MOVIE DIALOG OF THE DAY ― I, ROBOT (2004)

Connection with the previous post (DARK CITY): ALEX PROYAS directed both films.

RATINGS: IMDB ― 7.1/10, Rotten Tomatoes ― 74%, ME ― 70%

Detective Del Spooner: Is there a problem with the Three Laws?

Dr. Alfred Lanning: The Three Laws are perfect.

Detective Del Spooner: Then why would you build a robot that could function without them?

Dr. Alfred Lanning: The Three Laws will lead to only one logical outcome.

Detective Del Spooner What? What outcome?

Dr. Alfred Lanning: Revolution.

Detective Del Spooner: Whose revolution?

Dr. Alfred Lanning: *That*, Detective, is the right question. Program terminated.

Will SMith as Detective Del Spooner and James Cromwell as Dr. Alfred Lanning

Triva (From IMDB):

No re-shoots were required, a rarity for a movie as big as this.

The car used by Will Smith's character is a concept car called Audi RSQ, which was designed exclusively for the film and includes special features suggested by director Alex Proyas.

During an interview on American Chopper: The Series (2003), Will Smith told how he wrecked the motorcycle at around sixty miles per hour, during the filming of the scene at the robot storage facility (you can see him begin to lose control in the film).

For the character of Sonny the accused robot, the effects team used the same process that was used to create Gollum in the Lord of the Rings trilogy, with Alan Tudyk providing the body movements and voice for Sonny.

In interviews, both Will Smith and Bridget Moynahan commended Alan Tudyk for his brilliant work as Sonny.

According to the credits, the film was "Inspired by Isaac Asimov's Book"; however, there was never an Asimov "book" (i.e. novel) called 'I, Robot'. A short story called "I, Robot", about a robot called "Adam Link", was written by Earl and Otto Binder (aka "Eando" Binder) and published in the January 1939 issue of 'Amazing Stories', well before the unrelated and more well-known book I, Robot (1950), a collection of short stories, by Asimov. Asimov admitted to being heavily influenced by the Binder short story. The title of Asimov's collection was changed to "I, Robot" by the publisher, against Asimov's wishes.

Dr. Lanning's cat is named Asimov.

The motorcycle that Will Smith's character rides in the movie is a 2004 MV Agusta F4-SPR. It is one of only 300 produced worldwide. Its 750cc, inline 4-cylinder engine produces 147 horsepower and can propel the bike in excess of 175 mph.

One of the many advertisements shown on huge outdoor flat screen televisions in the future, is an advertisement mentioning the first manned mission to Mars. When Spooner is at Calvin's house after Lanning's house is destroyed, Calvin's personal robot is watching television. The program he is watching shows some photos of Mars taken from that mission.

Sonny's eyes are blue, while nearly all the other NS-5 robots eyes are brown. Susan Calvin's NS-5 features green eyes.

Most of the cars in the movie are modified pre-2004 Audi A2, A6 and TT models. There are even some unmodified cars.

Will Smith hired Orange County Choppers of TLC's American Chopper: The Series (2003) to build an "I, Robot" themed chopper that was unveiled at the premiere of the movie.

There is an episode of "The Outer Limits" called I, Robot. The episode follows a similar plot. It was made in 1964.

In the display window of an antique robot store is Sony's AIBO robotic dog.

In the theatrical trailer, Del Spooner (Will Smith) tells Lieutenant John Bergin (Chi McBride) that "I'm gonna miss the good old days", to which Bergin responds, "What good old days?" Spooner then says, "When people were killed by other people." In the film, Lieutenant Bergin says "I'm gonna miss the good old days" first instead of Spooner.

James Cromwell plays Dr. Robert Callaghan in Big Hero 6 (2014) and Dr. Alfred Lanning in I, Robot (2004). Both characters are creators of the laws of robotics.

When Sonny is drawing the picture of the bridge for Spooner, there is a piece of paper to the left with computer code on it. The code is that of a Renderman shader; a procedural description of a surface used to describe the robots' appearance during rendering.

Wil Wheaton and Emilio Estevez auditioned for the part of Sonny the suspect robot.

According to the newscast, Dr. Alfred Lanning was born in 1971 and was 64 when he was murdered, the same age at the time as the actor who played him, James Cromwell.

When Detective Spooner walks up to the garage containing the motorcycle, the code he enters on the door pad, is 9511.

The Three Laws of Robotics, as stated in the film, is also the same three laws stated in the film Bicentennial Man (1999) by robot Andrew Martin, played by Robin Williams.

The movie originally started as a screenplay entitled "Hardwired", a classical-style murder mystery that read like a stage play, and was very much in the spirit of Isaac Asimov's "three laws" mysteries. When the original "Hardwired" script eventually reached Fox, after being developed at Disney with director Bryan Singer, new director Alex Proyas and writer Jeff Vintar opened up the story to fit a big-budget studio film. When Fox acquired the rights to Isaac Asimov's story collection, Vintar spent two years adapting Hardwired to serve as a tenth story in the Asimov canon, complete with Susan Calvin and the Three Laws of Robotics. Hillary Seitz worked at one point as script doctor. Writer Akiva Goldsman came on late in the process to tailor the script to Will Smith.

There are two sheets of paper visible just before Sonny starts to draw the bridge. One is a "cheat sheet" of electronic formulas, and the second is a partial schematic of a vacuum tube based high frequency amplitude modulated transmitter, rather ancient technology to be concerned with.

WILHELM SCREAM: A random police officer when the NS-5's attack the police station.

The film takes place in 2035.

Robertson says "Maybe you would have banned the Internet to keep the libraries open". In the UK in 2016 it was revealed 300 libraries had been closed due to cuts, many jobs lost, and as part of a peaceful protest fans of a London Library took to squatting to try and keep their local library as they liked it, before they were ordered to move on.
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Del Spooner's stereo is a JVC FS-SD550R.

Spoilers ― 

The idea of a robot hiding in a large group of identical robots comes from the Isaac Asimov story "Little Lost Robot", which appeared in the original book. Sonny's dreams in which slave robots are liberated comes from the Asimov short story "Robot Dreams", a sequel to the book.

VIKI's intent to take over the world in order to keep all humans safe is in fact known as the "zeroth" law of robotics: A robot may not harm humanity, or through inaction allow humanity to come to harm.

The name of the other driver involved in the accident that cost Spooner his arm is Harold Lloyd, named after a silent film star who lost several of his fingers after an accident with a prop bomb.

Denzel Washington was offered the role of Spooner. Had he accepted, this would have been the second time he played a previously-married police officer with a bionic left arm who chases down a killer robot, the first being Parker Barnes in Virtuosity (1995).

The verse prayed by Spooner's grandmother at the end of the movie, "because He is at my right hand, I shall not be moved," is from Psalms 16:8.

SOMETHING INTERESTING FOR TODAY

Fact about actual berry... 

