SCREENWRITER: Calder Willingham, Joan Tewkesbury, Robert Altman
FILM STARS: Keith Carradine, Shelley Duvall, Bert Remsen, Louise Fletcher, Tom Skerritt
COUNTRY: USA
THIS BOOK
AUTHOR: Edward Anderson
TYPE: Novel
PUBLISHER: Avon
THIS EDITION PUBLISHED: 1974
COUNTRY: USA
COVER: Paperback
THE ORIGINAL BOOK
ORIGINAL AUTHOR: As Above
YEAR FIRST PUBLISHED: 1937
ORIGINAL BOOK TITLE: The film title
NOTES
GENRE: Crime
WORDS: Anderson only wrote two novels. Both are about people facing grim choices during the 1930s depression. This novel was first (excellently) filmed under the title of “They Live by Night” (1948) by Nicholas Ray. If I recollect correctly there is dark fatalism that hangs over the book (as there is in his other novel, “The Hungry Men”). Oddly, I don’t recall the film that well. I may have to re-watch it.
FILM STARS: John Wayne, Kirk Douglas, Patricia Neal, Henry Fonda, Tom Tryon, Paula Prentiss, Stanley Holloway, Burgess Meredith, Brandon deWilde, Jill Haworth, Dana Andrews, Franchot Tone, Patrick O’Neal, Carroll O’Connor, Slim Pickens, James Mitchum, George Kennedy, Bruce Cabot, Barbara Bouchet, Larry Hagman
COUNTRY: USA
THIS BOOK
AUTHOR: James Bassett
TYPE: Novel
PUBLISHER: Four Square
THIS EDITION PUBLISHED: 1965
COUNTRY: Great Britain
COVER: Paperback
THE ORIGINAL BOOK
ORIGINAL AUTHOR: As Above
YEAR FIRST PUBLISHED: 1962
ORIGINAL BOOK TITLE: Harm’s Way
NOTES
GENRE: War, Drama
WORDS: Part war film and part domestic melodrama. The book was a best seller when released and it got the deluxe treatment and cast. The book reads a little like “Peyton Place” with boats and guns (and that’s not necessarily a bad thing). The film is strange. It’s big budget, with a literate script, and a big cast who, rightly or wrongly, all play the screen personas they are associated with, but the settings are anachronistic and it needs colour. They got the big things right and then fumbled on the small things. As with all things Otto Preminger, there is, still, something compelling about the film. I haven’t read the book yet.
FILM STARS: C. Thomas Howell, Matt Dillon, Ralph Macchio, Patrick Swayze, Rob Lowe, Diane Lane, Emilio Estevez, Tom Cruise, Leif Garrett
COUNTRY: USA
THIS BOOK
AUTHOR: S.E. Hinton
TYPE: Novel
PUBLISHER: Fontana
THIS EDITION PUBLISHED: 1983
COUNTRY: Great Britain
COVER: Paperback
THE ORIGINAL BOOK
ORIGINAL AUTHOR: As Above
YEAR FIRST PUBLISHED: 1967
ORIGINAL BOOK TITLE: The film title
NOTES
GENRE: Teen Drama
WORDS: I was a teenager when this film came out the film, and with its keen and romantic eye over socioeconomic differences between groups of kids, it struck a chord and became a favourite of mine (as did the companion piece by both the director and writer, “Rumble Fish”). To track down the book was inevitable. The film follows the book fairly closely (or, rather, if you prefer, the book informs the film intimately). In 2005 director Coppola added (some) deleted scenes that make the book and film even closer and called that version “The Outsiders: The Complete Novel”. I don’t know which I prefer … the version I saw many times as a youth sticks in the mind but the latter works better. The book is a classic and sent me out looking for other novels by Hinton at the time. You can’t mention the film without mentioning the cast, all who would have their time in the sun and then some. I, also, ended up watching every Matt Dillon movie that was released and, like every teenage boy, I fell in love with Diane Lane.
