SURFIN’ SHORTS is a compilation of three short documentaries accompanied by running voice-over narration by director and surfer Bruce Brown, naming locations, surfers and skateboarders. The interview in the first section, which was untitled, was shot on location at Dana Point, CA and consists mostly of an interview between sportscaster Bud Palmer and Brown, while the "The Wet Set" and the surfing footage in the first section were shot in Japan, Waimei Bay in Oahu, HI, and on different California beaches. The third segment, "America's Newest Sport," was shot on location in Southern California.
SURFIN’ SHORTS was the fourth feature-length surf film made by Brown. Warren Miller, who is seen surfing in the first section of the film, later became known for his skiing movies including the 1967 SKI ON THE WILD SIDE. The pop group The Sandals provide the music for “America’s Newest Sport.”
SURFING HOLLOW DAYS was Bruce Brown’s fifth surf film. The first part features an encounter between surfers and a 15-foot shark, while the second half recounts the group’s discovery of the Pipeline in Hawaii. The 84-minute film was made available circa 1961.
By 1962, Bruce Brown had spent five years making one surf film per year. He would shoot during the fall and winter months, edit during the spring and show the finished product during the summer. Brown remembered, "I felt if I could take two years to make a film, maybe I could make something special". To do this, he would need a bigger budget than he had on previous films. To raise the $50,000 budget for what would become THE ENDLESS SUMMER, Brown took the best footage from his four previous films and made WATER LOGGED, a 1962 “greatest hits’ surf film that included footage from all of Bruce Brown’s prior films except for SURFIN’ SHORTS.
In 1962, Bruce Brown embarked upon the production of his ultimate surf film--THE ENDLESS SUMMER. Brown took all of the profits from his previous films, and all the money he could borrow, and put the entire amount--$50,000—into this new film. In the film, surfers Mike Hynson and Robert August embark on a 3-month international adventure in search of "the perfect wave." The trio's odyssey extends from the wintry beach of Malibu to the warm waters of Ghana, and includes stops in Nigeria, Australia, New Zealand, Tahiti, and Hawaii. The film was shot in 16mm.
The film’s title comes from the idea, expressed at both the beginning and end of the film, that if one had enough time and money it would be possible to follow the summer up and down the world (northern to southern hemisphere and back), making it endless. The original plan for the film was to shoot it all in South Africa. The concept of the film was born through the suggestion of a travel agent to Bruce Brown during the planning stages of the film. The travel agent mentioned that the flight from Los Angeles to Cape Town, South Africa and back would cost $50 more than a trip circumnavigating the world. After that, Brown came up with the idea of following the summer season by traveling up and down the world.
While editing his film in 1963, Brown was approached by a new instrumental group called The Sandells who were hoping to sell him one of their songs for use on his new film. The group had just issued their first LP, called “Scrambler!” Brown was so impressed by their music that he agreed to use a number of their songs in the film. It was agreed that all film profit would go to Brown, and all soundtrack profit to go to The Sandells.
During 1964, Bruce Brown played his film in the manner of his other films—showing it in school auditoriums and assembly halls. For a time, The Sandells toured with the film, providing live backing for the live narration by Brown. The group also slightly modified their name during this time, to the surf-inspired "The Sandals." In 1965, Brown shopped his completed film to several Hollywood studio distributors, but was rejected because they did not think it would have mainstream appeal. So, in January 1966, he took THE ENDLESS SUMMER to Wichita, Kansas for two weeks where moviegoers lined up in snowy weather in the middle of winter, and it went on to sell out multiple screenings. Distributors were still not convinced. In July 1966, Brown had the film blown up to 35mm and rented a theater in New York City where his film ran successfully for a year. Newsweek listed it as one of the 10 best films of the year.
After the success of the run at New York's Kips Bay Theater, distributors came around, but wanted to change aspects of the film and its marketing. "One group said the poster's no good, and others said we need more chicks in it," Brown said. Don Rugoff of Cinema 5 distribution said he did not want the film or poster changed and wanted to distribute them as is; thus Brown selected him over other distributors who wished to make alterations. When THE ENDLESS SUMMER debuted widely, it grossed $5 million domestically and over $20 million worldwide.
After THE ENDLERSS SUMMER reached nationwide distribution, The Sandals recorded the song "Endless Summer", one of their first songs with vocals. The song was a departure in a number of ways, and not just relating to the vocals. They were attempting a Beach Boys-esque sound, with mixed results. They also re-released the “Scrambler!” LP as “The Endless Summer” soundtrack along with new single records similarly retitled. The Sandals re-recorded the LP, with a few new songs, in 1992, and that was the version first released on CD by Tri-Surf Records. The original recording was not issued on CD until 2003, by Raven Records in Australia.