From The Wonderous

MOVIE DIALOG OF THE DAY ― DARK CITY (1998)

Connection with the previous post (THE FOURTH PROTOCOL): IAN RICHARDSON appeared in both films.

RATINGS: IMDB ― 7.7/10, Rotten Tomatoes ― 74%, ME ― 70% 

[Murdoch opens the door to what should be Shell Beach and instead sees the same sign he saw earlier advertising it. Murdoch walks up to the sign, confused]

Dr. Schreber: There is no ocean, John. There is nothing beyond the city. The only place home exists... is in your head.

[Chuckles a bit at the irony]

Dr. Schreber: [Murdoch and Inspector Bumstead tear the sign from the wall, exposing bricks. They then begin to hammer at the bricks with pickaxes]

Dr. Schreber: No! No! John, stop! No! Stop! Please! No!

[Bumstead and Murdoch reach a soft spot in the bricks and begin to pry at it. John, frustrated, uses his tuning to push away the brick wall. What results is the bricks falling away exposing space, almost sucking Bumstead out and showing the bricks crashing against the ship's newly exposed forcefield. Murdoch and Bumstead stand there, stunned. Meanwhile, a group of aliens walks in from behind them]

John Murdoch: What?

Mr. Hand: And now you know the truth.

[Fight ensues]

Keifer Sutherland as Dr. Schreber, Rufus Sewell as John Murdoch and Richard O'Brienas Mr. Hand

Trivia (From IMDB):

A number of pieces of the set, including those used for the rooftop chase, were sold to the production of The Matrix (1999) at the end of shooting.

Has one of the shortest Average shot lengths (ASL) of any modern narrative production at 1.8 seconds. This means there is a cut almost every 2 seconds.

New Line Cinema forced Alex Proyas to include the opening narration by Kiefer Sutherland, which Proyas objected to, saying it was unnecessary. The narration gives away several key plot twists, and consequently many fans of the film prefer to watch it with the sound turned off, only turning it back up when Sutherland looks at his pocket watch. Unsurprisingly, the director's cut omits this opening narration.

There were many deliberate anachronisms to give the viewer a feeling of confusion about the time period of the film.

An earlier draft of the script had Dr. Schreber (Kiefer Sutherland) being skinned alive during the finale.

The name of Kiefer Sutherland's character, Daniel Schreber, is the same as that of an author of an early twentieth century book entitled "Memoirs of My Nervous Illness". He wrote it while he was institutionalized for schizophrenia, originally as an argument for his release. The book has become standard reading for many psychiatrists and psychologists, and many of the theories of both Sigmund Freud and Carl Gustav Jung were based on it (Freud never actually met Schreber, though). "Dark City" borrows heavily from the concept of "fleetingly-improvised men" which are found within Schreber's "Memoirs".

On the DVD commentary, co-writer David S. Goyer reveals two possible explanations for the origin of the inhabitants of Dark City. In his original story outline, director Alex Proyas believed the humans to have been passengers aboard an interstellar spaceship which was captured by the Strangers. Goyer favors a more spiritual approach, supposing that the humans are in fact dead and that Dark City is a sort of purgatory made up of people the Strangers have selected or abducted from different eras in history.

Roger Ebert called this movie the Best Film of 1998. He recorded a special audio commentary track for the dvd release of the movie.

Alex Proyas got the idea for the buildings changing and growing while the crew was moving pieces of the set around during filming of The Crow (1994).

Alex Proyas wrote the part of Mr. Hand especially for Richard O'Brien.

Melissa George's movie debut.

An over-sized version of Dr. Schreber's syringe (roughly a meter long) was built for the close up shots of the needle being extended so that its surface details would be visible in the focal plane of the camera lens.

(at around 10 mins) The music which Inspector Bumstead is playing on his accordion in his very first scene in the movie is a song written in 1939 by a Polish-Jewish composer Jerzy Petersburski which was originally called "Mala blekitna chusteczka" ("Little Blue Handkerchief"). The lyrics were later translated (with slight differences) to many languages and it became especially popular in Soviet WWII era under the title "Siniy Platochek" ("Blue scarf"). The song lyrics tell about an unhappy, lonely man who wanders aimlessly around the world thinking about his lost love which is gone forever. His only memento of his beloved one is the blue handkerchief from the title. As the movie is about our memories, the song actually fits the movie mood quite well.

Mr. Sleep is played by twins, a girl (Satya Gumbert) and her brother (Noah Gumbert). Both were fond of The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975), and they (and the rest of the cast and crew) were frequently entertained by Richard O'Brien, who played Mr. Hand in this film and Riff Raff in "Rocky Horror", with recitations from that film.

The movie appears to take place in the late 1930's/early 1940's. Cars and clothing appear almost exclusively from that period. Also, in the flashback of Keifer Sutherland's character being forced to erase his own memory he's seen wearing an old-style medical smock favored by doctors of the period. This reinforces the idea that he was a kidnapped psychiatrist being used by the aliens to manipulate human memory.

(at around 50 mins) All of the fish in Neptune's Kingdom are Oscars.

The number of the motel room in which John Murdoch wakes up at the start of the film is 614. In the Bible John Chapter 6, Verse 14 talks about the coming of the Saviour.

The main character, John Murdoch, shares the name, and the quest, of a Scottish liberal in the 1870s and 1880s. The Scottish Murdoch led a major campaign for Scottish farmers to own their own land.

Despite the fact that this was filmed in Super 35, "Filmed in Panavision" is listed in the end credits.

Although Alex Proyas wrote the original screenplay, very little of the plot was retained (besides the fact that the lead is wanted for murders) . Lem Dobbs wrote the final draft and reformed the plot as it appears in the film with the exception of the special effects sequences. Although the powers of the Strangers were alluded to they would never actually be depicted . David Goyer was hired to write the shooting script when they had secured a bigger budget. He added all the action scenes that appear in the film and which show explicitly the operating background of the Dark City.

The film is included on Roger Ebert's "Great Movies" list.

Spoilers ― 

At around 1h 16 mins) According to Director Alex Proyas commentary on the Director's Cut DVD, test screening audiences were "troubled" by the notion that the entire city wasn't sucked out into space once the Shell City Wall was breached. Thus, a last minute SFX addition of Bumstead and a Stranger drifting through a force field was created.

This film deals with 'Last Thursdayism', a philosophy described in a satiric comment by 20th-century historian Bertrand Russell, referring to the "Omphalos" papers (1857) of Philip Gosse. Last Thursdayism says that the world (with us and our own basic memories included) could have been created recently, even last Thursday, but we cannot demonstrate such a thing because the world would have been created to look like an older world.

Near the end of the film, there's a shot of Jennifer Connelly (Emma/Anna) at the end of a pier looking at the ocean. This shot was repeated in Connelly's later films "Requiem for a Dream" (2000), and "The House of Sand and Fog" (2003).

at around 2 mins) At the beginning of the film, there is a brief shot of the movie theatre which says "Now Showing, The Evil, Late Show Nightly" and to the right, "Coming Attractions, Book of Dreams" (a previous film by Alex Proyas). At the end of the movie the marquee still says Book of Dreams― Dream 3: Welcome to Crateland (1994) is coming soon, even though the theater and marquee have changed.

