''Death of a Soldier'' is a 1986 Australian film based on the life of
American
American(s) may refer to:
* American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America"
** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America
** American ancestry, pe ...
serial killer
A serial killer is typically a person who murders three or more persons,A
*
*
*
* with the murders taking place over more than a month and including a significant period of time between them. While most authorities set a threshold of three ...
Eddie Leonski
Edward Joseph Leonski (December 12, 1917 – November 9, 1942) was a United States Army soldier and serial killer responsible for the strangling murders of three women in Melbourne, Australia in 1942. Leonski was dubbed The Brownout Strangler ...
. The film was shot using locations around
Melbourne
Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...
, Victoria.
The film is directed by
Philippe Mora
Philippe Mora (born 1949) is a French Australian film director.
Early life and career
Philippe Mora was born in Paris, France in 1949, and grew up at the centre of the Australian arts scene of the 1950s and began making films with an 8mm camera ...
and stars
James Coburn
James Harrison Coburn III (August 31, 1928 – November 18, 2002) was an American film and television actor who was featured in more than 70 films, largely action roles, and made 100 television appearances during a 45-year career.AllmoviBi ...
,
Bill Hunter and
Reb Brown Common meanings
* Johnny Reb, personification of a Confederate soldier in the American Civil War
* Reb (Yiddish), an honorific title for a teacher
People
* Reb Anderson (born 1943), American Zen Buddhist teacher and writer
* Reb Beach (born 1963), ...
.
Production
The idea of making the film came from William Nagle, who wrote a screenplay to produce himself; David Hannay came on board as co-producer.
Dick Richards
Dick Richards (born 1936) is an American film director, producer, and screenwriter. Known as a storyteller and an “actor’s director”, Richards worked with Robert Mitchum, Gene Hackman, Martin Sheen, Blythe Danner, Catherine Deneuve, Al ...
was originally meant to direct but then
Philippe Mora
Philippe Mora (born 1949) is a French Australian film director.
Early life and career
Philippe Mora was born in Paris, France in 1949, and grew up at the centre of the Australian arts scene of the 1950s and began making films with an 8mm camera ...
became involved. Mora and the producers wanted to import Americans to play three roles: Leonski, his best friend Gallo and lawyer Danneberg; Actors Equity only agreed to two.
[David Stratton, ''The Avocado Plantation: Boom and Bust in the Australian Film Industry'', Pan MacMillan, 1990 p45-47]
At one stage it was announced that the movie would be called ''Leonski'' and be shot in August 1981 with
Don Lane
Don Lane (born Morton Donald Isaacson, 13 November 1933 – 22 October 2009) was an American-born talk show host and singer, best known for his television career in Australia, especially for hosting ''Tonight with Don Lane'' and ''The Don Lane ...
as a US Army major.
The budget was originally meant to be $3 million but this was found to be inadequate during shooting and additional funds had to be raised. To save money the shooting schedule was reduced; some of the crew complained to the
Australian Theatrical and Amusement Employees' Association
The Australian Theatrical and Amusement Employees' Association was an Australian trade union which existed between 1910 and 1993. It represented a wide range of workers employed in the entertainment industry in Australia.
Coverage
The ATAE ...
, which put a
black ban on the film. This meant it was a year before the film was released in Australia.
Cast
*
James Coburn
James Harrison Coburn III (August 31, 1928 – November 18, 2002) was an American film and television actor who was featured in more than 70 films, largely action roles, and made 100 television appearances during a 45-year career.AllmoviBi ...
as Maj. Patrick Dannenberg
*
Bill Hunter as Det. Sgt. Adams
*
Reb Brown Common meanings
* Johnny Reb, personification of a Confederate soldier in the American Civil War
* Reb (Yiddish), an honorific title for a teacher
People
* Reb Anderson (born 1943), American Zen Buddhist teacher and writer
* Reb Beach (born 1963), ...
as Pvt.
Edward J. Leonski
*
Maurie Fields
Maurice Fields (born Maurice Sheil, 4 August 1926 – 18 December 1995) was an Australian vaudeville performer, actor and stand-up comedian.
Career
Fields became a well-known face on television first thanks to his comic sketches on live progra ...
as Det. Sgt. Martin
* Max Fairchild as Maj. William Fricks
*
Belinda Davey as Margot Saunders
* Randall Berger as Pvt. Anthony Gallo
*
Michael Pate
Michael Pate OAM (born Edward John Pate; 26 February 1920 – 1 September 2008) was an Australian actor, writer, director, and producer, who also worked in Hollywood in the 1950s and 1960s.
Biography Early life
Pate was born in Drum ...
as Maj. Gen.
Sutherland
Sutherland ( gd, Cataibh) is a historic county, registration county and lieutenancy area in the Highlands of Scotland. Its county town is Dornoch. Sutherland borders Caithness and Moray Firth to the east, Ross-shire and Cromartyshire (later ...
* Jon Sidney as Gen.
Douglas MacArthur
Douglas MacArthur (26 January 18805 April 1964) was an American military leader who served as General of the Army for the United States, as well as a field marshal to the Philippine Army. He had served with distinction in World War I, was C ...
*
Terence Donovan as
John Curtin
John Curtin (8 January 1885 – 5 July 1945) was an Australian politician who served as the 14th prime minister of Australia from 1941 until his death in 1945. He led the country for the majority of World War II, including all but the last few ...
Reception
James Coburn later said, "It wasn't very good. There were a lot of problems with the picture. For one thing we had an
auteur
An auteur (; , 'author') is an artist with a distinctive approach, usually a film director whose filmmaking control is so unbounded but personal that the director is likened to the "author" of the film, which thus manifests the director's unique ...
producer. He was also the screenwriter. He wrote it too much like a comic strip. We also had a lot of auteurs working on the fucking thing. The director didn't have enough time to prepare it. I was very disappointed by the way it turned out. It was a hellava good story. It's too bad."
See also
*
Cinema of Australia
The cinema of Australia had its beginnings with the 1906 production of ''The Story of the Kelly Gang'', arguably the world's first feature film. Since then, Australian crews have produced many films, a number of which have received internati ...
References
Sources
Mathews, Jack, "When the Whole Truth is Not Enough", ''The Age'', (Tuesday, 15 October 1985), p.14.
External links
*
''Death of a Soldier'' at the National Film and Sound Archive''Death of a Soldier''at New York Times
''Death of a Soldier''at Oz Movies
{{Philippe Mora
1986 films
Australian crime drama films
Australian films based on actual events
Australian historical drama films
Australian serial killer films
Australian World War II films
1986 crime drama films
Films shot in Melbourne
Films directed by Philippe Mora
Films set on the home front during World War II
1980s English-language films