TCM REMEMBERS J. LEE THOMPSON, 1914 - 2002
Oscar-nominated director J. Lee Thompson died August 30th at the age of 88. Though he worked in several genres, Thompson was best-known for his action films. Thompson was born in Bristol England on August 1, 1914. After graduating from college he became a playwright and it was the appearance of one of his plays on London's famous West End that got him noticed by the British film studio, Elstree. His first filmed script was The Pride of Folly in 1937 and others appeared sporadically until his career was side-tracked during the war when Thompson served in the RAF as a B-29 tail gunner. (He also reportedly worked as a dialogue coach on Hitchcock's Jamaica Inn, 1939.) Thompson's directorial debut came in 1950 when he adapted his own play Double Error to the screen as Murder Without Crime. Throughout the decade he directed a variety of dramas and comedies until hitting it big in 1958 with Ice Cold in Alex (released in the US minus 50 minutes under the title Desert Attack). It was nominated for three BAFTAs and was enough of a commercial success that Thompson landed the film that made his career: The Guns of Navarone (1961). This enormous international hit snagged Thompson an Oscar nomination for Best Director. He immediately followed that with the original Cape Fear (1962) and his reputation was set. Though Thompson remained active almost three more decades he didn't reach that level again. He worked on Westerns (Mackenna's Gold, 1969), horror films (Eye of the Devil, 1967), literary adaptations (Huckleberry Finn, 1974) and others. During this time, Thompson directed two Planet of the Apes sequels but was kept most busy working with Charles Bronson, for whom he directed nine films. Thompson's last film was in 1989.
KATRIN CARTLIDGE, 1961 - 2002
The news of actress Katrin Cartlidge's death at the age of 41 has come as a shock. It's not just the age but the thought that even though Cartlidge was already a major actress--despite a slender filmography--she held out the promise of even greater work, a promise that so few artists of any type can make. "Fearless" is perhaps the word most often used to describe Cartlidge but emotions are never enough for an actor; much more is required. Director Mike Leigh said she had "the objective eye of an artist" while remarking on her "her deep-seated suspicion of all forms of woolly thinking and received ideas."
Cartlidge was born in London on May 15, 1961. Her first acting work was on the stage, in tiny independent theatres before she was selected by Peter Gill for the National Theatre. Cartlidge also worked as a dresser at the Royal Court where she later made one of her final stage appearances. She began appearing in the popular British TV series Brookside before making her first film in 1985, Sacred Hearts. A small role in the Robbie Coltrane-Rik Mayall vehicle Eat the Rich (1987) followed before Cartlidge had her first leading role in Mike Leigh's scathing Naked (1993).
Cartlidge never took a safe approach in her films. She told The Guardian that "I try to work with film-makers who I feel will produce something original, revealing and provoking. If something provokes a reaction, it's well worth doing." You can see this in her choice of projects. Before the Rain (1994) dramatized violence in Macedonia in the wake of the Yugoslavian break-up and made Cartlidge something of a star in the area. She appeared in Lars Von Trier's controversial look at redemption, Breaking the Waves (1996), Leigh's sharply detailed story of aging friends Career Girls (1997), as one of Jack the Ripper's victims in From Hell (2001), as a call girl trying to leave the business in Clair Dolan (1998) and in the Oscar-winning film about Bosnia-Herzegovina, No Man's Land (2001). Her last work included a BBC adaptation of Crime and Punishment (2002), playing Salvador Dali's wife Gala in the BBC comedy-drama Surrealissimo (2002) and an appearance in Rosanna Arquette's directorial debut, Searching for Debra Winger (also 2002), a documentary about women in the film industry.
Cartlidge died September 7th from septicaemia brought on by pneumonia.
TCM REMEMBERS LEO MCKERN, 1920-2002
The recent death of Leo McKern, 82, marked the passing of one of Britain's finest and most respected character actors. He was suffering from ill health in recent years and was moved to a nursing home a few weeks before his death on July 23 2002 in Bath, England. An actor of commanding presence with a deep-throated voice, the portly, bulbous-nosed McKern had a long, distinguished career spanning more than half a century, earning numerous plaudits along the way in all major mediums: theatre, film and television.
Born Reginald McKern on March 16, 1920 in Sydney, Australia; he served with the Australian Army during World War II and worked in regional theatre in his native Sydney before immigrating to England in 1946. It was a slow start, but after a three-year apprenticeship of painting scenery, stage-managing and acting, McKern eventually joined the celebrated Old Vic theatrical company in 1949 and proved one of the more versatile actors in the troupe tackling diverse roles in comedy, the classics and serious contemporary parts.