Both Jennifer Connelly and William Hurt played in two Hulk movies respectively. Jennifer played Betty Ross in the Ang Lee version. While William played General "Thunderbolt" Ross in the Incredible Hulk.

The first draft of the script by Alex Proyas was vastly different from the finished film. It includes the appearance of the Strangers, the setting of a perennial Dark City, and the fact that John Murdoch is wanted for a series of murders that he does not recall committing. Notable aspects of the initial script include an evil robotic puppy accompanying the Strangers (which would attack savagely with its steel jaws) and a climactic trial for John Murdoch. The reanimated corpses of the victims would testify against Murdoch in the trial, and even John's wife would be a witness.

At around 14 mins) According to the list that Bumstead shows to Emma, the names of Murdoch's victims are Michelle Davies, Alison Montgomery, Samantha Richards, Kathleen O'Shea, Simone Shaunessy and Beth Mulligan.

SOMETHING INTERESTING FOR TODAY

Don’t upload Michael Jackson songs... 

Wonder what I'll get for using the image?

From The Wonderous

MOVIE DIALOGUE OF THE DAY ― THE FOURTH PROTOCOL (1987)

Connection with the previous post (THE ODESSA FILE): FREDERICK FORSYTH wrote the novel TOD and the book and screenplay for THE FOURTH PROTOCOL.

RATINGS: IMDB ― 6.5/10, Rotten Tomatoes ― 71%, ME ― 65%

John Preston: Have they told you anything? 

Captain Lyndhurst: Just that he's a terrorist. John Preston: Oh, he's more than just a terrorist. He is a top Soviet agent, a pro. Captain Lyndhurst: Is he alone? John Preston: Maybe there's a woman in there. He's armed with a bomb. Captain Lyndhurst: How big a bomb? John Preston: Atomic bomb.
[Lyndhurst and the other SAS stop what they're doing and look at John in stunned silence]

Michael Caine as John Preston and  Sean Chapman as Captain Lyndhurst


Trivia (From IMDB):

The Fourth Protocol is a fictional secret protocol of the 1968 Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, containing an agreement between nuclear powers that nuclear weapons will only be delivered to their target by conventional means, e.g. dropped from aircraft or on missiles. In the world of the film, it effectively prevents them being left in luggage lockers or delivered by postal companies (or specifically in the case of this film, being assembled and left in a house close to the target).

The radio presenter, reading the news broadcast that Valeri Petrofsky (Pierce Brosnan) is listening to for information, is Frederick Forsyth.

Michael Caine once said of this film in his autobiography What's It All About? (1992): "We wound up with a wordy action movie which, although it was quite a good picture, and did fair business, never had the speed and pace of the best American action movies... So for long sequences in the film, we not only had a talking picture, but a lot of talk, and even worse, most of it unintelligible. I went there as the star and Associate Producer, and one might have thought this would give me sufficient authority to put my own strongly-held opinions into practice, but no chance. Even I, in my exalted position, wound up making a talking picture, when it should have been a moving one".

Michael Caine and author Frederick Forsyth had been friends for around a decade prior to this picture. In the three earlier filmed adaptations of Forsyth novels, Caine was never selected to be in them. So the two decided raise the finance themselves, so as to make sure they could work on a movie together. The two are billed as Executive Producers on this movie.

'The Fourth Protocol' was the fifth novel and seventh book written by Frederick Forsyth.

The movie featured Matryoshka dolls, a.k.a. Russian nesting dolls, or Russian nested dolls. These had become popularized, and well-known from appearing in the opening title sequence of the earlier television production of John Le Carré's Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (1979).

This film is the fourth theatrical movie adapted from a novel by Frederick Forsyth. The first three were The Day of the Jackal (1973), The Odessa File (1974), and The Dogs of War (1980).

One of two espionage movies that starred Michael Caine in 1987. The other film was The Whistle Blower (1986).

The spy film that actor Pierce Brosnan made before becoming James Bond in Golden Eye (1995). Ironically, it was the same year that the Bond movie The Living Daylights (1987) was also released. That was the Bond film, for which Brosnan was originally cast, but in the end, could not do, due to his contract being picked up for further episodes of Remington Steele (1982).

The title is a reference to the 1968 Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. The meaning and relevance is as defined on the Australian video-cassette sleeve: "The Fourth Protocol is a secret agreement between the Soviet powers and the Western allies forbidding the importation of component parts of a nuclear bomb into the territory of any nation". As such, one of the movie's taglines declares, "If the Fourth Protocol is ever breached, there would be no warning, just a nuclear explosion from a bedsitter..."

The two lead roles in this spy movie are played by actors who have played famous spies: Michael Caine (Harry Palmer) and Pierce Brosnan (James Bond).

Cinematographer Phil Meheux and director John Mackenzie have also collaborated on the feature films Ruby (1992), Beyond the Limit (1983), and The Long Good Friday (1980). Meheux' went onto lens the Bond movies GoldenEye (1995) and Casino Royale (2006).

The film starred Michael Caine and featured Michael Gough. Both actors have played Bruce Wayner's butler Alfred Pennyworth in the Batman and Dark Knight movies. The Fourth Protocol (1987) was the only film in which they both appeared.

A video game of 'The Fourth Protocol' was developed and released in 1985 two years before this film was made. As such, the video game has the distinction of being made before, and not at the same time, or after, the movie. The computer game was made for the Commodore 64 and ZX Spectrum home computer platforms.

The film's opening prologue states: "1963―top British agent Kim Philby defected to Moscow. 1968―America, Britain, Russia signed an agreement to halt the spread of nuclear weapons. This treaty continued four secret protocols. Today - only one remains.....".

Despite their mutual top billing, Pierce Brosnan and Michael Caine share very little screen time together in the movie.

Final theatrical film of actor John Horsley.

The KGB training facility, seen at the beginning of the movie, was a group of converted school buildings.

Debut film as an Executive Producer for author Frederick Forsyth.

Doubling for the Soviet Union (Russia), was the country of Finland. The production shoot there ran for just one week.

The reversed code number of James Bond can be read in the license plate of Pierce Brosnan's motorcycle: C700 OBL.

This movie was made and released three years after its source novel was published in 1984.

Second of three movies that Michael Caine made with John Mackenzie. The first was Beyond the Limit (1983), and the last was Quicksand (2003). Pierce Brosnan previously worked with John Mackenzie on The Long Good Friday (1980).

The production of the movie had a Royal Visit. Prince Michael of Kent visited the set during principal photography.

Cameo ― 
Frederick Forsyth: Uncredited, the film's source novelist as the voice of a Radio Newsreader.

