Rod Taylor Movies
Just as British-born James Stewart found it necessary to change his name to Stewart Granger upon embarking on an acting career, so too was Australian Robert Taylor compelled to choose another cognomen upon entering show business. He tried Rodney Taylor at first, then shortened it to the more "macho" Rod Taylor. A trained painter, Taylor switched to acting in his early twenties, toting up Australian stage credits before making his first Aussie film, The Stuart Exposition, in 1951. A villainous stint as Israel Hand in the 1954 Australian/U.S. production Long John Silver gave evidence that Taylor might be able to handle leading roles. However, he was still among the supporting ranks in his first American film, The Virgin Queen (1955). Signed to a nonexclusive contract by MGM in 1957, Taylor was cast in predominantly American roles, and accordingly managed to submerge his Australian accent in favor of a neutral "mid-Atlantic" cadence; even when playing an Englishman in 1960's The Time Machine, he spoke with barely a trace of a discernable accent. His film career peaked in the early to mid 1960s; during the same period he starred in the TV series Hong Kong (1961), the first of several weekly television stints (other series included Bearcats, The Oregon Trail, Masquerade and Outlaws). He was so long associated with Hollywood that, upon returning to Australia to appear in the 1977 film The Picture Show Man, Taylor was cast as an American. Gaining a bit of avoirdupois in recent years, Rod Taylor has retained his rugged, robust features and has thrived in character roles as ageing, but still virile, outdoorsmen. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide- 1979
Four disparate scuba divers go to the Caribbean in search of lost treasure. ~ Kristie Hassen, All Movie Guide
- 1977
This easygoing drama offers a look back at the early days of the Australian movie business, and it was based on the real-life adventures of pioneering Aussie exhibitor Lyle Penn. Maurice "Pop" Pym (John Meillon) loves motion pictures, and he wants to open a cinema of his own. But shortly after the turn of the century, financial support for such a venture is hard to come by, so Pop does the next best thing; with his young son and a piano player in tow, Pop carts his collection of silent films and a portable projection system from one small town to another across the continent, showing his pictures wherever and whenever he can. However, Pop quickly learns that he already has a rival; Mr. Palmer (Rod Taylor) has decided to go into the movie business as well, and with deeper pockets, he's able to afford better equipment than Pop's shoestring budget can provide. Ironically, Rod Taylor plays a character who was born in Texas but emigrated to Australia; Taylor was in fact born in Australia and became a film star when he moved to the U.S. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Rod Taylor, John Meillon, (more)
- 1976
Rod Taylor stars in this feature-length pilot film for the unsold TV series Shamus. The star is cast as Shamus McCoy, who befitting his name, makes his living as a private detective. While investigating the bomb killing over another gumshoe, McCoy picks up a trail of evidence leading to a major gambling operation. Anita Gillette played the "wife" in question, one Helen Baker. A Matter of Wife...and Death first aired April 10, 1976 on NBC -- an event unheralded by TV Guide, which mistakenly listed a telecast of the theatrical feature The Ballad of Cable Hogue on that same evening. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Rod Taylor, Joe Santos, (more)
- 1975
This French film has nothing to do with Chick Young's cartoon series about the Bumstead family; neither does it relate to the 1980's pop group Blondie. In this political drama, Rod Taylor appears as a United Nations official, active in the effort to ban chemical weapons and to promote the use of nuclear power. He makes speeches around the world on these topics, which are met with protests and demonstrations. He also has a waif-spouse, whom he neglects, and a mistress. His wife has a sadomasochistic affair with a young man while he is away. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Catherine Jourdan, Bibi Andersson, (more)
- 1975
This western chronicles the travails of a pioneer family as they travel west in search of a new life. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1974
Though Rod Taylor chooses to leave Germicide off his official resume, the film isn't really that bad. Taylor plays a dedicated scientist who learns that a bacterial weapon is at the ready to wipe out most of mankind. He tries to warn the authorities, but is thwarted at every turn by terrorists and extortionists. Even his mistress Bibi Andersson (how did she get involved in all this?) turns against him. Andromeda Strain it isn't, but Germicide does provide a few good scares and gasps. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1974
Featured performances by American performers Adam West (best known in the U.S. as television's "Batman") and Rod Taylor distinguish this Yugoslavian action film about partisans. Anna is a Jewish girl who hopes to rescue her grandfather from the concentration camps. She encounters an Austrian soldier (West) whom she knew before the war. He wants to help her, but she will not allow it, knowing the danger involved. During their meeting the partisans attack, and she helps her friend escape then opts for joining the partisans rather than hiding out with the other Jews in her area. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