His film debut came in Murder in the Cathedral (1952) but it took a few years before he made his mark in cinema. Some of his best film work included roles as Peter Sellers' comic henchman in the classic satire The Mouse That Roared (1959); a bungling train robber in the charming Disney film The Horse Without a Head (1963); a nefarious professor who kills off his colleagues for amusement in the brilliant black comedy A Jolly Bad Fellow (1964); Clang, a cartoonish villain in the Beatles' pop film Help! (1965); Cromwell, the persecutor of Sir Thomas More in A Man for All Seasons (1966) and as Thomas Ryan in the David Lean drama, Ryan's Daughter (1970).
Yet despite all the accolades McKern earned in theatre and films, it was television where he foundinternational fame as the wily, irascible barrister Horace P. Rumpole in John Mortimer's Rumpole of the Bailey in 1975. Infusing the character with beguiling skill and energy, McKern made the acerbic, wine swilling, Tennyson-quoting Rumpole a much loved figure that was adored by critics, audiences and even its creator Mortimer. Perhaps Mortimer offered the most fitting tribute when he once referred to McKern - "His acting exists where I always hope my writing will be: about two feet above the ground, a little larger than life, but always taking off from reality." Enough said.
By Michael T. Toole
Firewalker
Brief Synopsis
An adventurer goes in search of lost treasure in a Guatemalan gold mine.
Cast & Crew
Read More
J. Lee Thompson
Director
Chuck Norris
Louis Gossett
Melody Anderson
John Rhys-davies
Jose Escandon
Film Details
MPAA Rating
Genre
Action
Adventure
Comedy
Release Date
1986
Location
Churubusco Studios, Mexico City, Mexico; Puerta Vallarta, Mexico; Morelos, Mexico; Durango, Mexico; Torreon, Mexico
Technical Specs
Duration
1h 50m
Synopsis
An adventurer goes in search of lost treasure in a Guatemalan gold mine.
Director
J. Lee Thompson
Director
Cast
Chuck Norris
Louis Gossett
Melody Anderson
John Rhys-davies
Jose Escandon
Gary Chang
Performer
Richard Lee-sung
Mario Arevalo
Nicolas Jasso
Ian Abercrombie
Miguel Fuentes
Sonny Landham
Juan Garcia Jaramillo
Julio Monje
John Hazelwood
Zaide Silvia Gutiérrez
Alvaro Carcano
Will Sampson
Crew
Reyes Abades
Special Effects Supervisor
Laura Aguilar
Location Manager
Norman Aladjem
Story By
Norman Aladjem
From Story
Norman Aladjem
Executive Producer
Bobby Angelle
Stunts
Maricarmen Araiza
Other
Rick Avery
Stunts
Wenden K Baldwin
Titles
Enedina Bernal
Wardrobe Supervisor
Miguel Blanco
Best Boy
Ilona Bobak
Makeup
Ilona Bobak
Hair
Clay Boss
Stunts
Martin Bram
Sound Editor
Debi Britt-mathis
Production Assistant
Pablo Buelna
Unit Production Manager
Barney Cabral
Sound Editor
Patrick Cabral
Sound Editor
Ken Caillat
Music
Jose Campos
Grip
Poppy Cannon
Assistant
Poppy Cannon
Set Decorator
Larry Carow
Sound Editor
Guillermo Carreno
Assistant Director
Javier Carreno
Assistant Director
Federico Castillo
Wardrobe Supervisor
Julio Cepeda
Property Master Assistant
Gary Chang
Music
Javier Chinchilla
Assistant Director
Phil Chung
Stunts
Karin Cooper
Script Supervisor
Daniel Cordero
Special Effects
Manuel Cordero
Special Effects
Anne Couk
Other
Bobby Cummins
Stunts
Jack Daro
Music
Zack Davis
Sound Editor
Donaciano Deanda
Gaffer
Mike Deluna
Stunts
Don Digirolamo
Sound
Mike Dobie
Sound Editor
Jon Epstein
Stunts
Paula Erickson
Music Supervisor
Raul Esquivel
Hair
Dean Ferrandini
Stunts
Gerardo Flores
Assistant Camera Operator
Carlos Gil
Associate Producer
Miguel Gil
Assistant
Andy Gill
Stunts
Robert W Glass
Sound
Yoram Globus
Producer
Menahem Golan
Producer
Rosa Maria Gomez
Accountant
Robert Gosnell
From Story
Robert Gosnell
Screenplay
Robert Gosnell
Story By
Jose Rodriguez Granada
Production Designer
Russ Harling
Assistant Director
Juvenal Herrera
Electrician
Mark Hollingsworth
Sound Editor
Ruben Huerta
Electrician
Howard Jackson
Assistant
Jerry Jacobson
Adr Editor
Sergio Jara
Special Effects Coordinator
Ishmael Jardin
Wardrobe Assistant
