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Half Moon Street (1986)
Not as Originally Planned
The original story, a novella by Paul Theroux, was turned into a screenplay, also by Theroux (he wrote several). It was terrific. You couldn't put it down. It was a highly-atmospheric work with complex characters. We struggled to find the right director, who could give it the right kind of film noir look at which Theroux was clearly aiming. We ran into early problems when few actors we approached for the female lead were willing to play this kind of a role. The nudity was not an issue; they just didn't "identify" with Dr. Slaughter.
Signing Sigourney Weaver was a blessing but also a problem since she's taller than most leading men but fortunately, so is Michael Caine. We got lucky in that combination. We had long conferences with the director, who seemed to understand exactly what Theroux's concept was all about.
During shooting in London, the RKO team (in New York and Los Angeles; our post-production group was based in London) kept asking the head of production how things were going, how the dailies looked, etc. He told us they were on time and under budget, which was true.
When the film was finished, I went to London with the President of RKO Pictures to look at an assemble edit. It was almost unwatchable. I began to wonder if there was a good way to edit around the female lead. But it wasn't really her fault. Who could possibly undress Sigourney Weaver and make her look unsexy? That took a special kind of talent. We walked out of the screening room into the daylight of Dolphin Square and contemplated the end of our careers.
Fortunately we were able to make other pictures and have the time to spend the rest of our lives wondering exactly how to apologize for this one.
Sunday Showcase: Murder and the Android (1959)
Based on Bester's Original Story
I also saw the original teleplay (as it was called in those days) and it was definitely based on "Fondly Fahrenheit" and follows the story fairly closely. Amazing to think that Bester was writing about transference in 1954. I believe this (the story) is the first fictional treatment of transference, at least from the point of view of those affected by it.
Bester's most-famous work was the novel "The Stars My Destination," whose protagonist suffered from intermittent bouts of synesthesia, which is again a first as far as I can tell. A number of attempts have been made to turn this into a movie and I remember seeing at least three different scripts, but it was a difficult challenge. As of this writing, no one has gone beyond the development stage, as far as I know.
Immortal (2001)
Beautiful women and better-than-average story elements.
This movie actually has a rational story about Cleo, the Greek goddess of music, falling in love with a mortal, who is, ironically, a musician. If she chooses to remain on earth, rather than return to Mt. Olympus, she will forfeit her immortality and become mortal. Is love stronger than the desire to remain immortal? Tough choice for Cleo and surprisingly well-developed, with a surprise ending.
Of course it's an XXX-rated movie so there's lots of single and group encounters. Love those pierced girls! Great production values. Aside from some wooden dialogue and the usual wordless moans of passion (or lust), this movie is much better than the genre and better than a lot of made-for-TV films. Worth watching.
Dick Turpin (1979)
Don't Forget the Film Version
The first film made by RKO Pictures, together with London Weekend Television, the film version also starred Mary Crosby, who had just finished shooting "JR" in the TV series DALLAS.
Not a wonderful movie, but RKO had just gotten started and could only co-produce in the early years. The terrific experience working with LWT led RKO to establish its post-production and international distribution headquarters in London. In fact, RKO hired several people from LWT and staffed its London office completely with people from the British film industry. For many years, the British contingent at RKO ran production and international sales.
Justine (1969)
Atmospheric version of Durrell's literary classic.
A condensed version of Lawrence Durrell's brilliant literary classic Alexandria Quartet, Justine is about the sophisticated game of international intrigue and espionage in Alexandria, Egypt (at the time the Switzerland of Africa and the Middle East) between the first and second world war. Subtle character portraits from a range of British and European actors at the top of their game draws the viewer into a fascinating foreshadowing of the political events to come.