The Films Of Jeffrey Hunter 1970-1977
The Bold Ones: The Protectors ("A Thing Not Of God") TV Episode 2/1/1970
Come Hell, Come Sundown (3/1970)
All That Glitters (11/1970)
Bracken's World (
"Infinity") TV Episode (11/20/1970)
Night Gallery ("The Housekeeper") TV Episode (12/16/1970)
Red Sky At Morning (5/1971)
Desperate Characters (9/1971)
Traffic Jam (5/1972)
They Only Kill Their Masters (11/1972)
Ace Eli and Rodger of the Skies (4/1973)
Sagebrush Steele (11/1973)
Bad Luck (2/1974)
The Girl From Petrovka (8/1974)
The Towering Inferno (12/1974)
The Yakuza (3/1975)
Midway (6/1976) [1]
Scalpel (3/1977)
Rollercoaster (6/1977)
High Speed (10/1977)
Excerpts From Forgotten Films, Volume 2: The New Hollywood Era by Nolan Hendricks (2001)
(Hendricks is writing about Jeffrey Hunter's career following 1967's Don't Sleep In The Subway. We pick up right as Hendricks gets into the 1970's)
His next film was an unexpected change of pace when he appeared second billed as the antagonist in Edward O'Malleys second Nigel Turner film, the lavish
All That Glitters opposite longtime friend Roger Moore. The film was another hit for Hunter and opened the door to him appearing in 1972's
Traffic Jam.
Despite
Come Hell Come Sundown and
All That Glitters being hits, Hunter continued to appear on episodic television into 1970 with guest stints on
The Protectors,
Bracken's World, and
Night Gallery.
He next popped up as the father of future
Walton's star Richard Thomas' character in the acclaimed 1940's set drama film Red Sky At Night which also starred Catherine Burns, Desi Arnas Jr. and Claire Bloom. This was followed by another critically acclaimed role in
Desperate Characters opposite Shirley MacLaine.
Later...
Following the success of
Traffic Jam, Hunter next appeared in the mystery film
They Only Kill Their Masters. The film, which revolved around a Doberman Pinscher being a suspect in a woman's murder was one Hunter generally disliked talking about. The film was mostly notable for being the last production shot on MGM's backlot and also featured several former stars from the studio's heyday including June Allyson and Peter Lawford.
Hunter's next film,
Ace Eli and Rodger of the Skies was another film the actor felt let down by.
Ace Eli boasted an early script by Steven Spielberg. The up-and-coming filmmaker had also hoped to direct the film, at which point Hunter signed up. Richard D. Zanuck, who was at the time president of 20th Century Fox, was against hiring Spielberg. Hunter planned to quit the picture in protest, but out of fear of a lawsuit with the studio he'd been under contract to in the 1950's stayed with the production.
Due to issues with the final edit of the film,
Ace Eli met with mixed reviews. Most critics praised the aerial photography and Hunter's performance.
Hunter next signed a three-picture deal with Universal where he appeared in
Sagebrush Steele, a low budget Western opposite James Brolin. He turned down Clint Eastwood's offer to star in his directorial effort
Breezy, which the actor eventually starred in himself after William Holden fell through. For his second film, Hunter made a car chase film called
Bad Luck which did decent box office. His third film for the studio eventually became
The Girl From Petrovka, one of Goldie Hawn's less-remembered efforts. The film was panned as were Hawn and Hunter's performances. Critics also commented on the obvious age gap between the pair as well as their lack of chemistry. Hunter later regarded it as one of his worst movies. However, the actor did strike up an unlikely longtime friendship with his other costar, a young British actor named Anthony Hopkins. Hunter had little time to convalesce however, as his next film was a massive hit that changed his personal life as well--
And later...
Hunter was cast in Sydney Pollack's
The Yakuza as a last-minute replacement for Robert Mitchum who had pulled out. The film boasted a screenplay by Paul Schrader and Robert Towne and was based on a story by Schrader's brother Leonard. Though a cult classic now after being championed by the likes of Quentin Tarantino, the film was a critical and box office disappointment upon it's March 1975 release.
