Don Sharp

He spent the majority of his war service in Melbourne, appearing in amateur theatre productions of "Quality Street" and "The Late Christopher Bean" as well as recorded broadcasts and ABC plays.[4][5] Following this he appeared in a theatre revue, Khaki Capers, notably in a sketch which figured a flag flown over the air force station in Singapore which Sharp had brought back with him.He auditioned for and won an understudy's position in J. C. Williamson Limited version of the Broadway comedy Kiss and Tell; when a bout of laryngitis incapacitated one of the leads two weeks later, Sharp stepped into the role.He worked for Morris West's production company in radio and played a small role in Smithy (1946), one of the few feature films shot in Australia at this time."[13] Sharp was unable to cash in on Ha'penny Breeze as he came down with a recurrence of tuberculosis and spent nearly two years in hospital, during which he had six ribs and one lung removed.[17] He turned this into a novel called Conflict of Wings (1954), the title under which it was filmed; Sharp also collaborated on the screenplay with John Pudney, and did some second unit directing.[13] Sharp then received an offer from the BBC to replace fellow Australian, Bruce Beeby, as an actor on the science fiction serial Journey into Space.[15] The second was Linda (1960), a teen drama starring Carol White for Independent Artists, which went out as a support feature for Saturday Night and Sunday Morning (1960) and is now considered a lost film.[20] Sharp directed Two Guys Abroad (1962) with George Raft, which was intended as a pilot for a TV series or as a B movie, but ended up not being released at all.[21][13] According to his obituary Sharp helped make an "atmospheric, suspenseful gothic horror and giving a depth to the characters that was sometimes missing in Hammer's other vampire productions.After making it, Sharp went back to television, directing episodes of The Human Jungle, then made another teen musical in the vein of The Golden Disc, It's All Happening (1963), with Tommy Steele."[26] Fu Manchu was a big hit and led to four sequels; Sharp only directed the first of these, but he worked several more time for Towers who later said "I kept using Don because his films came in on budget and were without exception very successful.[27] Sharp followed it with two films for Towers, Our Man in Marrakesh (1966), a spy spoof starring Tony Randall, and The Brides of Fu Manchu (1966), again with Lee.[29] Sharp then made Jules Verne's Rocket to the Moon (1967), an adventure tale in the vein of Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines for Towers.Sharp and Towers were meant to follow this with Casanova, a film in the style of Tom Jones (1963) from a script by Peter Yeldham to be shot in Czechoslovakia starring Horst Buchholz.[29] Sharp said he was "out of work for about a year"[16] when he got an offer to direct a boat chase sequence for Puppet on a Chain (1971), based on a novel by Alistair MacLean."[32] Sharp was put under long term contract to a company called Scotia who assigned him to direct Psychomania (1973), the final movie of George Sanders.During the making of that film Sharp received an offer to direct a thriller, Hennessy (1975), with Rod Steiger in the title role, as an IRA man out to assassinate Queen Elizabeth II.[34] This led to Sharp receiving an offer from producer Harry Saltzman to work on The Micronauts, a "shrunken man" epic to have starred Gregory Peck and Lee Remick.[34] Sharp received an offer to direct the fourth version of The Four Feathers (1978), made for American TV but released theatrically in some markets.[34] Eventually the Bear Island (1979), project was re-activated and was made starring Richard Widmark, Donald Sutherland and Vanessa Redgrave.[37] Following this Sharp was going to make a version of two other MacLean novels, Goodbye California, with Charlton Heston, and Air Force One is Down, but the finance fell through for both.[38] Sharp developed several projects that were not made - Spy Ship, a biopic of John Simpson Kirkpatrick, Red Alert West, a film about the Spanish Civil War.Tears in the Rain (1988) was a TV movie from a novel by Pamela Wallace which gave an early starring role to Sharon Stone.
Don Sharp (disambiguation)The Four FeathersHobartTasmaniaWadebridgeCornwallKiss of the VampireRasputin, the Mad MonkHammerThe Face of Fu ManchuSax RohmerChristopher LeeThe Brides of Fu ManchuBarbara Taylor BradfordSt Virgil's CollegeStanley BurburyStage DoorRoyal Australian Air ForceSumner Locke ElliottJ. C. Williamson LimitedKiss and TellArsenic and Old LaceThe Dancing YearsMorris WestSmithyHa'penny BreezeFrank WorthDarcy ConyersRobbery Under ArmsThe Planter's WifeAppointment in LondonThe Cruel SeaYou Know What Sailors AreKen AnnakinChild's PlayConflict of WingsJohn PudneyThe Blue PeterEaling StudiosThe Stolen AirlinerChildren's Film Foundationfinal scriptWarwick FilmsThe Adventures of Hal 5Carve Her Name with PrideThe Golden DiscCliff RichardExpresso BongoBeat GirlHarry BlackExpo 58Lonnie DoneganThe ProfessionalsKraft Mystery TheatreCarol WhiteIndependent ArtistsSaturday Night and Sunday Morninglost filmGhost SquadTwo Guys AbroadGeorge RaftThe Fast LadyTony HindsThe Human JungleIt's All HappeningTommy SteeleThe Devil-Ship PiratesMilton SubotskyWitchcraftRobert L. LippertThose Magnificent Men in Their Flying MachinesCurse of the FlyHarry Alan TowersOur Man in MarrakeshTony RandallThe Sleeper AwakesJules Verne's Rocket to the MoonTom JonesPeter YeldhamCzechoslovakiaHorst BuchholzSix-Day WarThe AvengersThe ChampionsGeorge WilloughbyTaste of ExcitementThe Vengeance of SheTill Death Us Do PartJohnny SpeightPuppet on a ChainAlistair MacLeanJudy GeesonMichael CarrerasSeth HoltBlood from the Mummy's TombPsychomaniaGeorge SandersDark PlacesCallanEdward WoodwardHennessyRod SteigerHarry SaltzmanGregory PeckLee RemickTo the Devil a DaughterThe Way to Dusty DeathJeffrey ArcherNot a Penny More, Not a Penny LessKim PhilbyThe Thirty Nine StepsBear IslandRichard WidmarkDonald SutherlandVanessa RedgraveHammer House of HorrorJohn Simpson KirkpatrickWhat Waits BelowA Woman of SubstanceJenny SeagroveDeborah KerrTusitalaHold the DreamTears in the RainPamela WallaceSharon StoneAct of WillLiz HurleyMassive AttackJonny DollarJourney into SpaceBackgroundThe Violent EnemyH. G. WellsVincent PriceMichael CaineNicol WilliamsonGuy BurgessYou Can't Take It with YouI Killed the CountAlec CoppelTonight at 8.30Noël CowardOur TownThornton WilderDear OctopusQuiet WeddingThe Barretts of Wimpole StreetQuality StreetThe Late Christopher BeanIntervalThe Amazing Dr ClitterhouseBarre LyndonIvor NovelloThe MercuryThe IndependentThe West AustralianThe Sunday HeraldThe Australian Women's WeeklyThe Sydney Morning HeraldSunday MailEuropean Stars And StripesThe ArgusKalgoorlie MinerThe Daily NewsRasputin the Mad Monk