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Posted: |
Feb 18, 2021 - 2:29 PM
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By: |
Bob DiMucci
(Member)
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PUEBLO was a made-for-television war drama starring Hal Holbrook, Ronny Cox and Andrew Duggan. It originally aired on ABC on March 29, 1973 as part of the network's ABC Theater series. Essentially a videotaped stage production, PUEBLO was the story of the capture and imprisonment of the crew of the USS Pueblo, a U.S. Navy vessel captured while spying off the coast of North Korea, in 1968. Hal Holbrook starred as Captain Lloyd Bucher, commanding officer of the Pueblo. The structure of the play consists of Captain Bucher answering questions of two tribunals, with the scene switching back and forth between his interrogations by the North Koreans and the inquiry by the U.S. Navy (after his return) into his possible misconduct in the Pueblo Incident. As Bucher describes incidents during the capture of the ship and during the crew's subsequent captivity, the viewer is shown re-enactments of the same. Hal Holbrook in PUEBLO Anthony Page directed the production, which has an unreleased score by Laurence Rosenthal. Holbrook won two Emmy Awards for his performance in PUEBLO, one as “Best Lead Actor in a Drama” and another for “Actor of the Year.”
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Posted: |
Feb 18, 2021 - 11:34 PM
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By: |
Bob DiMucci
(Member)
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In JONATHAN LIVINGSTON SEAGULL, a skilled but very rebellious young seagull is kicked out of his clan. However, instead of being sad or lonely, he decides to enjoy and explore his newfound freedom. Hal Holbrook was the voice of one of “The Elder” seagulls. Producer-director-writer Hall Bartlett was reading Richard Bach’s book in a San Fernando Valley, CA barbershop when he impulsively decided to call the publisher, Macmillan, and then Bach, who was on the verge of selling the screen rights to David L. Wolper Productions. Bartlett suggested that the story needed to be told simply, without animation or actors, and acquired the property for $100,000 and fifty percent of the profits. During principal photography, numerous difficulties plagued the filmmakers, especially as they related to the seagulls. Ray Berwick, who had trained birds for Alfred Hitchcock's 1963 production THE BIRDS, was persuaded out of retirement to work on JONATHAN LIVINGSTON SEAGULL. To “recruit” birds for the film roles, four-man teams visited garbage dumps in Oxnard, Berkeley and Monterey, CA and used a Navy cannon that shot a huge net to catch 2,700 birds, from which 300 were selected for the film. During the two weeks of rehearsal before principal production began, five seagulls became ill and were diagnosed by the veterinarian as suffering emotional exhaustion. From that point, the birds were only used every other day; however, problems with the production continued because of the filmmakers’ lack of knowledge about seagulls. The U.S. Navy, with which Bartlett had affiliations, assisted by sharing information acquired from five years of research on over 6,000 gulls. The filmmakers, having learned from the Navy’s research that gulls always face the wind, devised a way to use wind machines to blow into the gulls’ faces from different directions and, with off-camera barriers, were able to prompt the birds to face each other and appear to converse. Production supervisor Gaylin Schultz “put away a production board after a week’s shooting,” allowing a “fluid” schedule to accommodate the birds. The birds did not allow themselves to be cleaned, causing shooting delays while they cleaned themselves. In order to take aerial shots, pilots herded the birds with helicopters, but after a month, no usable footage was achieved. The crew spent one week using a high-speed, slow-motion camera to find a shooting speed that would slow down “the naturally jerky head movements” of the birds. The film crew also used Lockheed's wind tunnel to produce breezes to train ten seagulls to do "advanced acrobatic" flying. About 700,000 feet of film were shot by the time of post-production, which was completed in April 1973. But because birds work for cheap, according to the Variety review, the film was said to have been budgeted at just $1,500,000. The film grossed $4.8 million at the box office. The film was the subject of several lawsuits. Author Richard Bach sued director Hall Bartlett before the film's release. Bach's contract gave him final cut rights, and he insisted on major changes to the film's story before it was released into theaters. After much litigation, Bach had his name removed from the film, and although he was credited in the already-printed posters for the film, he is not acknowledged as the author of the original book in the film's credits onscreen. Composer Neil Diamond sued Paramount Studios for cutting too much of his music from the film's soundtrack, and was angry when composer Lee Holdridge requested a shared credit over the music, which he received. Director Ovady Julber also sued Bartlett, claiming the movie plagiarized his short 1936 black-and-white experimental film "La Mer". Neil Diamond’s Columbia-released original soundtrack album won a Grammy award for “Album of Best Original Score Written for a Motion Picture.” Diamond also won a Golden Globe for “Best Original Score–Motion Picture” and his song, “Lonely Looking Sky,” was nominated for “Best Original Song–Motion Picture.” Five minutes of Lee Holdridge’s music was recorded by Charles Gerhardt and the London Symphony for a Holdridge compilation CD that was released by Varese Sarabande (1985), Citadel (1994), and BSX (2017).