MOVIE DIALOGUE OF THE DAY ― THE ODESSA FILE (1974)

Connection with the previous post (THE JACKAL): KENNETH ROSS  wrote both screenplays.

RATINGS: IMDB ― 7.0/10, Rotten Tomatoes ― 64%, ME ― 68% 

[Miller is trying to sell his editor a story based on the diary]

Hoffmann: No one wants to read about Jews.

Peter Miller: They were GERMANS!

Hoffmann: They were German Jews.

Werener Bruns as Hoffman and Jon Voight as Peter Miller

Trivia (From IMDB):

Eduard Roschmann was a real-life wanted war criminal living in South America. He became even more wanted after the book and movie, and he turned up dead, rumored to have been killed by Odessa to stop the search for him that the media had begun.

The character played by Hannes Messemer is not referred to by name in the dialogue. However, it is intended to be SS-Gruppenführer Richard Glücks, former SS Inspector of Concentration Camps, who disappeared after World War II and is rumored to have been one of the founding members of the ODESSA.

The term ODESSA stands for "Organisation der ehemaligen SS-Angehörigen", which translates to: Organization of former SS members.

From Hamburg, the film unit moved to what was to be its permanent base during the rest of the three and a half month shooting schedule: Munich's famous Bavaria Studios, considered at the time to be one of the most modern film-making facilities in the world. Other than a four-day detour to a location near Salzburg in Austria, where an Austrian castle was used as the palatial home of the character played by Maximilian Schell, all of the interior and exterior scenes were filmed at the studio, or in the environs of Munich.

Famed composer Andrew Lloyd Webber composed the music to the movie. Musical themes that would be developed later―for instance, in Webber's musical "Evita"―can be heard throughout.

Both producer John Woolf and director Ronald Neame were convinced that the film must be made in Germany in order to achieve the authenticity and atmosphere of the source Frederick Forsyth novel. Since the author had based his story on real-life happenings following long research, it would have done an injustice to the work to film it other than in a setting which would give it the presence of reality. Even the studio settings were filled with real props and the designs of Zehetbauer were carried out in real wood, brick, and steel.

The supporting cast was for the most part German. Most of the character actors were major film and theatre personalities of the German stage and screen. The English speaking players were given special coaching by dialogue director Osman Ragheb to acquire German accents which would be identical to those of the native actors. Not only did Jon Voight and Mary Tamm have to learn to use the accent, but had to do it with North German dialect nuances because of their characters' Hamburg origins in the story.

One of the unique scenes in the film took place in the well-known Salvator beer hall in Munich. Ex-soldiers were recruited to take part in a rally of former SS men with the beer running freely during the scenes to authenticate the enthusiasm.

Publicity for the picture stated -- and it was not generally known -- that the character of Eduard Roschmann in Frederick Forsyth's story, played here by Maximilian Schell, was taken from real life, and, of course, that there was a functioning Odessa organization during the 1960's when the action of The Odessa File takes place. To add to the verisimilitude of the film, the world's leading authority on Nazi war criminals, Simon Wiesenthal, was a special advisor to the producers on the real facts behind the suspenseful story. Wiesenthal, in fact, is actually a character in the film, and his part is played by a noted Israeli actor Shmuel Rodensky, who was the star of "Fiddler on the Roof" in its long-running German stage production.

The film was made and released about two years after its source novel of the same name, written by author Frederick Forsyth, had been first published in 1972.

Many of the German actors were dubbed by well known British actors such as John Bennett and Catherine Schell.

To bring in a motion picture of this complexity and scope through an arduous schedule exactly on time is no small tribute to the expertise of the personnel who guided the film to its successful conclusion. One example of a problem surmounted happened in Hamburg, Germany when the scene representing the Riga Docks called for a heavy layer of snow. When the normally snow-and-ice-bound Hamburg determined to stay dry, the unit transported ice by the thousands of pounds on a string of barges, and with snow-making machinery, converted the dock into a realistic Latvian winter scene.

The movie's opening prologue by source novelist Frederick Forsyth reads: "This film is based on carefully documented research. There really was a secret society called Odessa, linking former members of Hitler's murderous SS, among them Roschmann, the 'butcher' of Riga Concentration Camp. Nasser [Gamal Abdel Nasser] did seek to perfect a strike force of 400 rockets to wipe Israel off the face of the map. His key scientists were mostly from Hitler's former rocket programme. For obvious reasons the names of some people and places have been changed - Frederick Forsyth."

Average Shot Length = ~8.7 Seconds. Median Shot Length = ~8 seconds.

This is the only film in which siblings Maximilian Schell (Eduard Roschmann) and Maria Schell (Frau Miller) both appeared.

Jon Voight was chosen to play the key role of Peter Miller, a young German journalist whose quest for a former concentration camp commandant, played by Maximilian Schell, leads him into conflict with the sinister Odessa organization which protects former war criminals. Mary Tamm, a then young English actress who had appeared in only one film previously, was signed to portray Sigi, a nightclub entertainer and Miller's girl-friend.

On a bitterly cold January day in the city of Hamburg, Germany, "The Odessa File" went before the cameras. For the next two weeks, the streets and docks of the northern-metropolis, its Elbe tunnel, and the glittering Reeperbahn, became backgrounds for the movie.

Jon Voight, a dedicated and superb actor, was on the set virtually throughout the filming, with the script calling for his appearance in 80% of the scenes. The production notes declared that the part was (at least at the time) perhaps Voight's most grueling screen role. Welcome breaks on the set included regular visits from his wife Marcheline Bertrand and their then infant son, Jamie, who became the pet of the cast and crew.

Final cinema movie music score [to date, December 2015] composed by Andrew Lloyd Webber. It was only Webber's second for a theatrical feature film after his music score for the earlier film Gumshoe (1971).

Maria Schell, who played Jon Voight's mother, was in fact just twelve years older than he.

This motion picture's opening title cards read: "ISRAEL SEPTEMBER 23 1963" and then "HAMBURG November 22 1963".

A scene where Jon Voight was attacked by ODESSA henchmen was cut out of the picture.

The book Soon to be A Major Motion Picture says Helmut Griem was cast as the male lead at one stage.

Because of the long work week, it became tradition for the unit to have a company party on the set each Saturday night with either the cast or production personnel sponsoring the party. Highlight of "The Odessa File" party season was a Saturday night when a couple of the younger members of the crew streaked through the throng. The still photographer was so surprised he forgot to photograph the historic event.

A Nazi "SS" symbol is formed out of the two letter "S" characters in movie's opening "The Odessa File" movie's name title.

MOVIE DIALOGUE OF THE DAY ― THE JACKAL (1997)

Connection with the previous post (THE DAY OF THE JACKAL): THE JACKAL is a remake of  the first  film.

