TCM REMEMBERS J. LEE THOMPSON, 1914 - 2002
Oscar-nominated director J. Lee Thompson died August 30th at the age of 88. Though he worked in several genres, Thompson was best-known for his action films. Thompson was born in Bristol England on August 1, 1914. After graduating from college he became a playwright and it was the appearance of one of his plays on London's famous West End that got him noticed by the British film studio, Elstree. His first filmed script was The Pride of Folly in 1937 and others appeared sporadically until his career was side-tracked during the war when Thompson served in the RAF as a B-29 tail gunner. (He also reportedly worked as a dialogue coach on Hitchcock's Jamaica Inn, 1939.) Thompson's directorial debut came in 1950 when he adapted his own play Double Error to the screen as Murder Without Crime. Throughout the decade he directed a variety of dramas and comedies until hitting it big in 1958 with Ice Cold in Alex (released in the US minus 50 minutes under the title Desert Attack). It was nominated for three BAFTAs and was enough of a commercial success that Thompson landed the film that made his career: The Guns of Navarone (1961). This enormous international hit snagged Thompson an Oscar nomination for Best Director. He immediately followed that with the original Cape Fear (1962) and his reputation was set. Though Thompson remained active almost three more decades he didn't reach that level again. He worked on Westerns (Mackenna's Gold, 1969), horror films (Eye of the Devil, 1967), literary adaptations (Huckleberry Finn, 1974) and others. During this time, Thompson directed two Planet of the Apes sequels but was kept most busy working with Charles Bronson, for whom he directed nine films. Thompson's last film was in 1989.
KATRIN CARTLIDGE, 1961 - 2002
The news of actress Katrin Cartlidge's death at the age of 41 has come as a shock. It's not just the age but the thought that even though Cartlidge was already a major actress--despite a slender filmography--she held out the promise of even greater work, a promise that so few artists of any type can make. "Fearless" is perhaps the word most often used to describe Cartlidge but emotions are never enough for an actor; much more is required. Director Mike Leigh said she had "the objective eye of an artist" while remarking on her "her deep-seated suspicion of all forms of woolly thinking and received ideas."
Cartlidge was born in London on May 15, 1961. Her first acting work was on the stage, in tiny independent theatres before she was selected by Peter Gill for the National Theatre. Cartlidge also worked as a dresser at the Royal Court where she later made one of her final stage appearances. She began appearing in the popular British TV series Brookside before making her first film in 1985, Sacred Hearts. A small role in the Robbie Coltrane-Rik Mayall vehicle Eat the Rich (1987) followed before Cartlidge had her first leading role in Mike Leigh's scathing Naked (1993).
Cartlidge never took a safe approach in her films. She told The Guardian that "I try to work with film-makers who I feel will produce something original, revealing and provoking. If something provokes a reaction, it's well worth doing." You can see this in her choice of projects. Before the Rain (1994) dramatized violence in Macedonia in the wake of the Yugoslavian break-up and made Cartlidge something of a star in the area. She appeared in Lars Von Trier's controversial look at redemption, Breaking the Waves (1996), Leigh's sharply detailed story of aging friends Career Girls (1997), as one of Jack the Ripper's victims in From Hell (2001), as a call girl trying to leave the business in Clair Dolan (1998) and in the Oscar-winning film about Bosnia-Herzegovina, No Man's Land (2001). Her last work included a BBC adaptation of Crime and Punishment (2002), playing Salvador Dali's wife Gala in the BBC comedy-drama Surrealissimo (2002) and an appearance in Rosanna Arquette's directorial debut, Searching for Debra Winger (also 2002), a documentary about women in the film industry.
Cartlidge died September 7th from septicaemia brought on by pneumonia.
TCM REMEMBERS LEO MCKERN, 1920-2002
The recent death of Leo McKern, 82, marked the passing of one of Britain's finest and most respected character actors. He was suffering from ill health in recent years and was moved to a nursing home a few weeks before his death on July 23 2002 in Bath, England. An actor of commanding presence with a deep-throated voice, the portly, bulbous-nosed McKern had a long, distinguished career spanning more than half a century, earning numerous plaudits along the way in all major mediums: theatre, film and television.
Born Reginald McKern on March 16, 1920 in Sydney, Australia; he served with the Australian Army during World War II and worked in regional theatre in his native Sydney before immigrating to England in 1946. It was a slow start, but after a three-year apprenticeship of painting scenery, stage-managing and acting, McKern eventually joined the celebrated Old Vic theatrical company in 1949 and proved one of the more versatile actors in the troupe tackling diverse roles in comedy, the classics and serious contemporary parts.
