The distinguished Canadian actor Christopher Plummer (December 13, 1929 - February 5, 2021) has died at age 91.

Guest contributor Bob DiMucci has provided this extensive tribute to his performing career:

The Films of Christopher Plummer

After five years of doing television guest shots, Christopher Plummer made his feature film debut opposite Susan Strasberg and Henry Fonda in 1958’s STAGE STRUCK. The film was an adaptation of Zoë Atkins' play, which had earlier been filmed in 1933 by RKO under the title MORNING GLORY, starring Katharine Hepburn, Douglas Fairbanks, Jr. and Adolphe Menjou.

In the film, young “Eva” (Strasberg) arrives in New York City determined to become a great theatrical star, but discovers that her goal may not be as easily attainable as she had hoped. At the office of producer “Lewis Easton” (Fonda), Eva waits patiently while Lewis meets with young writer “Joseph Sheridan” (Plummer), who is adapting Lewis’ latest play.

**Christopher Plummer and Susan Strasberg in STAGE STRUCK**

Sidney Lumet directed the film. One track from Alex North’s score was released on a North compilation LP from Citadel, and later on CDs from Citadel and Bay Cities. The film cost an estimated $2 million and took in about the same amount at the U.S. box office.

In the early 20th century, rare birds are being hunted and killed illegally to supply the millinery industry with feathers, when “Walt Murdock” (Christopher Plummer) comes to the small frontier town of Miami, Florida seeking a job teaching nature studies at the high school. WIND ACROSS THE EVERGLADES is the story of how Walt ends up taking a job as a bird game warden for the Everglades and has a run in with “Cottonmouth” (Burl Ives), the leader of a plume-hunting band of renegades known as the Swamp Angels. Gypsy Rose Lee had a supporting role in the film as “Mrs. Bradford,” a bordello madame.

**Christopher Plummer and Gypsy Rose Lee in WIND ACROSS THE EVERGLADES**

Nicholas Ray is credited with directing the 1958 release, although he was fired before the end of shooting by writer/producer Budd Schulberg. Schulberg finished directing the movie himself and supervised the editing, discarding a lot of Ray's original footage. Cottonmouth and his men sing a number of songs in the film, accompanied by traditional folk instruments. Because of a lengthy studio musician’s strike in progress at the time of production, the background score was created from the studio’s library of “canned” music. The film had just an average domestic box office take of $2 million.

Julie Harris and Christopher Plummer co-starred in a 1959 television production of Henrik Ibsen’s A DOLL’S HOUSE. The story finds “Nora” (Harris) married to the authoritarian and controlling “Torvald Helmer” (Plummer). The couple have a reasonably happy relationship until past actions and outside forces cause Nora to realize her situation may not be as idyllic as she once thought.

George Schaefer directed the production, which aired live on NBC on 15 November 1959, and was taped. John Morris provided piano accompaniment to the show.

In THE FALL OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE, the death of Marcus Aurelius (Alec Guinness) leads to a succession crisis, in which the deceased emperor's son, Commodus (Christopher Plummer), demonstrates that he is unwilling to let anything undermine his claim to be Emperor.

In late summer 1962, Richard Harris was confirmed for the role of the Roman Emperor “Commodus,” and shortly after, Sophia Loren signed on to play “Lucilla.” Although a 27 November 1962 Daily Variety brief indicated that Harris had already started training with co-star Stephen Boyd (who played “Livius”), the 10 December 1962 edition announced Harris had left the project and was replaced by Christopher Plummer. Harris was purportedly dissatisfied with recent changes to Philip Yordan’s screenplay, which were credited to Ben Barzman and Basilio Franchina.

Christopher Plummer was thirty-three at the time of filming, although his character Commodus became Emperor at the age of nineteen. Commodus reigned for twelve years.

**Christopher Plummer in THE FALL OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE**

Plummer was amazed at the lavishness and no-expense-spared aspect of the production. A Rolls-Royce was at his disposal for the entire duration of the shooting. This was a far cry from producer Samuel Bronston's previous KING OF KINGS (1961), where Jeffrey Hunter and Robert Ryan's car broke down on the way to the "Sermon on the Mount" scene, and they had to push it to get it started, in costume as Jesus Christ and John the Baptist.

