May 20, 2009

"Inglourious Basterds" premiered at the Cannes Film Festival today, and here's part of one review that mentioned Rod's scene:

“There's a fab sequence involving the Brits with Michael Fassbender as a frightfully proper English officer (who in peace time was a film critic) who meets with Mike Myers as a top British general and Rod Taylor as Winston Churchill. They're frightfully upper class and Tarantino has a lot of laughs setting this scene up.”

-- from the Daily Mail, London

May 13, 2009

Empire Online is showing off some new pictures from "Inglourious Basterds," as the film gathers buzz at the Cannes Film Festival.

Of note to Rod Taylor fans is the figure in the background of this photo. Here's actor Michael Fassbender as British intel officer Archie Hicox... with Rod Taylor as Winston Churchill seated on the piano bench.

April 29, 2009

Sorry it's been so long! I bring news and some pictures after far too long of a hiatus filled with too many real-life distractions (some good, some not so much).

Anyway, Rod will be on the big screen at the Cannes Film Festival, as Quentin Tarantino's World War II movie, "Inglourious Basterds," is officially one of 20 films that will vie for the coveted Palme d'Or at the 62nd running of the event, May 13-24. (Los Angeles Times article) Rod has a cameo role as Winston Churchill in the film.

And because of Tarantino's love for "Dark of the Sun," and the gritty action genre it represents, here are some "new" photos from that movie:
 

The following two links feature Rod in action of another sort. Here are two pages scanned from a Teen Circle magazine, June 1966, featuring Rod's "Sporting Life":

Some sadder news -- Two people in Rod's personal and professional past have died recently:

Jan. 1, 2009

Happy New Year!

To celebrate, here are some new pictures in The Gallery:

Speaking of Young Cassidy .... Via Google, Life magazine has opened up a vast archive of its photographs. These include a lot of pictures from a photo shoot for the Feb. 12, 1965, issue of Life that featured a spread on "Young Cassidy." Click here for an array of Rod pictures -- most of which were not used in the magazine.

Nov. 11, 2008

I've added a page for "Inglourious Basterds," which includes details of Rod's scene, a cameo appearance as Winston Churchill. I can picture Rod chomping the cigar and chewing the scenery!

Nov. 6, 2008

Thanks to a heads-up from a fellow fan, here is news about a new Rod Taylor role in a first-rate production.

Rod will be appearing as Winston Churchill in a film to be released next summer called "Inglourious Basterds."

The film, by renowned Rod Taylor enthusiast and director Quentin Tarantino, is filming in Germany and stars Brad Pitt!

Here is a synopsis of the sure-to-be-gritty film from The Quentin Tarantino Archives: The film is set in Nazi-occupied France during World War II and centers around a group of Jewish-American soldiers known as "The Basterds" who are chosen specifically to spread fear throughout the Third Reich by scalping and brutally killing Nazis. The Basterds soon cross paths with a French-Jewish teenage girl who runs a movie theater in Paris which is targeted by the soldiers.

The site also says the movie "is partly a homage to ... "men on a mission" World War II movies like The Guns of Navarone, Where Eagles Dare, The Dirty Dozen and Five For Hell.

Tarantino has long been a fan of one of Rod's past "man on a mission" films -- Dark of the Sun. The Oscar-winning director has screened that film during his annual film festival in Austin, Texas.

IMDb link to "Inglourious Basterds" (not a typo!)

Stay tuned for more information; I'll be adding a page for this new production.

Nov. 2, 2008

A remake of "The Birds" has been brewing for a couple of years, and a new report says George Clooney may play Rod Taylor's original role as Mitch Brenner.

Even better, the report has a reaction from Rod!

Rod Taylor said that he was a little sceptical of a remake of the film, but all his fears ended when he came to know that Clooney is the favourite to take the lead role.

He said that the ‘Ocean’s Eleven’ actor might play lawyer Mitch Brenner in the remake of the classic horror film.

He also expressed his belief that Clooney would turn out to be the best man to do the job.

"I often cringe when I hear mention of remakes, but I’ll hold judgement, especially since I’ve been told Clooney’s the favourite,” Contactmusic quoted him as saying.

Previous casting news has Naomi Watts filling Tippi Hedren's role as Melanie. Both Naomi and George would be excellent casting choices, if they insist on making a remake!

Sept. 21, 2008

There's probably a snippet of Rod in a new documentary titled "Not Quite Hollywood: The Wild, Untold Story of Ozploitation!"

