Death of a Soldier
Death of a Soldier is a 1986 Australian film based on the life of American serial killer Eddie Leonski. The film was shot using locations around Melbourne, Victoria.
Death of a Soldier | |
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VHS cover | |
Directed by | Philippe Mora |
Produced by | David Hannay William L. Nagle |
Written by | William L. Nagle |
Starring | James Coburn Bill Hunter Reb Brown Maurie Fields |
Music by | Allan Zavod |
Cinematography | Louis Irving |
Edited by | John Scott |
Release date |
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Running time | 93 minutes |
Country | Australia |
Language | English |
Budget | $4 million[1] |
The film is directed by Philippe Mora and stars James Coburn, Bill Hunter and Reb Brown.
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 was originally meant to direct but then Philippe Mora 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.[1]
At one stage it was announced that the movie would be called Leonski and be shot in August 1981 with Don Lane as a US Army major.[2]
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, which put a black ban on the film. This meant it was a year before the film was released in Australia.[1]
Cast
- James Coburn as Maj. Patrick Dannenberg
- Bill Hunter as Det. Sgt. Adams
- Reb Brown as Pvt. Edward J. Leonski
- Maurie Fields as Det. Sgt. Martin
- Max Fairchild as Maj. William Fricks
- Belinda Davey as Margot Saunders
- Randall Berger as Pvt. Anthony Gallo
- Michael Pate as Maj. Gen. Sutherland
- Jon Sidney as Gen. Douglas MacArthur
- Terence Donovan as John Curtin
See also
References
- David Stratton, The Avocado Plantation: Boom and Bust in the Australian Film Industry, Pan MacMillan, 1990 p45-47
- "Lane Into Film", Cinema Papers, May–June 1981 p148
External links
- Death of a Soldier on IMDb
- 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