by Lee Server
Two for the Seesaw. 1962. United Artists, Mirisch, Argyle/Talbot. Producer: Walter Mirisch. Director: Robert Wise. Screenplay: Isobel Lennart from the play by William Gibson. Players: Robert Mitchum, Shirley MacLaine, Elisabeth Fraser, Demond Ryan, Billy Gray.
The List of Adrian Messenger. 1963. Universal. Producer: Edward Lewis. Director: John Huston. Screenplay: Anthony Veiller from the novel by Philip MacDonald. Players: George C. Scott, Kirk Douglas, Dana Wynter, Clive Brook, Gladys Cooper, Herbert Marshall, Marcel Dalio, Tony Huston, John Huston, Robert Mitchum, Frank Sinatra, Tony Curtis, Burt Lancaster.
Rampage. 1963. Warner Bros., Talbot. Producer: William Fadiman. Director: Phil Karlson. Screenplay: Robert I. Holt, Marguerite Roberts from the novel by Allan Caillou. Players: Robert Mitchum, Jack Hawkins, Elsa Martinelli, Sabu.
Man in the Middle. 1964. 20th Century-Fox, Pennebaker, Talbot. Producer: Walter Seltzer. Director: Guy Hamilton. Screenplay: Keith Waterhouse from the novel The Winston Affair by Howard Fast. Players: Robert Mitchum, Trevor Howard, Barry Sullivan, France Nuyen, Keenan Wynn, Alexander Knox, Sam Wanamaker.
What a Way to Go! 1964. 20th Century-Fox. Producer: Arthur P. Jacobs. Director: J. Lee Thompson. Screenplay: Betty Comden and Adolph Green. Players: Shirley MacLaine, Dick Van Dyke, Dean Martin, Robert Mitchum, Paul Newman, Gene Kelly, Bob Cummings. Margaret Dumont, Army Archerd, Burt Mustin.
Mister Moses. 1965. United Artists, Frank Ross, Talbot. Producer: Frank Ross. Director: Ronald Neame. Screenplay: Charles Beaumont, Monja Danischewsky from a novel by Max Catto. Players: Robert Mitchum, Carroll Baker, Alexander Knox, Ian Bannen, Raymond St. Jacques.
The Way West. 1967. United Artists. Producer: Harold Hecht. Director: Andrew V. McLaglen. Screenplay: Ben Maddow, Mitch Lindemann from the novel by A. B. Guthrie, Jr., Players: Kirk Douglas, Robert Mitchum, Richard Widmark, Lola Albright, Sally Field, Katherine Justice, Jack Elam, Michael Whitney, Stubby Kaye, Harry Carey, Jr., John Mitchum.
El Dorado. 1967. Paramount. Producer-Director: Howard Hawks. Screenplay: Leigh Brackett based on the novel The Stars in Their Courses by Harry Brown (and, un-credited, on the film Rio Bravo). Players: John Wayne, Robert Mitchum, James Caan, Arthur Hunnicutt, Charlene Holt, Paul Fix, Edward Asner, Michele Carey, Christopher George, Robert Donner, John Gabriel, Robert Rothwell, John Mitchum.
Anzio. 1968. Columbia, DeLaurentiis. Producer: Dino DeLaurentiis. Director: Edward Dmytryk. Screenplay: Harry A. L. Craig, Frank DeFelitta, Giuseppe Mangione from the novel by Wynford Vaughan-Thomas. Players: Robert Mitchum, Peter Falk, Arthur Kennedy, Robert Ryan, Earl Holliman, Reni Santoni, Arthur Franz.
Five Card Stud. 1968. Paramount, Hal Wallis. Producer: Hal Wallis. Director: Henry Hathaway. Screenplay: Marguerite Roberts. Players: Dean Martin, Robert Mitchum, Inger Stevens, Roddy McDowall, Katherine Justice, Yaphet Kotto, Roy Jenson.