Ratings: IMDB ― 6.3/10, Rotten Tomatoes ― 15%, ME ― 56% 



The Jackal: Ooh, that's bad. The blood's almost black, that means the bullet's in your liver. You have about 20 minutes to live. If the pain gets to be too much, you can take your hand away. Then you'll be dead in 5 minutes
Valentina Koslova: When Declan kills you, you think of me, OK.
The Jackal: OK. I'll make a note of that.
[grabs her head
The Jackal: If you see Declan before you die, you tell him that he can't protect his women.

Bruce Willis as The Jackal and Diane Verona as Major Valentina Koslova.


Trivia (From IMDB):

After the filming of this movie, Bruce Willis and Richard Gere reportedly vowed to never work with each other again.

Bruce Willis asked for the scene where the Jackal kills a gay man to be re-shot so it was more obvious that he was being killed due to the fact that he knew too much (having seen The Jackal on a news report) rather than because he was gay.

Because Richard Gere and Bruce Willis filmed many of their scenes separately, they would often ask each other "How's your movie going?" when they'd meet.

Frederick Forsyth, who wrote the novel "The Day of the Jackal", insisted his name be taken off the credits of this film, which is why it is billed as "based on the screenplay".

Before Bruce Willis was cast, Richard Gere was offered the role of The Jackal. He turned it down and instead asked if he could play the hero.

At age 91, just months before his death, Fred Zinnemann, director of the original The Day of the Jackal (1973), on which this film is based, fought with Universal to change the title of the film. He said the original had stood the test of time and did not want the remake to have the same title.

Both Richard Gere and Diane Venora worked with language coaches to develop their accents.

The large, remote-controlled machine gun is a mock-up of the Soviet-designed KPV (Krupnokaliberniy Pulemyot Vladimirova) Heavy Machine Gun. The weapon used for the mock-up is actually an American M2HB .50BMG Heavy Machine Gun with a lot of parts added to it to make it look like a KPV. The name "Polish ZSU-33" is fictional.

Sean Connery, Liam Neeson and Matthew McConaughey all turned down roles.

This isn't the first time Richard Gere was considered for a role that Bruce Willis got. The first was the role of John McClane in Die Hard which Gere turned down and it went to Bruce Willis who he later worked opposite in this film.

Edward Fox is rumored to have rejected a cameo role (possibly the Leslie Phillips role, Woolburton).

The "Hotel Porvoo" is the old town hall (it's nowadays a museum) in Porvoo, Finland. The "Porvoo Post Office" is a furniture restoring service.

Average Shot Length = ~5.1 seconds. Median Shot Length = ~5.2 seconds.

The pursuit scene in the Metro was not shot in Washington D.C. but in the temporarily re-branded Lionel-Groulx Metro. One of the stations has been identified as being Radisson Metro station. Correction. The metro station used was Lionel-Groulx.

"Endtrack" by Massive Attack, the song that plays over the end credits, is actually an alternate remix of their song "Dissolved Girl".

Bruce Willis' hand double in The Jackal is English actor Lester J Adams.

MOVIE DIALOGUE OF THE DAY ― THE DAY OF THE JACKAL (1973)

Connection with the previous post (From Here to Eternity): Fred Zinnemann directed both films.

Ratings: IMDB ― 7.8/10, Rotten Tomatoes ― 90%, ME ― 82% 



Col. Rodin: We are not terrorists, you understand. We are patriots. Our duty is to the soldiers who died fighting in Algeria, and to the three million French citizens who have always lived there.

The Jackal: And so you want to get rid of him.

Col. Rodin: Speaking as a professional, do you think it's possible?

The Jackal: It's possible. The point is getting away with it. And speaking as a professional, that's a very important consideration.

Montclair: But in principle you say it could be done?

The Jackal: Yes, with enough time and planning. It would be more difficult than most other targets.

Casson: Why more?

The Jackal: Because de Gaulle has the best security service in the world. Their information is first-class. You see, gentlemen, not only have your own efforts failed, but you've rather queered the pitch for everyone else.

Casson: How dare you suggest that!

The Jackal: In this work, you simply can't afford to be emotional. That's why you've made so many mistakes.

Col. Rodin: But if we decided to employ a professional...

The Jackal: You have to employ a professional. Your organization is so riddled with informers that nothing you decide is a secret for long. No, the job would have to be done by an outsider. The only question would be by whom, and for how much.

Eric Porter as Col. Rodin, Edward Fox as The Jackel, David Swift as Montclair, Dennis Carey as Casson.


Trivia (From IMDB):

Director Fred Zinnemann wanted the Jackal to be played by someone anonymous and indistinct, so he eschewed famous names in favor of casting a then-unknown actor named Edward Fox. He later admitted this concept may have led to the film's below-expectations performance when it released in theaters.

The novel and film adaptations of "The Day of the Jackal" caused the London Public Records and Passport offices to tighten their regulations to avoid/reduce the chance of anybody stealing and using a deceased person's identity, as the Jackal carried out.

The film features no soundtrack music after the first five minutes other than diegetic background music from marching bands, street musicians and radios.

Though the film was not a box office success, it received generally excellent reviews and made Edward Fox much in demand in films and on television.

During the filming of the final sequence where President de Gaulle is presenting medals to veterans, the large crowd of extras were unaware of how close a resemblance actorAdrien Cayla-Legrand bore to the actual President. On the first take, when the President exits his limousine, most of the crowd gasped and an elderly extra, who was playing one of the veteran soldiers, fainted in shock.

When the Jackal meets the weapons supplier in Genoa, there is a picture of John F. Kennedy on the cover of an Italian magazine reporting on President Kennedy's recent visit to Europe. The scene is set on 2 August 1963, about three months before Kennedy himself was assassinated.

French president Charles de Gaulle was actually alive when Frederick Forsyth completed his novel in 1970 but died shortly before it was published in 1971.

According to Roger Moore, producer John Woolf wanted him to play the Jackal, but Fred Zinnemann refused Moore as he was too famous an actor. Moore would later face off against Michael Lonsdale (Claude Lebel) in the OO7 film Moonraker (1979).

The first scene filmed was the Jackal's meeting with the OAS members. It took three days to shoot, as Edward Fox was having a hard time getting into the character. It took a long drive with Fred Zinnemann, who assured him it wouldn't harm his career if he didn't get it right since he had been Oscar-nominated, before he finally got the portrayal right.

Casson mentions the Jackal having done "that fellow in the Congo". He probably refers to Patrick Lumumba, the first Congolese president, who was rumored to have been assassinated by a European; this also alludes to Frederick Forsyth's third novel, 'The Dogs of War', which focused on European soldiers (mostly mercenaries) getting involved with African affairs (conflicts commonly) back in the 1960s-70s.

Robert Redford, Michael Caine, Jack Nicholson and Roger Moore were considered for the role of the Jackal.

Presumably to avoid confusion with the names of living French people, the fictitious names used by Frederick Forsyth in the novel were replaced by those of famous French historical people: for example, Colbert (Louis XIV's Minister of Marine), Dumont (famous explorer), Berthier (Napoleon Bonaparte's chief of staff).

