''Harlequin'' (known as ''Dark Forces'' in US) is a 1980 Australian

thriller film Thriller film, also known as suspense film or suspense thriller, is a broad film genre that evokes excitement and suspense in the audience. The suspense element found in most films' plots is particularly exploited by the filmmaker in this genre. ...

directed by Simon Wincer and starring

Robert Powell Robert Powell (; born 1 June 1944) is an English actor who is known for the title roles in '' Mahler'' (1974) and ''Jesus of Nazareth'' (1977), and for his portrayal of secret agent Richard Hannay in '' The Thirty Nine Steps'' (1978) and its s ...

Carmen Duncan Carmen Joan Duncan (7 July 1942 – 3 February 2019) was an Australian-born stage and screen actress and activist, with a career locally and internationally in the United States that spanned over 50 years. She was nominated for the AFI Award ...

David Hemmings David Edward Leslie Hemmings (18 November 1941 – 3 December 2003) was an English actor and director. He is best remembered for his roles in British films and television programmes of the 1960s and 1970s, particularly the 1966 mystery film ...

and

Broderick Crawford William Broderick Crawford (December 9, 1911 – April 26, 1986) was an American stage, film, radio, and television actor, often cast in tough-guy roles and best known for his Oscar- and Golden Globe-winning portrayal of Willie Stark in ''All th ...

. The film is a modern-day retelling of the historical figure

Rasputin Grigori Yefimovich Rasputin (; rus, links=no, Григорий Ефимович Распутин ; – ) was a Russian mystic and self-proclaimed holy man who befriended the family of Nicholas II, the last Emperor of Russia, thus ga ...

Synopsis

An up-and-coming

United States Senator The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and po ...

, Nick Rast, has a young son who is

terminally ill Terminal illness or end-stage disease is a disease that cannot be cured or adequately treated and is expected to result in the death of the patient. This term is more commonly used for progressive diseases such as cancer, dementia or advanced h ...

with

leukaemia Leukemia ( also spelled leukaemia and pronounced ) is a group of blood cancers that usually begin in the bone marrow and result in high numbers of abnormal blood cells. These blood cells are not fully developed and are called ''blasts'' or ...

. A mysterious

faith healer Faith healing is the practice of prayer and gestures (such as laying on of hands) that are believed by some to elicit divine intervention in spiritual and physical healing, especially the Christian practice. Believers assert that the healing ...

, Gregory Wolfe, appears and seems to cure the boy. Rast's wife Sandy falls in love with Wolfe, but the powerful interests behind Rast's career, represented by geriatric monster, Doc Wheelan are less happy with events.

Cast

as Gregory Wolfe *

as Nick Rast *

as Doc Wheelan *

as Sandy Rast *

Alyson Best Alyson Best (born September 29, 1960) is an Australian actress known for her appearance in ''Prisoner'' (1983) and ''Man of Flowers'' (1983). In 1979 she appeared in a famous photo with Derryn Hinch in ''Playboy''. Select Credits *''Young Rams ...

as Alice *

Alan Cassell Alan Louis Cassell (16 February 1932 – 30 August 2017) was an English Australian actor, on stage, film and television. Personal life Alan Cassell was born in Manchester, England but grew up in Birmingham. Cassell was of a young age when his m ...

as Mr Porter *

Mark Spain Mark Spain is a weekday television news anchor at WSET-TV in Lynchburg, Virginia. Formerly, Spain worked alongside Paige Kelton on ''Action News'' at WJAX-TV/WFOX-TV in Jacksonville, Florida, anchoring all evening newscasts (5, 5:30, 6, 11 on WJ ...

as Alex Rast

Production

Development

Simon Wincer and Everett De Roche had previously collaborated on ''Snapshot'' but were not happy with the film since it was made so hurriedly. They decided to make another film, came up with six ideas and eventually chose ''The Minister's Musician'', a modern-day version of the Rasputin story. They did a treatment and

Antony I. Ginnane Antony I. Ginnane is an Australian film producer best known for his work in the exploitation field. He was head of the Screen Producers Association of Australia from 2008 to 2011. A CD of themes from fourteen of his films was produced in 2008 b ...

