The Holcroft Covenant (film)

Did You Know?

• Frankenheimer said Ludlum thought it was by far the best film made from any of his books.
• EMI were not willing to invest money to publicize the film.
• The film made only $393,825 in the United States against a $13 million budget.

Production

The 1985 film was one of five pictures Thorn EMI released that year, alongside A Passage to India, Wild Geese II, Morons from Outer Space, and Dreamchild. Edy and Ely Landau secured the film rights to the novel, as well as to The Chancellor Manuscript. Having previously worked with John Frankenheimer on The Iceman Cometh, they asked him to direct. Edward Anhalt wrote the first script draft, but after Frankenheimer came on board, he brought in John Hopkins for rewrites. Dissatisfied with those, the director then had George Axelrod rework most of the screenplay. Frankenheimer described the film as "a conspiracy movie" centered on "a man's search for his father." He also said, "I love Ludlum. I'm a great fan of Ludlum. I buy Ludlum's books. I mean, I pay bookstore prices for Ludlum."

Axelrod noted, "The script I worked from was relatively humorless. When John and I suggested adding much more humor, the producers said they didn't want a Walter Matthau romp." Frankenheimer countered by telling them he could take the script of Some Like It Hot and turn it into "a social documentary on the effects of gang warfare on the music business in Chicago during Prohibition and how that affected women's liberation," adding that they needn't worry about him being too funny. Axelrod admitted he never read the novel because he lacked the time, and later called the film a "terrible picture" he worked on only because he "needed the money."

Production planning hit a snag when Ely Landau suffered a stroke, forcing his wife to take over most of the producing duties alongside Mort Abrahams. Frankenheimer was blunt about their involvement: "They were no help and were in the wrong profession. It was actually the completion bond company — Gertrude Soames, the film financer, and David Korda, who worked for them — who came to our rescue." James Caan was attached to the project when Frankenheimer joined.

The director recalled a long meeting with the actor: "Caan was talking about a movie that I didn't really see in the material. He said he was doing the movie because it was a love story. But a love story it's not; it's a thriller. Yes, he falls in love but it's not much of a love story.

I didn't understand Caan that day and I'm sure he didn't understand me. But you tend to tell yourself that those meetings go better than they actually do, because you want the thing to succeed."

Reception

Critics were largely unimpressed with the film. Variety described its difficult production as yielding a confusing story that lacked excitement and believability. Time Out London observed that Michael Caine’s character merely travels to scenic global destinations where minor characters conveniently explain the next plot development. A Cinema Retro reviewer attributed the failure to John Frankenheimer’s questionable direction, Robert Ludlum’s weak storytelling, and the attempt to condense a sprawling 528-page novel into a 100-minute movie. On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has a 27% approval rating based on 11 reviews.