In December 2002, the Library of Congress included THE ENDLESS SUMMER in its annual list of twenty-five films considered National Treasures.
Before the opening credits appear for 1971’s ON ANY SUNDAY, the offscreen voice of filmmaker Bruce Brown discusses the many different types of motorcycle enthusiasts in the United States. Brown’s prologue is spoken over images of fat people, old people, and young boys riding their bikes and motorcycles. The opening credits are followed by a shot of motorcyclist Mert Lawwill wearing a business suit and surrounded by other businessmen as he crosses a busy street in downtown San Francisco.
Brown became interested in making a film celebrating the popularity of motorcycle racing after watching the motorcycle jump scene and chase sequence featuring Steve McQueen in the 1963 film THE GREAT ESCAPE. Brown, who felt that previous motorcycle films had focused on gangs and lawlessness, approached McQueen, a motorcycle enthusiast, about making a movie that would show motorcycling as a sport enjoyed by both professionals and amateurs. McQueen then agreed to finance and appear in the picture. Access to the beach for the final scenes in the film (shot at Camp Pendleton, a U.S. Marine base in California), was originally denied to Brown, but McQueen intervened, and the Pendleton officials then gave permission.
Brown spent two years filming the picture, shooting nearly 150 hours of footage. The film was shot in 16mm at a cost of $330,000. Brown noted that after completing the film, which utilized twelve cameramen to capture the various races, he realized he could have filmed it much more efficiently using a single camera and shooting much less footage.
The film was originally to be released on 30 June 1971, but was recalled for final editing. It premiered in Los Angeles on 14 July 1971. The Los Angeles Herald Examiner review noted that, when the 95-film opened in Los Angeles, it was played with an intermission.
The film, which was released in 35mm, grossed $10,000,000. ON ANY SUNDAY was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Feature-Length Documentary, losing to THE HELLSTROM CHRONICLE. The film’s score, by Dominic Frontiere, was released on a Bell Records LP, but has not had a legitimate CD reissue. In June 1974, Yamaha motorcycles advanced $3,000,000 to reissue the film, which was to play in forty area theaters and be promoted by Roger Riddell, one of the riders in the film and a friend of McQueen and Brown.
Thirty years after his 1962 odyssey to make THE ENDLESS SUMMER, Bruce Brown returned to trace the steps of two more young surfers to top surfing spots around the world. Along the way, in THE ENDLESS SUMMER II, we see many of the people and locales Bruce visited during the filming of the earlier film.
THE ENDLESS SUMMER II, released in 1994, was received by most critics not as a visionary film, but as a retread of past glories, offering little that was new. It proved to be Brown’s last feature film. The film’s score, by Gary Hoey and Phil Marshall, was released by Reprise.
Shashi Kapoor was one of the leading actors of Indian cinema, having appeared in 160 movies-- 12 in English and 148 in Hindi. In 148 Hindi films, he played the solo lead hero in 61 films, was lead hero in 53 released multi-star cast Hindi films, 2 unreleased multi-star film and 21 Hindi films had him in a supporting role. He also worked in 4 Hindi films as a child artist and made 7 guest appearances.
By 1956, an 18-year old Shashi was both actor and assistant stage manager for "Prithvi Theatre." That year, "Shakespeareana" --a traveling theater group under English actor Geoffrey Kendal, and "Prithvi Theatre" were both booked to play in Calcutta. While checking the audience reaction from backstage, Shashi's glance fell on Jennifer Kendal. Shashi soon learned she was playing Miranda in "The Tempest," and secured an introduction. The two began courting, and expressed a desire to wed. Geoffrey Kendal was uncertain about losing not only his daughter, but his leading lady and theater manager. He insisted that the couple wait at least two years. Shashi began touring with "Shakespeareana" and in 1958 he again asked for Jennifer's hand in marriage and was again refused. However, Jennifer decided to go against her father's wishes, and in July of 1958, the couple were married in the traditional Indian style in Bombay.
In 1965, Sashi Kapoor starred in the first of nine Merchant-Ivory productions in which he would appear. The film was SHAKESPEARE WALLAH, a semi-autobiographical story about a family troupe of English actors in India. They travel around the towns and villages giving performances of Shakespearean plays.
