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'''''No Room to Run''''' is a |
'''''No Room to Run''''' is a 1977 Australian television film about an American businessman who kills a man in Sydney. The lead actors, writer, producer and director were all American.<ref name="scott">Ed. Scott Murray, ''Australia on the Small Screen 1970-1995'', Oxford Uni Press, 1996 p112</ref> It stars real-life husband and wife [[Richard Benjamin]] and [[Paula Prentiss]]. |
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==Plot== |
==Plot== |
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Nick Loomis is vice-president in charge of public relations with an international corporation. He travels to Australia to promote the American Youth Orchestra who are performing at the Sydney Opera House. His boss, Garth Kingswood plans to follow |
Nick Loomis is vice-president in charge of public relations with an international corporation. He travels to Australia to promote the American Youth Orchestra who are performing at the Sydney Opera House. His boss, Garth Kingswood plans to follow |
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* [[Anne Haddy]] as Julie Deakin |
* [[Anne Haddy]] as Julie Deakin |
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==Production== |
==Production== |
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===Development=== |
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It was the first in a series of TV movies made as co productions between the ABC and Los Angeles-based TransAtlantic Enterprises.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article55476511 |title=Building Bridges— from Lloyd to Beau |newspaper=[[The Australian Women's Weekly]] |location=Australia, Australia |date=25 May 1977 |access-date=8 January 2020 |page=29 |via=Trove }} </ref> It was originally announced they would make 18 films but ended up making six. The films were to have budgets of $1.5 to 2 million and would be screened on ABC television with the option of a theatrical release elsewhere. Robert Kline, head of Trans Atlantic, said "basically we'll be dealling with creative dimensions that justify American leads being in Australia... Sydney is comparable to Southern California. In those cases where we don't develop a story from scratch, we're finding that scripts calling from California settings can be adapted to Australia.<ref>Blakely Set for 'Ex-Prom Queen' |
It was the first in a series of TV movies made as co productions between the ABC and Los Angeles-based TransAtlantic Enterprises.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article55476511 |title=Building Bridges— from Lloyd to Beau |newspaper=[[The Australian Women's Weekly]] |location=Australia, Australia |date=25 May 1977 |access-date=8 January 2020 |page=29 |via=Trove }} </ref> It was originally announced they would make 18 films but ended up making six. The films were to have budgets of $1.5 to 2 million and would be screened on ABC television with the option of a theatrical release elsewhere. Robert Kline, head of Trans Atlantic, said "basically we'll be dealling with creative dimensions that justify American leads being in Australia... Sydney is comparable to Southern California. In those cases where we don't develop a story from scratch, we're finding that scripts calling from California settings can be adapted to Australia.<ref>Blakely Set for 'Ex-Prom Queen' |
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Kilday, Gregg. Los Angeles Times 29 Sep 1976: f9. </ref> |
Kilday, Gregg. Los Angeles Times 29 Sep 1976: f9. </ref> |
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The head of TransAtlantic wanted Rita Lakin to write a pilot called ''[[The Last Bride of Salem]]''. She agreed provided he give her husband, Robert Michael Lewis, the job of directing one of the Australian films.<ref name="lewis"/> |
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===Casting=== |
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Benjamin and Prentiss had acted together in the TV show ''He and She'' and on stage in ''The Norman Conquests'', but had never appeared in a film together where they shared screen time (they were both in ''Catch 22'' but did not appear in the same scenes). They accepted roles in the film for that reason, and to visit Sydney, and because it gave them the chance to appear in a thriller. "I haven't played a serious role like |
Benjamin and Prentiss had acted together in the TV show ''He and She'' and on stage in ''The Norman Conquests'', but had never appeared in a film together where they shared screen time (they were both in ''Catch 22'' but did not appear in the same scenes). They accepted roles in the film for that reason, and to visit Sydney, and because it gave them the chance to appear in a thriller. "I haven't played a serious role like |
