The Omega Connection

Last updated
The Omega Connection
The London Connection.jpg
European video cover
GenreAction
Drama
Screenplay by Gail Morgan Hickman
David E. Boston
Story byGail Morgan Hickman
David E. Boston
David Assael
Joshua Brand
Martha Coolidge
Directed by Robert Clouse
Starring Jeffrey Byron
Larry Cedar
Music by John Cameron
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
Production
Executive producerRon Miller
ProducerJan Williams
CinematographyGodfrey A. Godar
EditorsPeter Boita
Mike Campbell
Running time100 min.
Production company Walt Disney Productions
Original release
Network NBC
ReleaseMarch 18, 1979 (1979-03-18) [1]

The Omega Connection is a 1979 American made-for-television action spy film directed by Robert Clouse for Walt Disney Productions. [2] It stars Jeffrey Byron and Larry Cedar. [3] It was released theatrically in other countries as The London Connection.

Contents

Plot

Luther Starling is a superspy for the American government who after completing his latest mission of retrieving stolen documents sets out on a six week vacation across Europe. Luther is picked up at Heathrow airport in London, England by his friend Roger in his Morgan 3-Wheeler to stay with Roger and Roger's Aunt Lydia for the duration of the London leg of Luther's trip. By chance the two follow a motorcade where British Secret Service agents Bidley and Peters are escorting a recently defected Eastern European scientist, Professor Buchinski who possesses a revolutionary new energy formula. However, when a team of armed gunmen ambush the motorcade intent on kidnapping the Professor, Luther attempts to intervene but is outmatched but the professor slips a gold ring into his jacket pocket. Upon discovery of the ring, it leads Luther and Roger on an adventure across London as they attempt to rescue the professor from the villainous criminal organization Omega.

Cast

Production

Disney developed The Omega Connection with the hope of positioning it as a more youthful take on the James Bond franchise and intended to produce follow-on films centered around the character of Luther Starling. [4]

The film was shot on location at Pinewood Studios in London. [5] Gloucester Mews, W2, was used as a filming location during the shooting of The London Connection. [6]

Release

The Omega Connection was broadcast on television in the United States on March 18, 1979 as part of The Wonderful World of Disney . [5] [1] The film was released theatrically in some foreign markets such as Japan and the United Kingdom under the alternate title of The London Connection. [7] [1] Due to Disney's desire to cater to a more mature audience than usual, the film was broadcast in the 8PM time slot instead of its usual 7PM time slot. [4] The change in time slot lead to the film directly competing with critical and ratings hit The Jericho Mile on ABC and under performed as a result with planned follow-up films such as The Paris Connection and The Rome Connection being quietly cancelled. [4]

In rebroadcasts of the film in later seasons, the film would be divided into one hour segments to be shown over two weeks worth of broadcasts. [5]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Elsa Lanchester</span> British-American actress (1902–1986)

Elsa Sullivan Lanchester was a British actress with a long career in theatre, film and television.

<i>One Hundred and One Dalmatians</i> 1961 animated film by Walt Disney

One Hundred and One Dalmatians is a 1961 American animated adventure comedy film produced by Walt Disney Productions with distribution by Buena Vista Distribution. Adapted from Dodie Smith's 1956 novel of the same name, the film was directed by Hamilton Luske, Clyde Geronimi, and Wolfgang Reitherman from a script by Bill Peet. It features the voice talents of Rod Taylor, J. Pat O'Malley, Betty Lou Gerson, Martha Wentworth, Ben Wright, Cate Bauer, Dave Frankham, and Fred Worlock.

<i>Mickeys Christmas Carol</i> 1983 film by Burny Mattinson

Mickey's Christmas Carol is a 1983 American animated Christmas fantasy featurette directed and produced by Burny Mattinson. The cartoon is an adaptation of Charles Dickens's 1843 novella A Christmas Carol, and stars Scrooge McDuck as Ebenezer Scrooge. Many other Disney characters, primarily from the Mickey Mouse universe, as well as Jiminy Cricket from Pinocchio (1940), and characters from The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad (1949) and Robin Hood (1973), were cast throughout the film. The featurette was produced by Walt Disney Productions and released by Buena Vista Distribution on December 16, 1983, with the re-issue of The Rescuers (1977). In the United States, it was first aired on television on NBC, on December 10, 1984.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Disney anthology television series</span> Anthology television series

The Walt Disney Company has produced an anthology television series since 1954 under several titles and formats. The program's current title, The Wonderful World of Disney, was used from 1969 to 1979 and again from 1991 onward. The program moved among the Big Three television networks in its first four decades, but has aired on ABC since 1997 and Disney+ from 2020 to 2023.