The action never stops in this western, which has a surprise ending. Ann-Margret stars as Mrs. Lowe, a widow who wishes to recover some gold stolen by her husband and hidden away. She says she wants to return it to the bank it was stolen from and clear her family name. In order to do this, she persuades Lane (John Wayne) to ride into Mexico with her and recover the loot. Once they cross the border, they discover two very different pursuers: a large group of bandidos, and a lone horseman who seems to know their every move (Ricardo Montalban). ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Wayne, Ann-Margret, (more)
- 1973
- PG
This film is based on the 1931 film, Trader Horn. In the earlier picture, explorers (including Trader Horn) who stumbled on a hostile tribe of Africans have their lives saved by a white girl whom the tribe members regard as a goddess. They discover that she is the daughter of some missing missionaries and take her back to Europe with them. In this film, Trader Horn (Rod Taylor) works to thwart the efforts of Germans to use slave laborers in Africa to mine platinum for the war effort (WWI). ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- 1973
- PG
Based on filmmaker Samuel Fuller's short-story "Riata," this extremely bloody, excessively violent and long-running western centers on a vengeful sheriff's search for the murderous bank robbers who slaughtered his family. Originally Fuller was the director for the film, but severe artistic differences between himself and the film's star Richard Harris forced the studio execs to put in a new director, Barry Shear. They also dumped the million dollars worth of footage Fuller shot and started from scratch. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1972
The family in "flight" is played by Rod Taylor, Dina Merrill and Kristoffer Tabori. While taking an airborne vacation to Mexico, the family crash-lands somewhere in the Baja peninsula. Having taken the vacation as a means to patch up a variety of differences, the family is forced to pull together to survive. At times, however, it looks like no one will return to tell the tale. Made for television, Family Flight debuted October 25, 1972. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1972
- PG
A group attempts to embezzle and hide a fortune of 2,000,000 pounds while outwitting the British Intelligence during World War II in this action movie. ~ All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Claude Brasseur, Rod Steiger, (more)
- 1970
- R
John D. McDonald was not altogether pleased with what Hollywood did to his novel Darker Than Amber, but audiences were generally satisfied. Private eye Travis McGee (Rod Taylor) and his cohort Meyer (Theodore Bikel) rescue the beautiful Vangie (Suzy Kendall) from drowning. Vangie has been targetted for death by a couple of disreputable types who, as it turns out, were her former partners in crime. When Vangie is murdered, McGee hires a lookalike (also played by Suzy Kendall) to corner the killers. As is usually the case in the ouevre of John D. McDonald, nothing is quite what it appears to be on surface. Jane Russell, reemerging from one of her period retirements, is fun to watch as "Alabama Tiger". Current prints of the R-rated Darker Than Amber have been modified to qualify for a "PG." ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Rod Taylor, Suzy Kendall, (more)
- 1970
- R
Zabriskie Point, director Michelangelo Antonioni's only American film, is an unusual, visually stunning examination of youthful rebellion against the Establishment. The film, initially presented in quasi-documentary style, presents a group of college activists discussing key issues of their political agenda. Mark (Mark Frechette) steals an airplane and flies over a desert where he meets Daria (Daria Halprin). She is the pot-smoking secretary to businessman Lee Allen (Rod Taylor), while he is a rebel searching for a worthy cause. In the midst of the arid surroundings, Mark and Daria fall in love. Antonioni's nonrealistic approach to American counterculture myths, his loose and sluggish narrative, and the dialogue (credited to Fred Gardner, Sam Shepard, Tonino Guerra, Clare Peploe, and Antonioni) caused Zabriskie Point to be poorly received when it was first released. The score features songs from Pink Floyd, The Grateful Dead, Kaleidoscope, The Rolling Stones, John Fahey, The Youngbloods and Patti Page. ~ Linda Rasmussen, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Mark Frechette, Daria Halprin, (more)
- 1970
- R
Peter Reaney (Rod Taylor) is the successful talent agent who enjoys the things that money can buy. He also considers himself a parasite, living off the talents of his clients. When his wife Angela (Penelope Horner) walks out on him, he moves in with his friend Val (James Booth) and his wife Jody (Carol White). He and Jody engage in an adulterous affair, but Peter's main worry is doing damage control for the spoiled pop singer Barry Black (Clive Francis). Peter pays off a woman impregnated by Black in order for her to afford an abortion and keep the star's name out of the scandal sheets. Sickened by Black's behavior, he quits the agency and punches out the pop star at a personal appearance. When his friend Val dies, the hard-drinking former agent is free to pursue his romance with Jody in this seriocomic satire. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Rod Taylor, Carol White, (more)
- 1968
Two former World War II pilots take to running an air-freight company in South Africa after the war. They get mixed up with Lee Harris (Harry Guardino), the dangerous black-market crime boss who flaunts his beautiful mistress Elana (Claudia Cardinale). Brynie (Rod Taylor) and Mike (Peter Deuel) are the former ace flyboys who get on the wrong side of Harris and his henchmen. The action starts at Al Poland's (William Marshall), a favorite watering hole where everyone has one ear on the live music as the other listens to the next sordid smuggling plan hatched by shadowy underworld types. Harris and his gun-wielding thugs mean to bring down the high-flying operation. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Rod Taylor, Claudia Cardinale, (more)
A police investigator is forced to rely on the man he's been instructed to apprehend in this cold war thriller. Sir James Quentin (Christopher Plummer) is a high level negotiator with the British government who is approached by Scobie Malone (Rod Taylor), an Australian detective who has been instructed to arrest Quentin in connection with the murder of his first wife 25 years earlier. Quentin calmly asks Malone if he could wait until he completes his work at a diplomatic conference, and Malone agrees; Quentin even allows Malone to stay at his home with his second wife Shelia (Lilli Palmer). Malone's assignment soon proves to be more complicated (and dangerous) than he expected when he has to save Quentin from an assassination attempt. Quentin must protect a fellow diplomat also targeted by gunmen, and Malone learns that Shelia has a deadly secret. The High Commissioner was also released under the title Nobody Runs Forever. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Rod Taylor, Christopher Plummer, (more)
- 1968
Curry (Rod Taylor) is a veteran soldier-of-fortune hired by the president of the Congo for a three day mission. He and native Congoan Ruffo (Jim Brown) are to oversee the safe passage of a train through hostile enemy territory and bring back some uncut diamonds and a human cargo of fugitives loyal to the Congo cause. The two employ the drunken Doctor Wreid (Kenneth More) and a suspicious ex-Nazi named Henlein (Peter Carsten). The quartet, along with 40 of the Congo's best soldiers, try to maneuver the train against the rebel forces and save the beautiful missionary Claire (Yvette Mimieux) at no extra charge. The action takes place in the wake of the political unrest that swept the Congo in the 1950s. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Rod Taylor, Yvette Mimieux, (more)
- 1967
The posh St. Gregory Hotel in New Orleans is the setting for this drama based on a popular novel by Arthur Hailey. Trent (Melvyn Douglas) is the long-time owner who realizes that the hotel is in dire financial straits. Trent calls on faithful manager Peter McDermott (Rod Taylor) to try and bring about the necessary reversal of fortune so that they can stay in business. After the Duke (Michael Rennie) and Duchess (Merle Oberon) of Lanbourne check in, the Duke is involved in a vehicular homicide after he has too much to drink. His car is traced back to the St. Gregory by hotel detective Dupere (Richard Conte), who blackmails the Duke. Although not on the same level of Grand Hotel, the film contains first-rate performances from a fine cast portraying a variety of eccentric guests. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Rod Taylor, Catherine Spaak, (more)
The title character (Rod Taylor) is a drifting gunslinger, who enters a Southwestern fort and immediately becomes embroiled with its commander (John Mills). In the end, the wanderer helps the fort guard against attacks from Indians. ~ John Bush, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Rod Taylor, Ernest Borgnine, (more)
- 1966
This James Bond parody brings a new sort of jet-set secret agent to the screen -- one who hates flying, is afraid to shoot people, and would rather stay at home! Col. Mostyn (Trevor Howard) is the head of a special branch of British intelligence who is appalled to discover that a number of his best agents are either leaving the force or have turned out to be traitors. It is decided that Mostyn and his men need a special agent to ferret out those who leave his employ while knowing too much and silence them permanently. Mostyn decides the right man for the job is his old army buddy Boysie Oakes (Rod Taylor), but there's a bit of a problem -- while the job requires a globe-trotting assassin who can stare calmly into the face of death, Oakes is a mild-mannered fun seeker who is terrified of airplanes and faints at the sight of blood. None of this dissuades Mostyn, who still gives Oakes the assignment, but when he finds out that flying and guns are a big part of his new job, he hires someone else to do the dirty work for him. Oakes eventually develops a taste for the cars, women, gadgets, and danger of his new career, but the real acid test comes when he actually has to go on an assignment himself. The Liquidator was directed by Jack Cardiff, who along with a respected career as a director was one of the most distinguished cinematographers in the British cinema, lensing such classics as The Red Shoes, The African Queen, and Black Narcissus. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Rod Taylor, Trevor Howard, (more)
The Glass Bottom Boat is hardly a high point in the careers of star Doris Day and director Frank Tashlin, though it is a better-than-usual example of that pure-'60s genre, the "spy spoof." Day plays Jennifer Nelson, a PR worker at NASA in Florida. She also doubles as a "mermaid" for her father, Axel (Arthur Godfrey), the skipper of a glass-bottom tourist boat. While garbed in her skimpy mermaid costume, she has a run-in with handsome space technician Bruce Templeton (Rod Taylor). Through a series of misunderstandings, Bruce is led to believe that Jennifer is an enemy spy, determined to steal scientific secrets. Several other characters enter into the plot, including bumbling secret agent Julius Pritter (Dom DeLuise) and prissy security chief Homer Cripps (Paul Lynde). Also on hand are TV favorites Dick Martin as Jennifer's erstwhile beau and Eric Fleming as a man of mystery. A few cute celebrity cameos round out this ribtickler, while Doris Day, as always, gets a few opportunities to sing. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Doris Day, Rod Taylor, (more)