Rod Taylor is interviewed in the documentary, which celebrates Australian genre cinema of the 1970s and early 1980s. The widely praised film was released in Australian theaters Aug. 28, 2008, and also is making the rounds of film festivals worldwide. Read more about it >>

On the DVD front, "World Without End" will be released on disc Oct. 7, paired with another scifi flick from that era, Satellite in the Sky. Amazon.com listing >>

Sept. 20, 2008

Unfortunately, Rod was a no-show for "The Birds" screening last weekend in Los Angeles (see Sept. 3 update below).  A friend attended and, of course, was disappointed to find no Rod. However, he had a good time and reported the following about the venue and the scene:

The Edison is a story in itself. A refurbished Edison power station in downtown LA, it's not a theater at all but rather a beaux arts cocktail lounge.

 

The film was shown on multiple screens, and the packed house knew "The Birds" so well that we were all reciting lines from it before they were spoken - sort of like a midnight screening of "Rocky Horror Picture Show."

Sept. 3, 2008

Here's a chance to see Rod in person! Rod Taylor is a scheduled guest at a screening of "The Birds" on Sept. 14 at The Edison in downtown Los Angeles.

The event is part of the Jules Verne Festival's new screening series titled EXTRAORDINAIRE, which will pay tribute to iconic films, honor legendary people, recognize outstanding achievements and celebrate significant milestones.

"The Birds" -- marking its 45th anniversary -- will be the first in the EXTRAORDINAIRE series. "We will pay tribute to actress and conservationist Tippi Hedren and be joined by co-star Rod Taylor and Patricia Hitchcock, the master of suspense's daughter, among other special guest stars," a press release for the event stated.

The screening will be at The Edison, a "signature lounge" located in one of Los Angeles' first private power plants, 108 W. Second St. Los Angeles, CA 90012.
Phone: (213) 613-0000. Click for ticket information.

July 31, 2008

Rod Taylor roles have received some recognition in recent "best-of" lists around the Internet:

June 20, 2008

Another Rod Taylor movie has been released on DVD: "The Deadly Trackers" has been paired with "The Man in the Wilderness" in a DVD offering. Thanks go to good friend and fan Darryl for his persistence in trying to inform me about it.

Which brings me to another update... I had been using diane@fanfromfla.net as the e-mail address for this site. However, it was plagued by spam, so I really gave up using it. Unfortunately a few good e-mails got lost in the shuffle! My apologies to those users of this site who had sent me kind messages there and I missed them.

The best address to use will now be fanfromfla@yahoo.com, which I use constantly (and has a better spam filter!)

May 10, 2008

Turner Classic Movies' Web site offers fans a chance to voice their desire for particular DVD releases. Here's the page for "Dark of the Sun," with a VOTE feature in the right-hand column. I have not idea if this will have any effect whatsoever, but why not cast your vote and get this film out on DVD at last!

May 8, 2008

"The Virgin Queen" is out on DVD now, so at last I could capture a nice image of Rod to post on the page for that movie. As a bonus, also check out the video clip to see and hear Rod's scene, his striking costume and peculiar accent! Click here.

May 5, 2008

Sorry to all the friends of the Rod Taylor site for the downtime! There was a "clerical error," let's say. My Web service provider showed an expiry date of September 2008 and sent no notice that it really was April, apparently. Thanks go to Liz Ploger for alerting me to site being off-line. Rod's former fan club president is still looking out for him!

I had to renew my site hosting and re-upload the site. All should be good now, but if any part of the site is behaving in a wonky manner, please let me know at fanfromfla@yahoo.com.

March 22, 2008

More DVD news! A pair of releases from two ends of Rod's career:

  • Rod's very brief appearance in 1955's The Virgin Queen will be out on DVD on April 8. (Amazon.com link).

  • His first two guest-starring appearances on Walker, Texas Ranger are out on DVD, too.  Season 4, Disc 2 has "Redemption," and Season 4, Disc 7 has "Texas v. Cahill." (A bit of confusion arises here because the episode guide for the show has these episodes listed as being in Season 5, but on DVD, they are Season 4.)  (Amazon.com link)

March 2, 2008

Look for a two-disc platinum edition DVD release of 101 Dalmatians on March 4. The film has undergone restoration and there's a ton of extras, including some deleted scenes and songs. Let's hope some of those song feature the voice of Pongo!

January 14, 2008

The audiobook that Rod Taylor recorded in 2005 has been re-named "Rock Star Rising." The author, Paul Kyriazi, announced the change last month, saying that the title and cover is higher class and the actors' names are easier to read and Rod's name is larger on top of the title. The audiobook originally was titled "Hard Rock Lovers." The new title definitely reflects the story much better! Thanks and good luck to Mr. Kyriazi.

January 11, 2008

Happy 78th birthday to Rod Taylor!

September 15, 2007

Thanks to a reminder from a fan in Hawaii, I decided simply to scan the 1998 article from Hello! magazine (see May 17 entry below) rather than try to transcribe and highlight it. Frankly, the whole article is a highlight! Sorry it's taken so long. Click here for PDF.

