''Where's Jack?'' is a 1969 British

adventure film An adventure film is a form of adventure fiction, and is a genre of film. Subgenres of adventure films include swashbuckler films, pirate films, and survival films. Adventure films may also be combined with other film genres such as action, an ...

recounting the exploits of notorious 18th-century criminal

Jack Sheppard Jack Sheppard (4 March 1702 – 16 November 1724), or "Honest Jack", was a notorious English thief and prison escapee of early 18th-century London. Born into a poor family, he was apprenticed as a carpenter but took to theft and burglary in ...

and London "Thief-Taker General"

Jonathan Wild Jonathan Wild, also spelled Wilde (1682 or 1683 – 24 May 1725), was a London underworld figure notable for operating on both sides of the law, posing as a public-spirited vigilante entitled the "'' Thief-Taker General''". He simultaneously ran ...

. The film was produced by

Stanley Baker Sir William Stanley Baker (28 February 192828 June 1976) was a Welsh actor and film producer. Known for his rugged appearance and intense, grounded screen persona, he was one of the top British male film stars of the late 1950s, and later a pro ...

through his company Oakhurst Productions, and starred Baker himself as Jonathan Wild.

Tommy Steele Sir Thomas Hicks (born 17 December 1936), known professionally as Tommy Steele, is an English entertainer, regarded as Britain's first teen idol and rock and roll star. After being discovered at the 2i's Coffee Bar in Soho, London, Steele reco ...

played Jack Sheppard. The film was directed by novelist James Clavell.

Mary Hopkin Mary Hopkin (born 3 May 1950), credited on some recordings as Mary Visconti from her marriage to Tony Visconti, is a Welsh singer-songwriter best known for her 1968 UK number 1 single "Those Were the Days". She was one of the first artists ...

sings the title song.

Plot

The film depicts the adventures and the exploits of notorious English thief and prison-breaker Jack Sheppard in 1720s London. The ending of the film is ambiguous, and suggests that Sheppard may have survived his execution and escaped to the Americas.

Cast

Alan Badel Alan Fernand Badel (; 11 September 1923 – 19 March 1982) was an English stage actor who also appeared frequently in the cinema, radio and television and was noted for his richly textured voice which was once described as "the sound of tears ...

as The Lord Chancellor *

Dudley Foster Frank Dudley Foster (7 August 1924 – 8 January 1973) was an English actor who regularly appeared in television roles. Foster was born in Brighouse, West Riding of Yorkshire. His family had established links with the theatre and a brother an ...

as Blueskin *

Fiona Lewis Fiona Lewis (born 28 September 1946) is a British actress and writer from Westcliff-on-Sea, Essex.Profile
, bfi.org.uk; acc ...

as Edgworth Bess Lyon *

Sue Lloyd Sue or SUE may refer to: Music * Sue Records, an American record label * ''Sue'' (album), an album by Frazier Chorus * " Sue (Or in a Season of Crime)", a song by David Bowie Places * Sue Islet (Queensland), one of the Torres Straits isla ...

as Lady Darlington * Noel Purcell as Leatherchest *

Eddie Byrne Eddie Byrne (31 January 1911 – 21 August 1981) was an Irish actor. Career His stage work included many appearances with Dublin's Abbey Theatre, and also work with the National Theatre in London. Outside Ireland he is probably best known ...

as Rev. Wagstaff *

Michael Elphick Michael John Elphick (19 September 1946 – 7 September 2002) was an English film and television actor. He played the eponymous private investigator in the ITV series ''Boon'' and Harry Slater in BBC's ''EastEnders''. He was nominated for ...

as Hogarth *

Howard Goorney Howard Jacob Goorney (11 May 1921 – 29 March 2007) was a British actor who starred in such programmes as ''Only Fools and Horses''. He was one of the founder members of Joan Littlewood's 'Theatre Workshop', and wrote ''The Theatre Workshop Story ...

as Surgeon *

John Hallam John William Francis Hallam (28 October 1941 – 14 November 2006) was a British character actor, who frequently played hard men or military types. Early life John Hallam was born, the son of a superintendent at London Docklands, in 19 ...

as The Captain *

Harold Kasket Harold Kasket (26 July 1926 – 20 January 2002) was an English actor in theatre, films and later television from the 1940s. Kasket usually played Arabs or mainland European types in many films and TV programmes such as ''Maigret'', '' The Sain ...

as The King *

Caroline Munro Caroline Munro (born 16 January 1949)McFarlane, Brian (28 February 2014). ''The Encyclopedia of British Film: Fourth edition''. Oxford University Press. p. 538; is an English actress, model and singer known for her many appearances in horror, ...

as Madame Vendonne *

Cardew Robinson Douglas John Cardew Robinson (14 August 1917 – 28 December 1992) was a British comic, whose career was rooted in the music hall and Gang Shows. Early life and career Born in Goodmayes, Essex, Robinson was educated at Harrow County School ...

as Lord Mayor * George Woodbridge as Hangman

Production

Financing was provided by

Paramount Paramount (from the word ''paramount'' meaning "above all others") may refer to: Entertainment and music companies * Paramount Global, also known simply as Paramount, an American mass media company formerly known as ViacomCBS. The following busin ...

