Elliot S. Maggin and based on the DC Comics character Superman. It was published in 1978. The novel was published as a tie-in to the release of Superman: The Movie, with an image of Christopher Reeve on the cover and a section of photographs from the film. The novel is not, however, a novelization of the film, but rather a sequel, diverging from the film's story.

<i>Night Train to Munich</i> 1940 film

Night Train to Munich is a 1940 British thriller film directed by Carol Reed and starring Margaret Lockwood and Rex Harrison. Written by Sidney Gilliat and Frank Launder, based on the 1939 short story Report on a Fugitive by Gordon Wellesley, the film is about an inventor and his daughter who are kidnapped by the Gestapo after the Nazis march into Prague in the prelude to the Second World War. A British secret service agent follows them, disguised as a senior German army officer pretending to woo the daughter over to the Nazi cause.

<i>The Agony and the Ecstasy</i> (film) 1965 film by Carol Reed

The Agony and the Ecstasy is a 1965 American historical drama film directed by Carol Reed and starring Charlton Heston as Michelangelo and Rex Harrison as Pope Julius II. The film was partly based on Irving Stone's 1961 biographical novel of the same name, and deals with the conflicts of Michelangelo and Pope Julius II during the 1508-1512 painting of the Sistine Chapel ceiling. It also features a soundtrack by prolific composers Alex North and Jerry Goldsmith.

<i>Fools Die</i> Novel by Mario Puzo

Fools Die is a 1978 novel by Italian-American author Mario Puzo. Played out in the worlds of gambling, publishing and the film industry, John Merlyn and his brother Artie Merlyn obey their own code of honor in the ferment of 1950s America, where law and organized crime are one and the same. Set in New York, Hollywood, and Las Vegas, Mario Puzo considered Fools Die to be his personal favorite. The protagonist, John Merlyn, is mostly based on Mario Puzo himself. The paperback rights to the book were sold in 1978 by the publisher, G. P. Putnam's Sons, to New American Library for a then-record $2.55 million.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Robin Bailey</span> English actor

William Henry Mettam "Robin" Bailey was an English actor. He was born in Hucknall, Nottinghamshire.

<i>The Godfather Returns</i> 2004 novel by Mark Winegardner

The Godfather Returns is a novel written by author Mark Winegardner, published in 2004. It is the sequel to Mario Puzo's 1969 novel The Godfather and The Sicilian (1984). The publisher, Random House, selected Winegardner to write a sequel after Puzo's death. As the original novel covered the years 1945 to 1955, and included significant backstory on Don Vito Corleone's life, Returns covers the years 1955 to 1962, and includes significant backstory on Michael Corleone's life prior to the first novel. It is the third book in The Godfather series of novels.

<i>Harper</i> (film) 1966 film by Jack Smight

Harper is a 1966 American mystery film based on Ross Macdonald's 1949 novel The Moving Target and adapted for the screen by novelist William Goldman, who admired MacDonald's writings. The film stars Paul Newman as Lew Harper, and was directed by Jack Smight, with a cast that includes Robert Wagner, Julie Harris, Janet Leigh, Shelley Winters, Lauren Bacall, and Arthur Hill.

<i>Once Before I Die</i> 1965 film by John Derek

Once Before I Die is a 1966 war drama starring Ursula Andress and directed by then-husband John Derek, from whom she was officially divorced before the film was released, and who also appeared in the film. It was based on a 1945 novel Quit for the Next by Lieutenant Anthony March.

Matt Cimber is an American producer, director, writer, He also occasionally acts in films, television, and theatre. He is known for directing genre films including The Candy Tangerine Man, The Witch Who Came from the Sea,Hundra, and the controversial drama Butterfly. Cimber has been called "an unsung hero of 70s exploitation cinema." He was co-founder and director of the Gorgeous Ladies of Wrestling (GLOW) professional wrestling promotion and syndicated television series. Cimber was also the last husband of actress Jayne Mansfield, directing her on stage and in the film Single Room Furnished (1968), which was released after her death.

<i>Dark of the Sun</i> 1968 British adventure war film by Jack Cardiff

Dark of the Sun is a 1968 British adventure war film starring Rod Taylor, Yvette Mimieux, Jim Brown, and Peter Carsten. The film, which was directed by Jack Cardiff, is based on Wilbur Smith's 1965 novel, The Dark of the Sun. The story about a band of mercenaries sent on a dangerous mission during the Congo Crisis was adapted into a screenplay by Ranald MacDougall. Critics condemned the film on its original release for its graphic scenes of violence and torture.

<i>Planet of the Apes</i> (1968 film) 1968 film directed by Franklin J. Schaffner

Planet of the Apes is a 1968 American science fiction film directed by Franklin J. Schaffner from a screenplay by Michael Wilson and Rod Serling, loosely based on the 1963 novel by Pierre Boulle. The film stars Charlton Heston, Roddy McDowall, Kim Hunter, Maurice Evans, James Whitmore, James Daly, and Linda Harrison. In the film, an astronaut crew crash-lands on a strange planet in the distant future. Although the planet appears desolate at first, the surviving crew members stumble upon a society in which apes have evolved into creatures with human-like intelligence and speech. The apes have assumed the role of the dominant species and humans are mute creatures wearing animal skins.

<i>Hell on Frisco Bay</i> 1956 film by Frank Tuttle

Hell on Frisco Bay is a 1956 American CinemaScope film noir crime film directed by Frank Tuttle and starring Alan Ladd, Edward G. Robinson and Joanne Dru. It was made for Ladd's own production company, Jaguar.

<i>Grand Jury</i> (film) 1936 film by Albert S. Rogell

Grand Jury is a 1936 American crime drama film directed by Albert S. Rogell from a screenplay by Joseph A. Fields and Philip G. Epstein, based on a story by James Edward Grant and Thomas Lennon. Produced and distributed by RKO Radio Pictures, it premiered in New York City on July 31, 1936, and was released nationwide the following week on August 7. The film stars Fred Stone, Louise Latimer and Owen Davis, Jr.

The Godfather book series is a series of crime novels about Italian-American Mafia families, most notably the fictional Corleone family, led by Don Vito Corleone and later his son Michael Corleone. The first novel, The Godfather, written by Mario Puzo, was released in 1969. It was adapted into a series of three feature films, which became one of the most acclaimed franchises in film history.

<i>Six Graves to Munich</i> Mario Puzo novel

Six Graves to Munich is a novel by Mario Puzo, written under the pseudonym Mario Cleri, published in October, 1967. The novel is an expansion of an eponymous short story or novella which appeared in the November, 1965 issue of Male magazine.

References

  1. A Time to Die at the Complete Rod Taylor site accessed 12 March 2013
  2. Stephen Vagg, Rod Taylor: An Aussie in Hollywood (Bear Manor Media, 2010) p203-204
  3. "FACT BEHIND FICTION – Six Graves to Munich – Mario Puzo". www.factbehindfiction.com. Archived from the original on 27 August 2013. Retrieved 8 December 2013.