1987: SUPERMAN IV: THE QUEST FOR PEACE Novelization

From July 1987: the seldom-seen paperback adaptation of the notorious crime against cinema AND comics that is Cannon's epic misfire SUPERMAN IV: THE QUEST FOR PEACE.  

I only acquired this recently (and I'm not sure I would want to be seen reading it on public transport) but, considering the number of last-minute changes (mostly stemming from a chronic lack of dosh), it might make a fascinating excursion into the what-might-have been.  

As for the film: I saw it when it was first released on the big screen (my friends and I were banned from seeing our first choice... the latest JAWS sequel) and thought it was pretty grim.  Now I've acquired a love of the half-arsed (which makes virtually every film Cannon ever made fair game) and rather enjoyed it.

Clearly the publishers were only supplied a single still deemed useable for both the front and back covers.  The official movie subtitle is also curiously absent from the cover.  Does this suggest some last-minute wavering on the behalf of the studio(s) and their marketing commandos?

That's a cheesy official anniversary logo as well!

The real oddity is its predecessor: why did they suddenly think that the Man of Steel worked better as a comedy romp?  It's not as if the first two films had been creative or commercial failures...

1987: MASTERS OF THE UNIVERSE Movie Adaptation.

From 1987: These full-page panel blow-ups appeared in the Dutch edition of Marvel's adaptation of the Cannon MASTERS OF THE UNIVERSE live-action movie.

Marvel took the odd (but presumably prudent) decision to use the model sheets for the animation and toys rather than try and mimic the style of the film itself. 

1987: SUPERMAN IV: THE QUEST FOR PEACE MOVIE ADAPTATION (DC Comics)

This is DC Comics' (of course) adaptation of CANNON FILM's low-flying entry into the SUPERMAN movie franchise: the much lambasted (I saw it in the cinema in 1987… I believe it was deemed more acceptable than whichever JAWS sequel was playing on another screen at the same time… and it was pretty bad) SUPERMAN IV: THE QUEST FOR PEACE, the last outing in the original sequence of films.

Somewhat unbelievably, DC had only started doing adaptations of these movies with the third outing (they also covered-off dodgy spin-off SUPERGIRL) because the corporate mandarins believed that having the movie version of Supes AND the regular comic book incarnation appearing on news stands at the same time would confuse the punters.  Go figure.

1986: BIGGLES MOVIE PROMO STRIP - PART ONE

This is the first (of five) half-page comic strips, published weekly, to promote the upcoming BIGGLES movie.

Despite following the strip at the time (this appeared in EAGLE cover-dated 3 May 1986) I had absolutely no interest in going to see the movie.

Decades later, I suddenly decided I DID want to see it and ordered an el-cheapo copy of the DVD.  It's a weird - but not unlikable - mix of WWI daring-do and - of all things - time travel.  The producers obviously thought that the original stories wouldn't appeal to a contemporary audience (frankly, they were probably right) but decided to go ahead and make the movie anyway.  Maybe they thought BACK TO THE FUTURE had opened-up a whole new market for time travel fare.

It's a well put together distraction and its always good to see Peter Cushing, albeit in his final film role (he died in 1994).  Biggles himself was played by familiar screen face Neil Dickson, so excellent in the underrated (and seldom-seen) SHE-WOLF OF LONDON.

Lensed in the UK, some of the attempts to pass-off London as the States fall spectacularly flat but the flying sequences are well-realised.

ABC Cinemas were a venerable British chain which - in a prescient move - expanded into TV in the fifties by securing an ITV franchise.  Their lasting contribution to geekdom being THE AVENGERS throughout the sixties.  Restructuring shenanigans at the end of the decade saw ABC shoehorned into the new Thames Television operation, serving London during the week and a major supplier of networked fare.  The ABC cinema chain, along with its parent Associated British Picture Corporation and Elstree studios, was sold to EMI in the late sixties.

With the cinema business brought to its knees by the twin attacks of broadcast TV and home video in the early eighties, Thorn-EMI offloaded its screen entertainment business to Cannon (yup, them) and the ABC chain was rebranded first Cannon and, through various takeovers, subsequently MGM, Virgin, UGC and Cineworld.