Co-star Felicity Kendal, who plays “Lizzie Buckingham,” Geoffrey Kendal (“Tony Buckingham”), and Laura Liddell (“Carla Buckingham”) were also daughter, father, and mother in real life. Jennifer Kendal, plays "Mrs. Bowen" and was the real life wife of Shashi Kooper who played “Sanju.”
James Ivory directed the film. The film’s score, by Satyajit Ray, was released on an Epic LP, but has not been re-issued on CD.
In 1967’s A MATTER OF INNOCENCE, “Polly Barlow” (Hayley Mills) decides to spend a few months with her wealthy spinster aunt as a traveling companion. While in India, her aunt's demise leaves her alone to pursue her freedom and explore an arm's length romance with a local boy (Sashi Kapoor). Guy Green directed this film, which came from a Noel Coward story. Michel Legrand’s score was released on a Decca LP, but has not been re-issued on CD.
Shashi Kapoor and his wife Jennifer Kendal co-starred in their second Merchant-Ivory production in BOMBAY TALKIE. The 1970 film finds “Lucia Lane” (Kendal), an English writer by way of the U.S., arriving in Bombay to watch the filming of one of her novels. She's nearing middle age, she's had several husbands, she's lonely and self-absorbed. “Hari” (Zia Mohyeddin), a screenwriter, offers to show her around. But she's interested only in the film's leading man, “Vikram” (Kapoor), younger than she, married, and building a career as a matinee idol.
Shashi Kapoor partially financed the picture by distributing it himself in India. James Ivory directed the film. The score, by Shankar Jaikishan, was released on LP by His Master’s Voice in South Africa and Odeon in India. It has not been re-issued on CD. Here is the film’s opening:
SIDDHARTHA is the story of a young Indian (Shashi Kapoor) who embarks upon a journey to find the meaning of existence. The film is based on the novel by Hermann Hesse. Conrad Rooks directed the 1973 film, which has an unreleased score by Hemanta Mukherjee. Here is the film’s trailer:
Shashi Kapoor’s wife, Jennifer Kendal, died of cancer in 1984 at the age of 51.
In 1987, Kapoor starred in the comedy-drama SAMMY AND ROSIE GET LAID. The film, naturally, focused on “Sammy” (Ayub Khan-Din) and “Rosie” (Frances Barber), an unconventional middle-class London married couple. They live in the midst of inner-city chaos, surround themselves with intellectual street people, and sleep with everybody--except each other. Things become interesting when Sammy's father, “Rafi” (Shashi Kapoor), a former Indian government minister, comes to London for a visit. Sammy, Rosie, and Raffi try to find meaning through their lives and loves.
Stephen Frears directed the British production. Eight minutes of Stanley Myers’ score was released on a 1988 Milan Compilation CD.
In the early 1980s, producer Ismail Merchant first set in motion a project of which he had long dreamed, and that he was to do outside of his usual collaboration with writer Ruth Prawer Jhabvala and director James Ivory, the making of THE DECEIVERS (1988). The film is adapted from the John Masters novel, set in India in 1825, which depicts the exploits of “William Savage” (Pierce Brosnan), based on William Sleeman of the Indian Political Service, who disguises himself as an Indian, in order to expose and destroy a secret cult whose members, the infamous Thugees, ritually murdered and robbed travelers in the name of the goddess Kali. Shashi Kapoor played “Raja Chandra Singh.”
The movie was slow in getting into production, however, and once into that stage, presented such an array of problems as to stagger even Merchant. An entire book, Hullabaloo in Old Jeypore: The Making of The Deceivers (1988), was needed for Merchant to set down all that occurred. Nicholas Meyer directed the film. John Scott’s score was released by RCA Victor.
Omar Sharif and Peter O'Toole appeared in their fourth film together in 1996's television version of GULLIVER'S TRAVELS, which starred Ted Danson. The two old friends had small roles, with O'Toole as the "Emperor of Lilliput" and Sharif as "The Sorcerer." Shashi Kapoor played a Rajah in the film. Charles Sturridge directed the film, and Trevor Jones' score was released by RCA.
After a 10-year stint as a film editor, during which he edited such films as LOLITA (1962), DR. STRANGELOVE (1966), and THE SPY WHO CAME IN FROM THE COLD (1965), Anthony Harvey received his first directorial assignment on the 1966 independent production DUTCHMAN. In the film, a sinister, neurotic white girl "Lula" (Shirley Knight) lures to his doom a good-looking young black man "Clay" (Al Freeman, Jr.), a stranger whom she has picked up in the subway.