became involved as producer.Beilby & Murray p 638 Everett de Roche originally did a 400-page first draft in which the central character, Gregory Wolfe, was a priest. When the producers sent the script to the US, they were worried that this would make the film hard to market in Catholic countries so it was changed. The script was given to some American writers to work on but Wincer was not happy with the changes. As de Roche was not available, Wincer went over the script with

Russell Hagg Russell Hagg (born 1938) is an Australian designer and director. He studied architecture at Melbourne University The University of Melbourne is a public research university located in Melbourne, Australia. Founded in 1853, it is Australia' ...

although he later said he would have preferred it if de Roche had done the job.

Casting

The script was written with

David Bowie David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known professionally as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer-songwriter and actor. A leading figure in the music industry, he is regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the ...

in mind for the lead role and conversations were had with Bowie but the filmmakers got "cold feet" at the last minute and cast Robert Powell. The original choice for the role of the senator was

Orson Welles George Orson Welles (May 6, 1915 – October 10, 1985) was an American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter, known for his innovative work in film, radio and theatre. He is considered to be among the greatest and most influential f ...

but he wanted $80,000 a week for two weeks so

was cast instead.

Shooting

It was the first film funded by the newly formed West Australian Film Council. Funding also came from the

Australian Film Commission The Australian Film Commission (AFC) was an Australian government agency was founded in 1975 with a mandate to promote the creation and distribution of films in Australia as well as to preserve the country's film history. It also had a producti ...

, Greater Union, Ace Theatres of Western Australia and Pact Productions, with the final $50,000 coming from Hemdale. It was the first of several films Ginnane would make with Hemdale.David Stratton, ''The Avocado Plantation: Boom and Bust in the Australian Film Industry'', Pan MacMillan, 1990 p298 The movie was shot in late 1979 over six weeks, using Panavision. It was filmed in Western Australia because of the involvement of the West Australian Film Council, which was estimated to save the production $100,000. The film makes a great effort to disguise the fact it is set in Australia, including dubbing Alan Cassel's voice into an American accent and referring to the American political system. This was controversial at the time because it was made with money from Australian taxpayers.David Stratton, ''The Last New Wave: The Australian Film Revival'', Angus & Robertson, 1980 p255

Reception

The film performed poorly at the Australian box office but was very successful overseas. Simon Wincer says it was particularly successful in South America, due in part to Robert Powell's popularity there."Interview with Simon Winceer", ''Signis'', 8 May 1995
accessed 21 November 2012

Accolades

DVD releases

In Australia, ''Harlequin'' was released on an All Region DVD by Umbrella Entertainment on Wednesday, 27 October 2004. It was presented in a remastered 2.35:1 Anamorphic Widescreen, and Special Features were an Audio Commentary by director Simon Wincer and producer

, a theatrical trailer and a photo gallery. In the US, ''Harlequin'' was released as ''Dark Forces'' by Image Ent. on 8 June 2004. It was presented in 2.35:1 Widescreen, with Behind The Scenes Photo Gallery, Filmographies, Isolated Music Score and an Audio Commentary by director Simon Wincer and producer

. It was released on Blu-ray in the US by Scorpion Releasing on 29 October 2013 under its original title.

References

Sources

*Peter Beilby & Scott Murray, 'Simon Wincer', ''Cinema Papers'' Dec-Jan 1979-80

External links

* *
Harlequin at the National Film and Sound Archive

''Harlequin''
at

Australian Screen Online The National Film and Sound Archive of Australia (NFSA), known as ScreenSound Australia from 1999 to 2004, is Australia's audiovisual archive, responsible for developing, preserving, maintaining, promoting and providing access to a national c ...

''Harlequin''
at Oz Movies {{DEFAULTSORT:Harlequin (Film) 1980 films 1980 horror films 1980s political thriller films 1980s supernatural thriller films Australian thriller films 1980s English-language films Australian independent films Films set in the United States Films shot in Australia Films about Grigori Rasputin Films directed by Simon Wincer Films scored by Brian May (composer) Films about faith healing