The brand was briefly revived between 1995 and 2000 when Virgin sold some of the (generally smaller) sites in the ex-MGM portfolio.  I remember going to see a film at the resurrected ABC on London's Tottenham Court Road and - for some reason - they'd not only revived the name but also a very ancient piece of on-screen animation which, when it played, was greeted by howls of laughter by the audience.

- To Be Continued - 

1986: CANNON and KING SOLOMON'S MINES **UPDATED**

It's from CANNON... so it must be good.  Errr.  Probably.

Cannon briefly burned bright in the history of cinema by - almost overnight - becoming a big player.  And then vanishing just as quickly in a cloud of debt and dodgy accounting practices.

Cannon's business model relied on producing a lot of movies very cheaply and hoping that some of them would - mysteriously - become a big enough hit that it would offset all the small losses incurred by the rest of the slate.  Of course, the film business is a legendary way of loosing lots of money and Cannon were no exception.

Their legacy is actually pretty substantial and - although scattered to the four winds by bankruptcy - it's still possible to stumble across one of their flicks on DVD, released under the auspices of another studio or video label.  Indeed, just yesterday I succumbed to a charity shop copy of the much pilloried (and - I suspect - with very good reason) Cannon Stallone vehicle OVER THE TOP, released as an MGM (no strangers to financial woe and eccentric business practices themselves) disc.

Amongst their most famous flicks are the (really not that bad in the circumstances) MASTERS OF THE UNIVERSE movie and (the really bad in any circumstances) SUPERMAN IV: THE QUEST FOR PEACE.  They also churned-out the DEATH WISH sequels, if you like that kind of thing.

In Britain they also became a major player in the screening business by acquiring the faltering CLASSIC chain, during the early eighties cinema implosion, from cash-strapped ACC (Associated Communications Corporation, one time parent of ATV/ ITC).  Cannon subsequently snaffled up the ABC chain, formally owned by EMI.

The cinemas were supposed to give Cannon control of their own means of distribution by booking their own movies onto their own screens.  However, the reality of much of Cannon's fare was that - if it was going to attract an audience at all - it was going to through video rental.  Their films - for the most part - were' the sort of films that were going to draw the great British public to the big screen in any significant numbers.

The ABC deal also gave Cannon ownership of Elstree Studios, the home of the original STAR WARS and INDIANA JONES trilogies as well as a host of other famous British films and TV shows.  The studio was supposed to give Cannon a cheap in-house production facility for their b-movie flicks but it was an odd acquisition as the company tended to shoot most of their productions overseas where costs and overheads were significantly less.

Cannon's complicated system of international pre-sales successfully kept the illusion of solvency and success but, over time, buyers became were wary of their unsophisticated fare and the company resorted to some shady accounting practices to keep the wolf from the door.  Predictably, the whole house of cards was eventually rumbled and the group collapsed with much of their assets, including the British cinema chain, sold to MGM.

That's a long-winded way of introducing this half-page ad (from EAGLE 15 February 1986) for Cannon's INDIANA JONES knock-off KING SOLOMON'S MINES.  I've never seen it but the cast (Chamberlain! Stone! Lom!  The rotund bloke from SLIDERS aka The Kingpin!) is certainly intriguing and I have a soft spot of cheesy fare (are THE ASYLUM the modern Cannon?) where good intentions outweigh ability and budget.

UPDATE: After posting this last week, I figured it might actually be a good idea to see (for the first time) the movie itself.  Thanks to the joys of Amazon's Prime service I had a copy in time for last weekend.  I'm pleased to report that - except for a couple of ropey process shots and a rubbish giant spider - this is a perfectly watchable romp very much in the Indy tradition.  The producers obviously maxed out their (presumably not bloated) budget by getting top bang for their buck by shooting in Zimbabwe.  The location work is top-notch and benefits from a vast cast of extras (they were probably cheap).  The 'darkest Africa' cliches pile up thick and fast (cannibals with a giant cooking pot) but the pulp-like nature of the romp keeps it the right side of dodgy.  The cast also make the best of the situation and whilst Chamberlin is no Harrison Ford, he doesn't embarrass himself either.  I'd completely forgotten there was a follow-up, ALLAN QUATERMAIN AND THE LOST CITY OF GOLD (shot back-to-back) but I liked the first one enough to order the second disc.  For some reason, Wikipedia thinks both DVDs are out-of-print but it was easy enough to find cheap brand-new copies online.