September 5, 2007

Mark your Rod Taylor calendars: KAW will be released on DVD on Oct. 23. (Amazon.com listing). Thanks go to eagle-eyed Darryl in South Carolina who spotted the news on the release! :) 

May 17, 2007

This tour of Rod's home is brought to you courtesy of some recent eBay acquisitions: (1) A set of photos from the 1970s and (2) a Hello! magazine article from 1998.

This first batch of photos features Rod and wife Carol in various rooms of their Beverly Hills home (where Rod has lived since the early 1960s). The artwork on the walls, much of the wood carving and the painted window over the chess set were all done by Rod himself. 

Chess // Kitchen // Dining room // Billiards

This second batch of photos again features Rod and Carol, but a couple of decades later. 

Outside // Staircase // Kitchen table

I have sat at that kitchen table myself! Rod made it himself (as well as the pottery plates that hang above it). The carving on the table reads: "Chicken, mash, tatties and pease and goode wine our tummies to please."

I'll include more information from the Hello! magazine interview in my next update.

April 16, 2007

A site called Home Theater Forum archived a couple of live chat sessions with Warner Home Video representative, and the conversations reveal that at least "Dark of the Sun" is on the company's radar screen for DVD release. 

In a live chat Feb. 1, 2006, Warner reps were asked if there were any plans for a release of "Dark of the Sun." They replied, "Dark of the Sun is a likely choice, probably for 2007."

It doesn't sound as though much progress was made in the ensuing year, however. During a live chat on Feb. 26, 2007, Warner reps were asked about "Dark of the Sun" again, and merely replied, "We are discussing Dark of the Sun."

Someone posted in July 2006 at the IMDb message board for "Dark of the Sun" that Warner has the rights to the film and is working on cleaning the original negative for a DVD release. 

April 8, 2007

It was great seeing Rod in something new! "KAW" premiered on SciFi channel last night. I'll have some more commentary and maybe a video clip or two later on, but first...

Here are some screen captures from Rod's role in KAW:

At the first crime scene // Closeup

Playing doctor

Questioning // Birds-esque lineup

Rod's picture is on the wall! -- it's this one, from "The Glass Bottom Boat"

April 2, 2007

Let the countdown begin.... NEW Rod Taylor this weekend! 

According to various schedules, "KAW" airs on SciFi channel in the U.S. at  9 p.m. Saturday, April 7 and 1 a.m. on Sunday, April 8. It is scheduled to air again on Thursday, April 12 at 9 p.m. (All times are U.S. Eastern Time). 

(The 9 a.m. airing on Saturday apparently was a mistake in SciFi's schedule)

Read more about it >>

March 10, 2007

A pair of old books have brought some new tidbits about "Young Cassidy" and other Rod Taylor films to light.

A friend found "Magic Hour," Jack Cardiff's autobiography, in a London bookshop and kindly shared it with me. Cardiff directed Rod Taylor in three films -- "Young Cassidy," "The Liquidator," and "Dark of the Sun," and we're both disappointed to find that Cardiff doesn't write more at length about Rod.

But Cardiff certainly did consider Rod a friend and a top-rate actor. In "Magic Hour," here's how Cardiff describes getting the call to take over "Young Cassidy" after director John Ford had fallen ill:

I was urgently summoned to Ireland to take over the film -- a daunting task, not having even read the script, nor met the glittering cast, which included Rod Taylor, Julie Christie, Edith Evans, Michael Redgrave, Maggie Smith and Flora Robson. It turned out to be a most creatively satisfactory experience. It was a joy to work with such a fine cast and a great script. 

One "critic" who had praise for the "Young Cassidy" was Martin Scorsese -- he of the brand-new Academy Award for best director. Scorsese wrote in the foreword to Cardiff's 1996 autobiography: "Young Cassidy had a true sense of empathy for Sean O'Casey and offers us a view of one of the great Irish artists as well as a vivid depiction of the world in which he lived." 

Scorsese goes on to tout another Cardiff/Taylor collaboration: "Another startling film is the little-known and little-seen Dark of the Sun, which surprised me with its unexpected ferocity the first time I saw it back in 1968 in London's Leicester Square." (In a later writing, Scorsese listed "Dark of the Sun" among the movies he considers his "guilty pleasures.")

Another book, titled "The Unkindest Cuts," also mentions "Young Cassidy." The 1972 book was written by Doug McClelland, a former newspaper and magazine editor and author of 11 books. In "The Unkindest Cuts," McClelland chronicles scenes left on the cutting room floor. Unfortunately, he doesn't tackle what might have been left out of "Dark of the Sun," but he does have this to say about "Young Cassidy": 

Dame Flora Robson had her role as the poverty-stricken mother of the young Sean O'Casey ... slightly snipped. In this brawling, sentimental look at Irish life at the time of the Trouble, Miss Robson died half-way through and was seen in the bed only when her son (Rod Taylor) discovered her there, dead. There is a still showing her sitting up in bed, hardly ready for a jig but very much able to enjoy a kiss on the forehead from her doting son, a scene cut from the release print.

