The Keeper (1976 film)

Last updated
The Keeper
Directed by T.Y. Drake
Written byT.Y. Drake
Story byDavid Curnick
Donald Wilson
Produced byDonald Wilson
Starring Christopher Lee
Tell Schreiber
Sally Gray
Ross Vezarian
Ian Tracey
CinematographyDoug McKay
Edited bySally Paterson
George Johnson
Music by Erich Hoyt
Production
companies
Lionsgate Productions Ltd.
Canadian Film Development Corporation
Distributed by CBS (TV)
InterGlobal Home Video (VHS)
Release dates
April 1976 (premiere)
December 19, 1985 (CBS)
Running time
88 minutes
Country Canada
LanguageEnglish
Budget$135,000 CAD$

The Keeper is a 1976 Canadian comedy-thriller film written and directed by T.Y. Drake and starring Christopher Lee in the title role. The film was never released theatrically and went straight to television. [1]

Contents

Synopsis

Christopher Lee is The Keeper, the sinister and crippled administrator of the secluded and exclusive Underwood Asylum in 1947 British Columbia where the community's wealthiest families have entrusted their mentally-disturbed relatives to his unique care. However, these families soon begin to die under grisly and unusual circumstances, leaving large inheritances to The Keeper's deranged patients.

Dick Driver (Tell Schreiber) is a private investigator hired by a mysterious client to investigate Underwood Asylum and he soon discovers the connection between The Keeper's therapy and the millionaires' deaths.

Cast

Production and release

The Keeper was filmed on a budget of $135,000 in Vancouver, British Columbia from October 1 to 24, 1975. [2]

T.Y. Drake first became involved in the production as a writer, called in for a rewrite after the original proposal had been made to the Canadian Film Development Corporation (CFDC) by producer Donald Wilson. When the original director left the production, the project was later resubmitted with Drake as director, and accepted. [3]

Although never released theatrically and shelved for nearly a decade, The Keeper went straight to television and finally premiered on December 19, 1985 as part of The CBS Late Movie . [4] In 1987, the film was released on VHS by InterGlobal Home Video (Canada) and has long been out of print.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Liev Schreiber</span> American actor (born 1967)

Isaac Liev Schreiber is an American actor, director, screenwriter, and producer. He became known during the late 1990s and early 2000s after appearing in several independent films, and later mainstream Hollywood films, including the first three Scream horror films (1996–2000), Ransom (1996), Phantoms (1998), The Hurricane (1999), Kate & Leopold (2001), The Sum of All Fears (2002), The Manchurian Candidate (2004), The Omen (2006), Defiance (2008), X-Men Origins: Wolverine (2009), Taking Woodstock (2009), Salt (2010), Goon (2011), Pawn Sacrifice (2014), Spotlight (2015), The 5th Wave (2016), and The French Dispatch (2021). He has also lent his voice to animated films such as My Little Pony: The Movie (2017), Isle of Dogs, and Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse.

<i>True Romance</i> 1993 film by Tony Scott

True Romance is a 1993 American romantic crime film directed by Tony Scott and written by Quentin Tarantino. It features an ensemble cast led by Christian Slater and Patricia Arquette, with Dennis Hopper, Val Kilmer, Gary Oldman, Brad Pitt, and Christopher Walken in supporting roles. Slater and Arquette portray newlyweds on the run from the Mafia after stealing a shipment of drugs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lauren Lee Smith</span> Canadian actress (born 1980)

Lauren Lee Smith is a Canadian actress. She is known for her television roles, including Emma DeLauro in the syndicated science fiction drama Mutant X, Riley Adams in the CBS forensics drama CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, police Sergeant Michelle McCluskey in the CTV fantasy drama The Listener and Frankie Drake in the CBC detective series Frankie Drake Mysteries.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Peter Breck</span> American actor (1929–2012)

Joseph Peter Breck was an American character actor. The rugged, dark-haired Breck played the gambler and gunfighter Doc Holliday on the ABC/Warner Bros. Television series Maverick as well as Victoria Barkley's hot-tempered middle son Nick in the 1960s ABC/Four Star Western, The Big Valley. Breck also had the starring role in an earlier NBC/Four Star Western television series entitled Black Saddle.

<i>Domino</i> (2005 film) 2005 UK-France-USA action film

Domino is a 2005 action crime film directed by Tony Scott with a screenplay by Richard Kelly from a story by Kelly and Steve Barancik. An international co-production between France, the United States, and the United Kingdom, the film is inspired by Domino Harvey, the English daughter of stage and screen actor Laurence Harvey, who became a Los Angeles bounty hunter.

<i>The Return of the Pink Panther</i> 1975 detective comedy film by Blake Edwards

The Return of the Pink Panther is a 1975 comedy film and the fourth film in The Pink Panther series. The film stars Peter Sellers returning to the role of Inspector Clouseau for the first time since A Shot in the Dark (1964), after having declined to reprise the role in Inspector Clouseau (1968). The film was a commercial hit and revived the previously dormant series and with it Peter Sellers' career.

<i>Diagnosis: Murder</i> American mystery-comedy-medical crime drama television series (1993–2001)

Diagnosis: Murder is an American comedy-mystery-medical crime drama television series starring Dick Van Dyke as Dr. Mark Sloan, a medical doctor who solves crimes with the help of his son Steve, a homicide detective played by Van Dyke's real-life son Barry. The series began as a spin-off of Jake and the Fatman, became a series of three television films, and then a weekly television series that debuted on CBS on October 29, 1993. Joyce Burditt wrote the episode in Jake and the Fatman and is listed here as the creator of the spin off series.