<i>The Happiest Millionaire</i> 1967 American musical film directed by Norman Tokar

The Happiest Millionaire is a 1967 American musical film starring Fred MacMurray, based upon the true story of Philadelphia millionaire Anthony Drexel Biddle. The film, featuring music by the Sherman Brothers, was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Costume Design by Bill Thomas. The screenplay by A. J. Carothers was adapted from the play, based on the book My Philadelphia Father by Cordelia Drexel Biddle. Walt Disney acquired the rights to the play in the early 1960s. The film was the last live-action musical film to be produced by Disney before his death on December 15, 1966.

<i>The Saint</i> (TV series) British TV thriller series (1962–1969)

The Saint is a British crime television series that aired in the United Kingdom on ITV between 1962 and 1969. It was based on the literary character Simon Templar created by Leslie Charteris in the 1920s and featured in many novels over the years. In the television series, Templar was played by Roger Moore. Templar helps those whom conventional agencies are powerless or unwilling to protect, often using methods that skirt the law. Chief Inspector Claud Eustace Teal is his nominal nemesis who considers Templar a common criminal, but often grudgingly tolerates his actions for the greater good.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Frederic Raphael</span> American-British writer (born 1931)

Frederic Michael Raphael FRSL is an American-born British novelist, biographer, journalist and Oscar-winning screenwriter, known for writing the screenplays for Darling, Far from the Madding Crowd,Two for the Road, and Stanley Kubrick's last film Eyes Wide Shut. Raphael rose to prominence in the early 1960s with the publication of several acclaimed novels, but most notably with the release of the John Schlesinger film Darling, starring Julie Christie and Dirk Bogarde, a romantic drama set in Swinging London, for which he won the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay in 1966. Two years later he was nominated again in the same category, this time for his work on Stanley Donen’s Two for the Road, starring Audrey Hepburn and Albert Finney. Since the death of screenwriter D. M. Marshman Jr. in 2015, he is the earliest surviving recipient of the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay, and the sole surviving recipient of the now retired BAFTA category of Best British Screenplay.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Omega the Unknown</span> Comics character

Omega the Unknown is an American comic book published by Marvel Comics from 1976 to 1977, featuring the eponymous fictional character. The series, written by Steve Gerber and Mary Skrenes and illustrated by Jim Mooney, ran for 10 issues before cancellation for low sales. Despite its short run, it has endured as a cult classic due to its intriguing characters and unusual storytelling. A 10-issue series revamping the character was published from 2007 to 2008, written by novelist Jonathan Lethem and illustrated by Farel Dalrymple.

James Dalessandro is an American writer and filmmaker. He is best known for his historical-fiction novel 1906 based on events surrounding the great San Francisco earthquake and fire of 1906.

Robert Clouse was an American film director and producer, known primarily for his work in the action/adventure and martial arts genres. He died on February 4, 1997, in Oregon of kidney failure.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jeffrey Byron</span> American actor and writer (born 1955)

Jeffrey Byron is an American actor and writer. Byron has acted in both film and television, and co-wrote one movie script, The Dungeonmaster.

<i>Barbie in a Christmas Carol</i> 2008 Canadian film

Barbie in a Christmas Carol is a 2008 animated Christmas film directed by William Lau and written by Elise Allen. Produced by Rainmaker Entertainment, it was given a limited theatrical release by Kidtoon Films on November 1, 2008 and was later released to DVD 3 days later. It premiered on British and Irish television via its Nick Jr. regional variant on December 23, 2011. The 14th entry in the Barbie film series, it is based on Charles Dickens's 1843 novel and features the voice of Kelly Sheridan as Barbie, with Morwenna Banks as Eden Starling.

<i>Selma, Lord, Selma</i> 1999 American TV film

Selma, Lord, Selma is a 1999 American made-for-television biographical drama film based on true events that happened in March 1965, known as Bloody Sunday in Selma, Alabama. The film tells the story through the eyes of a 9-year-old African-American girl named Sheyann Webb. It was directed by Charles Burnett, one of the pioneers of African-American independent cinema. It premiered on ABC on January 17, 1999.