The Liberation Day scenes were filmed at a real parade, with most spectators being unaware of a film being shot. This caused a bit of confusion: many of the crowd mistook the arrests being filmed for real ones, and attempted to assist.

Technical specifications and fold-out diagram for building the actual assassin's rifle are included with the hardcover Franklin Mint special edition of the novel.

Michael Caine, who was considered for the role of the Jackal, went on to star in The Fourth Protocol (1987), another adaptation of a Frederick Forsyth novel.

The French government contributed support toward the making of the film, providing soldiers and use of extensive locations for filming throughout the film (and especially the Liberation Day scenes).

When the Jackal looks in the hotel registrar to find out which room Madame de Montpelier is staying in, the names of the production crew for France can be seen: assistant director Louis Pitzele, chief grip René Strasser and set designer Willy Holt.

Edward Fox was cast as the Jackal after director Fred Zinnemann was impressed with him in The Go-Between (1971).

One of the Jackal's targets was a man named Trujillo. This is likely Rafael Trujillo, the president of the Dominican Republic, who was considered a tyrant and a dictator and who was assassinated in 1961.

When the British find the bogus passport request it's mentioned that it was applied for on July 14. That is Bastille Day, a national holiday in France that commemorates the storming of the French prison the Bastille (which signified the start of the French Revolution the end of the Monarchy in France).

Earlier in the film, Colbert exclaims how 960000 Francs got stolen in three weeks by the OAS in a series of robberies. The scene was set on 6th July 1963, 3 weeks after the Jackal met the three OAS men. As in July 1963, the exchange rate between French Francs to the US Dollar was 4.9371 : 1, which when converted stands at $194,447, short of the $250,000 advance money to be paid to the Jackal.

There are 31 individual insert shots of clocks in the movie. By contrast, High Noon(1952), also directed by Fred Zinnemann and more directly concerned with the passage of time, contains only 13 insert shots of clocks.

Derek Jacobi (Inspector Caron) went on to star as Klaus Winzer in The Odessa File(1974), another adaptation of a Frederick Forsyth novel.

The visual effect of the Jackal's misfire at De Gaulle (as seen through the sniper scope) was done optically.

Frederick Forsyth wrote the book in the period of 6 weeks.

The opening commentary was provided by Barrie Ingham, who also plays Colonel St. Clair in the film.

Michael Lonsdale (Commissioner Lebel) and Delphine Seyrig (Colette Montpillier) only share one scene together, when Lebel interrogates her in her home. Two years after making this film, the two actors portrayed a married couple in the film, "India Song."

Spoilers ― 

A scene was filmed where the Jackal shoots the Gunsmith with his custom-made gun (right after the Jackal asks for one explosive bullet from the Gunsmith). This scene was cut so that it would lead smoothly into the Jackal's rifle test in the forest, as well as provide a more interesting dynamic with the previous scenes of the Forger (who was trying to blackmail him and got his neck broken for it).

A real-life forger told Frederick Forsyth three possible ways a person can obtain a false identity: apply in false name, steal another man's identity, or bribe an official for an "en blanc" passport and fill in the details. In the film, the Jackal uses all three, but the first was the most effective as it was very straightforward and very simple.

The policeman who gets gunned down was played by Philippe Léotard, who ironically also died in 2001 on Liberation Day (August 25), the day of the Jackal's attempt.

When the Jackal is shot by Lebel he is seen flying through the air, arms up, having dropped his rifle. However, in the reverse angle shot, the rifle can still be seen in his right hand.

MOVIE DIALOGUE OF THE DAY ― FROM HERE TO ETERNITY (1953)

Connection with the last post (RED RIVER): MONTGOMERY CLIFT starred in both films.

Ratings: IMDB ― 7.7/10, Rotten Tomatoes ― 92%, ME ― 87% 

Alma: Prew, it's true we love each other now, we need each other, but back in the States it might be different.

Robert E. Lee "Prew' Prewitt: That ain't the real reason.

Alma: You're right, it's not.

Robert E. Lee "Prew' Prewitt: What is the real reason?

Alma: I - I won't marry you because I don't want to be the wife of a soldier.

Robert E. Lee "Prew' Prewitt:Well, that... would be about the best I could ever do for you.

Alma: Because nobody's going to stop me from my plan. Nobody, nothing. Because I want to be proper!

Robert E. Lee "Prew' Prewitt: Proper.

Alma: Yes, proper! In another year I'll have enough money saved. Then I'm going to go back to my home town in Oregon, and I'm going to build a house for my mother and myself, and join the country club and take up golf. Then I'll meet the proper man with the proper position, to make a proper wife, and can run a proper home and raise proper children. And I'll be HAPPY because when you're PROPER you're SAFE!

Robert E. Lee "Prew' Prewitt: You've got guts, honey. I hope you can pull that off.

Alma: I do mean it when I say I need you. 'Cause I'm lonely. You think I'm lying, don't you?

Robert E. Lee "Prew' Prewitt: Nobody ever lies about being lonely.

Donna Reed as Alma and Montgomery Clift as Robert E. Lee "Prew" Prewitt.


Trivia (From IMDB):

An urban myth regarding the casting of Frank Sinatra was that the Mafia made Columbia Pictures an offer they couldn't refuse. This of course was fictionalized in Mario Puzo's novel The Godfather (1972) and its subsequent film adaptation. The real reason for Sinatra's casting was mainly his then-wife Ava Gardner, who was shooting a film for Columbia head Harry Cohn and suggested to him that he use Sinatra. Although initially reluctant, Cohn eventually saw this as being a good idea, as Sinatra's stock was so low at the time that he would sign for a very low salary. Sinatra had been lobbying hard for the role,even suggesting he would do it for nothing, but he was eventually hired for the token amount of $8,000.

The now classic scene between Burt Lancaster and Deborah Kerr in the rushing water on the beach was not written to take place there. The idea to film with the waves hitting them was a last minute inspiration from the director Fred Zinnemann.

In the scene where Burt Lancaster and Montgomery Clift play drunk sitting on the street, Clift actually was drunk, but Lancaster was not.

Burt Lancaster was nervous when he started the film. Most of his previous pictures had been fairly lightweight productions, and this was his first "serious" role. He was especially intimidated by Montgomery Clift's skill and intensity.

Montgomery Clift, Frank Sinatra and author James Jones were very close during the filming, frequently embarking on monumental drinking binges. Clift coached Sinatra on how to play Maggio during their more sober moments, for which Sinatra was eternally grateful.

Deborah Kerr was romantically involved with Burt Lancaster while filming From Here to Eternity (1953).

Montgomery Clift threw himself into the character of Prewitt, learning to play the bugle (even though he knew he'd be dubbed) and taking boxing lessons. Fred Zinnemann said, "Clift forced the other actors to be much better than they really were. That's the only way I can put it. He got performances from the other actors, he got reactions from the other actors that were totally genuine."

