RYAN O’NEAL – Let’s face it, Errol Flynn himself probably looked down from above with envy when it came to Ryan O’Neal’s escapades with women. And it’s a cinch that Flynn would have envied O’Neal’s acting talent, which was never spectacular but was above that of many of Hollywood’s biggest names.
In addition to the love of his life Farrah Fawcett, a partial list of the beautiful ladies who had romances with Ryan includes Joan Collins, Jacqueline Bisset, Diana Ross, Ursula Andress, Anouk Aimee and Leigh Taylor-Young. His first wife Joanna Moore praised O’Neal as “an incredible lover … totally devoted to giving a woman pleasure.”
Ryan tried his hand at boxing, then started his film career as a stuntman before gravitating to acting. At one time he was the highest-paid actor in Hollywood, but his legendary partying and volatile behavior ultimately led to him being passed over for roles that might have cemented him as an upper tier thespian in Hollywood.
In this blog post I won’t be covering Ryan O’Neal’s well-known movies like Love Story, Paper Moon, What’s Up, Doc?, Barry Lyndon, The Driver, The Main Event and others. Nor will I cover his ensemble cast flicks like A Bridge Too Far.
GREEN ICE (1981) – Sadly, by 1981 the age of classic heist films like Rififi was long over and that may have contributed to the less than stellar box office results for this project. Ryan O’Neal starred as Joseph Wiley, a former engineer turned adventuring globe-trotter.
In Mexico, Wiley meets Anne Archer playing Lillian Holbrook, a diamond heiress running away from the life led by her stuffy family. Omar Sharif is Meno Argenti, Holbrook’s co-conspirator in a network of Colombian emerald smugglers. (Emeralds are the “green ice” of the title.)
An attempt on his life drives Wiley closer to Lillian and Argenti, but after intrigues and double-crosses involving Colombian rebels, Lillian’s missing sister and clashes with the corrupt Colombian government, Argenti emerges as the main villain.
Meno has hoarded emeralds that were originally intended to finance the rebels and stores them in his high-tech, supposedly impregnable vault in his penthouse atop a Colombian skyscraper. Joe Wiley and Lillian Holbrook recruit Miguel (Domingo Ambriz) and Claude (THE John Larroquette) in a heist involving one-man hot-air balloons and assorted technology to steal the emeralds from Argenti’s vault. Continue reading
WAR HUNT (1962) – Unusual little movie that was sort of like a Korean War forerunner of Platoon. Redford is Private Roy Loomis, a new arrival who would be the film’s Charlie Sheen equivalent, right down to his first-person narration. John Saxon would be the Tom Berenger equivalent as Private Raymond Endore, who uses the war as an excuse to give his violent tendencies full reign. 
SEA DEVILS (1953) – As England and other nations battle France in 1800, English Captain Gilliatt (Rock Hudson) has abandoned his career as a fisherman to become a smuggler. He excels at the task and over the past few years he and his ship the Sea Devil have gained quite a reputation. 
Amid much swordplay and other action during frequent trips across the Channel, Gilliatt struggles to keep her alive and understand the motives of this beautiful woman with whom he has fallen in love. 
THE AUTOMATIC MOTORIST (1911) – Balladeer’s Blog takes a look at another silent movie short by England’s Walter R. Booth. It’s a remake of his own 1906 short film The Mad Motorist but taken to the extreme. Running time is 6 1/2 minutes. 
Alice Guy-Blache (1873-1968) was a French film pioneer and was also the first woman to direct movies. Alice worked for the Gaumont Film Company and from 1896 to 1906 was Gaumont’s Head of Production. 
PIERRETTE’S ESCAPADES (1900) – A woman changes from a pink dress to a green dancing outfit. She proceeds to dance alone and soon finds the stock clown character Pierrot dancing with her. The clown tries kissing her but is rebuffed. Next, the stock character Harlequin dances with her, impresses her and the two share a kiss as the 2-minute production comes to a close. Some frames were hand-tinted. 
ESMERALDA (1905) – The oldest known movie version of The Hunchback of Notre Dame. Alice had been shepherding Gaumont’s movies away from mere visual spectacle and on to narrative filmmaking. 
Yes, Happy Easter, ladies and gentlemen! Balladeer’s Blog helps celebrate by combining the holiday with my passion for silent films. I’m providing the following list of silent movies – both shorts and feature films – about Jesus Christ. 
CHRISTUS (1916) – Directed by Giulio Cesare Antamoro, this is a fascinating look at Jesus, from the Angel visiting Mary through his Resurrection and subsequent visit with his Apostles. Christus runs 88 minutes and features some inventive variations on Biblical tableaux. The Star of Bethlehem is depicted as a comet; when Mary finds young Jesus preaching to his teachers His shadow appears as a cross; and Judas gets three visions of the Devil – first urging him on to betray Jesus, then taunting him when he regrets that betrayal, and finally welcoming him into Hell, which opens up under Judas’ swinging corpse. 
TOP SECRET (1984)
Balladeer’s Blog takes a look at the film appearances of Errol Flynn’s son Sean. The two did not get along, unfortunately, largely because of Errol only caring about Sean when the mood struck him according to Sean. 
THE SON OF CAPTAIN BLOOD (1962) – Since the 1935 swashbuckler Captain Blood propelled Errol Flynn to stardom, the studio was hoping a Son of Captain Blood flick would do the same for Sean. Jock Mahoney, a former Tarzan and stunt man for Errol trained Sean in fencing and acrobatics to prepare for the role. 
The ship Robert commands has among its passengers a handful of giggling young ladies being transported to England along with their stern lady chaperone. This new Captain Blood turns their heads and ultimately Abigail McBride (Alessandra Panaro) beats out the others for his heart. 
MARIE WALCAMP (1894-1936) – Like her fellow silent film icons 
TEMPEST CODY – Marie was already getting above the title billing by the time her two-reel Tempest Cody western shorts came along in 1919. Tempest was a hard-riding, two-fisted, straight-shooting woman of the old west who was always on the side of right. 
BLACK RAIN, also released as THE LAST WAVE (1977) – This was Aussie director Peter Weir’s eerie follow-up to Picnic at Hanging Rock from 1975. If you found the excellent 1975 movie perplexing, Black Rain will redefine that word for you. 
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