Production
Development
The book was published in the US as You Shall Know Them in 1953. The New York Times called it a "humanely sardonic story". [2] It became a best seller. [3]
The author adapted the novel into the play Zoo, which was performed in Paris. Otto Preminger optioned the stage rights and got Nelson Gidding to adapt it under the title The Case of the Troublesome Topis. [4]
Giddings later said he showed the original novel by Jean Bruller writing as "Vercors" to Otto Preminger with the idea of making a film of the book. After they viewed a play based on the novel presented in Carcassonne, Preminger agreed but later became busy with other film projects.
Giddings ended up writing a screenplay. The rights to the novel were sold to producer Saul David after he left 20th Century Fox. It was the first film he was to make under a deal with Universal. [5]
The film was to have been the first major feature film production of ABC Pictures with the film crew planning on shooting in Papua New Guinea where an Australian Army General who Gidding had known in World War II provided extensive cooperation to the production.
One of the producers from ABC Pictures wanted to talk to David about the film at short notice as he was flying to Europe. David refused to meet him due to the medical problems of David's daughter that precluded a meeting; however, David refused to tell the producer why he would not see him. Thinking himself insulted, the producer placed the film on hold with the production of the film being purchased by Universal Pictures who insisted the film be shot in much safer and economical Jamaican locations.
Burt Reynolds agreed to star, turning down a lead role in MASH (1970) to do the film. [6] [7]
Shooting
Filming started 6 January 1969. [8]
On the first day of shooting David sacked his director Richard Wilson and replaced him with Gordon Douglas who directed David's In Like Flint . The termination was put down to "creative differences". [9]
After Burt Reynolds and Susan Clark were cast, Karl Malden expressed interest in playing the role of Otto Krebs that the screenplay described as a fat man. David thought Malden too thin and hired an actor he thought was corpulent, Roger C. Carmel, but was dismayed when Carmel arrived on location having slimmed down for the role. [10]
Producer Saul David created and named his character of Berle Tanen after then-MCA executives Berle Adams and Ned Tanen. [11]
Burt Reynolds later said the film had a "good script. The guy's a good writer, Lorenzo Semple Jr. Badly directed, kind of sloughed off. Susan Clark was good; she's a good actress. But nobody knew how to sell the picture. Any time you have Pat Suzuki dressed as a small ape, I think you're in trouble." [12]
Otto Ludwig Preminger was an Austrian-American film and theatre director, film producer, and actor. He directed more than 35 feature films in a five-decade career after leaving the theatre, and was one of the most influential directors in Hollywood during the 1940’s and ‘50s. He was nominated for three Academy Awards, twice for Best Director and once for Best Picture, among many other accolades.
Laura is a 1944 American film noir produced and directed by Otto Preminger. It stars Gene Tierney and Dana Andrews, along with Clifton Webb, Vincent Price, and Judith Anderson. The screenplay by Jay Dratler, Samuel Hoffenstein, and Betty Reinhardt is based on the 1943 novel Laura by Vera Caspary. Laura received five nominations for the Academy Awards, including for Best Director, winning for Best Black and White Cinematography. In 1999, Laura was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant". The American Film Institute named it one of the 10 best mystery films of all time, and it also appears on Roger Ebert's "Great Movies" series.
Ernest Ralph Tidyman was an American author and screenwriter, best known for his novels featuring the African-American detective John Shaft. His screenplay for The French Connection garnered him an Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay, as well as a Golden Globe Award, a Writers Guild of America Award, and an Edgar Award. In 1971, he also co-wrote the screenplay for the film version of Shaft with John D. F. Black.
Jean Marcel Adolphe Bruller was a French writer and illustrator who co-founded the publishing company Les Éditions de Minuit with Pierre de Lescure.
100 Rifles is a 1969 American Western film directed by Tom Gries and starring Jim Brown, Raquel Welch and Burt Reynolds. It is based on Robert MacLeod's 1966 novel The Californio. The film was shot in Spain. The original music score was composed by Jerry Goldsmith, who had previously also scored Bandolero!, another Western starring Welch.
