Cliff Twemlow

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Cliff Twemlow
GBH film frame (1983).png
Twemlow in the film G.B.H. (1983)
Born
Clifford Twemlow

(1937-10-14)14 October 1937
Hulme, Manchester, Lancashire, England
Died9 May 1993(1993-05-09) (aged 55)
Manchester, England. Buried at St Wilfred's Church, Northenden, Manchester
Years active1960s–1993

Cliff Twemlow (14 October 1937 – 5 May 1993) was an English actor, film screenwriter, producer, composer and novelist. [1] He is notable for pioneering, in the early 1980s, the production of independently-made low-budget films made for the home video market.

Contents

Early life

Twemlow was born in Hulme, Manchester, the son of a merchant seaman. [2] In the early 1950s he worked as a nightclub bouncer in Morecambe.

Career

In 1962 Twemlow began his acting career as an extra in the ITV soap opera Coronation Street.

Music

In the early 1960s Twemlow began a successful career composing library music under the names Peter Reno and John Agar. His music was used in TV programmes (e.g., Public Eye , Rutland Weekend Television, The Benny Hill Show , Queenie's Castle , The Sweeney ), feature films (e.g., Zeta One (1970), Secrets of Sex (1970), Deathdream (1974), A Touch of the Sun (1979), Dawn of the Dead (1978)) and TV commercials. He wrote "Distant Hills", the end credit theme of the ITV programme Crown Court (1972–1984), which was issued as the B-side to the Van der Valk theme "Eye Level" (Columbia DB 8946 [3] ).

In 1973 he encountered legal problems with his song "Live and Let Die", recorded by Salena Jones. Although released shortly before Paul McCartney recorded his song with the same title for the film Live and Let Die (1973), McCartney took out an injunction against Twemlow and won the case.

In the mid-1970s,Twemlow returned to work as a nightclub bouncer at Peter Stringfellow's Manchester "Millionaire Club".

Writing

In 1980 Twemlow published his autobiography The Tuxedo Warrior, which documented his career in the music industry and as a bouncer. [4]

He wrote two novels: The Pike (1982), [5] for which he failed to secure funding for a film version, [6] [7] and The Beast of Kane (1983). [8]

Film

His autobiography inspired the film Tuxedo Warrior (1982); however the film ignores his life and instead uses him as a character in a fictional narrative.

In 1983 Twemlow wrote, produced and starred in G.B.H.: Grievous Bodily Harm, one of the earliest British films to be shot on video, which sold over 10,000 copies in its first month of release. [9] [10]

This was followed by Target Eve Island (1983), co-produced with director David Kent-Watson and filmed in Grenada and Barbados, and The Ibiza Connection (1994) with Steve Powell and Brian Sterling-Vete.

In 1986, Twemlow produced and starred in Predator: The Quietus (aka Moonstalker), with David Tattersall as Director of Photography, later to be cinematographer on The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles and three episodes of the Star Wars franchise.

The films Firestar: First Contact and GBH 2 followed, and a television series pilot Bad Weekend.

Twemlow appeared in several special interest films produced by Brian Sterling-Vete on the MajorVision label includingThe Power to Win, The Ultimate Self Defense and Fitness Over Forty.

Death

Twemlow died from a heart attack on 9 May 1993, [2] aged 55.

Documentary

Twemlow is the subject of Jake West's documentary Mancunian Man: The Legendary Life of Cliff Twemlow (Severin Films, 2023). [11] [12]

Filmography

FilmYearDirectorRoleCredits
Tuxedo Warrior1981Andrew SinclairChaser
G.B.H.: Grievous Bodily Harm1983David Kent-WatsonSteve DonovanScreenwriter, co-producer, music (as John Agar)
Target Eve Island

aka Operation Urgent Fury

1983David Kent-WatsonChaserScreenwriter, producer
The Ibiza Connection1984Howard ArundelWolf Svenson (as Mike Sullivan)Co-screenwriter, producer
The Omega Connection

(re-edit of Tuxedo Warrior)

1985Andrew SinclairChaserScreenwriter, co-producer, music (as John Agar)
The African Run

(re-edit of Tuxedo Warrior)

1985Andrew SinclairChaserScreenwriter, co-producer, music (as John Agar)
Moonstalker a.k.a.

Predator: The Quietus

1986Leslie McCarthyDaniel Kane (as Mike Sullivan)Screenwriter, co-producer
The Eye of Satan1987David Kent-WatsonKaneScreenwriter, co-producer
The Hit Man

aka The Ambassador

1988Leslie McCarthyuncredited
Firestar: First Contact1991David Kent-WatsonJohn D Trooper (as Mike Sullivan)Screenwriter, producer
G.B.H. 2: Lethal Impact1991David Kent-WatsonSteve Donovan (as Mike Sullivan)Screenwriter, co-producer
Bad Weekend (short)1992David Kent-WatsonHawk (as Mike Sullivan)Screenwriter, co-producer

Discography

All albums credited to Peter Reno, and released by De Wolfe Music, except where noted.

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References

  1. Willis, Andy; Lee, C P (2009). "The Lost World of Twemlow and Kent-Watson: Mancunian Exploitation Film in the 1980s and 1990s". Journal of British Cinema and Television. 6 (1). Edinburgh University Press: 58–72. doi:10.3366/E1743452109000685.
  2. 1 2 Lee, C P; Willis, Andy (2009). The Lost World of Cliff Twemlow. Hotun Press. ISBN   9780955625718.
  3. "The Simon Park Orchestra – Eye Level". Discogs. Retrieved 18 April 2024.
  4. Twemlow, Cliff (1998). The Tuxedo Warrior: Tales of a Mancunian Bouncer. Summersdale Publishers. ISBN   978-1873475461.
  5. Twemlow, Cliff (1982). The Pike. Hamlyn. ISBN   9780600206644.
  6. "Seeking out a robot pike's hiding place". The North-West Evening Mail. 24 May 2006. Archived from the original on 26 September 2007. Retrieved 18 April 2024.
  7. "Press Releases". Anglers' Net. 18 July 2001. Archived from the original on 28 September 2007. Retrieved 18 April 2024.
  8. Twemlow, Cliff (1983). The Beast of Kane. Hamlyn. ISBN   9780600207733.
  9. Kerekes, David (2022). "G.B.H. Grievous Bodily Harm (1983)". In Upton, Julian (ed.). Offbeat: British Cinema's Curiosities, Obscurities and Forgotten Items (2nd ed.). Headpress. pp. 515–517. ISBN   9781909394933.
  10. Qureshi, Yakub (29 October 2013). "Movie fan's bid to put action hero Cliff back in the frame: Bouncer-turned-actor made scores of cult films But videos were never transferred onto DVD". Manchester Evening News . p. 19. ProQuest   1446169543 . Retrieved 18 April 2024 via Proquest.
  11. Bamford, Thom (14 November 2023). "The Legendary Indie Film Maker who Shocked Britain Honoured in Documentary". ilovemanchester.com. Retrieved 18 April 2024.
  12. Wise, Damon (27 August 2023). "'Mancunian Man: The Legendary Life of Cliff Twemlow' Review: Moving Tribute To A Cult Movie Maverick – Frightfest". deadline.com. Retrieved 18 April 2024.