Here's that still photo to which he refers and included in his book:

Elsewhere in his book, McClelland hails Rod Taylor -- overall and in relation to his part in "36 Hours":

Rod Taylor -- who has just the right manly charm, personality and twinkle in a romantic clinch, the only actor yet developed by Hollywood who could possibly inherit the Gable crown -- was the Americanized German doctor in charge of the bogus U.S. hospital in which [James] Garner awoke and Eva Marie Saint, with a German accent that came and went (mostly went), was the concentration camp refugee forced to feign marriage to the American. Only Taylor gave a performance, though (both Garner and Saint were completely without the Errol Flynn flair needed to carry off this hokum).

One final "Young Cassidy" mention -- I made a video clip of my favorite scene from the movie (possibly from ALL of Rod's movies!). Click here for a minute-long Windows Media Player clip of Rod singing lovingly to Maggie Smith.

Feb. 9, 2007

"Do Not Disturb" -- which never was officially released on VHS -- debuted on DVD on Jan. 30. The disc doesn't have many Rod-related "extras" among its special features. The only bonus materials that feature Rod are some stills in the DVD's photo galleries. Here are the best of them:

Behind the scenes: 
In his pajamas // With Doris between scenes // A merry pair

Portraits:
Serious in a suit // Handsome in green velour // Dashing in red cardigan

Rod in the garden // Rod in the reeds

 

Site update highlights from 2005-06

Aug. 11, 2006

A couple of weeks ago, I was thrilled to find that Rod Taylor was included in a book published in 2005 called "Australian Legends," by Richard Simpkin. The "author" had started out by photographing legendary Australians for a photo exhibition, and the project turned into a book. 

I found the photo he took of Rod (click here and scroll down) and was charmed by Simpkin's account of meeting him. I managed to get a copy of the book and was excited when it arrived in the mail today.

I am now somewhere between flattered and outraged. Let me just say, if you want to read Simpkin's piece about Rod Taylor, save your money and just visit the biography pages of this Web site. 

The book does have a nice full-page version of Simpkin's photograph of Rod. But the page of biography that accompanies it is merely a summary (some of it word-for-word) from this Web site. The quotes from Rod are not from interviews he conducted, but from the items included here. And, unlike the book, my source materials are fully attributed and referenced. 

Nov. 21, 2005

A kind reader of this Web site sent along a glimpse of Rod at 16 (at right), when he was a member of the Lidcombe Congregational Gymnasium Club. 

Click here for the group photo, which was taken in 1946. The club was divided into three groups - Juniors under 12 years old, Intermediates from 12 years to 15 years old, and Seniors 16 years and over. The club, in a suburb of Sydney, Australia, was run by Les Wilson and folded about two years after this photo was taken, when Mr. Wilson suffered a fatal heart attack.

Oct. 10, 2005

During a vacation in California last week, I finally had the good fortune to meet Our Hero!

On Oct. 5, Rod graciously invited my husband and I to his house and then out for a wonderful lunch. It was a private visit, so I'll simply pass along that Rod was as charming and full of good humor as you can imagine. He appreciates his true fans and is glad to know people have enjoyed his work. 

August 27, 2005

Here's some info about Rod Taylor that cropped up in a recent batch of newspaper clippings: Rod had hip-replacement surgery in 1997, according to an article from the "Globe." The article says Rod's hip had been bothering him for some time, but the pain became unbearable after he was in Australia working on "Welcome to Woop Woop."

"I finally busted out my hip after years of stupidity and punishment, but now I've got a new one," Rod was quoted as saying. After he got back on his feet, Rod went to work on an episode of "Walker, Texas Ranger." 

"He did so well on his first guest appearance that they want him back soon," Rod's spokesman, Tom Korman, said at the time. 

May 26, 2005

The June 2005 issue of the British GQ magazine just arrived (thanks, eBay)! It has a package about "Old Hollywood" male movie stars that includes two photos of Rod:

There's a full-page b/w picture of Rod and 
one of him with Robert Wagner and Tab Hunter. 

The idea behind the 18-page photo feature (by photographer Peter Lindbergh) is to capture the "style, grace and gravitas of Hollywood itself." Other subjects include Kirk Douglas, Tony Curtis, Christopher Lee, Omar Sharif and Mickey Rooney. 

The brief article that accompanies the photos indicates that Rod's photos were taken on the lot at Universal Studios in Los Angeles.