Villa Rides. 1968. Paramount. Producer: Ted Richmond. Director: Buzz Kulik. Screenplay: Sam Peckinpah, Robert Towne. Players: Yul Brynner. Robert Mitchum, Charles Bronson, Herbert Lorn, Grazia Buccella, Robert Viharo, Alexander Knox, John Ireland, Fernando Rey, Jill Ireland.
Secret Ceremony. 1968. Universal. Producer: John Heyman, Norman Priggen. Director: Joseph Losey. Screenplay: George Tabori. Players: Elizabeth Taylor, Mia Farrow, Robert Mitchum, Peggy Ashcroft, Pamela Brown, Robert Douglas.
Young Billy Young. 1969. United Artists. Producer: Max E. Youngstein. Director: Burt Kennedy. Writer: Burt Kennedy from the novel Who Rides with Wyatt by Will Henry. Players: Robert Mitchum, Angie Dickinson, Robert Walker, Jr., David Carradine, Jack Kelly, Paul Fix, John Anderson, Deana Martin, Rodolfo Acosta.
The Good Guys and the Bad Guys. 1969. Warner Bros. Producer: Ronald M. Cohen, Dennis Shyrack. Director: Burt Kennedy. Screenplay: Ronald M. Cohen. Players: Robert Mitchum, George Kennedy, Martin Balsam, David Carradine, Lois Nettleton, Tina Louise, Douglas Fowley, John Davis Chandler, Marie Windsor, Dick Peabody.
Ryan’s Daughter. 1970. MGM. Producer: Anthony Havelock-Allan. Director: David Lean. Screenplay: Robert Bolt. Players: Robert Mitchum, Sarah Miles, Trevor Howard, Christopher Jones, John Mills, Leo McKern, Barry Foster.
Going Home. 1971. MGM. Producer-Director: Herbert B. Leonard. Screenplay: Lawrence. B. Marcus. Players: Robert Mitchum, Jan-Michael Vincent, Brenda Vaccaro, Sally Kirkland, Jason Bernard, Lou Gilbert, Josh Mostel, Vicki Sue Robinson.
The Wrath of God. 1972. MGM. Producer: William S. Gilmore, Jr. Director: Ralph Nelson. Screenplay: Ralph Nelson from the novel by James Graham. Players: Robert Mitchum, Ken Hutcheson, Rita Hayworth, Frank Langella, Victor Buono, John Colicos, Gregory Sierra.
The Friends of Eddie Coyle. 1973. Paramount. Producer: Paul Monash. Director: Peter Yates. Screenplay: Paul Monash from the novel by George V. Higgins. Players: Robert Mitchum, Peter Boyle, Richard Jordan, Alex Rocco, Steven Keats, Joe Santos, Mitchell Ryan, Helena Carroll.
The Yakuza. 1975. Warner Bros. Producer-Director: Sydney Pollack. Screenplay: Paul Schrader, Robert Towne from a story by Leonard Schrader. Players: Robert Mitchum, Takakura Ken, Kishi Keiko, Brian Keith, Herb Edelman, Richard Jordan, James Shigeta.
Farewell My Lovely. 1975. Avco Embassy. Producer: Elliott Kastner, Jerry Bick, Jerry Bruckheimer, George Pappas. Director: Dick Richards. Screenplay: David Zelag Goodman from the novel by Raymond Chandler. Players: Robert Mitchum, Charlotte Rampling, Jack O’Halloran, Sylvia Miles, John Ireland, Anthony Zerbe, Harry Dean Stanton, Kate Murtagh, Sylvester Stallone, Walter McGinn, Jim Thompson.
Midway. 1976. Universal. Producer: Walter Mirisch. Director: Jack Smight. Screenplay: Donald S. Sanford. Players: Charlton Heston, Henry Fonda, Glenn Ford, James Coburn, Cliff Robertson, Robert Wagner, Toshiro Mifune, Robert Mitchum.
The Last Tycoon. 1976. Paramount. Producer: Sam Spiegel. Director: Elia Kazan. Screenplay: Harold Pinter from the novel by F. Scott Fitzgerald. Players: Robert DeNiro, Tony Curtis, Robert Mitchum, Jack Nicholson, Jeanne Moreau, Ray Mil-land, Ingrid Boulting, Dana Andrews, Theresa Russell, John Carradine, Anjelica Huston.
