John Michael Frankenheimer was an American film and television director known for social dramas and action/suspense films. Among his credits were Birdman of Alcatraz (1962), The Manchurian Candidate (1962), Seven Days in May (1964), The Train (1964), Seconds (1966), Grand Prix (1966), French Connection II (1975), Black Sunday (1977), The Island of Dr. Moreau (1996), and Ronin (1998).
Robert Ludlum was an American author of 27 thriller novels, best known as the creator of Jason Bourne from the original The Bourne Trilogy series. The number of copies of his books in print is estimated between 300 million and 500 million. They have been published in 33 languages and 40 countries. Ludlum also published books under the pseudonyms Jonathan Ryder and Michael Shepherd.
Ronin is a 1998 American action thriller film directed by John Frankenheimer and written by John David Zeik and David Mamet, under the pseudonym Richard Weisz. It stars an ensemble cast consisting of Robert De Niro, Jean Reno, Natascha McElhone, Stellan Skarsgård, Sean Bean, and Jonathan Pryce. The film is about a team of former special operatives hired to steal a mysterious, heavily guarded briefcase while navigating a maze of shifting loyalties. The film was praised for its realistic car chases in Nice and Paris.
James Edmund Caan was an American actor. He came to prominence playing Sonny Corleone in The Godfather (1972) – a performance that earned him Academy Award and Golden Globe nominations for Best Supporting Actor. He reprised his role in The Godfather Part II (1974). He received a motion-picture star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1978.
George Axelrod was an American screenwriter, producer, playwright and film director, best known for his play The Seven Year Itch (1952), which was adapted into a film of the same name starring Marilyn Monroe. Axelrod was nominated for an Academy Award for his 1961 adaptation of Truman Capote's Breakfast at Tiffany's and also adapted Richard Condon's The Manchurian Candidate (1962).
King David is a 1985 American Biblical epic film about the life of David, the second King of the Kingdom of Israel, as recounted in the Hebrew Bible. The film is directed by Bruce Beresford, written by Andrew Birkin and James Costigan, and stars Richard Gere in the title role. The ensemble cast includes Edward Woodward, Alice Krige, Denis Quilley, Cherie Lunghi, Hurd Hatfield, John Castle, Jean-Marc Barr, Christopher Malcolm, and Gina Bellman.
Freebie and the Bean is a 1974 American buddy cop black comedy action film starring James Caan and Alan Arkin, and directed by Richard Rush. The film follows two offbeat police detectives who wreak havoc in San Francisco attempting to bring down an organized crime boss. The film, which had been originally scripted as a serious crime drama, morphed into what is now known as the "buddy-cop" genre due to the bantering, improvisational nature of the acting by Caan and Arkin. Reportedly, by the end of filming, both actors were confused by the purpose of the movie, not knowing that they had stumbled into a successful character formula. The film was popular enough to spawn various other successful film franchises such as, Lethal Weapon, 48 Hours and Beverly Hills Cop. Loretta Swit and Valerie Harper appeared in support roles.
The Holcroft Covenant is a 1978 thriller novel by Robert Ludlum. In 1985 it was made into a film of the same name.
Water is a 1985 British comedy film directed by Dick Clement and starring Michael Caine. It was scripted by Clement and Ian La Frenais. The plot spoofs elements of the comedies Carlton-Browne of the F.O. (1958) and Passport to Pimlico (1948) and the then-recent invasions of the Falkland Islands and Grenada. Caine plays Baxter Thwaites, a Governor who has 'gone native', and Billy Connolly as local biracial activist Delgado, supported by the last performance of Leonard Rossiter, as Sir Malcolm Leveridge, and one of the last performances of Fulton Mackay.
Edward Anhalt was an American screenwriter, producer, and documentary filmmaker. After working as a journalist and documentary filmmaker for Pathé and CBS-TV, he teamed with his wife Edna Anhalt, one of his five wives, during World War II to write pulp fiction.
The Magus is a 1968 British mystery film directed by Guy Green. The screenplay was written by John Fowles, based on his 1965 novel of the same name. It starred Michael Caine, Anthony Quinn, Candice Bergen and Anna Karina.
The Fourth Protocol is a 1987 British Cold War spy film starring Michael Caine and Pierce Brosnan. Directed by John Mackenzie, it is based on the 1984 novel The Fourth Protocol by Frederick Forsyth.
The Horsemen is a 1971 American adventure film starring Omar Sharif, directed by John Frankenheimer; screenplay by Dalton Trumbo. Based on a 1967 novel by French writer Joseph Kessel, Les Cavaliers shows Afghanistan and its people the way they were before the wars that wracked the country, particularly their love for the sport of buzkashi. The film was filmed in Afghanistan and Spain.
The Iceman Cometh is a 1973 American drama film directed by John Frankenheimer. The screenplay, written by Thomas Quinn Curtiss, is based on Eugene O'Neill's 1946 play of the same name. The film was produced by Ely Landau for the American Film Theatre, which from 1973 to 1975 presented thirteen film adaptations of noted plays.
Crimes of Passion is a 1984 American erotic thriller film directed by Ken Russell and starring Kathleen Turner, Anthony Perkins, and John Laughlin. The film explores themes of human relationships and mental illness. A mix of sex and suspense, the film opened to controversy over its content and to negative reviews.
Black Sunday is a 1977 American action thriller film directed by John Frankenheimer and based on Thomas Harris's novel of the same name. It was produced by Robert Evans, and stars Robert Shaw, Bruce Dern and Marthe Keller. It was nominated for the Edgar Allan Poe Award in 1978. The screenplay was written by Ernest Lehman, Kenneth Ross and Ivan Moffat. Ross had previously written the screenplay for The Day of the Jackal, a similar plot-driven political thriller. The inspiration of the story came from the Munich massacre, perpetrated by the Black September organization against Israeli athletes at the 1972 Summer Olympics, giving the title for the novel and film.
Morons from Outer Space is a 1985 British comedy-science fiction film directed by Mike Hodges and written by and starring Griff Rhys Jones and Mel Smith. It also stars Jimmy Nail and James B. Sikking.
Impossible Object, later released as Story of a Love Story, is a 1973 drama film starring Alan Bates and Dominique Sanda. It was directed by John Frankenheimer with a screenplay by Nicholas Mosley based on his own novel. It was screened at the 1973 Cannes Film Festival, but was not entered into the main competition. Mosley wrote the screenplay at the behest of director Joseph Losey, whose film Accident was based on an earlier Mosley novel. Dirk Bogarde and Catherine Deneuve had been attached to the film. However, Losey had difficulty financing the film and later fell out with Mosley over The Assassination of Trotsky. Frankenheimer, looking to make an independent film, took over the project.
Harry and Walter Go to New York is a 1976 American period comedy film written by John Byrum and Robert Kaufman, directed by Mark Rydell, and starring James Caan, Elliott Gould, Michael Caine, Diane Keaton, Charles Durning and Lesley Ann Warren. In the film, two dimwitted con-men try to pull off the biggest heist ever seen in late nineteenth-century New York City. They are opposed by the greatest bank robber of the day, and aided by a crusading newspaper editor.
Captivate Entertainment LLC. is an American film production company, founded by Jeffrey Weiner and Ben Smith in 2009. It has a first-look deal with Universal Studios and it is based on the Universal Studios Backlot in Universal City, California. The company is best known for managing the movie rights of Robert Ludlum's books and producing the 2012 film The Bourne Legacy starring Jeremy Renner, Rachel Weisz and Edward Norton.