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James Goldman’s play, “The Lion in Winter,” opened on 7 February 1966 in Boston and on 3 March 1966 at the Ambassador Theatre on Broadway in New York City. Reviews were mixed, and the Broadway run ended after only 92 performances, on 21 May 1966. The following year, Martin Poll acquired film rights, and planned to produce the film through his Marpol Productions. James Goldman was brought on to adapt his own script, although Goldman initially turned down the job, on the grounds that he had never written a screenplay.
After four major film studios declined the project, Embassy Pictures’ Joseph E. Levine snapped it up within two days of hearing Poll’s plans. In September 1967 Variety confirmed Levine’s involvement, and announced the casting of Peter O’Toole and Katharine Hepburn in the roles of “King Henry II” and “Queen Eleanor of Aquitaine,” originated onstage by Robert Preston and Rosemary Harris. O’Toole was thirty-five at the time of his casting, and had to be aged to play the fifty-year-old King Henry II. Coincidentally, a few years earlier, O’Toole had been nominated for an Academy Award for his portrayal of a young King Henry II in BECKET (1964).
The project was described as “suddenly-put-together” after production on “The Ski Bum,” a Poll-Levine collaboration also set to star Peter O’Toole, was postponed. In the meantime, key technical personnel and production crew who were initially assembled to work on “The Ski Bum” were transferred to THE LION IN WINTER crew.
The budget was originally listed as $1.5 million. However, later sources, cited a production cost of $4 million. Due to a devaluation of the British pound in late 1967, filmmakers were expected to save roughly $200,000 by shooting overseas. Poll, who was paid a producer’s fee, was also set to receive 5–7.5% of the worldwide gross. Meanwhile, O’Toole’s salary was listed as $1 million – a number that would have constituted one-quarter of the $4-million budget estimate.
O’Toole aided in the casting process by reaching out to repertory directors with whom he was friends, and flew to meet the actors they recommended. Director Anthony Harvey and art director Peter Murton decided to make the setting as true as possible to the times. Therefore, although the principal characters were royalty, they lived in drafty, dirty castles, rather than the sanitized, glamorized view of medieval life most movies have taken. The stone figures, seen during the opening credits, were discovered by chance by Anthony Harvey along a driveway, while filming was underway in France.
Principal photography was originally scheduled to begin on 1 November 1967 in Dublin, Ireland. The twelve-week-shoot was due to be in conflict with Katharine Hepburn’s next project, THE MADWOMAN OF CHAILLOT, slated to begin shooting on 15 January 1968. The potential conflict grew when filming on THE LION IN WINTER was delayed several weeks. Ten days of rehearsals at the Haymarket Theatre in London, England, preceded the 27 November 1967 start of production.
Two months of mostly interior shooting took place at Ardmore Studios in Bray, Ireland. Shortly into filming, a six-day-per-week, “breakless” schedule (known to Europeans as a “French schedule”) was enacted to allow “uninterrupted working hours” between 8:30 a.m. and 4 p.m. Instead of lunch breaks, which often resulted in creative lulls according to Poll, cast and crew were provided a buffet service. The “round-the-clock” schedule continued in Arles, France, where production relocated the week of 31 January 1968
Prior to the move, hurricane force winds caused damage to sets at Ardmore, which had cost $100,000 to build. Repairs, including fixes to two wind-cracked towers, were completed on a rushed schedule. In Arles, interior and exterior scenes were filmed at the Montmajour Abbey, which stood in for the Chinon Castle. Improvements were made on the 10th-century structure, including added facades, walls, arches, and doorways. Art director Peter Murton estimated that $100,000 in enhancements were added to the abbey, and local authorities reportedly planned to retain the changes and, subsequently, increase admission fees for tourists. Three weeks of filming in Arles were followed by a week in Tarascon, France, where riverboat sequences depicting the arrival of Queen Eleanor of Aquitaine at Chinon Castle were shot. The grueling shoot caused director Anthony Harvey to suffer exhaustion and a case of jaundice.
THE LION IN WINTER was anticipated to be Embassy Pictures’ first roadshow release, and a booking had already been scheduled at the Warner Beverly Hills Theatre in Los Angeles. However, months prior to release, Embassy was acquired by the Avco Corporation. The newly formed Avco Embassy Pictures Corp. thus distributed the picture, which opened on 30 October 1968 at the Lincoln Art Theatre in New York City, grossing $23,178 in its first six days. When the film eventually opened in Los Angeles, it was playing exclusively at the 4 Star Theatre on Wilshire Boulevard.