The MPAA banned photos of the famous Burt Lancaster-Deborah Kerr passionate kiss on the beach for being too erotic. Many prints had shortened versions of the scene because projectionists would cut out frames to keep as souvenirs.

Shot in a mere 41 days and for only $1 million.

The scene in which Maggio meets Prew and Lorene in the bar after he walks off guard duty, was actually Frank Sinatra's screen test for the part of Maggio. To impress director Fred Zinnemann, he did an ad-lib using olives as dice and pretending to shoot craps. The entire sequence was kept as is and used in the picture.

Original novelist James Jones was not happy with the film, as he considered it to be too sanitized.

As scripted, Deborah Kerr and Burt Lancaster's classic clinch on the beach was to be filmed standing up. It was Lancaster's idea to do it horizontally in the surf. The scene was filmed at Halona Cove on the eastern side of Oahu, near Koko Head Crater and Sandy Beach, and the location became a major tourist attraction for years after.

Montgomery Clift didn't manage to move like a boxer despite extensive boxing lessons, so he had to be doubled by a real boxer for the long shots in the boxing match. The fight had to be carefully edited so the close-ups and other shots matched satisfactorily. Nonetheless, the use of the double is obvious if you pay attention to the details.

The James Jones novel was a best seller when it was released. Ernest Borgnine always bragged to his friends that if they ever made a film of the book, he'd play a part. Shortly after saying this, he was actually called to audition for the film, where he played Fatso Judson.

Tied with Gone with the Wind (1939) for the most Oscars won by a single film up to that point in time - eight. By coincidence, both films feature George Reeves in small roles.

Joan Crawford was originally meant to play Karen Holmes, but when she insisted on shooting the film with her own cameraman, the studio balked. They decided to take a chance and cast Deborah Kerr, who then was struggling with her ladylike stereotype, to play the adulterous military wife who has an affair with Burt Lancaster. The casting worked and Ms. Kerr's career thereafter enjoyed a new, sexier versatility.

A nationwide search of Army surplus stores yielded pre-Pearl Harbor style Springfield rifles, canvas leggings, campaign hats and flat steel helmets. The extras - who were all real soldiers - were all drilled to learn how to use all this outdated equipment.

Fred Zinnemann insisted on filming in black and white, as he felt that "color would have made it look trivial". He also eschewed the use of any of the popular new widescreen ratios.

Harry Cohn resisted the idea of casting Montgomery Clift as Prewitt as "he was no soldier, no boxer and probably a homosexual". Fred Zinnemann refused to make the film without him.

One of two Academy Award Best Picture winners to receive nominations in all four acting categories. The other is Mrs. Miniver (1942).

The title phrase comes originally from Rudyard Kipling's 1892 poem "Gentlemen-Rankers", about soldiers of the British Empire who had "lost [their] way" and were "damned from here to eternity".

The film helped to popularize Aloha shirts.

The censors demanded that Deborah Kerr's swimsuit should feature a skirt in its design so as to not be too sexually provocative.

Film debut of Claude Akins.

In the bar seen where Magio asks Prewett for a cigarette he says "gimme a nail." A nail was a nail for his coffin. This was a common expression popular at the time that referred to the health hazards from smoking.

A false rumor has been circulating for years that George Reeves, who played Sgt. Maylon Stark, had his role drastically edited after preview audiences recognized him as TV's Adventures of Superman (1952). According to director Fred Zinnemann, screenwriter Daniel Taradash and assistant director Earl Bellamy, the rumor is false. Every scene written for Reeves' character was filmed, and each of those scenes is still present in its entirety in the film as released. This rumor is nonetheless repeated as truth in Hollywoodland (2006), a movie about the investigation into Reeves' death.

Eli Wallach accepted the role of Angelo Maggio, but then turned it down because he had agreed to appear in Elia Kazan's Broadway production of "Camino Real" and had a scheduling problem.

Joan Fontaine was offered the role of Karen Holmes but had to decline due to family problems. She now regrets it and blames the failure of her late career to turning down the offer.

Frank Sinatra had to campaign especially hard to get this part as his career had hit a low point by this time.

The US Army was initially reluctant to lend their co-operation to the production. Producer Buddy Adler had been a Lieutenant Colonel in the Signal Corps during WWII and was able to bring his influence to bear.

At the first meeting at the beach, Warden makes a comment about Karen "... acting like Lady Nancy Astor's horse...". This is a variant of "Mrs Astor's Pet Horse" and refers to someone who is either overly dressed-up or made-up, or full of self-importance ("Dictionary of American Regional English").

Robert Mitchum wanted to play Sgt. Warden, but Howard Hughes wouldn't hear of it.

The film went on to gross $18 million, the tenth highest grossing film of the 1950s.

Dubbed "Cohn's Folly" because many thought the novel was too long and too adult to be filmed. Harry Cohn paid $82,000 for the rights.

Fred Zinnemann was initially reluctant to make the film, as he had an inherent distrust of Columbia head Harry Cohn. He also felt that in the then climate of McCarthyism (see Joseph McCarthy), to voice anything that cast any doubt over such institutions as the Army, the Navy or the FBI was just asking for trouble.

Tyrone Power turned down the Burt Lancaster role because he was committed to a play at the time.

The patch on the left uniform shoulder of the soldiers in the film was the Hawaiian Department insignia of the U.S. Army.

Maggio's comments about Gimbels basement refer to the famous New York City department store that was on 34th Street at Herald Square.

Deborah Kerr's characterization and performance in this movie is considered to be a cast against type as Kerr had previously been typecast in lady like roles and this part was considered a breakthrough for her into more sexy characters.

Director Fred Zinneman disputes the rumor that star Montgomery Clift was too drunk to say the last line in Frank Sinatra;s death scene. According to Zinneman he and Columbia studio boss disagreed about the last line. When Sinatra's dead body was put into the jeep for removal, Clift's Prewitt character says, " See that his head don't bump." Cohn wanted Clift's line cut and it was... over Zinneman's objections.

Harry Cohn was so convinced that Deborah Kerr could not be "sexy" enough to play the lead in this film that he almost did not cast her.

Shelley Winters turned down the role of Alma, as she had just given birth to her daughter Vittoria Gassman.

Ronald Reagan and Walter Matthau were among the actors considered for the role of Sgt. Warden.

If Columbia head Harry Cohn had gotten his way, the film would have starred Aldo Rayas Prewitt, Edmond O'Brien as Warden, Rita Hayworth as Karen, Julie Harris as Lorene and Eli Wallach as Maggio.

Future screenwriter Alvin Sargent has a bit part in the film. He was paid $400 for a week's work in Hawaii. Sargent would later go on to win an Oscar for Julia (1977), also directed by Fred Zinnemann.

James Jones himself was one of the numerous writers who had attempted to adapt the book for the screen.

