Where's Jack?
Directed byJames Clavell
Written byRafe Newhouse
David Newhouse
Produced byStanley Baker
James Clavell
StarringStanley Baker
Tommy Steele
CinematographyJohn Wilcox
Edited byPeter Thornton
Music byElmer Bernstein
Production
company
Distributed byParamount British Pictures
Release date
1 April 1969
Running time
120 minutes
CountryUnited Kingdom
LanguageEnglish
Budget$3 million[1]

Where's Jack? is a 1969 British adventure film recounting the exploits of notorious 18th-century criminal Jack Sheppard and London "Thief-Taker General" Jonathan Wild.

The film was produced by Stanley Baker through his company Oakhurst Productions, and starred Baker himself as Jonathan Wild. Tommy Steele played Jack Sheppard. The film was directed by novelist James Clavell. Mary Hopkin 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

Production

Financing was provided by Paramount. According to producer Michael Deeley, this was obtained after a pitch made by Martin Baum, Stanley Baker's agent, to Charles Bludhorn, owner of Paramount. Baum described the film as being written by the writers of Point Blank (1967), produced by the maker of Zulu (1963) and directed by the man who made To Sir, with Love (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.[2]

Peter Bart, 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 and that Bart arranged for it to be financed without telling Bludhorn; Italian Job would go on to be a far more successful film.[3]

Peter Yates said at the time that Stanley Baker was "rescuing" Tommy Steele from Hollywood musicals "to do some acting again".[4] The film was announced in February 1968.[5]

Filming took place in Ireland in June 1968. It finished by September.[6]

Reception

Where's Jack? turned out to be a box office flop.[2] The film was not even released in the US after performing poorly in Europe.[1]

The Los Angeles Times wrote that it was "astonishingly similar, markedly better" to another film about a highwayman that came out around the same time, Sinful Davey.[7]

References

  1. 1 2 Gelmis, Joseph, "Hollywood Skeletons Haunt Studio Vaults", Los Angeles Times, November 21, 1971: i11.
  2. 1 2 Deeley, Michael, Blade Runners, Deer Hunters and Blowing the Bloody Doors Off: My Life in Cult Movies, Pegasus Books, 2009, pp. 43-44
  3. ↑ Bart, Peter (2011). Infamous players: a tale of movies, the mob (and sex). Weinstein Books. p. 46-47.
  4. ↑ Lesner, Sam, "British Director to Film U.S. Dilemma", Los Angeles Times February 9, 1968: c14.
  5. ↑ Weiler, A.H., "They Only Die Twice", The New York Times, February 25, 1968: D17
  6. ↑ Martin, Betty, "Liza Minnelli Signs Pact", Los Angeles Times, June 4, 1968: f15.
  7. ↑ Champlin, Charles, "'Sinful Davey' Opens Run at Royal Theater", Los Angeles Times, May 29, 1969: d1.
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