Harry Saltzman
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Biography
Canadian-born producer who began in theater and TV in the 1940s and was working in the film industry by mid-decade. Aside from providing the unoriginal story for "The Iron Petticoat" (1956), a "Ninotchka" rip-off which starred the incredibly mismatched team of Bob Hope and Katharine Hepburn, Saltzman did little to receive screen credit, though he did cut his producer's teeth on TV with installments of "Robert Montgomery Presents" and "Captain Gallant of the Foreign Legion."
Saltzman made his name when he became one of the co-founders (with director Tony Richardson and playwright John Osborne) of Woodfall Film Productions, which created some of the cornerstone works of the memorable "Angry Young Man" school of British "kitchen sink" realism. "Look Back in Anger" (1959) was a good adaptation of John Osborne's landmark play featuring a blistering performance by Richard Burton. "Saturday Night and Sunday Morning" (1960), still recognized as one of the signature works of its era, was an even finer film, and brought Albert Finney to stardom. And many still feel that Laurence Olivier gave the performance of a lifetime in "The Entertainer" (1960).
If the "Angry Young Man" films made Saltzman's name, it was his partnership with Albert R. ("Cubby") Broccoli and their purchasing of the screen rights to Ian Fleming's James Bond spy novels that made his fortune. In 1962, the duo formed Eon Productions and brought the first Bond adventure, "Dr. No," to the screen. Although not the international box-office smash its sequels would become, it set a pattern for the handsome, lavishly produced, technically skilled, mildly risible and tongue-in-cheek romps which followed. Via companies such as Eon and the later Danjaq S.A., Saltzman and Broccoli boosted Sean Connery and later Roger Moore to silver screen stardom and cast the mold for the action blockbusters which would later dominate US cinema.
On his own Saltzman also produced another gimmicky but more ironic and dark view of the spying profession, "The Ipcress File" (1965), with Michael Caine as bespectacled agent Harry Palmer. Forming still another company, Lowndes Productions, without Broccoli, Saltzman oversaw two intriguing sequels, "Funeral in Berlin" (1966) and "Billion Dollar Brain" (1967). After "The Man with the Golden Gun" (1974), Saltzman and Broccoli ended their collaboration on the Bond flicks, and Saltzman sold his interest in Danjaq to United Artists. His subsequent output was modest, though he did produce the interesting misfire "Nijinsky" (1980), a biopic of the great dancer and his affair with mentor Sergei Diaghilev; a short-lived Broadway play, "A Little Family Business" (1982), and the fascinating Emir Kusturica art-house item, "Time of the Gypsies" (1988).
Filmography
Producer (Feature Film)
Production Companies (Feature Film)
Life Events
1945
Entered the film industry
1956
Provided story basis for the screenplay of the film, "The Iron Petticoat"
1958
Was one of the co-founders, along with director Tony Richardson and playwright/screenwriter John Osborne, of the production company, Woodfall Film Productions
1959
Produced first film, "Look Back in Anger"
1960
First screen credit as "executive producer", "Saturday Night and Sunday Morning"
1962
Formed Eon Productions with Albert R. "Cubby" Broccoli
1962
Produced (with Broccoli) the first of the James Bond films, "Dr. No"
1965
Produced (without Albert Broccoli) the first of three spy films featuring the character of Harry Palmer, "The Ipcress File"
1974
Produced last James Bond film, "The Man with the Golden Gun"; was also last producing collaboration with Albert Broccoli
1975
Sold interest in Danjaq to United Artists, which had distributed the James Bond films
1980
Produced first film in six years, "Nijinsky"
1980
Cut down his activities after suffering a stroke
1982
Produced the short-lived Broadway play, "A Little Family Business", starring Angela Lansbury and John McMartin
1988
Produced another film eight years later, his last, "Dom Za Vesanje/Time of the Gypsies", a British-Yugoslavian co-production
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