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this before, I'm always comedy oriented," said Prentiss.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article254815490 |title=No room to run: Action, adventure |newspaper=[[The Bananacoast Opinion]] |location=New South Wales, Australia |date=18 May 1977 |access-date=8 January 2020 |page=7 |via=Trove }} </ref> |
this before, I'm always comedy oriented," said Prentiss.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article254815490 |title=No room to run: Action, adventure |newspaper=[[The Bananacoast Opinion]] |location=New South Wales, Australia |date=18 May 1977 |access-date=8 January 2020 |page=7 |via=Trove }} </ref> |
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===Filming=== |
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Lewis says Lakin came to Australia to work on the script with George Kirgo and Joe Gantman "but we never fundamentally solved the problems. I mean, it was okay but it wasn't breathtaking."<ref name="lewis"/> |
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Lewis says the "the film industry was very primitive" in Australia - he was happy with the cinematopgrapher and camera operator but felt the grips, gaffers and electricians were too inexperienced and the stuntmen were "too careless" and almost caused someone to be injured. "The whole set up was poor," says Lewis.<ref name="lewis"/> |
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During filming Lewis fell in love with the woman who was Paula Prentiss' stand in and married her.<ref name="lewis"/> |
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==Reception== |
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The ''Sydney Morning Herald'' TV critic wrote that the film had a "confused plot, badly written script, some appalling miscasting — they all help to dispel the current feeling that maybe, at last Australian films and television have come of age. ''No Room To Run'' could have been thrown together 20 years ago, that's how amateurish it is."<ref>{{cite news|first=Dale|last=Plummer|newspaper=Sydney Morning Herald|date=May 15, 1977|title=Please, no more films like this!}}</ref> |
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Lewis said "the Australian reviews were awful. We re-adjusted Sydney in terms of where things were and literal Australian reviewers couldn't stand that."<ref name="lewis">{{cite book|page=104|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RHnXCgAAQBAJ&pg=PA105&lpg=PA105&dq=%22no+room+to+run%22+prentiss&source=bl&ots=li0R9PLWv8&sig=ACfU3U2pAUiSBTYOOZbq_zc7WczW0rLLhA&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjF5PLs-PLmAhXTjp4KHeglAbc4ChDoATAGegQICBAB#v=onepage&q=%22no%20room%20to%20run%22%20prentiss&f=false|title=Masters of the Shoot-'Em-Up: Conversations with Directors, Actors and Writers of Vintage Action Movies and Television Shows|first=Tadhg|last= Taylor|publisher=McFarland|date=2015}}</ref> |
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==Awards== |
==Awards== |
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Brian May won a Penguin Award for Best Original Music for the film.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article110877343 |title=CB RADIO Skip faces short legal life |newspaper=[[The Canberra Times]] |location=Australian Capital Territory, Australia |date=11 November 1977 |access-date=8 January 2020 |page=21 |via=Trove }} </ref> |
Brian May won a Penguin Award for Best Original Music for the film.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article110877343 |title=CB RADIO Skip faces short legal life |newspaper=[[The Canberra Times]] |location=Australian Capital Territory, Australia |date=11 November 1977 |access-date=8 January 2020 |page=21 |via=Trove }} </ref> |
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[[Category:Action television films]] |
[[Category:Action television films]] |
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Revision as of 02:58, 8 January 2020
| No Room to Run | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | Robert Michael Lewis |
| Written by | George Kirgo |
| Produced by | Charles Russell |
| Starring | Richard Benjamin Paula Prentiss Roger Ward Noel Ferrier Ray Barrett |
Production company | ABC-Transatlantic Enterprises |
| Distributed by | ABC |
Release date | 18 May 1977 (Australia) |
Running time | 100 mins |
| Countries | Australia US |
| Language | English |
No Room to Run is a 1977 Australian television film about an American businessman who kills a man in Sydney. The lead actors, writer, producer and director were all American.[1] It stars real-life husband and wife Richard Benjamin and Paula Prentiss.
Plot
Nick Loomis is vice-president in charge of public relations with an international corporation. He travels to Australia to promote the American Youth Orchestra who are performing at the Sydney Opera House. His boss, Garth Kingswood plans to follow within a few days.
