MILESAGO - Television
AND MILLLIONS WILL DIE
|
DATE: 1973
EXEC. PRODUCER:
Charles B. Walnizer
CAST: |
Notes |
An unsuccessful US-financed TV pilot for a proposed crime thriller series with environmental angle. The film’s plot centred on Nazi war criminal Franz Kessler, an expert in germ warfare, now living in Hong Kong. In order to maintain his lavish lifestyle he strikes a deal to provide a terrorist group with a lethal gas, but to protect himself, Kessler plants a time bomb in a Hong Kong sewer along with a large cache of poison gas. When things don't go to plan, the authorities call in "E-Force", a special unit which deals with in environmental disasters, to locate the bomb disarm it before. The villain Kessler was played by Viennese-born actor Joseph Furst, who was a regular
on Australian TV and film, as well as featuring in many notable UK and
US film and TV productions. The three imported stars, while not A-list,
were all major names. Richard Basehart was very well known in Australia
for the role of Admiral Nelson in the Irwin Allen sci-fi series Voyage
To The Bottom Of The Sea. Susan Strasberg (who died in
1999) was the daughter of legendary 'method' acting teacher Lee Strasberg; besides
her considerable film and stage work she was a familiar face on TV and
made many guest and starring appearance on famous American series. Leslie
Nielsen kicked off his career starring in the sci-fi classic Forbidden
Planet in the 50s, followed
by regular film and TV work. Just prior to this telemovie he had another
major success starring as the captain in the hit 1972 disaster film The Poseidon Adventure.
At the time Nielsen was still primarily known for serious roles and it
was not until some years later that he switched to the broad comedy of
films like Flying
High (aka Airplane) and the
famous parody films in the Naked
Gun series and the associated Police Squad TV show
that
have made him an internationally famous comedy star. The film’s makeup artist
Pat Hutchence (Patricia Glassop) is the
mother of the late Michael Hutchence, former lead singer of INXS. |
References/Links |
Albert Moran Moran's Guide to Australian TV Series (AFTRS, 1993) Tony Harrison |
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