The Amsterdam Kill. 1977. Columbia, Golden Harvest. Producer: Andre Morgan, Raymond Chow. Director: Robert Clouse. Screenplay: Robert Clouse, Gregory Teifer. Players: Robert Mitchum, Bradford Dillman, Richard Egan, Leslie Nielsen, Keye Luke, Chan Sing, Stephen Leung.
The Big Sleep. 1978. United Artists, ITC. Producer: Elliott Kastner, Jerry Bick, Michael Winner. Director: Michael Winner. Screenplay: Michael Winner from the novel by Raymond Chandler. Players: Robert Mitchum, James Stewart, Sarah Miles, Richard Boone, Oliver Reed, Candy Clark, Joan Collins, John Mills, Edward Fox, Dudley Sutton, Diana Quick, John Justin, Harry Andrews, Richard Todd, James Donald.
Matilda. 1978. American-International. Producer: Albert S. Ruddy. Director: Daniel Mann. Screenplay: Albert S. Ruddy, Timothy Galfas from the novel by Paul Gallico. Players: Elliott Gould, Robert Mitchum, Harry Guardino, Clive Revill, Roy Clark, Lionel Stander, Art Metrano, Lenny Montana, Gary Morgan.
Breakthrough (aka Steiner-Das Eiserne Kreuz 2). 1978. Palladium, Rapid Film, Maverick Pictures. Producer: Wolf C. Hartwig. Director: Andrew V. McLaglen. Screenplay: Tony Williamson based on characters from the film Cross of Iron. Players: Richard Burton, Robert Mitchum, Rod Steiger, Michael Parks, Curt Jurgens.
Agency. 1979. Jensen Farley, Ambassador, RSL. Producer: Stephen J. Roth, Robert Lantos. Director: George Kaczender. Screenplay: Noel Hynd from a novel by Paul Gottlieb. Players: Robert Mitchum, Lee Majors, Valerie Perrine, Alexandra Stewart, Saul Rubinek.
Nightkill. 1980. Avco Embassy. Producer: Richard Hellman, David Gil. Director: Ted Post. Screenplay: Joane Andre. Players: Jaclyn Smith, Robert Mitchum, James Franciscus, Mike Connors, Fritz Weaver, Sybil Danning. (Premiered on television: NBC.)
One Shoe Makes It Murder. CBS, Lorimar. Producer: Mel Ferrer. Director: William Hale. Sreenplay: Felix Culver from the novel So Little Cause for Caroline by Eric Bercovici. Players: Robert Mitchum, Angie Dickinson, Mel Ferrer, Howard Hesseman. (Television feature.)
That Championship Season. 1982. Cannon. Producer: Menah
em Golan, Yoram Globus. Director: Jason Miller. Screenplay: Jason Miller from his play. Players: Bruce Dern, Stacy Keach, Robert Mitchum, Martin Sheen, Paul Sorvino.
The Winds of War. 1983. ABC, Paramount. Producer-Director: Dan Curtis. Screenplay: Herman Wouk from his novel. Players: Robert Mitchum, Ali MacGraw, Jan-Michael Vincent, Polly Bergen, Victoria Tennant, John Houseman, David Dukes, Topol, Peter Graves, Ralph Bellamy, Lisa Eilbacher, Ben Murphy, Jeremy Kemp. (Television miniseries.)
A Killer in the Family. 1983. ABC, Taft, Sunn Classics, Stan Margulies. Producer: Robert Aller. Director: Richard T. Heffron. Screenplay: Sue Grafton, Steven Humphrey, Robert Aller. Players: Robert Mitchum, James Spader, Lance Kerwin, Eric Stoltz, Salome Jens, Catherine Mary Stewart. (Television feature.)
Maria’s Lovers. 1984. Cannon. Producer: Menahem Golan, Yoram Globus. Director: Andrei Konchalovsky. Screenplay: Andrei Konchalovsky, Gerard Brach, Marjorie David. Players: Nastassja Kinski, Robert Mitchum, John Savage, Keith Carradine, Anita Morris, Vincent Spano.