Loomis is met at the airport by his company's Sydney representative, Ralph Fleming. Fleming tells him about the mysterious death of employee Jack Deakin.
Loomis finds himself on the run for murder.
Cast
- Richard Benjamin as Nick Loomis
- Paula Prentiss as Terry McKenna
- Barry Sullivan as Garth Kingwood
- Ray Barrett as Jack Deakin
- Anne Haddy as Julie Deakin
Production
Development
It was the first in a series of TV movies made as co productions between the ABC and Los Angeles-based TransAtlantic Enterprises.[2] It was originally announced they would make 18 films but ended up making six. The films were to have budgets of $1.5 to 2 million and would be screened on ABC television with the option of a theatrical release elsewhere. Robert Kline, head of Trans Atlantic, said "basically we'll be dealling with creative dimensions that justify American leads being in Australia... Sydney is comparable to Southern California. In those cases where we don't develop a story from scratch, we're finding that scripts calling from California settings can be adapted to Australia.[3]
The head of TransAtlantic wanted Rita Lakin to write a pilot called The Last Bride of Salem. She agreed provided he give her husband, Robert Michael Lewis, the job of directing one of the Australian films.[4]
Casting
Benjamin and Prentiss had acted together in the TV show He and She and on stage in The Norman Conquests, but had never appeared in a film together where they shared screen time (they were both in Catch 22 but did not appear in the same scenes). They accepted roles in the film for that reason, and to visit Sydney, and because it gave them the chance to appear in a thriller. "I haven't played a serious role like this before, I'm always comedy oriented," said Prentiss.[5]
Filming
Lewis says Lakin came to Australia to work on the script with George Kirgo and Joe Gantman "but we never fundamentally solved the problems. I mean, it was okay but it wasn't breathtaking."[4]
Lewis says the "the film industry was very primitive" in Australia - he was happy with the cinematopgrapher and camera operator but felt the grips, gaffers and electricians were too inexperienced and the stuntmen were "too careless" and almost caused someone to be injured. "The whole set up was poor," says Lewis.[4]
During filming Lewis fell in love with the woman who was Paula Prentiss' stand in and married her.[4]
Reception
The Sydney Morning Herald TV critic wrote that the film had a "confused plot, badly written script, some appalling miscasting — they all help to dispel the current feeling that maybe, at last Australian films and television have come of age. No Room To Run could have been thrown together 20 years ago, that's how amateurish it is."[6]
Lewis said "the Australian reviews were awful. We re-adjusted Sydney in terms of where things were and literal Australian reviewers couldn't stand that."[4]
Awards
Brian May won a Penguin Award for Best Original Music for the film.[7]
References
- ^ Ed. Scott Murray, Australia on the Small Screen 1970-1995, Oxford Uni Press, 1996 p112
- ^ "Building Bridges— from Lloyd to Beau". The Australian Women's Weekly. Australia, Australia. 25 May 1977. p. 29. Retrieved 8 January 2020 – via Trove.
- ^ Blakely Set for 'Ex-Prom Queen' Kilday, Gregg. Los Angeles Times 29 Sep 1976: f9.
- ^ a b c d e Taylor, Tadhg (2015). Masters of the Shoot-'Em-Up: Conversations with Directors, Actors and Writers of Vintage Action Movies and Television Shows. McFarland. p. 104.
- ^ "No room to run: Action, adventure". The Bananacoast Opinion. New South Wales, Australia. 18 May 1977. p. 7. Retrieved 8 January 2020 – via Trove.
- ^ Plummer, Dale (15 May 1977). "Please, no more films like this!". Sydney Morning Herald.
- ^ "CB RADIO Skip faces short legal life". The Canberra Times. Australian Capital Territory, Australia. 11 November 1977. p. 21. Retrieved 8 January 2020 – via Trove.
External links
- No Room to Run at IMDb
- No Room to Run at BFI
- No Room to Run at Peter Malone website
 | This article related to an Australian made-for-TV movie is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |