Bo Derek Movies
An aspiring model, 16-year-old Bo Derek was introduced to actor/director/cinematographer John Derek in 1971. Just as he'd done with previous "protegés" Ursula Andress and Linda Evans, Derek literally molded her into a highly desirable superstar. In 1974, the 48-year-old Derek capped his makeover by marrying the 18-year-old Bo. In her first film, the Jaws rip-off Orca, Bo showed up long enough to have her lovely leg chewed off by a killer whale. Her next film was far more rewarding: Blake Edwards' 10 (1979), in which, bouncing along the beach in slow motion to the pulsating rhythms of Ravel's Bolero, the scantily clad, cornrow-coifed Bo became the instant object of star Dudley Moore's affections. An overnight pinup favorite, Bo followed her 10 triumph with a brace of adventure films directed by her husband: Tarzan the Ape Man (1981) and Bolero (1984). After six years away from films, she returned before the cameras in another Derek/Derek co-production, the unsuccessful Ghosts Can't Do It (1990). Bo Derek has since occasionally appeared in such films as the Italian Sognando La California (1991) and the American Woman of Desire (1994). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Another big-budget monster movie from producer Dino de Laurentiis, Orca concerns the mutual revenge pact between an obsessive whaler (Richard Harris) and an angry killer whale, whose pregnant mate Harris killed. The whale strikes back by biting off Bo Derek's leg, so Harris and concerned biologist Charlotte Rampling follow it to frozen northern waters for the climactic showdown. Just in case you like Jaws better than Moby Dick, there's a killer shark thrown in for good measure. Ponderous, pretentious, and dull, this opportunistic disaster fittingly sank at the box office. ~ Robert Firsching, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Richard Harris, Charlotte Rampling, (more)
