''The Groundstar Conspiracy'' is a 1972 American neo noircrime film directed by
Lamont Johnson
Ernest Lamont Johnson Jr. (September 30, 1922 – October 24, 2010) was an American actor and film director who has appeared in and directed many television shows and movies. He won two Emmy Awards.
Early years
Johnson was born in Stockto ...
. It stars
George Peppard
George Peppard (; October 1, 1928 – May 8, 1994) was an American actor. He is best remembered for his role as struggling writer Paul Varjak in the 1961 film '' Breakfast at Tiffany's'', and for playing commando leader Col. John "Hannibal ...
and
Michael Sarrazin
Michael Sarrazin (May 22, 1940 – April 17, 2011)
Douglas Heyes' screenplay (written under his frequent pseudonym, Matthew Howard) was adapted very freely from L. P. Davies' 1968 novel, ''The Alien''. It was filmed in Vancouver, British Columbia, and produced by Hal Roach Productions in Canada.
Plot
Employee John Welles attempts to steal rocket booster plans from the Groundstar facility. His attempt goes awry and he is badly disfigured in an explosion and barely escapes. He stumbles to the home of Nicole Devon, and collapses. She calls an ambulance, the authorities are alerted, and soon Welles is operated on, given plastic surgery and interrogated by a hard-boiled government official named Tuxan, but Welles claims to have no memory of his crime. In fact, he claims no memory of his life at all, save for brief dream-like flashes of a woman on a beach and the ruins of a Greek temple.
Despite Tuxan's brutal interrogation techniques, consisting of electro-shock and water submersion, Welles still maintains his story of total amnesia. Tuxan allows Welles to escape, hoping he will lead them to the people behind the attempted theft. Welles goes to Nicole's home and begs her to help him remember, but she knows nothing. They fall in love as Tuxan keeps them under surveillance.
Eventually, the conspirators behind the attempted theft are found and Tuxan reveals the truth to Welles, who still cannot remember any details of the crime. John Welles actually died following surgery the day after the Groundstar explosion. The man we have come to know as Welles is really Peter Bellamy, a government employee whose girlfriend recently drowned in Greece. Bellamy, feeling that life was no longer worth living or remembering, volunteered to have his memory wiped and to play Welles in order to draw the conspirators into the open.
Cast
*
George Peppard
George Peppard (; October 1, 1928 – May 8, 1994) was an American actor. He is best remembered for his role as struggling writer Paul Varjak in the 1961 film '' Breakfast at Tiffany's'', and for playing commando leader Col. John "Hannibal ...
as Tuxan
*
Michael Sarrazin
Michael Sarrazin (May 22, 1940 – April 17, 2011)
Christine Belford
Christine Belford (born Christine Riley) is an American television and film actress. She has sometimes been credited as Christina Belford.
Early life
Christine Riley was born in Amityville, Long Island, New York to Joseph J. Riley and Mary Be ...
as Nicole Devon
*
Cliff Potts
Cliff Potts (born January 5, 1942 in Glendale, California) is an American television and film actor whose roles include John Keenan in the 1972 science fiction film, ''Silent Running'' starring Bruce Dern.
Potts starred as Sergeant Eugene Allar ...
James McEachin
James McEachin (born May 20, 1930) is an American author and retired actor.
Military career
McEachin served in the United States Army before, and then during, the Korean War. Serving in King Company, 9th Infantry Regiment (United States), 2nd I ...
as Bender
*
Alan Oppenheimer
Alan Oppenheimer (born April 23, 1930) is an American actor. He has performed numerous roles on live action television since the 1960s, and he has had an active career doing voice work since the 1970s.
Early life
Oppenheimer was born in New Yor ...
as General Hackett
Production
The film was based on the 1968 novel ''The Alien'' by L. P. Davies. Universal bought film rights in June 1968 prior to publication and assigned Dick Berg to produce. Douglas Heyes was to have filmed the work under the title ''The Alien'' starring Robert Stack, Geneviève Bujold and David Janssen, but Bujold leaving the project led to delays in shooting and a new cast.
In July 1971 Universal announced that Michael Sarrazin and George Peppard would star in a film version called ''The Plastic Man''. It would be directed by Lamont Johnson and be a co production between Universal and Hal Roach Productions.
Filming started in Vancouver, Canada on 2 August 1971 with
Carol White
Carole Joan White (1 April 1943 – 16 September 1991) was an English actress.
She achieved a public profile with her performances in the television play ''Cathy Come Home'' (1966) and the films ''Poor Cow'' (1967) and '' I'll Never Forg ...
as the female lead. Shortly into filming White asked to be released and was replaced by Christine Belford. White wanted to go because a production delay meant she was in danger of missing the start date on '' Made''. (
Candice Bergen
Candice Patricia Bergen (born May 9, 1946) is an American actress. She won five Primetime Emmy Awards and two Golden Globe Awards for her portrayal of the title character on the CBS sitcom ''Murphy Brown'' (1988–1998, 2018). She is also kno ...
and
Tuesday Weld
Tuesday Weld (born Susan Ker Weld; August 27, 1943) is an American actress and model. She began acting as a child and progressed to mature roles in the late 1950s. She won a Golden Globe Award for Most Promising Female Newcomer in 1960. Over t ...
were offered the role but asked for too much money.) All White's footage had to be reshot.Film Industry Making It in Vancouver: Film Industry in Vancouver Films Making It in Vancouver Jennings, C Robert. ''Los Angeles Times'' 21 Nov 1971: x1.
Peppard was paid $400,000.
The film was shot at the Burnaby campus of
Simon Fraser University
Simon Fraser University (SFU) is a public research university in British Columbia, Canada, with three campuses, all in Greater Vancouver: Burnaby (main campus), Surrey, and Vancouver. The main Burnaby campus on Burnaby Mountain, located ...
and the Panorama Mountain Resort.Spaner, David ''Dreaming in the Rain: How Vancouver Became Hollywood North by Northwest'' Arsenal Pulp Press (1 September 2004)