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Posted: |
Feb 20, 2021 - 1:42 AM
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By: |
Bob DiMucci
(Member)
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The 1974 film begins and ends with a voiceover narration by Hal Holbrook in the role of “Joe.” He says that he is leaving Moscow and resigning from his position as Russian correspondent for the Chicago Herald to write a novel about THE GIRL FROM PETROVKA. Joe had fallen in love with a free-spirited Russian girl, “Oktyabrina” (Goldie Hawn). Of course, 1974 Moscow is not the place to be a free spirit, and the paperless Goldie is always one step ahead of the KGB. Until she isn't. The film is a bittersweet romance with some good support provided by Anthony Hopkins as Goldie's friend “Kostya.” Goldie Hawn and Hal Holbrook in THE GIRL FROM PETROVKA Russia in 1974 was also not a place to shoot a film about Muscovites skirting the authorities, as the production's location-scouting team found out when all of their footage was confiscated before they left the country. So, filming was scheduled for Yugoslavia. However, pre-production was halted when a Yugoslavian company, Inex Films, cancelled its contract with Universal Pictures for undisclosed reasons just two weeks before filming was set to begin. Director Robert Ellis Miller speculated that Inex’s decision was inspired by political pressure from Moscow, noting that Inex had previously requested a number of rewrites. By the time Inex withdrew from the project, several sets had been constructed. A decision was made to relocate production to Vienna, which stalled production for over one month. Two years after the 1974 film’s release, international arbitration with Inex awarded Universal $508,000 for damages incurred from the production’s relocation to Vienna. THE GIRL FROM PETROVKA took in a weak $2.4 million at the box office. Henry Mancini provided the film’s unreleased score.
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Posted: |
Feb 20, 2021 - 2:14 PM
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By: |
Bob DiMucci
(Member)
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In the 1976 political film ALL THE PRESIDENT'S MEN, Washington Post reporters Bob Woodward (Robert Redford) and Carl Bernstein (Dustin Hoffman) try to track down the truth behind the break-in at the Democratic National Committee Headquarters at the Watergate Office complex. Hal Holbrook (semi) appears as “Deep Throat,” a then-unidentified informant who suggests avenues of investigation to the two reporters. Hal Holbrook in ALL THE PRESIDENT’S MEN Hal Holbrook was the first (and only) choice to play the shadowy informant Deep Throat. During casting, Bob Woodward, while looking at various actors' head shots and resumes, but not revealing Deep Throat's true identity (being the former Deputy Director of the FBI, Mark Felt), insisted to director Alan J. Pakula that Holbrook was the best choice to play Deep Throat. (Holbrook, in fact, bears a strong resemblance to Mark Felt.) Holbrook originally turned the role down, thinking it would not be a significant part. However, Robert Redford came to Holbrook's house and convinced him to take the role, saying that Deep Throat would be the character that the audience would remember more than any other in the film. David Shire's score was released by Film Score Monthly in 2007.
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Posted: |
Feb 21, 2021 - 11:42 AM
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By: |
Bob DiMucci
(Member)
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MIDWAY was a dramatization of the battle that was widely heralded as a turning point of the Pacific Theatre of World War II. While Charlton Heston played a fictional character (“Capt. Matt Garth”), most of the other stars played real-life figures (e.g., Henry Fonda as Admiral Chester W. Nimitz; Robert Mitchum as Admiral William F. Halsey). Hal Holbrook co-starred as Cmdr. Joseph Rochefort of Navy Combat Intelligence, responsible for breaking the Japanese code. The real Cmdr. Rochefort was a technical advisor on the film. Charlton Heston, Hal Holbrook, and Henry Fonda in MIDWAY Jack Smight directed the 1976 release, the second Universal film to be released in Sensurround, after EARTHQUAKE (1974). John Williams’ score was re-recorded for Varese Sarabande in 1998 by the Royal Scottish National Orchestra conducted by Rick Wentworth. In 2011, Varese released the original tracks. MIDWAY was a smash hit, and was one of the biggest money-makers of the Mirisch Corporation. It came in as the 7th most popular film of the year, with a $65.5 million gross.