The Ambassador. 1984. Cannon. Producer: Menahem Golan, Yoram Globus. Director: J. Lee Thompson. Screenplay: Max Jack from the novel 52 Pick-Up by Elmore Leonard. Players: Robert Mitchum, Ellen Burstyn, Rock Hudson, Donald Pleasance, Fabio Testi.
The Hearst and Davies Affair. 1985. ABC. Producer-Director: David Lowell Rich. Screenplay: Alison Cross, David Solomon. Players: Robert Mitchum, Virginia Madsen, Fritz Weaver, Lome Kennedy. (Television feature.)
Reunion at Fairborough. 1985. HBO, Columbia. Producer: William Hill, Alan King. Director: Herbert Wise. Screenplay: Albert Ruben. Players: Robert Mitchum, Deborah Kerr, Judi Trott, Red Buttons, Barry Morse. (Cable television feature.)
Promises to Keep. 1985. CBS. Producer: Sandra Harmon. Director: Noel Black. Screenplay: Phil Penningroth. Players: Robert Mitchum, Christopher Mitchum, Bentley Mitchum, Claire Bloom, Tess Harper, Jane Sibbett. (Television feature.)
North and South. 1985. ABC, David L. Wolper. Producer: Paul Freeman. Director: Richard T. Heffron. Screenplay: Douglas Heyes, Paul F. Edwards, Patricia Green, Kathleen Shelley from the novel by John Jakes. Players: Patrick Swayze, Kirstie Alley, David Carradine, Genie Francis, Lesley-Anne Down, Elizabeth Taylor, Robert Mitchum, Jean Simmons, Hal Holbrook, Johnny Cash, Gene Kelly, Morgan Fairchild, George Stanford Brown, Robert Guillaume, Forrest Whitaker, Ron O’Neal. (Television miniseries.)
Thompson’s Last Run. 1986. CBS, Cypress Point, Phoenix Productions. Producer: Jennifer Faulstich. Director: Jerrold Freedman. Screenplay: John Carlen. Players: Robert Mitchum, Wilford Brimley, Susan Tyrrell, Kathleen York. (Television feature.)
The Equalizer: “Mission: McCall.” 1987. CBS. Producer: Marc Laub, Daniel Lieberstein. Director: Alan Metzger. Screenplay: Ed Waters, Scott Shepherd. Players: Robert Mitchum, Robert Jordan, Robert Lansing, Frances Fisher, Edward Woodward. (Two hour-long episodes of dramatic television series.)
Mr. North. 1988. Samuel Goldwyn. Producer: Steven Haft, Skip Steloff, John Huston, Tom Shaw. Director: Danny Huston. Screenplay: John Huston, Janet Roach, James Costigan from the novel Theophilus North by Thornton Wilder. Players: Anthony Edwards, Robert Mitchum, Anjelica Huston, Lauren Bacall, Harry Dean Stanton.
Scrooged. 1988. Paramount. Producer: Richard Donner, Art Linson. Director: Richard Donner. Screenplay: Michael O’Donoghue, Mitch Glazer from the novella A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens. Players: Bill Murray, Karen Allen, Robert Mitchum, John Glover, Carol Kane, David Johansen, Bobcat Goldthwaite.
War and Remembrance. 1988-89. ABC, Paramount. Producer: Barbara Steele, Dan Curtis. Director: Dan Curtis. Screenplay: Herman Wouk, Dan Curtis, Earl W. Wallace from the novel by Wouk. Players: Robert Mitchum, Jane Seymour, Victoria Tennant, Hart Bochner, Polly Bergen, John Gielgud, David Dukes, Sharon Stone, Sami Frey, John Rhys-Davies, Ian McShane, Ralph Bellamy. (Television miniseries.)