Skin Game is a 1971 American independent comedy western directed by Paul Bogart and Gordon Douglas, and starring James Garner and Lou Gossett. The supporting cast features Susan Clark, Ed Asner, Andrew Duggan, Parley Baer and Royal Dano.
Sam Whiskey is a 1969 American Western comedy film shot in DeLuxe Color and directed by Arnold Laven, starring Burt Reynolds, Angie Dickinson, Clint Walker and Ossie Davis. "Way ahead of its time," said Reynolds of the film. "I was playing light comedy and nobody cared."
Elliott Kastner was an American film producer, whose best known credits include Where Eagles Dare (1968), The Long Goodbye (1973), The Missouri Breaks (1976), and Angel Heart (1987).
Rough Cut is a 1980 American heist film written by Larry Gelbart, directed by Don Siegel, and starring Burt Reynolds, Lesley-Anne Down and David Niven. It was based on the novel Touch the Lion's Paw (1975) by Derek Lambert.
Stroker Ace is a 1983 American action comedy sport film directed by Hal Needham and starring Burt Reynolds as the eponymous Stroker Ace, a NASCAR driver.
Advise & Consent is a 1962 American political drama film based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel Advise and Consent by Allen Drury, published in 1959. The film was adapted for the screen by Wendell Mayes and was directed by Otto Preminger. The film, set in Washington, D.C., follows the nomination process of a man who commits perjury in confirmation hearings for his nomination as Secretary of State. The title derives from the United States Constitution's Article II, Sec. 2, cl. 2, which provides that the president of the United States "shall nominate, and by and with the Advice and Consent of the Senate, shall appoint Ambassadors, other public Ministers and Consuls, Judges of the Supreme Court, and all other Officers of the United States." The ensemble cast features Henry Fonda, Charles Laughton, Don Murray, Walter Pidgeon, Peter Lawford, Gene Tierney, Franchot Tone, Lew Ayres, Burgess Meredith, Eddie Hodges, Paul Ford, George Grizzard, Inga Swenson, Betty White and others.
Shark! is a 1969 Mexican-American action film directed by Samuel Fuller and starring Burt Reynolds and Silvia Pinal. In the film, a stranded gunrunner is recruited for a treasure hunting expedition in the Red Sea. The mission requires him to dive into shark-infested waters.
Heat is a 1986 American neo-noir dramatic action thriller film about an ex-mercenary working as a bodyguard in Las Vegas. The film was written by William Goldman, based on his 1985 novel of the same name. Heat was directed by Dick Richards and Jerry Jameson. The film stars Burt Reynolds, Karen Young, Peter MacNicol, Howard Hesseman, Neill Barry and Joseph Mascolo.
Blue City is a 1986 American action thriller film directed by Michelle Manning and starring Judd Nelson, Ally Sheedy, and David Caruso. It is based on Ross Macdonald's 1947 novel of the same name about a young man who returns to a corrupt small town in Florida to avenge the death of his father.
Impasse is a 1969 American film about a group of adventurers trying to recover gold lost in the Philippines during World War II. It stars Burt Reynolds, Anne Francis, Vic Diaz, Lyle Bettger and Rodolfo Acosta.
Les animaux dénaturés is a 1952 novel by Jean Bruller under his pseudonym Vercors. English-language editions appeared under the titles You Shall Know Them, The Murder of the Missing Link, and Borderline. The author adapted it into a play, Zoo ou l'Assassin philanthrope. The novel was adapted into the motion picture Skullduggery (1970), starring Burt Reynolds and Susan Clark.
Saul David was an American book editor and film producer.
Operation C.I.A. is a 1965 black-and-white spy film directed by Christian Nyby and starring Burt Reynolds and John Hoyt.
The Man Who Loved Cat Dancing is a 1973 American Western film adaptation of Marilyn Durham's novel of the same name directed by Richard C. Sarafian, written by Eleanor Perry and William W. Norton, and starring Burt Reynolds and Sarah Miles.
Fade In is a 1973 American Western film starring Burt Reynolds, who said, "It should have been called Fade Out."