Although the 134-minute picture was initially released without an intermission, by late November 1968 Avco Embassy decided to add one. Altered reels were to be provided to exhibitors. Avco Embassy was said to have based its decision on feedback from “some exhibitors and other industry personnel” who claimed that intermissions added “class” to roadshow presentations. The 15 April 1969 Daily Variety quoted Poll as saying that he and Levine had disagreed over the intermission; however, Poll agreed to add the break in the spirit of compromise.
THE LION IN WINTER received largely positive reviews and was commercially successful. On 19 March 1969, Daily Variety noted that the film, showing in 71 theaters at that time, had taken in $5 million in U.S. box-office receipts, to date. Academy Awards went to John Barry for Music (Original Score – for a motion picture [not a musical]), James Goldman for Writing (Screenplay – based on material from another medium), and Katharine Hepburn for Best Actress. Hepburn shared the award with Barbra Streisand, who won for FUNNY GIRL (1968), in the first tie for that award in the ceremony’s 41-year history. Academy Award nominations also went to Peter O’Toole for Best Actor, Margaret Furse for Costume Design, Anthony Harvey for Directing, and Martin Poll for Best Picture.
THE LION IN WINTER was named Best English-Language Film of 1968 by the New York Film Critics Circle, and Best Film by the Foreign Language Press Association, which also named Harvey Best Director, and O’Toole Best Actor. Harvey won the Directors Guild of America (DGA) Award for Best Feature Direction, and the picture was chosen for the inaugural Senior Scholastic Merit Award from Scholastic magazine.
Thirty years after the film’s release, Poll expressed interest in producing a remake, according to a 10 March 1999 New York Post item. In response to the news, Anthony Harvey gave a statement, lamenting that the original film was “languishing in a British vault, rotting away in Technicolor,” and was in desperate need of restoration. Harvey stated, “It’s not that I want to keep Mr. Poll from remaking it; I just wish we could also save the original.” Since Joseph E. Levine had died in 1987, no one had clear ownership of the film. Poll was eventually credited as executive producer on a made-for-television remake, starring Glenn Close and Patrick Stewart, which premiered on Showtime on 25 May 2004. Twelve years later, a 4K restoration of the 1968 picture was announced. The restored film was released on 16 December 2016 at the Film Forum in New York City, and the Nuart Theatre in Los Angeles.
Anthony Harvey’s next film after THE LION IN WINTER, THEY MIGHT BE GIANTS, was also based on a James Goldman play. The play on which the film was based was inspired by the popular late nineteenth-century stories by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, who created the characters of Sherlock Holmes, Dr. John Watson, and Prof. Moriarty. Nevertheless, the genesis of the film was unusual, as Goldman's original play, dating from the mid-60s, had never been produced anywhere in the United States at the time the film was made. Goldman had reworked it several times, and there had been a short-run production of it in London in 1966, directed by Joan Littlewood at her famous Stratford East theater, far away from the West End. Harry H. Corbett had played the lead. Goldman was still dissatisfied, but, after the great success in 1968 of the film version of his subsequent play THE LION IN WINTER, he and its director Anthony Harvey found themselves being lauded in Hollywood and asked if they might have any ideas for a future collaboration. Goldman had another go at revising his play as a film script, now setting it in New York streets and creating many new characters.
Throughout the film, the characters allude to plot points and characterizations in various Holmes stories. The title THEY MIGHT BE GIANTS was inspired by the title character of the early seventh-century Spanish novel Don Quixote , who mistook windmills for giants. At one point within the film, "Justin Playfair" (George C. Scott) discusses Don Quixote, who he says went too far because windmills are not giants, but reflects that they might be giants. Justin, through his alter ego, Sherlock Holmes, was, like Don Quixote, chasing after evil that might or might not exist.
The original running time of the film was 91 minutes, but was cut to 88 minutes at some point during its release and was copyrighted at 86 minutes. The edited minutes encompassed an extended version of "the supermarket scene" which has become a favorite among fans, who admired the scene's comic stance on the rebellion of outcasts against the institution of the impersonal American supermarket and the police and others who try to stop them. The sequence was reinstated for the film’s DVD release in 2001.
