''Where's Jack?'' is a 1969 British

adventure film An adventure film is a form of adventure fiction, and is a genre of film. Subgenres of adventure films include swashbuckler films, pirate films, and survival films. Adventure films may also be combined with other film genres such as action, ani ...

recounting the exploits of notorious 18th-century criminal Jack Sheppard and London "Thief-Taker General"

Jonathan Wild Jonathan Wild, also spelled Wilde (1682 or 1683 – 24 May 1725), was a London underworld figure notable for operating on both sides of the law, posing as a public-spirited vigilante entitled the "'' Thief-Taker General''". He simultaneously ran ...

. The film was produced by

Stanley Baker Sir William Stanley Baker (28 February 192828 June 1976) was a Welsh actor and film producer. Known for his rugged appearance and intense, grounded screen persona, he was one of the top British male film stars of the late 1950s, and later a pro ...

through his company

Oakhurst Productions Oakhurst Productions was a production company formed by actor Stanley Baker in the late 1960s which produced a number of films, notably ''The Italian Job'' (1969). Their first film, ''Robbery'' (1967), was made in association with Embassy Pictures ...

, and starred Baker himself as Jonathan Wild. Tommy Steele played Jack Sheppard. The film was directed by novelist

James Clavell James Clavell (born Charles Edmund Dumaresq Clavell; 10 October 1921 – 7 September 1994) was an Australian-born British (later naturalized American) writer, screenwriter, director, and World War II veteran and prisoner of war. Clavell is best ...

Mary Hopkin Mary Hopkin (born 3 May 1950), credited on some recordings as Mary Visconti from her marriage to Tony Visconti, is a Welsh singer-songwriter best known for her 1968 UK number 1 single "Those Were the Days". She was one of the first artists ...

sings the title song.

Plot

The film depicts the adventures and the exploits of notorious English thief and prison-breaker Jack Sheppard in 1720s London. The ending of the film is ambiguous, and suggests that Sheppard may have survived his execution and escaped to the Americas.

Cast

* Tommy Steele as Jack Sheppard *

* Alan Badel as The Lord Chancellor *

Dudley Foster Frank Dudley Foster (7 August 1924 – 8 January 1973) was an English actor who regularly appeared in television roles. Foster was born in Brighouse, West Riding of Yorkshire. His family had established links with the theatre and a brother and ...

as Blueskin * Fiona Lewis as Edgworth Bess Lyon * Sue Lloyd as Lady Darlington * Noel Purcell as Leatherchest * Eddie Byrne as Rev. Wagstaff * Michael Elphick as Hogarth * Howard Goorney as Surgeon *

John Hallam John William Francis Hallam (28 October 1941 – 14 November 2006) was a British character actor, who frequently played hard men or military types. Early life John Hallam was born, the son of a superintendent at London Docklands, in 19 ...

as The Captain * Harold Kasket as The King *

Caroline Munro Caroline Munro (born 16 January 1949)McFarlane, Brian (28 February 2014). ''The Encyclopedia of British Film: Fourth edition''. Oxford University Press. p. 538; is an English actress, model and singer known for her many appearances in horror, ...

as Madame Vendonne * Cardew Robinson as Lord Mayor * George Woodbridge as Hangman

Production

Financing was provided by Paramount. According to producer

Michael Deeley Michael Deeley (born 6 August 1932) is an Academy Award-winning British film producer known for such motion pictures as ''The Italian Job'' (1969), ''The Deer Hunter'' (1978), and ''Blade Runner'' (1982). He is also a founding member and Honora ...

, this was obtained after a pitch made by Martin Baum,

's agent, to

Charles Bludhorn Charles George Bluhdorn (born Karl Georg Blühdorn; September 20, 1926 – February 19, 1983) was an Austrian-born American industrialist. Early life Bluhdorn was born in Vienna, Austria, to an Austrian Jewish mother Rosa Fuchs and father Paul ...

, owner of Paramount. Baum described the film as being written by the writers of '' Point Blank'' (1967), produced by the maker of '' Zulu'' (1963) and directed by the man who made '' To Sir, with Love'' (1967) which, combined, made a profit of $45 million. Divided by four, that would have meant a profit of over $10 million after the $3 million cost was deducted. The pitch was successful, and Deeley says it remains one of his happiest memories in getting a film funded.

Peter Bart Peter Benton Bart (born July 24, 1932) is an American journalist and film producer, writing a column for ''Deadline Hollywood'' since 2015. He is perhaps best known for his lengthy tenure (1989–2009) as the editor in chief of ''Variety'', an ...

, an executive at Paramount at the time, says Stanley Baker did the presentation with Deeley and Baum. Bart says Bludhorn believed that expensive films made the most money and was attracted to ''Where's Jack?'' in part by its cost, agreeing to finance without reading a script. He also claims that Deeley presented him with the relatively inexpensive ''

The Italian Job ''The Italian Job'' is a 1969 British comedy caper film, written by Troy Kennedy Martin, produced by Michael Deeley, directed by Peter Collinson, and starring Michael Caine. The film's plot centres around Cockney criminal Charlie Croker, r ...

'' and that Bart arranged for it to be financed without telling Bludhorn; ''Italian Job'' would go on to be a far more successful film. Peter Yates said at the time that Stanley Baker was "rescuing" Tommy Steele from Hollywood musicals "to do some acting again". The film was announced in February 1968. Filming took place in Ireland in June 1968. It finished by September.

Reception

''Where's Jack?'' turned out to be a box office flop. Deeley, Michael, ''Blade Runners, Deer Hunters and Blowing the Bloody Doors Off: My Life in Cult Movies'', Pegasus Books, 2009, pp. 43-44 The film was not even released in the USA after performing poorly in Europe.Gelmis, Joseph, "Hollywood Skeletons Haunt Studio Vaults", ''Los Angeles Times'', November 21, 1971: i11. The ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the ...

'' wrote that it was "astonishingly similar, markedly better" to another film about a highwayman that came out around the same time, ''

Sinful Davey ''Sinful Davey'' is a 1969 picaresque adventure/ crime/ comedy film directed by John Huston and starring John Hurt, Pamela Franklin, and in early appearances Fionnula Flanagan and Anjelica Huston. John Huston later said the film was "very good" ...

''.Champlin, Charles, "'Sinful Davey' Opens Run at Royal Theater", ''Los Angeles Times'', May 29, 1969: d1.

References

External links

* {{James Clavell 1969 films 1969 adventure films 1960s historical adventure films British crime films British biographical films 1969 crime films British historical adventure films Films set in the 1720s Films set in London Films directed by James Clavell Paramount Pictures films 1960s English-language films 1960s British films