Manuel Jiminez
Assistant Camera Operator
Mary E Jochem
Assistant Editor
Mike Johnson
Stunts
Jimmy Jones
Transportation Coordinator
Sonny Jones
Stunts
Enid L Kantor
Production Coordinator
Robert Knudson
Sound
Steve Lambert
Stunts
Enrique Lechuga
Camera
Russ Livingston
Associate Editor
Alberto Lopez
Makeup
Pina Lozada
Hair
Juan Luna
Key Grip
Robert Macdonald
Casting
Fernando M Martinez
Assistant Art Director
Richard Marx
Editor
Enrique Medina
Assistant Set Dresser
Carlos Montano
Camera Operator
Gary Mundheim
Sound Editor
Chuck Neely
Sound Editor
Kurt Taylor Neishloss
Music
Aaron Norris
Stunt Coordinator
Jorge Palomino
Boom Operator
Michael Paris
Photography
Asuncion Perez
Grip
Alex Phillips
Other
Alex Phillips
Director Of Photography
Gary Pike
Stunts
Rick Prieto
Stunts
Carlos Puente
Assistant Editor
Jose Quintanar
Location Manager
Fabienne Rawley
Apprentice
Joel Renfro
Transportation Coordinator
Branscombe Richmond
Stunts
Danny Rodgers
Stunts
Jeffrey M Rosenbaum
Story By
Jeffrey M Rosenbaum
From Story
Jeffrey M Rosenbaum
Executive Producer
Angelo Russo
Color Timer
Alfredo Ruvalcaba
Photography
Angel Sanchez
Boom Operator
Steve Schacter
Dialogue Coach
Kyle Seidenbaum
Titles
Salvador Serrano
Dolly Grip
Erica Shaevitz
Assistant Editor
Charles Simmons
Associate Editor
Michael R Sloan
Post-Production Supervisor
Fernando Solorio
On-Set Dresser
Jose Fernando Solorio
Assistant Set Dresser
Kleomenes Stamatiades
Set Decorator
Bruce Stambler
Sound Editor
Lydia Telo
Production Accountant
Sergio Garcia Terrazas
Camera
Peter Lee Thompson
Executive Editor
Alfonso Godinez Trejo
Property Master
Justine Vacco
Sound Editor
Grace Valenti
Assistant Editor
Roberto Vega
Generator Operator
Anne-marie Vitello
Negative Cutting
Ron Vitello
Negative Cutting
Bob Wall
Stunts
Fred Wasser
Sound Editor
Ted Whitfield
Music Editor
Michael Wilhoit
Sound Editor
Richard E Yawn
Sound Editor
Film Details
MPAA Rating
Genre
Action
Adventure
Comedy
Release Date
1986
Location
Churubusco Studios, Mexico City, Mexico; Puerta Vallarta, Mexico; Morelos, Mexico; Durango, Mexico; Torreon, Mexico
Technical Specs
Duration
1h 50m
Articles
TCM Remembers - J. Lee Thompson
TCM Remembers - J. Lee Thompson
TCM REMEMBERS J. LEE THOMPSON, 1914 - 2002
Oscar-nominated director J. Lee Thompson died August 30th at the age of 88. Though he worked in several genres, Thompson was best-known for his action films. Thompson was born in Bristol England on August 1, 1914. After graduating from college he became a playwright and it was the appearance of one of his plays on London's famous West End that got him noticed by the British film studio, Elstree. His first filmed script was The Pride of Folly in 1937 and others appeared sporadically until his career was side-tracked during the war when Thompson served in the RAF as a B-29 tail gunner. (He also reportedly worked as a dialogue coach on Hitchcock's Jamaica Inn, 1939.) Thompson's directorial debut came in 1950 when he adapted his own play Double Error to the screen as Murder Without Crime. Throughout the decade he directed a variety of dramas and comedies until hitting it big in 1958 with Ice Cold in Alex (released in the US minus 50 minutes under the title Desert Attack). It was nominated for three BAFTAs and was enough of a commercial success that Thompson landed the film that made his career: The Guns of Navarone (1961). This enormous international hit snagged Thompson an Oscar nomination for Best Director. He immediately followed that with the original Cape Fear (1962) and his reputation was set. Though Thompson remained active almost three more decades he didn't reach that level again. He worked on Westerns (Mackenna's Gold, 1969), horror films (Eye of the Devil, 1967), literary adaptations (Huckleberry Finn, 1974) and others. During this time, Thompson directed two Planet of the Apes sequels but was kept most busy working with Charles Bronson, for whom he directed nine films. Thompson's last film was in 1989.
