''Your Ticket is No Longer Valid'' is a 1981 Canadian film directed by

George Kaczender George Kaczender (19 April 1933 – 24 August 2016) was a Hungarian-born Canadian film director. He directed 26 films between 1963 and 2001. Biography Kaczender left Hungary in 1956 as a political refugee after studying film and working as ...

and starring

Richard Harris Richard St John Francis Harris (1 October 1930 – 25 October 2002) was an Irish actor and singer. He appeared on stage and in many films, notably as Corrado Zeller in Michelangelo Antonioni's '' Red Desert'', Frank Machin in '' This Sporting ...

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 ...

Jennifer Dale Jennifer Ciurluini (born January 16, 1956 in Toronto), known professionally as Jennifer Dale, is a Canadian actress. Biography She is the sister of Canadian actress Cynthia Dale. From 1980 to 1986 she was married to Robert Lantos; they have t ...

, and Jeanne Moreau. Harris later regarded the film as one of the biggest artistic disappointments of his career.

Plot

A businessman (Richard Harris) has a younger girlfriend who loves him. He struggles to be able to perform in bed. He gets aroused however at the thought of his girlfriend being made love to by a handsome thief. The businessman becomes obsessed with tracking down the thief.

Production

The film was based on a novel by

Romain Gary Romain Gary (; 2 December 1980), born Roman Kacew (, and also known by the pen name Émile Ajar), was a French novelist, diplomat, film director, and World War II aviator. He is the only author to have won the Prix Goncourt under two names. He i ...

which was

optioned In the film industry, an option is a contractual agreement pertaining to film rights between a potential film producer (such as a movie studio, a production company, or an individual) and the author of source material, such as a book, play, or s ...

by producer Robert Lantos. His assistant Leila Basen wrote a draft of the script. She later recalled:

If the book was totally sexist, the first draft screenplay written by an American writer was even more misogynist... There never was a script contract. Robert continued to pay me my executive assistant salary of $350 a week. I sat in my usual desk in a room with the other four secretaries. But instead of writing lunch orders, I was writing what was to become the biggest-budget Canadian film of that time... In lieu of money, I got an IBM Selectric II, a free trip to Paris, where some of the film was shot, and tons of experience screenwriter-wise. I learned how to sit in silence in a read-through, even when your dialogue was being massacred. I learned what it means when a director says no one cares what you think because “you’re only the writer.” And I learned that when Richard Harris wanted a line change there was no point arguing with him because he was going to change it on set anyway.

Harris' fee was $1 million. The film was shot in 1979 in Canada and Paris. It was part financed by

Carolco Pictures Carolco Pictures, Inc. was an American independent film studio that existed from 1976 to 1995, founded by Mario Kassar and Andrew G. Vajna. Kassar and Vajna ran Carolco together until 1989, when Vajna left to form Cinergi Pictures. Carolco h ...

. Harris recalled, "I saw the rough cut of the picture - it was 2 1/2 hours long... and it was magic. Sheer dynamite stuff. Well, the producers . . . they recut it, decided to take an hour out of it. It was a disaster."Richard's bad-boy days a memory: IN EditionRita Zekas Toronto Star. December 9, 1985: C1.

Cast

as Jason Ogilvy *

as Laura *

as Jim Daley * Jeanne Moreau as Lili Marlene *

Winston Rekert Winston Houghton Rekert (June 10, 1949 – September 14, 2012) was a Canadian actor. He was best known for starring in the television series '' Adderly'' and '' Neon Rider''. Career A Vancouver native, Rekert started acting at age 12, appearing ...

as Antonio Montoya * Alexandra Stewart as Clara *

Jan Rubes Jan, JaN or JAN may refer to: Acronyms * Jackson, Mississippi (Amtrak station), US, Amtrak station code JAN * Jackson-Evers International Airport, Mississippi, US, IATA code * Jabhat al-Nusra (JaN), a Syrian militant group * Japanese Article Numb ...

as Psychiatrist

References

External links

* 1981 films English-language Canadian films Films based on works by Romain Gary Canadian drama films Films directed by George Kaczender 1981 drama films 1980s English-language films 1980s Canadian films {{1980s-Canada-film-stub