FILM STARS: Elvis Presley, Hope Lange, Tuesday Weld, Millie Perkins, Rafer Johnson, John Ireland, Gary Lockwood, Christina Crawford
COUNTRY: USA
THIS BOOK
AUTHOR: J.R. Salamanca
TYPE: Abridged Novel
PUBLISHER: Cardinal
THIS EDITION PUBLISHED: 1961
COUNTRY: USA
COVER: Paperback
THE ORIGINAL BOOK
ORIGINAL AUTHOR: As Above
YEAR FIRST PUBLISHED: 1958
ORIGINAL BOOK TITLE: The Lost Country
NOTES
GENRE: Domestic Drama
WORDS: Another underrated Elvis Presley film (aren’t they all?). And, as close as Elvis got to a prestigious studio A-picture. Elvis is excellent as a hot tempered backwoods country boy with literary aspirations (yes, you read that right). Of course he must sing, and he does, but not much when compared to his musical romantic comedies. The film was filmed in glorious colour in Napa Valley, California doubling for the Shenandoah Valley of western Virginia. Director Dunne was also a screenwriter (and wrote the screenplays for The Robe (1953), Way of a Gaucho (1952), The Agony and the Ecstasy (1965), Pinky (1949), The Ghost & Mrs. Muir (1947), How Green Was My Valley (1941) and many others) so he was suited to a directing novels. Apparently he did have a (uncredited) hand in the screenplay here as well as directing . His directing career wasn’t as successful though there were solid films (Blue Denim (1959), Ten North Frederick (1958), Three Brave Men (1956)). Clifford Odets handled the screenplay with novelist Salamanca. Odets was a playwright of the US proletarian school and wrote Waiting for Lefty (1935), Awake and Sing! (1935), Golden Boy (1937), Clash by Night (1941), The Big Knife (1949) and many others as well as screenplays for None but the Lonely Heart (1944)(which he also directed) and Sweet Smell of Success (1957). Apparently, according to Dunne, Odets was fired and Dunne had to finish the screenplay. None of that has a bearing on this film tie-in but you just have to mention that for the Elvis movie poo poo-ers.
Novelist Salamanca, himself, is no slouch either. Not prolific but well regarded with novels Lilith (1961) and A Sea Change (1969) and others. It seems that Salamanca was involved (or at least allowed) this abridgement of his novel. I’m keen to read this but I’m hanging out to read the (unabridged) original novel, which is, thin on the ground. Apparently Salamanca based his character on a real author who went from nowhere to the toast of the NYC literary scene but I don’t know who that is. I do note that some of the character names have been changed including Elvis’ character who goes from Jim Blackstarr to Glenn Tyler.
LINKS
TRAILER
SONGS
The title song
a ballad from the film (and one of Elvis’ best ballads)
FILM STARS: Michael Beck, James Remar, Deborah Van Valkenburgh, Marcelino Sánchez, David Harris, Tom McKitterick, Brian Tyler
COUNTRY: USA
THIS BOOK
AUTHOR: Sol Yurick
TYPE: Novel
PUBLISHER: Star
THIS EDITION PUBLISHED: 1979
COUNTRY: Great Britain
COVER: Paperback
THE ORIGINAL BOOK
ORIGINAL AUTHOR: As Above
YEAR FIRST PUBLISHED: 1965
ORIGINAL BOOK TITLE: The film title
NOTES
GENRE: Action
WORDS: Who doesn’t love The Warriors? I read the book many years ago but, apart from the 1960s setting when the book was written, I don’t recall many similarities or deviations between film and novel (I didn’t think I would be doing a blog 30 years later, I didn’t know what a blog was 30 years ago. So, I didn’t take any notes). I do recall the book wasn’t as top heavy on action as the film is. I liked the book enough to go out and find other Sol Yurick novels. I was already tracking down other films directed by Walter Hill … as you all should.
FILM STARS: John Wayne, Dean Martin, Ricky Nelson, Walter Brennan, Angie Dickinson, Ward Bond, Pedro Gonzalez Gonzalez, John Russell, Claude Akins
COUNTRY: USA
THIS BOOK
AUTHOR: Brackett, Leigh
TYPE: Novelization
PUBLISHER: Bantam
THIS EDITION PUBLISHED: 1959
COUNTRY: USA
COVER: Paperback
THE ORIGINAL BOOK
ORIGINAL AUTHOR: As Above
YEAR FIRST PUBLISHED: 1959
ORIGINAL BOOK TITLE: The film title
NOTES
GENRE: Western
WORDS: A magnificent film. One of the greatest of all films (well, in my Top 3). Everything works in this film. And, for a western there is a lot of hanging out and talking which makes it that much more enjoyable. Screenwriter, Leigh Brackett, who novelized the screenplay was a favourite of director Howard Hawks and co-wrote this and the other two westerns in this loose “trilogy”, El Dorado (1966) and Rio Lobo (1970), as well as *the great) Hatari (1962) and The Big Sleep (1946). Oddly, she also wrote a lot of science fiction.
I could wax lyrical about the film but I wont. You can google it. Often watched by me (and luckily I saw it on the big screen at a revival once as well) it’s one that gets better even though i know where it’s going.
