The Order of the Black Eagle (film)

Order of the Black Eagle
Directed by Leonard Worth Keeter III (born 1956)
Produced by Robert P. Eaton
Betty J. Stephens
Screenplay by Phil Behrens
Story by Robert P. Eaton
Starring Ian Hunter
Charles K. Bibby
William T. Hicks
Anna Rapagna
Jill Donnellan
Shangtai Tuan
Gene Scherer
Wolfgang Linkman
Music by Dee Barton
(score & conductor)
Cinematography Irl Dixon
Edited by Matthew Mallinson
Production
company
Polo Players Ltd.
Distributed by VHS — Celebrity Home Enterm, October 28, 1992
Release dates
 December 1987 (Shelby, North Carolina)
Running time
 93 minutes
Language English
Black Eagle (West Germany)
Im Auftrag des schwarzen Adlers (Germany)
L'aigle noir (France)
L'ordre de l'Aigle Noir (France)
Orgismenos aetos (Greece)
Os seis Mercenários (Brazil)

Order of the Black Eagle (aka Black Eagle) is an American pseudo-parody action B movie released in December 1987. The film is a sequel to Unmasking the Idol, a 1986 film by the same director (Keeter), story-writer (Eaton), and screenplay writer (Behrens). Leonard Worth Keeter III directed it in Shelby, North Carolina, at Earl Owensby Studios, and the surrounding area.[1][2] Betty J. Stephens, John Alan Stephens, PhD, and Robert P. Eaton co-produced the film. Eaton — whose only marriage from 1965 to 1969 was the sixth of seven marriages for Lana Turner — was president of Polo Players, the firm that partnered with Earl Owensby Studios to launch the two-film project.[3]

Plot

Duncan Jax, played by Ian Hunter, must stop neo-Nazis from destroying communication satellites and awakening Hitler from a cryogenic sleep. Jax assembles a band of the dirtiest fighters in the world to do it.[4]

Selected review

The Encyclopedia of Fantastic Film: Ali Baba to Zombies, edited by R. G. Young, classified the film as, "Minor thriller: Spy vs. neo-Nazis."[5]

Cast (actor … character)

Interpol Spy Agency

Duncan Jax's mercenaries

Special appearance

Neo-Nazi group, "Order of the Black Eagle"

Rest of cast

Uncredited

† Ian Hunter, who had been living in Santa Barbara, is a native of Winston-Salem. He had attended the Governor's School of North Carolina, the North Carolina School of the Arts, and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.[13]

Production

‡ John Alan Stephens is the husband of Betty J. Stephens. In 1987, they lived in Santa Barbara. John A. Stephens founded Excel-Mineral Company in 1949 in California. He had acquired vast deposits of opal sedimentary clay that not only absorbed its weight in liquid, but also absorbed odors. Eventually, in the 1950s, Stephens launched "Jonny Cat" litter.

Direction

Art department

Camera

Sound

Post production

Distribution

Domestic

Foreign

DVD availability

Trailers

External links

Notes

Robert P. Eaton The cryogenics theme is loosely connected to an interest of the co-producer and author of the story, Robert P. Eaton, who, through a connection with his former wife, had extensively interviewed Howard Hughes and edited a comprehensive autobiography: My life and opinions [by] Howard Hughes (1972). Eaton's work conveyed that Hughes had become obsessed with death and had amassed a vast library on the subject and had become fascinated with and a believer in cryogenics.[16]
Eaton's family Eaton had one full-sibling and four paternal half-siblings: one full-sister, three half-brothers, and a half-sister. One of his half-sisters, Julia (1924–2007), was married to Morris Abbott Van Nostrand, Jr. (1911–1995), a descendent of the first non-native child born in New Amsterdam.[17] Van Nostrand, from 1952 to 1990, had served as president of Samuel French, Inc., the world's oldest and largest play publisher and licensing agency. During his presidency, the company published every prominent 20th century playrwright, including 26 Pulitzer Prize winners and 14 Nobel Prize winners.[18] Eaton's father, William Arthur Eaton (1883–1974) had been a commander in the U.S. Navy.

References

  1. ↑ Jill Lanford, Spartanburg Area to Land a Role in the Movies, Spartanburg Herald-Journal, March 22, 1985, Sec. D, pg. 1
  2. ↑ Connie Nelson (born 1959), Floyd Harris, Film Junkie's Guide to North Carolina, pg. 345 OCLC 54462077 ISBN 0895872692 ISBN 9780895872692
  3. ↑ Daniel MacFarlane, Projecting Hitler: Representations of Adolf Hitler in English-Language Film, 1968–1990, University of Saskatchewan (thesis) (December 2004)
  4. ↑ Charles P. Mitchell, The Hitler filmography: Worldwide Feature Film and Television Miniseries Portrayals, 1940 through 2000, Charles P. Mitchell, McFarland & Company (2002) OCLC 49727608 ISBN 078641295X ISBN 9780786412952
  5. ↑ The Encyclopedia of Fantastic Film: Ali Baba to Zombies, edited by R. G. Young, Applause Books, pg. 468 (2000) OCLC 36037811 LCCN 99-68372 ISSC ISBN 1557832692 ISBN 9781557832696
  6. ↑ Anna Marie Rapangna was Miss California International 1978
  7. ↑ Thomas Riggs, Contemporary Theatre, Film, and Television — A biographical guide featuring performers, directors, writers, producers, designers, managers, choreographers, technicians, composers, executives, dancers, and critics in the United States, Canada, Great Britain and the world; Volume 51, Gale Group, Detroit (2003) OCLC 643557380 ISBN 9781414445212 ISBN 1414445210 ISBN 9780787670948 ISBN 0787670944
  8. ↑ Gene Scherer became a naturalized U.S. citizen March 20, 1978, United States District Court for the Central District of California, Petition #358462
  9. ↑ Biography Index. A cumulative index to biographical material in books and magazines. Volume 1: January 1946 — July 1949, H. W. Wilson Company, New York (1949)
  10. ↑ International Who's Who in Music and Musicians' Directory, Eighth edition, International Who's Who in Music, Cambridge, England (1977)
  11. ↑ International Who's Who in Music and Musicians' Directory, Ninth edition, edited by Adrian Gaster (1919–1989), International Who's Who in Music, Cambridge, England (1980)
  12. ↑ International Who's Who in Music and Musicians' Directory, 10th edition International Who's Who in Music, Cambridge, England (1984)
  13. ↑ Gina White, Cameras Roll on Location Across Carolinas, Wilmington Morning Star, May 4, 1985, pg. 1C
  14. ↑ Who's Who of Emerging Leaders in America, Fourth edition, 1993-1994, Marquis Who's Who, New Providence, New Jersey (1992)
  15. ↑ Who's Who in Entertainment, Third edition, 1998–1999, Marquis Who's Who, New Providence, New Jersey (1997)
  16. ↑ Maxine Cheshire (of the Washington Post), Another Version of Hughes Memoirs to Appear Monday, Anderson Daily Bulletin, January 15, 1972, pg. 6
  17. ↑ Genealogical and Family History of Southern New York and The Hudson Valley, Volume I, Lewis Historical Publishing Company, New York (1913) OCLC 751498709
  18. ↑ Samuel French Play Collection, Special Collections, Amherst College