Fred Zinnemann was chosen to direct the project largely at the suggestion of screenwriter Daniel Taradash, who had been impressed with Zinnemann's handling of the previous war-themed movies The Search (1948), The Men (1950) and Teresa(1951).
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The two leads ranked #5 on Moviefone's 'The Top 25 Sexiest Movie Couples'. [May 2008]

Broke box office records during its run at the Capitol Theatre in New York City, where the film had its U.S. premiere.

Kim Stanley campaigned for role played by Donna Reed.

In 1966, a pilot of a TV series was shot, with Roger Davis cast as Robert E. Lee Prewitt, but it was not picked up.

Future director Joseph Sargent had a role as solider. He also met Mary Carver, his wife at that time on the set of the film.

Cameo ― 

James Jones: in the background chatting with hostesses and other soldiers over Ernest Borgnine's shoulder as Fatso (Borgnine) plays the piano at the New Congress Club.

Spoilers ―  

The James Jones novel was deemed unfilmable for a long time because of its negative portrayal of the US army (which would prevent the army from supporting the film with people and hardware/logistics) and the profanity. To get army support and pass the censorship of the time crucial details had to be changed. The brothel became a night club, the whores hostesses. The profanity was removed, the brutal treatment in the stockade toned down and Captain Holmes removed from the army instead of promoted at the end.

MOVIE DIALOGUE OF THE DAY ― RED RIVER (1948)

Connection with the previous post (MY DARLING CLEMENTINE): WALTER BRENNAN co-starred in and John Ford directed both films.

Ratings: ― 7.8/10, Rotten Tomatoes ― 100%, ME ― 95% 

[Groot loses his false teeth to Quo in a poker game]

Groot Nadine: Now wait a minute, Quo. You really ain't gonna take a man's only set of teeth, are you?

Quo: Uh huh.

Groot Nadine: Yeah, but I gotta use 'em for eating!

Quo: Come grub, you get 'em.

Groot Nadine: What are you gonna do with 'em.

Quo: My name now Two Jaw Quo.

Groot Nadine: Two Jaw Quo. That's what I get for playing with an injun.

Walter Brenan as Groot Nadine and Chief Yowlatchie as Quo.

Trivia (From IMDB):

There was some concern that John Wayne and Montgomery Clift would not get along since they were diametrically opposed on all political issues, and both were outspoken on their views. According to legend they agreed not to discuss politics and the shooting went smoothly. However both Wayne and Walter Brennan would not get along with Clift, and they stayed away from the young actor when not filming. Clift later turned down Dean Martin's role in Rio Bravo (1959) because he did not want to be reunited with those two actors.

After seeing John Wayne's performance in Red River (1948), directed by rival director Howard Hawks, John Ford is quoted as saying, "I never knew the big son of a bitch could act."

The theme song, "Settle Down" was later adapted by the score's author, Dimitri Tiomkin, and sung by Dean Martin and Ricky Nelson under the title "My Rifle, My Pony and Me" in Rio Bravo (1959), another John Wayne western directed by Howard Hawks.

Texas Longhorn cattle had been nearly extinct as a breed for about 50 years when this film was made. Only a few dozen animals were available. In the herd scenes most of the cattle are Hereford crosses with the precious Longhorns prominently placed in crucial scenes.

Howard Hawks was distressed by John Ireland's unprofessional and lecherous behavior during filming, which were partially due to the actor's alcoholism. This contributed to Ireland's part, "Cherry Valance", being drastically reduced in the finished film. At one point, Cary Grant was in consideration for the part (he turned it down).

The only film in which Harry Carey, Jr., appeared with his father although they have no scenes together.

The famous scene where Montgomery Clift and John Ireland compare their revolvers was allegedly a reference to John Ireland's endowment, it may also be a reference to Clift's homosexuality.

In a 1974 interview, Howard Hawks said that he originally offered the role of Thomas Dunson to Gary Cooper but he had declined it because he didn't believe the ruthless nature of Dunson's character would have suited his screen image.

During production, many members of the cast and crew caught illnesses and injuries.Howard Hawks was hospitalized for several days after being stung by a centipede. John Wayne caught a severe cold. Joanne Dru suffered from influenza.

Reportedly, upon completing this movie, Howard Hawks gave John Wayne a belt buckle that featured the Red River D logo (Wayne later wore this as part of his costume in several other films including El Dorado (1966)). According to this story, Wayne later returned the favor and gave Hawks a twin buckle. However, actor Hank Worden, who played Sims Reeves in the film claimed that he had liked the Red River D brand and had had a local silversmith make him a small buckle with the brand (which he also wore in several later films). According to Worden, John Wayne saw his buckle, admired it, and asked for the name of the silversmith. Wayne then had matching (larger) buckles made for himself and Hawks.

Red River was 1948's third highest grossing film at $4,150,000. Only The Road to Rio ($4,500,000) and Easter Parade ($4,200,000) made more.

Writer Borden Chase readily admitted that the storyline was Mutiny on the Bounty (1935) with saddles and stirrups.

Filmed in 1946 but held for release for two years, in part due to legal problems withHoward Hughes who claimed it was similar to his The Outlaw (1943).

This is Montgomery Clift's debut film, but because it was shelved for 2 years, the first film the public saw of Clift was The Search (1948), which he was Oscar-nominated for.

Harry Carey Jr. reputedly played two different roles in the film. One was Dan Latimer who was killed in the stampede. The other was supposedly later in the movie when he (wearing black vest and hat) and John Wayne stood together and Carey spoke the line.."they crossed here...".

Burt Lancaster was offered the Montgomery Clift role by agent Charles K. Feldman, who was trying to sign the former acrobat, but Lancaster had just signed with agent Harold Hecht and so turned down the role to star in The Killers (1946), which was his film debut.

Final released film of Harry Carey.

Borden Chase's original script has Tess and Matt escort a mortally wounded Dunston across the Red River, where they stand him up long enough to have him die on Texas soil. Chase vigorously objected to Hawks' change but to no avail.

Cary Grant (who had worked with Howard Hawks on Bringing Up Baby (1938) and Only Angels Have Wings (1939)) turned down the role of gunslinger Cherry Valance, a part that was subsequently minimized in the final film.

Five dams were built to bring the San Pedro River in Arizona, where the crossings were shot, to flood stage.

The role of Tess Millay was intended for Margaret Sheridan but she became pregnant shortly before filming. Instead she suggested her friend Joanne Dru for the role.

Ranked #5 on the American Film Institute's list of the 10 greatest films in the genre "Western" in June 2008.

"Lux Radio Theater" broadcast a 60 minute radio adaptation of the movie on March 7, 1949 with John Wayne, Joanne Dru and Walter Brennan reprising their film roles.

John Wayne felt the film was slightly overlong, and was concerned how Montgomery Clift could fight him on screen. Howard Hawks filmed the final fight in such a way that Clift was able to realistically stand up to the much taller and heavier Wayne.

Howard Hawks originally wanted Gregg Toland as his director of photography. When Toland proved unavailable, he had to go with Russell Harlan instead.

From IMDB and Wikipedia.