Ian Robertson Underwood is a woodwind and keyboards player, known for his work with Frank Zappa and the Mothers of Invention.

Ghoulies is an American comedy horror film series that consists of four films released from 1985 to 1994. The films center on a group of small demonic creatures that have a wide range of twisted appearances.

<i>The CBS Late Movie</i> Television series

The CBS Late Movie is a CBS television series during the 1970s and 1980s. The program ran in most American television markets from 11:30 p.m. (ET/PT) until 2:30 a.m. or later, on weeknights. A single announcer voiced the introduction and commercial bumpers for each program, but there was no host per se, or closing credits besides those of the night's presentation.

Gerald William Abrams is an American television producer who has produced many TV movies starting in the mid-1970s.

Legend of the White Horse is a 1987 Polish-American adventure children's film directed by Jerzy Domaradzki and Janusz Morgenstern, based on the magic realism novel White Horse, Dark Dragon by Robert C. Fleet, who also wrote the screenplay. It was produced by Alina Szpak for CBS Theatrical Films, Legend Productions & Film Polski. The film is also a political satire. It was released on July 13, 1987. It was re-released in 2017 by Legend 44 Productions as White Horse, Dark Dragon; Legend 44 Productions is the successor to Legend Productions, the American co-producer and copyright holder of the feature.

The Asylum is an American independent film production and distribution company that focuses on low-budget, direct-to-video films. It is notorious for producing titles that capitalize on productions by major studios, often using film titles and scripts very similar to those of current blockbusters in order to lure customers. These titles have been dubbed "mockbusters" by the press. Its titles are distributed by Echo Bridge Home Entertainment, GT Media, and as of 2015, Cineverse.

George Bruno Money is an English vocalist, keyboardist and bandleader. He is best known for his playing of the Hammond organ and association with his Big Roll Band. Inspired by Jerry Lee Lewis and Ray Charles, he was drawn to rock and roll music and became a leading light in the vibrant music scene of Bournemouth and Soho during the 1960s. He took his stage name 'Zoot' from Zoot Sims after seeing him in concert.

The Amityville haunting is a modern folk story based on the true crimes of Ronald DeFeo Jr. On November 13, 1974, DeFeo shot and killed six members of his family at 112 Ocean Avenue, Amityville, on the south shore of Long Island. He was convicted of second-degree murder in November 1975. In December 1975, George and Kathy Lutz and their three children moved into the house. After 28 days, the Lutzes left the house, claiming to have been terrorized by paranormal phenomena while living there. The house became the subject of numerous investigations by paranormal researchers, journalists, and skeptics, including Ed and Lorraine Warren. These events served as the historical basis for Jay Anson's 1977 novel The Amityville Horror, which was followed by a number of sequels and was adapted into a film of the same name in 1979. Since then, many films have been produced that draw explicitly, to a greater or lesser extent, from these historical and literary sources. As Amityville is a real town and the stories of DeFeo and the Lutzes are historical, there can be no proprietary relationship to the underlying story elements associated with the Amityville haunting. As a result of this, there has been no restriction on the exploitation of the story by film producers, which is the reason that most of these films share no continuity, were produced by different companies, and tell widely varying stories.

<i>The Four Skulls of Jonathan Drake</i> 1959 American film

The Four Skulls of Jonathan Drake is a 1959 American black-and-white horror film written by Orville H. Hampton and directed by Edward L. Cahn. It was one of a series of films they made in the late 1950s for producer Robert E. Kent on contract for distribution by United Artists. The film stars Eduard Franz, Valerie French, Grant Richards, and Henry Daniell. Set in the present day, it tells the story of a curse placed on the Drake Family by the witch doctor of the Jivaro, a tribe of indigenous people in Ecuador, following a 19th century massacre led by Capt. Wilfred Drake. Since that time, for three generations, all the Drake men have died at age 60, after which they were decapitated, and their heads shrunken by persons unknown.

<i>Dark Places</i> (1973 film) 1974 British film by Don Sharp

Dark Places is a 1973 British psychological horror film directed by Don Sharp and starring Robert Hardy, Christopher Lee, Joan Collins and Herbert Lom.

<i>Deadhead Miles</i> 1972 film by Vernon Zimmerman

Deadhead Miles is a 1972 American road comedy film directed by Vernon Zimmerman from a script by Terrence Malick, and starring Alan Arkin and Paul Benedict. Actors Bruce Bennett, George Raft and Ida Lupino make cameos.

Thomas Y. Drake, also credited professionally as T. Y. Drake and Tom Drake, was a Canadian singer-songwriter, film director and screenwriter.

<i>Chuck</i> (film) 2016 American film

Chuck is a 2016 American biographical sports drama film directed by Philippe Falardeau and written by Jeff Feuerzeig, Jerry Stahl, Michael Cristofer and Liev Schreiber, who also stars in the title role. The cast includes Elisabeth Moss, Ron Perlman, Naomi Watts, Jim Gaffigan, Michael Rapaport, Pooch Hall, Morgan Spector, Jason Jones and Catherine Corcoran. The film depicts the life of heavyweight boxer Chuck Wepner and his 1975 title fight with the heavyweight champion, Muhammad Ali, which inspired Sylvester Stallone's character and screenplay for the 1976 film Rocky.

References