Brotherhood of the Rose. 1989. NBC. Producer-Director: Marvin J. Chomsky. Screenplay: Guy Waldron from the novel by David Morrell. Players: Robert Mitchum, Peter Strauss, Connie Sellecca, David Morse, James B. Sikking. (Television miniseries.)
Jake Spanner, Private Eye. 1990. USA Network. Producer: Andrew J. Fenady. Director: Lee H. Katzin. Screenplay: Andrew J. Fenady from the novel The Old Dick by L. A. Morse. Players: Robert Mitchum, Ernest Borgnine, John Mitchum, Jim Mitchum, Stella Stevens, Dick Van Patten, Edy Williams, Edie Adams, Terry Moore, Sheree North, Nita Talbot, Richard Yniguez, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. (Cable television feature.)
Midnight Ride. 1990. Cannon. Producer: Joan Weidman. Director: Robert Bralver. Screenplay: Russel V. Manzatt, Robert Bralver. Players: Michael Dudikoff, Mark Hamill, Robert Mitchum.
Believed Violent. 1990. Candice Productions. Producer: Sergio Gobbi. Director: George Lautner. Screenplay: Sergio Gobbi, Gilles Lambert from a novel by James Hadley Chase. Players: Michael Brandon, Robert Mitchum, Sophie Duez, Francis Perrin, Mario Adorf.
A Family for Joe. 1990. NBC. Producer: Arnold Margolin, Sonny Grosso, Larry Jacobson, Richard Learman. Director: Jeffrey Melman. Screenplay: Arnold Margolin. Players: Robert Mitchum. Maia Brewton, Jarrad Paul, Chris Furth, Jessica Player, Barbara Babcock, John Mitchum. (Television feature, pilot for series.)
A Family for Joe. 1990. NBC. Producer: Arnold Margolin, Sonny Grosso, Larry Jacobson, William P. D’Angelo, Byron Chudnow. Director: Alan Rafkin. Staff writers: Oliver Goldstick, Phil Rosenthal, others. Players: Robert Mitchum, Juliette Lewis, Ben Savage, David Lascher, Jessica Player, Barry Gordon, Leon the Dog. (Half-hour network television series.)
Cape Fear. 1991. Universal. Producer: Barbara DeFina, Kathleen Kennedy, Frank Marshall. Director: Martin Scorsese. Screenplay: Wesley Strick from the novel by John D. MacDonald and previous screen adaptation. Players: Robert DeNiro, Nick Nolte, Jessica Lange, Juliette Lewis, Joe Don Baker, Illeana Douglas, Gregory Peck, Robert Mitchum, Martin Balsam.
Waiting for the Wind. 1991. Envoy Productions. Producer: Jeffrey Zeitlin, Don Schroeder. Director: Don Schroeder. Screenplay: Douglas Lloyd McIntosh. Players: Robert Mitchum, Rhonda Fleming, Jameson Parker, Fred Pinkard. (Syndicated half-hour television drama.)
African Skies. 1992. Family Channel, Atlantis. Players: Catherine Bach, Robert Mitchum, Simon James. (Half-hour cable television series.)
Woman of Desire. 1993. Nu Image. Producer: Avi Lerner, Danny Lerner, Joanna Plafsky, Trevor Short. Director: Robert Ginty. Screenplay: Anthony Palmer. Players: Bo Derek, Jeff Fahey, Steven Bauer, Robert Mitchum.
Tombstone. 1993. Producer: Andrew Vajna. Director: George Cosmatos. Writer: Kevin Jarre. Players: Kurt Russell, Val Kilmer, Powers Booth, Charlton Heston, Robert Mitchum (narrator).
Backfire. 1994. Producer: J. Christian Ingvordsen. Director: A. Dean Bell. Screenplay: A. Dean Bell. Players: Kathy Ireland, Robert Mitchum, Telly Savalas, Mary McCormack, Shelly Winters, Josh Mosby.
Dead Man. 1995. Miramax. Producer: Karen Koch, Demetra MacBride. Director: Jim Jarmusch. Screenplay: Jim Jarmusch. Players: Johnny Depp, Lance Henriksen, Gary Farmer, Mili Avital, Iggy Pop, Crispin Glover, Robert Mitchum.