The Yakuza would also be Hunter's only film released that year.
More...
Following the enormous success of
Midway, Hunter took a small break when his son with Wood, actor Nate Hunter was born. He reappeared in the cult classic
Scalpel and the hit film
Rollercoaster (both 1977).
Scalpel had actually been shot at the end of 1975. There was a delay in release until it was finally picked up by Avco Embassy. [2]
Scalpel saw Hunter playing an antagonist role once again. This time a sociopathic Southern plastic surgeon named Dr. Phillip Reynolds has convinced everyone around him that his daughter Heather (future soap opera star Judith Chapman) has run away from home (the audience knows what
really happened). His father-in-law dies and leaves nothing to him or his brother-in-law. $5 million dollars, however, is to go to Heather. That is if anyone can find her. While they are driving home one night, a badly beaten up exotic dancer whose face has been beaten to a pulp runs in front of the car. Reynolds rushes her to the hospital to perform surgery on her, only to come up with a devious scheme to make Jane Doe (Chapman in a double role) into the likeness of his daughter and pass her off as Heather. Of course, none of this goes according to plan and the entire film is a wild ride full of plot twists.
Although advertised as a horror film,
Scalpel is more in the Southern Gothic vein with some heavy Hitchcokian elements thrown in. Some also compared it to Hunter's 1965 film
Brainstorm. Scalpel had mixed reviews but did decent box office and much later became beloved as a cult classic.
Rollercoaster had Hunter in a protagonist role opposite Richard Widmark, Timothy Bottoms (giving Hunter a break from playing the psychopath), Harry Guardino, Susan Strasberg, Henry Fonda and 14th Street Records hitmakers
The Hollywood Stars who had a cameo as themselves performing their at the time current hit "All The Kids On The Street" and album track/ B-Side "Make It To The Party" [3]
Hunter's next film, the forgettable car chase adventure
High Speed, which saw Hunter as a cop on a high-speed car chase, would round out 1977. After several years in film with a few huge hits, some misfires, and a lot of interesting curiosities, Jeffrey Hunter considered moving back into television--
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BONUS: This movie was missing from the Timeline. May I present...
All That Glitters (20th Century Fox, November, 1970)
An Edward O'Malley Film
Music by
Burt Bacharach "All That Glitters (Isn't Gold)" performed by
Dionne Warwick [4]
Cast
Roger Moore as Nigel Turner, Private Detective
Jeffrey Hunter as Reginald Bartholomew, billionaire and main antagonist. Turner is solving a murder that happened at a gold and silver-themed fancy dress ball hosted by Bartholomew. Hence the title.
Diana Rigg as Rita, Turner's first established love interest in the series.
Terrence Stamp as Roger Grey, Turner's newly hired assistant [5]
Diana Dors as Enid, Nigel's now-Ex wife and mother to his son (who is off-screen in both films)
These films are known for all tying into each other. After the fancy dress sequence and main titles, the film cuts to Turner in a cab. Playing on the radio is Nina's version of "We Have All The Time In The World". Moore mentions her character, Ruby, to the cab driver.
As with the prior film, "All That Glitters..." was a critical and box office success.
[1] Robert Wagner's role
[2] IOTL, the film was released first as
False Face. It had a wider release in 1979 by Avco as
Scalpel. Here they pick the film up in the first place. Whatever version Avco releases ITTL is the one currently surfacing on streaming sites.
[3] 14th Street Records is a story for another day. The Hollywood Stars replaced Sparks who got a better deal IOTL by appearing in their dream project,
Confusion, alongside Jaques Tati instead.
[4] It's a big ballad with slight psychedelic undertones. Step up from the previous film recruiting folk singer Nina (who is probably better as an actress from
The Long Goodbye and
American Gigolo)
[5] Moore had confided in O'Malley before filming that Eon might be interested in him for the next James Bond film. O'Malley decided to write a quick sidekick character and hired Stamp, who had some name recognition for the 1966 thriller
The Collector. If Moore was unavailable for the next Turner film, O'Malley planned to make a standalone movie revolving around Grey. This never came to fruition.