I'm writing to you today because it's January 31st and that was
the birthday of the late James Franciscus, who would be 76 today.Â
Probably best recalled now for only BENEATH THE PLANET OF THE APES
(1970), Franciscus was part of a crop of handsome TV actors (he was the
original star of THE NAKED CITY TV series)Â in the late fifties who
longed for movie star status (and likely watched with burning
resentment in the sixties as Steve McQueen shot past them all).Â
Franciscus tried for that brass ring several times (anyone remember
YOUNGBLOOD HAWKE from 1964?) only to return again and again to series
television to support his family. Jane Fonda's "first" (according to
her recent autobiography), Franciscus had a reasonably successful
acting career by most standards, but was reportedly bitter that he
never gained real leading man status in films and died young and rather
tragically in 1991 from emphysema caused by a suicidally dumb
four-pack-a-day smoking habit. The attached image from his best
remembered film is not meant as a tasteless joke, but a poetic comment
on the sad fate of this once promising "Hollywood" actor. - Rory Monteith
Retro responds: Thanks for your tribute to an often overlooked actor. Franciscus - like so many other actors- lived in the shadows of contemporaries who went on to greater things. Still, the fact that his name is still well known among movie and TV fans is an indication that he did gain respect in the industry. I always thought he must have felt awkward in Beneath the Planet of the Apes. Fox did all they could to get Charlton Heston to star again, but all they could muster was a brief cameo that he reluctantly performed. Thus, Franciscus was groomed to be a virtual clone of Heston and while the resemblance was remarkable, he must have felt somewhat belittled by this process- especially in the scenes in which he had to perform with Heston. Still, he was a good, sold leading man and his talents are missed.- Lee Pfeiffer
******
There are some of us who remembered James
Franciscus from his stint as TV's "Mr. Novak", when we heard he would be in the
sequel to "Planet of the Apes"! I can remember feeling embarrassed for Mr.
Franciscus, as it was so obvious to we, the audience, that he was supposed to be
a "clone" of Heston. However, we enjoyed his performance anyhow. (Heston and Franciscus are
so great when they finally meet on screen, it was like watching two long lost
brothers! ) Franciscus was better served in that under appreciated Harryhausen
epic, "Valley of Gwangi". But we fans really rooted for him as the blind
investigator cum martial artist, Longstreet. Sort of a precursor (in the U.S.
anyway) of Zatoichi minus the sword! It is good to see he is well appreciated
by his fans!--A. Rivera, New York, NY
Dear Cinema Retro,
Â
I absolutely love the Where Eagles Dare Special Tribute Issue. It is
the best behind the scenes history of a film magazine that I have ever
seen. I hope that this will be the first of many special film tribute
issues that you will release in the future. May I suggest that the
following films would make for very interesting special tribute issues
in the future.
Â
                                                   1. Bullitt
                                                    2. The Great Escape
                                                   3. Kelly's Heroes
                                                    4. The Magnificent Seven
                                                   5. The Wild Bunch
Â
I hope that you will seriously consider my suggestions for future special film tribute editions. Keep up the good work!
Sincerely,
Jay Barrick
Retro responds: Thanks for the kind words, Jay. We really appreciate all the support that our readers gave us for the Where Eagles Dare issue. We especially appreciate the efforts of over twenty contributors from around the world to make this issue a reality. Your suggestions are all great ones and are on our "must do" list. We're now researching for a major article on Kelly's Heroes for a future edition of the magazine, though it won't be a Movie Classics special. As for The Great Escape, we did some extensive coverage on the making of the film in Cinema Retro issue#1, which is still available as a back issue. Stay tuned for some announcements regarding our most ambitious project ever, the forthcoming Movie Classics special on the Clint Eastwood/Sergio Leone Dollars films that will include an abundance of rare photos, including some that have never been published before. Meanwhile, if you don't have Where Eagles Dare issue, supplies are rapidly dwindling. Click here for ordering info.
Â
                                                                                               Â
Lee, Actually I own a copy of this great film on DVD . . . it's
available as part of the Tohokushinsa Classic Library collection in
Japan: Region 1, 160 minutes . . . and the artwork is fabulous!
Phil
Retro responds: Thanks for the tip, Phil. The Weinstein Company owns the rights to the Samuel Bronston films they did a magnificent job of releasing both El Cid and The Fall of the Roman Empire as deluxe DVD editions, packed with extras. The plan was to also release 55 Days at Peking and Circus World, but to date, they have not appeared. By the way, if you search under these titles on Amazon, you'll see some DVDs come up. Be wary: the ones that say "all region" are bootlegs and the quality can be something to be desired. It appears as though Peking was released on DVD officially, but apparently never in an English-speaking country.