THEY MIGHT BE GIANTS was shot entirely in New York City, with the exception of the supermarket scene, which was shot in New Jersey. Prominent New York City locations included, among others, Times Square and Central Park. Although the film received mostly negative reviews, some reviewers praised its creativity, likening it to the work of Italian director Federico Fellini, and most praised the performances of Scott and Joanne Woodward. Critics complained of the film's choppy editing, and, according to the Newsday review, director Anthony Harvey disassociated himself from the version released by Universal, saying that the studio had cut down the picture from what Harvey thought was the final cut.
Harvey got his LION IN WINTER composer, John Barry, to score THEY MIGHT BE GIANTS. Five minutes of the score was recorded for a Barry compilation CD from Silva Screen in 2000.
Harvey directed his third film adaptation of a play in a row when he took on Tennessee Williams’ THE GLASS MENAGERIE. The four-character piece starred Katharine Hepburn, Sam Waterston, Joanna Miles, and Michael Moriarty. The made-for-television film aired on ABC on 16 December 1973. It was shot at Pinewood Studios in England. John Barry again scored a Harvey film, but his score remains unreleased.
THE ABDICATION was another historical piece for Anthony Harvey. In this 1974 film, based on historical fact, Queen Christina of Sweden (Liv Ullmann) abdicates her throne in 1654 and travels to Rome to embrace the Catholic Church. There she ponders the problems of becoming a Catholic while becoming enamored of Cardinal Azzolino, played by Peter Finch.
On 7 August 1972, it was reported that Vanessa Redgrave would play Queen Christina, and filming was set to begin in September. However, casting a lead actor opposite Redgrave proved difficult (at one point Robert Shaw was considered), and filming was postponed. A week later, it was announced that Liv Ullmann had been cast as Queen Christina, with no mention of Redgrave’s previous involvement.
Shooting began 7 March 1973 in Kalmar, Sweden. The Kalmar Castle, situated on the coast of the Baltic Sea, served as a location; the castle also had historical relevance, as it was the birthplace of Queen Christina. For the early March shoot, Ullmann left a live stage production of the Henrik Ibsen play, “Brand,” in Oslo, Norway, to film “winter scenes,” while an understudy, Ragnild Hilt, stood in for the actress onstage. Production ended in Sweden after one week, Ullmann returned to her play, and filming did not resume until July 1973 when the production moved to London and Rome. During the four-month hiatus, Ullmann also filmed ZANDY’S BRIDE with Gene Hackman for Swedish director Jan Troell.
Shooting took place in London at Pinewood Studios beginning in July 1973, and, after five weeks, moved to Italy. There, exteriors were filmed at Villa Farnese outside Viterbo, and Bourbon Palace in Caserta. Since Caserta was inside the “cholera zone,” actors and crew members received cholera vaccinations prior to arrival. In addition, Italian law stated that filmmakers bringing in their own crew must hire an equal amount of Italians as foreign crew members, so the company grew from seventy to 120 people while in Italy.
The budget was estimated at $3.3 million, up $500,000 from a $2.8 million budget, figured two years earlier, due to “dollar devaluation.”
Actor Michael Dunn, a little person credited as "The dwarf," died of a heart attack during filming at Pinewood Studios, and was later replaced by Italian actor and little person, Franz Drago. The Variety review of the film criticized the obvious shift between Dunn and Drago, claiming that the two men looked “too different to escape casual notice.”
Nino Rota’s score for the film was released on an Intermezzo LP. An expanded version was re-issued on CD by Legend in 1994.
Producer Robert Evans was eager to film another romance after shepherding the box-office hit LOVE STORY as production executive at Paramount Pictures. He developed the concept for PLAYERS with screenwriter-executive producer Arnold Schulman and associate producer Tommy Cook. Cook, who transitioned from his early days as an actor and junior tennis champion into an organizer of celebrity tennis tournaments, brought the story idea to Evans. LOVE STORY also inspired Evans to reteam with the film’s co-star, Ali MacGraw, and to hire Anthony Harvey as director. Harvey was originally signed to direct LOVE STORY, but withdrew from the project. Before departing, Evans recalled that Harvey was responsible for eliciting a memorable screen test from MacGraw.
Jerry Goldsmith’s score for the 1979 film was released by Intrada in 2010.
In 1979’s EAGLE’S WING, a white trapper (Martin Sheen) steals a white mustang called "Eagle Wing" from a Kiowa Indian (Sam Waterston), who pursues him to get his horse back. This was the first British western to be shot in the U.S. Janet Maslin noted in The New York Times that “The grandly actorish manner of Anthony Harvey's LION IN WINTER is less at home in the American West than it was in the court of medieval England.” The film’s score, by Marc Wilkinson, has not had a release.