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Posted: |
Feb 22, 2021 - 2:12 PM
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By: |
Bob DiMucci
(Member)
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In 1978's CAPRICORN ONE, when the first manned flight to Mars is deemed unsafe and scrubbed on the launch pad, anxious authorities must scramble to save face and retain their funding - and so an unthinkable plot to fake the mission is hatched. Hal Holbrook appears as the director of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), “Dr. James Kelloway”. Hal Holbrook in CAPRICORN ONE Director Peter Hyams elaborated on the development of the screenplay, which was written in 1972 during his time as a journalist for CBS-TV. While reporting on NASA’s Apollo program, Hyams became intrigued with the idea of how easy it would be to fake an event in space since it only required one camera and few witnesses. However, none of the Hollywood studios were interested in a screenplay about a NASA hoax until the White House’s Watergate cover-up was exposed. The scandal made the story of manipulation by a government agency appear more believable. Although Watergate was not a direct inspiration, Hyams stated that he recognized the connection between his character of Kelloway and the misguided idealism of real-life Watergate “master plumber” Egil Krogh. Both chose to compromise ethics, justifying their actions due to patriotic fervor and pride in their agencies. In the wake of Watergate, the project quickly became a reality during what Hyams described as a five-minute meeting with Sir Lew Grade of Associated General Films, which promised a simpler producing arrangement without input from multiple studio executives. The film cost $5 million to produce and Warner Bros. spent another $5 million on advertising. The film landed in the top 30 of the year at the box office, with a $32.4 million gross. Jerry Goldsmith's score was most recently released by Intrada in 2015.
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Posted: |
Feb 22, 2021 - 2:26 PM
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By: |
Bob DiMucci
(Member)
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THE AWAKENING LAND was a lusty frontier saga about a pioneer woman (Elizabeth Montgomery), and her love for her family, the man she marries (Hal Holbrook), and the land on which she lives. It was dramatized from Conrad Richter’s Pulitzer Prize-winning trilogy of novels. The drama’s authenticity came in part from the unusual speech patterns and dialects adapted for the actors by dancer Marge Champion, who, as dialogue supervisor, enhanced the dialogue’s realism by drawing upon an apparent family heritage. In addition, Champion also created some dance movements for the film. Boris Sagal directed the three-part, seven-hour miniseries, which aired on NBC during 19-21 February 1978. Both Hal Holbrook and Elizabeth Montgomery received Emmy Award nominations for their performances in this film. Holbrook lost the Emmy to Michael Moriarty for HOLOCAUST. Fred Karlin also received an Emmy nomination for his score, losing to Billy Goldenberg for the miniseries KING. Karlin’s score remains unreleased.
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Posted: |
Feb 22, 2021 - 4:08 PM
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By: |
Bob DiMucci
(Member)
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In THE FOG, an unearthly fog rolls into a small coastal town exactly 100 years after a ship mysteriously sank in its waters. Hal Holbrook is “Father Malone,” who one night finds a hidden journal behind a loose stone in the church wall. Turning to a random page in the journal, Father Malone reads the following: “Midnight ‘til one belongs to the dead. Good Lord deliver us.” The role of Father Malone was originally offered to Christopher Lee, who believed the character to be the “father of the community'.” However, Lee proved unavailable, and Holbrook was eventually cast. Janet Leigh and Hal Holbrook in THE FOG Hair stylist Tina Cassaday faced numerous challenges caused by the fog on set. Cassaday prescribed that Janet Leigh shampoo with egg, Hal Holbrook use ph-scale formula, Adrienne Barbeau condition with wheat germ oil, and Jamie Lee Curtis rinse with vinegar, in order to keep the actors’ hair in line amidst humid set conditions. Despite Cassaday’s efforts, John Houseman’s artificial beard repeatedly came unglued during his opening scene due to the excessive moisture from the fog machines. John Carpenter directed and scored the 1980 film. During post-production, director Carpenter rejected composer Carpenter’s original score as being too “heavy-handed,” so the music had to be re-done, as well as the sound effects. Varese Sarabande first released the score in 1984. Silva Screen released a slightly expanded version in 2000, followed by a much fuller expansion in 2012. THE FOG cost $2 million to produce, and Avco Embassy spent another $3 million in marketing the film, the biggest marketing budget for a film in Avco’s history to that time. It paid off with a $21.4 million gross, and a spot in the top 40 films of the year at the box office. Still, it didn’t approach the success of Carpenter’s prior film, HALLOWEEN, with its $41 million take.
