Ghost in the Noonday Sun
| Ghost in the Noonday Sun | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Directed by | Peter Medak |
| Produced by |
Thomas Clyde Gareth Wigan |
| Written by |
Evan Jones Spike Milligan |
| Starring |
Peter Sellers Spike Milligan |
| Music by | Denis King |
| Cinematography |
Michael Reed Larry Pizer |
| Edited by | Ray Lovejoy |
| Distributed by |
Tyburn Entertainment (UK) Columbia Pictures (USA) |
Release dates | 1973 |
Running time | 93 minutes |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
Ghost in the Noonday Sun is a 1973 British comedy film, directed by Peter Medak, starring Peter Sellers, Anthony Franciosa and Spike Milligan. The script was written by Evan Jones and Ernest Tidyman (uncredited) with additional dialogue attributed to Spike Milligan. It was produced by Thomas Clyde & Gareth Wigan with cinematography by Michael Reed & Larry Pizer. The title and some of the plot details are based on the book of the same title by Newbery Medal-winning children's author Sid Fleischman.
Plot
Bumbling pirate crewman (Sellers) kills his captain after learning where he has hidden buried treasure. However, as he begins to lose his memory, he relies more and more on the ghost of the man he's murdered to help him find the treasure.
Cast
Sellers' onetime Goon Show colleague Spike Milligan, appears halfway through the film.
- Peter Sellers as Dick Scratcher
- Anthony Franciosa as Pierre Rodriguez
- Spike Milligan as Bill Bombay
- Clive Revill as Bay of Algiers
- Peter Boyle as Ras Mohammed
- Richard Willis as Jeremiah
- James Villiers as Parsely-Frack
- Rosemary Leach as Kate
- Thomas Baptiste as Abdullah
- Murray Melvin as Hamldon
- Bill Kerr as Giacomo
Production
Shortly after filming began, Peter Sellers began to lose confidence in the project and when Spike Milligan arrived on location to shoot his scenes, Sellers asked him to assess the footage that had been shot thus far. Milligan was unimpressed, which led to Sellers trying to convince Peter Medak to assist him in a scheme to get the production shut down. Medak refused to comply. Sellers subsequently became deliberately uncooperative and would often pretend to be sick, only to be later spotted water-skiing the same day. Sellers caused further upset by agreeing to shoot a cigarette commercial during one of the few off-days in the filming schedule, drafting in an unwilling Peter Medak to direct it, and then on the day refusing to be filmed holding the cigarette packet because he claimed to be the chairman of the Anti-Smoking League.[1]
Released several years after filming was wrapped and after Sellers' death (1980) in the 1980s, the film was semi-completed and released on VHS. The film never received a full cinematic release.
External links
- Ghost in the Noonday Sun at the Internet Movie Database
- The Ghost of Peter Sellers at the Internet Movie Database
References
- ↑ Farnes, Norma (2004). Chapter 11 of Spike: An Intimate Memoir, Harper Perennial, London. ISBN 1841157872