KATRIN CARTLIDGE, 1961 - 2002
The news of actress Katrin Cartlidge's death at the age of 41 has come as a shock. It's not just the age but the thought that even though Cartlidge was already a major actress--despite a slender filmography--she held out the promise of even greater work, a promise that so few artists of any type can make. "Fearless" is perhaps the word most often used to describe Cartlidge but emotions are never enough for an actor; much more is required. Director Mike Leigh said she had "the objective eye of an artist" while remarking on her "her deep-seated suspicion of all forms of woolly thinking and received ideas."
Cartlidge was born in London on May 15, 1961. Her first acting work was on the stage, in tiny independent theatres before she was selected by Peter Gill for the National Theatre. Cartlidge also worked as a dresser at the Royal Court where she later made one of her final stage appearances. She began appearing in the popular British TV series Brookside before making her first film in 1985, Sacred Hearts. A small role in the Robbie Coltrane-Rik Mayall vehicle Eat the Rich (1987) followed before Cartlidge had her first leading role in Mike Leigh's scathing Naked (1993).
Cartlidge never took a safe approach in her films. She told The Guardian that "I try to work with film-makers who I feel will produce something original, revealing and provoking. If something provokes a reaction, it's well worth doing." You can see this in her choice of projects. Before the Rain (1994) dramatized violence in Macedonia in the wake of the Yugoslavian break-up and made Cartlidge something of a star in the area. She appeared in Lars Von Trier's controversial look at redemption, Breaking the Waves (1996), Leigh's sharply detailed story of aging friends Career Girls (1997), as one of Jack the Ripper's victims in From Hell (2001), as a call girl trying to leave the business in Clair Dolan (1998) and in the Oscar-winning film about Bosnia-Herzegovina, No Man's Land (2001). Her last work included a BBC adaptation of Crime and Punishment (2002), playing Salvador Dali's wife Gala in the BBC comedy-drama Surrealissimo (2002) and an appearance in Rosanna Arquette's directorial debut, Searching for Debra Winger (also 2002), a documentary about women in the film industry.
Cartlidge died September 7th from septicaemia brought on by pneumonia.
TCM REMEMBERS LEO MCKERN, 1920-2002
The recent death of Leo McKern, 82, marked the passing of one of Britain's finest and most respected character actors. He was suffering from ill health in recent years and was moved to a nursing home a few weeks before his death on July 23 2002 in Bath, England. An actor of commanding presence with a deep-throated voice, the portly, bulbous-nosed McKern had a long, distinguished career spanning more than half a century, earning numerous plaudits along the way in all major mediums: theatre, film and television.
Born Reginald McKern on March 16, 1920 in Sydney, Australia; he served with the Australian Army during World War II and worked in regional theatre in his native Sydney before immigrating to England in 1946. It was a slow start, but after a three-year apprenticeship of painting scenery, stage-managing and acting, McKern eventually joined the celebrated Old Vic theatrical company in 1949 and proved one of the more versatile actors in the troupe tackling diverse roles in comedy, the classics and serious contemporary parts.
His film debut came in Murder in the Cathedral (1952) but it took a few years before he made his mark in cinema. Some of his best film work included roles as Peter Sellers' comic henchman in the classic satire The Mouse That Roared (1959); a bungling train robber in the charming Disney film The Horse Without a Head (1963); a nefarious professor who kills off his colleagues for amusement in the brilliant black comedy A Jolly Bad Fellow (1964); Clang, a cartoonish villain in the Beatles' pop film Help! (1965); Cromwell, the persecutor of Sir Thomas More in A Man for All Seasons (1966) and as Thomas Ryan in the David Lean drama, Ryan's Daughter (1970).
Yet despite all the accolades McKern earned in theatre and films, it was television where he foundinternational fame as the wily, irascible barrister Horace P. Rumpole in John Mortimer's Rumpole of the Bailey in 1975. Infusing the character with beguiling skill and energy, McKern made the acerbic, wine swilling, Tennyson-quoting Rumpole a much loved figure that was adored by critics, audiences and even its creator Mortimer. Perhaps Mortimer offered the most fitting tribute when he once referred to McKern - "His acting exists where I always hope my writing will be: about two feet above the ground, a little larger than life, but always taking off from reality." Enough said.
By Michael T. Toole
Quotes
Trivia
Miscellaneous Notes
Released in United States Fall November 21, 1986
Began shooting June 9, 1986.
Completed shooting September 5, 1986.
television extract "I Love Lucy"
Todd-AO
Ultra-Stereo
Released in United States Fall November 21, 1986