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Posted: |
Feb 23, 2021 - 12:04 PM
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By: |
Bob DiMucci
(Member)
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CREEPSHOW is comprised of five unrelated segments, each depicting a different horror story from the comic book owned by character “Billy” (Joe King). The stories are titled: “Father’s Day,” “The Lonesome Death of Jordy Verrill,” “Something to Tide You Over,” “The Crate,” and “They’re Creeping Up on You!” “The Crate” is set in a sleepy college town, where a mysterious, dusty crate is found under some stairs at the college. “Professor Stanley” (Fritz Weaver) is summoned to check it out, and soon learns that there’s a razor-toothed creature living in there, and it’s hungry--very hungry. He ropes in his pal “Henry Northrup” (Hal Holbrook), who sees this as an opportunity to do away with his foul-mouthed, crude, and belittling battle-axe of a wife, “Billie” (Adrienne Barbeau). Hal Holbrook and Adrienne Barbeau had both appeared in THE FOG (1980), however they didn't share any scenes together. Hal Holbrook and Fritz Weaver in CREEPSHOW It was announced in December 1979 that George Romero’s production company, Laurel Show, Inc., would collaborate with writer Stephen King on two film projects: an adaptation of his 1978 novel, The Stand, and Creepshow, which would mark King’s first original screenplay. Producer Richard P. Rubinstein revealed that the filmmakers cast name actors so they could quickly establish their characters within the time constraints of their short-form anthology stories, as well as to increase the movie’s television marketability. In addition, King, who made his major motion picture acting debut as “Jordy Verrill,” was present on set to rewrite dialogue and scenes in order to make them more suitable for television censorship. Although Variety initially estimated a $5 million budget for CREEPSHOW, articles one year later indicated that the film had reached $8 million in costs and had been acquired by United Film Distribution (UFD) for domestic release. Laurel sought to increase their revenues on the film by changing distributors. On 15 May 1982, it was announced that Warner Bros. had taken over as the film’s domestic distributor, following a bidding war, which also included Universal and Paramount. Romero agreed to cut 10 minutes from CREEPSHOW as part of the deal with Warner Bros. for distribution, bringing the film down to an even 2 hours. Although UFD had planned to release the film in the U.S. in July 1982, Warner Bros. rescheduled the national opening for October 1982. However, the studio then delayed the 29 October 1982 release date until 12 November 1982, hoping to maximize box office returns. Their thinking was that a bizarre, R-rated horror film was best positioned as close as possible to Halloween, but that a pre-October 31st release was a non-starter because it would have had to compete with HALLOWEEN III: SEASON OF THE WITCH, which was scheduled to open on 22 October 1982. Warner forecast, correctly, that the Michael Myers'-less third Halloween movie would burn out quickly and leave the horror field open for CREEPSHOW to do impressive business, which it did. Due to a positive three-week test release in Providence, RI, in August 1982, Warner Bros. chose to open CREEPSHOW on over 1,000 screens. CREEPSHOW grossed just under $20 million in the U.S., while HALLOWEEN III took in less than $15 million (although on a much lower $2.5 million budget). John Harrison’s score for the film was released on a Varese Sarabande LP. It was reissued on CD by La-La Land in 2003, who released an expanded version in 2014.
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Posted: |
Feb 23, 2021 - 4:44 PM
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By: |
Howard L
(Member)
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Thornton Wilder was unhappy with the 1940 film and 1957 television musical versions of his seminal play OUR TOWN. Before his death, in 1975, he worked with producer Saul Jaffe and director George Schaefer in an attempt to leave behind a definitive version of his masterpiece. The result of that collaboration was broadcast on NBC on 30 May 1977, featuring a stellar cast that included Hal Holbrook (the Stage Manager), Ned Beatty (Dr. Gibbs), Sada Thompson (Mrs. Gibbs), John Houseman (Professor Willard), Glynnis O'Connor (Emily Webb) and Robby Benson (George Gibbs). Hal Holbrook in OUR TOWN George Schaefer directed the film, which had uncredited incidental music by Del Casher. Hal Holbrook was nominated for an Emmy Award as “Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama or Comedy Special.” He lost to Fred Astaire for the TV movie A FAMILY UPSIDE DOWN. This was the very first thing that came to mind upon hearing of HH's passing. Can't recall if I had seen the original movie prior to this production. But after having seen the original and watched Frank Craven, Paul Newman, Spalding Gray and perhaps one or two others, my instincts back in '77 have only been confirmed that Mr. Holbrook was born to play the role in every aspect and for me he is the definitive citizen of Grovers Corners.
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