His film debut came in Murder in the Cathedral (1952) but it took a few years before he made his mark in cinema. Some of his best film work included roles as Peter Sellers' comic henchman in the classic satire The Mouse That Roared (1959); a bungling train robber in the charming Disney film The Horse Without a Head (1963); a nefarious professor who kills off his colleagues for amusement in the brilliant black comedy A Jolly Bad Fellow (1964); Clang, a cartoonish villain in the Beatles' pop film Help! (1965); Cromwell, the persecutor of Sir Thomas More in A Man for All Seasons (1966) and as Thomas Ryan in the David Lean drama, Ryan's Daughter (1970).
Yet despite all the accolades McKern earned in theatre and films, it was television where he foundinternational fame as the wily, irascible barrister Horace P. Rumpole in John Mortimer's Rumpole of the Bailey in 1975. Infusing the character with beguiling skill and energy, McKern made the acerbic, wine swilling, Tennyson-quoting Rumpole a much loved figure that was adored by critics, audiences and even its creator Mortimer. Perhaps Mortimer offered the most fitting tribute when he once referred to McKern - "His acting exists where I always hope my writing will be: about two feet above the ground, a little larger than life, but always taking off from reality." Enough said.
By Michael T. Toole
King Solomon's Mines
Brief Synopsis
Cast & Crew
Carlos Gil
Richard Chamberlain
Sharon Stone
Herbert Lom
John Rhys-davies
Isaac Mabhikwa
Film Details
Technical Specs
Synopsis
African adventurer Allen Quartermain teams up with a damsel-in-distress and the two embark on a series of pitfalls and dangerous situations on their quest to find the lost treasure of King Solomon.
Cast
![](https://prod-images.tcm.com/Master-Profile-Images/RichardChamberlain.31731.jpg?imwidth=188&height=141)
Richard Chamberlain
Sharon Stone
![](https://prod-images.tcm.com/Master-Profile-Images/HerbertLom.jpg?imwidth=188&height=141)
Herbert Lom
John Rhys-davies
Isaac Mabhikwa
Shai K Ophir
Vincent Van Der Byl
Oliver Tengende
Che A Fidelis
Bob Greer
Mick Lesley
June Buthelezi
Ken Gampu
Brian Kagure
Anna Ditano
Calvin Johns
Sam Williams
Andrew Whaley
Innocent Choga
Neville Thomas
Rocky Green
Isiah Murert
Bishop Mcthuzen
Stanley Norris
Crew
Keith Anderson
Michele Atkins
Avraham Avrahami
Karmen Babnik
Tony Baggott
Ariem Ben-ishai
Barbara Bergman
Sarah Bergman
Peter Best
Andy Bradford
Tony Bristow
Viv Bristow
Jacob Buchman
Leonardo Coen Cagli
Vincenzo Cardella
Angel Castignani
Steve Chigorimbo
Betty Church
Walter Cossu
Keith Crossley
Peter Diamond
Cesar Diez Alava
Mike Elcombe
Richard Fettes
Paul Fisher
Linette Frewin
Miguel Gil
Nello Giorgetti
Yoram Globus
Menahem Golan
Jerry Goldsmith
Batia Grafka
Rob Green
H Rider Haggard
Kenneth Hall
Yoni Hamenachem
Graham Harris
Liz James
Avi Karpik
Hans Khule
Rory Kilalea
Clive Lawrie
Benito Leonardi
Avi Lerner
Scully Levine
Susan Lichtman
Avraham Liebman
Alf Makonda
Beverley Mannin
Isaac Mavimbela
Naomi Mayberg
Arthur Morton
Ian Mulder
Bob Mullins
Germano Natali
Yohanan Nativ
Allan Oberholzer
Benny Offer
Avner Pelled
Alex Phillips
Mike Phillips
Cianna Pissanello
Joe Pollini
Graham Press
Tony Pueo
Gene Quintano
Brian Rayner
Larry Richardson
Reo Ruiters
David Saranga
Franco Scarano
Phillip Shapiro
John Shirley
James R Silke
Robyn Smith
Luciano Spadoni
John Stodel
Cedric Sundstrom
Neal Sundstrom
Wynton Tavill
Abe Thembe
Bryan Tilling
Fabio Traversari
Fred Unger
David Varod
Vivalda Vigorelli
Antoinette Wilkinson
Rony Yacov
Eli Yarconi
Yossi Yarconi
Dave Dunn Yarker
Gino Zampriolo
Film Details
Technical Specs
Articles
TCM Remembers - J. Lee Thompson
![Tcm Remembers - J. Lee Thompson](https://prod-images.tcm.com/img/film-participant-detail/Featured-Artilce_Placeholder.png)
TCM Remembers - J. Lee Thompson
Quotes
Trivia
Miscellaneous Notes
Released in United States Fall November 22, 1985
Third film adaptation of H Rider Haggard's novel. The first was in 1937, starring Paul Robeson and directed by Robert Stevenson. The second was made in 1950, starring Stewart Granger and Deborah Kerr and directed by Compton Bennett and Andrew Morton.
Began production January 6, 1985.
Released in United States Fall November 22, 1985