The Assassination of Trotsky
| The Assassination of Trotsky | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Directed by | Joseph Losey |
| Produced by |
Norman Priggen Josef Shaftel (executive producer) |
| Written by | Nicholas Mosley |
| Starring |
Richard Burton Alain Delon Romy Schneider Valentina Cortese Jean Desailly |
| Music by | Egisto Macchi |
| Cinematography | Pasqualino De Santis |
| Edited by | Reginald Beck |
Production company |
Dino de Laurentiis Cinematografica Compagnia Internazionale Alessandra Cinematografica Cinétel |
| Distributed by | Cinerama Releasing Corporation |
Release dates | 20 April 1972 |
Running time | 103 minutes |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $2,500,000 |
| Box office | 561,109 admissions (France)[1] |
The Assassination of Trotsky is a 1972 British film directed by Joseph Losey with a screenplay by Nicholas Mosley. It starred Richard Burton as Leon Trotsky, as well as Romy Schneider and Alain Delon. A few years after release, The Assassination of Trotsky was included as one of the choices in the book The Fifty Worst Films of All Time.[2]
Plot
Exiled from the Soviet Union in 1929, Leon Trotsky travels from Turkey to France to Norway, before arriving in Mexico in January 1937. The film begins in Mexico City in 1940, during a May Day celebration. Trotsky has not escaped the attention of the Soviet ruler of the Soviet Union, Joseph Stalin, who sends out an assassin named Frank Jacson. The killer decides to infiltrate Trotsky's house by befriending one of the young communists in Trotsky's circle.
Cast
- Richard Burton : Leon Trotsky
- Alain Delon : Frank Jacson
- Romy Schneider : Gita Samuels
- Valentina Cortese : Natalia Sedowa Trotsky
- Luigi Vannucchi : Ruiz
- Jean Desailly : Alfred Rosmer
- Simone Valère : Marguerite Rosmer
- Duilio Del Prete : Felipe
- Jack Betts : Lou (as Hunt Powers)
- Michael Forest : Jim
- Claudio Brook : Roberto
- Joshua Sinclair : Sam
- Giorgio Albertazzi : Commissioner
Production
In 1965 Josef Shaftel optioned the novel The Great Prince Died by Bernard Wolfe. The film was a co-production between the French Valoria Company and Dino De Laurentiis. It was to be shot in England[3] but was eventually filmed in Mexico. The movie used the Isaac Don Levine's book, The Mind of an Assassin as a source.[4]
References
- ↑ Box office information for film at Box Office Story
- ↑ Medved, Harry; Dreyfuss, Randy (1978). The Fifty Worst Films of All Time (And How They Got That Way). Popular Library. p. 31. ISBN 0-445-04139-0.
- ↑ Joseph Losey Looks at Trotsky: Joseph Losey By A. H. WEILER. New York Times (1923-Current file) [New York, N.Y] 27 June 1971: D17.
- ↑ Is It Worth a Trip to See?: Personalities From staff reports and news dispatches. The Washington Post, Times Herald (1959-1973) [Washington, D.C] 3 September 1971: B3.