. According to producer

Michael Deeley Michael Deeley (born 6 August 1932) is an Academy Award-winning British film producer known for such motion pictures as ''The Italian Job'' (1969), ''The Deer Hunter'' (1978), and ''Blade Runner'' (1982). He is also a founding member and Honora ...

, this was obtained after a pitch made by

Martin Baum Martin Baum (15 June 1765 – 14 December 1831) was an American businessman and politician. The son of German immigrants Jacob Baum and Magdalena Elizabeth Kershner, Baum fought with General Anthony Wayne at the Battle of Fallen Timbers. After ...

's agent, to

Charles Bludhorn Charles George Bluhdorn (born Karl Georg Blühdorn; September 20, 1926 – February 19, 1983) was an Austrian-born American industrialist. Early life Bluhdorn was born in Vienna, Austria, to an Austrian Jewish mother Rosa Fuchs and father Pau ...

, owner of Paramount. Baum described the film as being written by the writers of ''

Point Blank Point-blank range is any distance over which a certain firearm can hit a target without the need to compensate for bullet drop, and can be adjusted over a wide range of distances by sighting in the firearm. If the bullet leaves the barrel paral ...

'' (1967), produced by the maker of '' Zulu'' (1963) and directed by the man who made ''

To Sir, with Love ''To Sir, with Love'' is a 1967 British drama film that deals with social and racial issues in an inner city school. It stars Sidney Poitier and features Christian Roberts, Judy Geeson, Suzy Kendall and singer Lulu making her film debut. Ja ...

'' (1967) which, combined, made a profit of $45 million. Divided by four, that would have meant a profit of over $10 million after the $3 million cost was deducted. The pitch was successful, and Deeley says it remains one of his happiest memories in getting a film funded.

Peter Bart Peter Benton Bart (born July 24, 1932) is an American journalist and film producer, writing a column for ''Deadline Hollywood'' since 2015. He is perhaps best known for his lengthy tenure (1989–2009) as the editor in chief of ''Variety'', an ...

, an executive at Paramount at the time, says Stanley Baker did the presentation with Deeley and Baum. Bart says Bludhorn believed that expensive films made the most money and was attracted to ''Where's Jack?'' in part by its cost, agreeing to finance without reading a script. He also claims that Deeley presented him with the relatively inexpensive ''

The Italian Job ''The Italian Job'' is a 1969 British comedy caper film, written by Troy Kennedy Martin, produced by Michael Deeley, directed by Peter Collinson, and starring Michael Caine. The film's plot centres around Cockney criminal Charlie Croker, rece ...

'' and that Bart arranged for it to be financed without telling Bludhorn; ''Italian Job'' would go on to be a far more successful film. Peter Yates said at the time that Stanley Baker was "rescuing" Tommy Steele from Hollywood musicals "to do some acting again". The film was announced in February 1968. Filming took place in Ireland in June 1968. It finished by September.

Reception

''Where's Jack?'' turned out to be a box office flop. Deeley, Michael, ''Blade Runners, Deer Hunters and Blowing the Bloody Doors Off: My Life in Cult Movies'', Pegasus Books, 2009, pp. 43-44 The film was not even released in the USA after performing poorly in Europe.Gelmis, Joseph, "Hollywood Skeletons Haunt Studio Vaults", ''Los Angeles Times'', November 21, 1971: i11. The ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the Un ...

'' wrote that it was "astonishingly similar, markedly better" to another film about a highwayman that came out around the same time, ''

Sinful Davey ''Sinful Davey'' is a 1969 wikt:picaresque, picaresque adventure film, adventure/Crime fiction, crime/comedy film directed by John Huston and starring John Hurt, Pamela Franklin, and in early appearances Fionnula Flanagan and Anjelica Huston. Jo ...

''.Champlin, Charles, "'Sinful Davey' Opens Run at Royal Theater", ''Los Angeles Times'', May 29, 1969: d1.

References

External links

* {{James Clavell 1969 films 1969 adventure films 1960s historical adventure films British crime films British biographical films 1969 crime films British historical adventure films Films set in the 1720s Films set in London Films directed by James Clavell Paramount Pictures films 1960s English-language films 1960s British films