I'm happy that you mentioned the upcoming broadcast of
55 Days at Peking on TCM. Like you, I really like that film, too,
and think it's terribly underrated. I have an Asian DVD of the film which,
while it isn't perfect, at least is in the correct 2:35 ratio and anamorphic as
well.
The film has a fascinating and very troubled production history. The original
director Nicholas Ray (who does a cameo as the American ambassador in the film)
was fired after several weeks of shooting when he suffered a heart attack after
taking speed to cure his alcoholism. he was replaced by Andrew Marton, who was
already working on the film as the second unit director for the action
sequences, which is the reason why the action sequences are so good. (I read an interview with Marton in which he said his first day as the main
director was the ball sequence that Heston and Ava Gardner attend together in
the film) Gardner, who was also heavily drinking at the time,walked off
the film the day after character actor Paul Lukas called her out about her
habit in front of the crew. This is why there's no final death scene between
her and Heston in the film, as there was in the original script (which, of course,
was written by several writers - credited and uncredited)
Sergio Mims
Retro responds: Thanks for the insights, Sergio. The film was clearly a troubled production and set in motion the decline of Bronstan's career. He was a good filmmaker but a terrible businessman. Still, Peking makes for magnificent entertainment. It makes true the cliche that "they don't make 'em like that anymore".Â
Click here to order deluxe collector's DVD edition of El Cid. (Click here for review)
Click here to order deluxe collector's DVD edition of The Fall of the Roman Empire
Cinema Retro has been requested to post the the following letter from a relative of actor Ken Clark. If anyone can help locate him, please write to Tim at the E mail address in his letter.(For Dean Brierly's tribute to Ken Clark's Euro spy movies of the 60s click here)
Ken Clark, star of such cult classics as "Attack of the Giant Leeches"
and "12 To the Moon" as well as over a dozen EuroSpy movies in the
1960s is my great uncle. Â He is also subject of a family mystery.
 When
his movie career in the States seemed destined to fail, and all he was
being offered was TV roles, he left the US to go to Europe. His career
there is well-documented. However, when he left, he also broke contact
with his entire family.... wife, kids, parents, sisters, everyone.
 His
sister is now 81 and in failing health. I am trying to track down Ken
Clark to see if, after all this time, he has any interest at all in
talking to his sister once again. Even if he wanted to, there would be
almost no way for him to find her. He never knew her married name, and
she moved from their home in Ohio to Rhode Island decades ago.Â
 I
have tried SAG but they want his SAG membership number in order to give
me any information. Obviously, I do not have that.  If anyone has any
means of learning his whereabouts or has any source I might contact to
try and find him I would be most appreciative. Feel free to email me
directly, or to contact me through the web site.
 Thank you,  Tim Lamont
I noticed that, although Cinema Retro offers extensive coverage of the TV industry, there has been nary a word about the big story of the week: Sarah Palin joining Fox News as an analyst. Do I detect some political bias?- Jim S.,Florida
Retro responds: Jim, you do indeed detect a bias, but not the one you probably perceive. I'm amazed at how many of our readers want political coverage on this site, but the fact of the matter is (as I have to state once a month) that Cinema Retro is dedicated to the entertainment industry. The stories we cover about television pertain to mostly entertainment programs, though I do admit to falling off the wagon and editorializing once in a blue moon about some particularly absurd story that it getting disproportionate air play. (i.e; the notorious "balloon boy.") Not only was the biggest story in TV this week not the hiring of Sarah Palin by Fox News (a move expected by virtually everyone since she resigned as governor last July), but the on-going mess at NBC over the Jay Leno/Conan O'Brien situation. Like most Americans, I have very strong feelings regarding Sarah Palin, but whether they are favorable or unfavorable wouldn't be of the slightest interest to any of our readers. We stick with what we do best: covering both classic cinema and the contemporary entertainment industry. Generally, our political coverage extends only to stories that legitimately involve entertainment personalities. For example, we gave coverage to Sidney Poitier being among those honored by President Obama. If it makes you feel any better, should Al Gore get hired as a news analyst by any network, I hereby pledge not to cover that story but if John McCain makes a sitcom or a Western, I promise we will cover it. - Lee Pfeiffer