Waiting for Sunset (aka Pakten). 1995. Norsk Film, Yellow Cottage. Producer: John Paul Dejoria, Allan Oberholzer, Gerd Haag, Nina Crone. Director: Leidulv Risan. Screenplay: Arthur Johansen, Leidulv Risan, Alan Oberholzer. Players: Robert Mitchum, Cliff Robertson, Erland Josephson, Espen Skjonberg, Hanna Schygulla, Nadja Tiller.
James Dean: Race with Destiny. 1997. Producer-Director: Mardi Rustam. Screenplay: Dan Sefton. Players: Casper Van Dien, Carrie Mitchum, Diane Ladd, Robert Mitchum.
Acknowledgments
THE CREATION OF THE preceding pages has been made possible with the help of hundreds of individuals, friends and strangers alike, some contributing so generously and tirelessly that these few lines of appreciation in no way do them justice.
I thank the following for interviews, conversations, and correspondence (in some cases predating the official start of this project): James Bacon, Budd Boetticher, Mrs. L. Britton, Anthony Caruso, Phyllis Diller, Toni Cosentino Hayes, Beverly Jackson, Perry Leiber, Jr., Kathie Parris
h, Henry Rackin, Reni Santoni, William Wellman, Jr., Gene Barry, Theodore Bikel, Harry Carey, Jr., John Davis Chandler, Frank Coghlan, Jr., John Colicos, Robert Donner, Jack Elam, Rhonda Fleming, John Gabriel, Robert Ginty, Leo Gordon, the eternally alluring Jane Greer, Jerry Hardin, Phil Hartman, David Hedison, Kim Hunter, Anne Jeffreys, Roy Jenson, Sally Kirkland, Lila Leeds, Janet Leigh, Pierce Lyden, Malachy McCourt, Roddy McDowall, Dina Merrill, Gary Morgan, Kate Murtagh, Michael Pate, Fred Pinkard, Jean Porter, Vincent Price, Johnny Sands, Karen Sharpe, Harry Dean Stanton, Ingrid Thulin, Les Tremayne, Paul Valentine (we’ll always have Musso & Frank’s), Edward Anhalt, old buddy A. I. Bezzerides, Rock Brynner, Barnaby Conrad, Sam Fuller, Oliver Goldstick, John Guare, Howard Koch, Tom Lea, Allen Rivkin, Phil Rosenthal, John Paul Dejoria, Andrew J. Fenady, William S. Gilmore, Jr., Bert Granet, Paul Gregory, Paul Helmick, Otto Lang, Alan Oberholzer, Walter Seltzer, Ken Annakin, Earl Bellamy, Edward Dmytryk, Guy Hamilton, Lee Katzin, Burt Kennedy, Andrei Konchalovsky, Stanley Kramer, Buzz Kulik, Herbert Leonard, Andrew V. McLaglen, Ronald Neame, Alan Rafkin, Sheldon Reynolds, Dick Richards, Leidulv Risan, J. Lee Thompson, Robert Wise, Richard Wilson, Michael Winner, Anthony Cerbone, Stanley Cortez, Ray Gosnell, Victor Kemper, Max Kleven, Henry Lange, Jr., D. Michael Moore, Terry Morse, Jerome Siegel, Ron Wright, Charles Champlin, William Feeder, Joe Franklin, Irv Kupcinet, Bart Mills, Carolyn Sofia, Mrs. Alva Barr, Jeannette Dill, Jim Doughtery, Al Dowtin, Caroline Ferrera, Margie Reagan Cate Doherty Green, Edie Hemphill, Dave Holland (founding honcho of the Lone Pine Film Festival), Mickey Hoyle, Red Hoyle, Mrs. Carey Loftin, Elliott Morgan, Margaret O’Connor, Virginia Paskey, Norm Peterson, Harry Schein, Doris Siebel, Herb Speckman, Emma Warner. I also thank those persons who offered stories, information, and corroboration but preferred to do so off the record. Sad to say, some of the above have passed away since this work began.