<i>The Miracle Worker</i> (2000 film) 2000 US television film directed by Nadia Tass

The Miracle Worker is a 2000 American made-for-television biographical film based on the 1959 play of the same title by William Gibson, which originated as a 1957 broadcast of the television anthology series Playhouse 90. Gibson's original source material was The Story of My Life, the 1903 autobiography of Helen Keller. The play was adapted for the screen twice before, in 1962 and 1979. The film is based on the life of Helen Keller and Anne Sullivan's struggles to teach her. The film premiered on ABC as part of The Wonderful World of Disney on November 12, 2000.

The Tenderfoot (<i>The Wonderful World of Disney</i>) 4th, 5th and 6th episodes of the 11th season of The Wonderful World of Disney

"The Tenderfoot" is a three-part live action television miniseries comedy Western film produced in 1964 for Walt Disney's The Wonderful World of Color. It was broadcast over three weeks from October 18 to November 1, 1964. The show is based on James Henry Tevis' book Arizona in the '50s, and was directed by Robert L. Friend and Byron Paul.

<i>Cinderella</i> (1997 film) 1997 television film directed by Robert Iscove

Rodgers & Hammerstein's Cinderella is a 1997 American musical fantasy television film produced by Walt Disney Television, directed by Robert Iscove, and written by Robert L. Freedman. Based on the French fairy tale of the same name by Charles Perrault, the film is the second remake and third version of Rodgers and Hammerstein's musical, which originally aired on television in 1957. Adapted from Oscar Hammerstein II's book, Freedman modernized the script to appeal to more contemporary audiences by updating its themes, particularly re-writing its main character into a stronger heroine. Co-produced by Whitney Houston, who also appears as Cinderella's Fairy Godmother, the film stars Brandy in the title role and features a racially diverse ensemble cast consisting of Jason Alexander, Whoopi Goldberg, Bernadette Peters, Veanne Cox, Natalie Desselle, Victor Garber, and Paolo Montalban.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Escapade in Florence</span> 2nd and 3rd episodes of the 9th season of The Magical World of Disney

"Escapade in Florence" is a two-part episode of The Magical World of Disney television show which was released theatrically in some countries. Walt Disney described it as a "two-part teenage comedy adventure" which was "international in flavor". The show first aired on September 30 and October 7, 1962, and was repeated in June 1963 and June 1969.

<i>Herbie</i> (franchise) Disney media franchise about a sentient 1963 Volkswagen Beetle

The Herbie franchise consists of American sports adventure comedy theatrical feature films, one television film, a television series, and other multimedia releases. The overall story centers around the titular Herbie, a sentient anthropomorphic 1963 Volkswagen Beetle with a mind of his own and capable of driving himself. The vehicle is oftentimes a legitimate contender, though the underdog contestant in competitive races, but to a greater degree assists his human owners in bettering their lives.

Wonderful John Acton is an American television situation comedy that was broadcast on NBC from July 5, 1953, until September 22, 1953.

References

  1. 1 2 3 Galbraith IV, Stuart (2008) [first published 2008]. The Toho Studios Story: A History and Complete Filmography. Scarecrow Press. ISBN   978-0810860049.
  2. "The Omega Connection". British Film Institute Collections Search. Retrieved 18 September 2024.
  3. "The Omega Connection (1979) - Robert Clouse | Synopsis, Characteristics, Moods, Themes and Related | AllMovie".
  4. 1 2 3 Taylor, Tadhg (2015) [first published 2015]. Masters of the Shoot-'Em-Up: Conversations with Directors, Actors and Writers of Vintage Action Movies and Television Shows. McFarland. ISBN   978-0786494064.
  5. 1 2 3 Cotter, Bill (1997) [first published 1997]. The Wonderful World of Disney Television: A Complete History. Disney Editions. ISBN   978-0786863594.
  6. Mews News. Lurot Brand. Published Spring 2010. Retrieved 20 September 2013.
  7. Smith, Dave (1998) [first published 1998]. Disney A to Z : the updated official encyclopedia. Disney Editions. ISBN   978-0786863914.