LINKS
TRAILER
SONG FROM THE FILM
Dean Martin and Ricky Nelson the wonderful new cowboy song, “My Rifle, My Pony and Me”
FILM STARS: Robert Ryan, Stewart Granger, Nadia Gray, Katherine Woodville, Marius Goring, Robert Rietty
COUNTRY: Great Britain – Yugoslavia
THIS BOOK
AUTHOR: Morris West
TYPE: Novel
PUBLISHER: Pan
THIS EDITION PUBLISHED: 1964
COUNTRY: Great Britain
COVER: Paperback
THE ORIGINAL BOOK
ORIGINAL AUTHOR: As Above
YEAR FIRST PUBLISHED: 1957
ORIGINAL BOOK TITLE: The Big Story
NOTES
GENRE: Political Thriller
WORDS: The most significant change between novel and film is the locale. The book is set in Italy though the film is set in a small unnamed Balkan state (perhaps changed because it was filmed along the then Yugoslavian (now Croatia, and parts of Slovenia) coastline). Robert Ryan is always great and Stewart Granger makes a convincing dictator. The film was mid-budget (which mostly went on the cast I suspect). There are elements of guerrilla filmmaking which you occasionally see in (lower budgeted) English language films filmed on location in non-English speaking countries. “Guerrilla” shooting essentially means shooting a film in public with no permits and in most cases, no permission from any property owners. I doubt that would have happened in Communist Yugoslavia but there certainly weren’t controlled exterior sets. The locals are, quite clearly out to see the Hollywood stars, cameras be damned, and clearly some have been recruited for small roles, acting ability be damned. Robert Ryan is the star though Stewart Granger whose Hollywood career has faded was fresh off his Old Surehand sauerkraut western (a German western) success (a European hit) which was also filmed in Croatia (and other parts of Yugoslavia).
This is an early Morris West novel, but like all his novels it’s an easy, and entertaining, read with (a lot) more than meets the eye. Amongst the cat and mouse shenanigans (Ryan’s reporter is trying to expose the corrupt local dictator) there are thematic hints on power, corruption and guilt. West was, perhaps, Australia’s most successful novelist.
SCREENWRITER: Robin Estridge, Dudley Nichols (whoa, what is Dudley Nichols doing here)
FILM STARS: Yul Brynner, Sal Mineo, Jack Warden, Madlyn Rhue, Anthony Caruso, James Mason (uncredited)
COUNTRY: USA
THIS BOOK
AUTHOR: Michael Barrett
TYPE: Novel
PUBLISHER: Gold Medal Book
THIS EDITION PUBLISHED: 1962
COUNTRY: USA COVER: Paperback
THE ORIGINAL BOOK
ORIGINAL AUTHOR: As Above
YEAR FIRST PUBLISHED: 1960
ORIGINAL BOOK TITLE: Appointment in Zahrain
NOTES
GENRE: Action, Adventure
WORDS: A great bed time read. All action and adventure. Both the film and the book are evocative of time and place which is meant to be a fictitious place in the Middle East (even though the film was filmed in the Mojave Desert in California). These books have all the usual plot twists but are topical (and perhaps still relevant). Author Michael Barrett was Australian and specialised in thrillers set in the Middle East. The film was escapism with some political asides.
FILM STARS: James Stewart, Richard Attenborough, Peter Finch, Hardy Krüger, Ernest Borgnine, Ian Bannen, Ronald Fraser, Christian Marquand, Dan Duryea, George Kennedy, Gabriele Tinti
COUNTRY: USA
THIS BOOK
AUTHOR: Elleston Trevor
TYPE: Novel
PUBLISHER: Pan
THIS EDITION PUBLISHED: 1965
COUNTRY: Great Britain
COVER: Paperback
THE ORIGINAL BOOK
ORIGINAL AUTHOR: As Above
YEAR FIRST PUBLISHED: 1964
ORIGINAL BOOK TITLE: The film title
NOTES
GENRE: Disaster, Adventure
WORDS: What a cast! I loved the film as a kid, and now have watched it with my kids (who loved it). The film follows the book pretty closely though some of the nationalities of the central characters have been changed to suit the international cast designed to appeal to international movie markets. There was a 2004 remake which is less based on the novel and nowhere near as good.
FILM STARS: Spencer Tracy, Jeffrey Hunter, Dianne Foster, Pat O’Brien, Basil Rathbone, Donald Crisp, James Gleason, Edward Brophy, John Carradine, Willis Bouchey, Ricardo Cortez, Wallace Ford, Frank McHugh, Carleton Young, Edmund Lowe, Dan Herlihy, Anna Lee, Ken Curtis, Jane Darwell
COUNTRY: USA
THIS BOOK
AUTHOR: Edwin O’Connor
TYPE: Novel
PUBLISHER: Pan
THIS EDITION PUBLISHED: 1959
COUNTRY: Great Britain
COVER: Paperback
THE ORIGINAL BOOK
ORIGINAL AUTHOR: As Above
YEAR FIRST PUBLISHED: 1956
ORIGINAL BOOK TITLE: The film title
NOTES
GENRE: Political drama
WORDS: I loved this Ford film and his American Irishness (and I’m not Irish). The films’ cast is perfect and there are many motion picture asides and grace notes that are pure John Ford and not in the book or script. The film hints at the reality of politics but is relatively genteel with it’s warm (though admittedly slightly cynical) Fordian humour and emotionalism up front, rather than the political satire of the book. That’s not to say the book doesn’t have its warm humour or emotion.
THE FILM 
‘ The biggest problem is Mia Farrow’. That comment could be applied to almost every film she appeared in. An…