Anthony Mann directed the film, which premiered in March 1964. Dimitri Tiomkin’s score was nominated for both Academy and Golden Globe Awards. He won the Golden Globe but lost the Oscar to the Sherman brothers for MARY POPPINS. Selections from the lengthy score were released on a Columbia LP. It was reissued on CD by Varese Sarabande in 1989 and by PEG in 1998. In 1991, Cloud Nine released an expanded (but still incomplete) version, augmented with mono cues from the only surviving soundtrack elements, but leaving off some of the album tracks. This was re-issued in 2012 by La-La Land, who restored all of the album tracks. In 2011, Prometheus re-recorded the complete score with the City of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Nic Raine.

Because of the expensive cast, large-scale effects, and extravagant sets, the original $6 million budget for the film ballooned to an estimated $14 million to $16 million by the end of production. Because of the film’s length, Paramount could only get 10 showings per week of the roadshow version of the film onto screens. That, and the fact that box office returns were slack, prompted a decision to send the film into continuous showings earlier than expected. In the end, the film grossed only $4.8 million in the U.S. By the summer of 1964, Samuel Bronston had filed for bankruptcy, and his company ceased all business activities that same year. Because of the losses on both THE FALL OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE and the earlier CIRCUS WORLD, it was estimated that Bronston was $24 million in debt.

Christopher Plummer had his most famous role in 1965’s THE SOUND OF MUSIC, playing Captain (Baron) Georg von Trapp, a retired naval officer and a widower with seven children. The stage and screen musical’s narrative was derived from Maria Augusta von Trapp’s 1949 autobiography, The Story of the Trapp Family Singers.

Robert Wise had seen Christopher Plummer on Broadway and wanted him for the role, but Plummer turned down the offer several times. Wise flew to London to meet with Plummer and explained his concept of the movie. Plummer accepted after being assured that he could work with screenwriter Ernest Lehman to improve the character. Plummer later described himself as having become quite arrogant at the time, "spoiled by too many great theater roles."

**Christopher Plummer in THE SOUND OF MUSIC**

Very little background information on the real Captain Von Trapp was known or available to Plummer, so he took to the Salzburg mountains with an interpreter. There, they met with Georg's nephew and asked him what the real man was like. The nephew told them that he was the most boring man he'd ever met. The real Maria, long a widow by the time of filming, complimented Plummer, saying that he was much more handsome than her husband was.

Christopher Plummer intensely disliked working on the film. He was known to refer to it as "The Sound of Mucus" or "S&M". Plummer admitted that he found Julie Andrews insufferable and annoying during filming, referring to her as “Miss Disney” to the other cast and crew, and he likened working with Andrews to "being hit over the head with a big Valentine's Day card, every day." Later, he admitted to being immature in his feelings and that Andrews was a great actress who behaved like a true professional. Andrews claimed that Plummer's cynicism probably helped his performance and the film, keeping it from being too sentimental. The two ultimately became good friends.

**Julie Andrews and Christopher Plummer**

Christopher Plummer had opted out of the Harry Palmer role in THE IPCRESS FILE (1965) in favor of the Captain von Trapp part, a decision he later regretted. Plummer admitted that he ate and drank heavily during filming to drown out his unhappiness with making the movie, and found plenty of opportunities to do both in Austria. His costume eventually had to be refitted for his extra weight. Plummer stated that he was drunk during the shooting of the music festival sequence.

Given his dislike for the role, Plummer's biggest challenge was resisting the temptation to send it up. Director Robert Wise kept him in check, telling him to play it straight.

Plummer, whose singing voice was dubbed by Bill Lee (of the singing group The Mellomen), reportedly performed his own vocals on set during production. Plummer also learned to play the guitar for his part, but his guitar playing was also dubbed for the film.

Plummer was not fond of the song "Edelweiss", which he considered trite, and he wrote a letter to Ernest Lehman suggesting a new song should be written to replace it, but he was rebuffed. After Plummer’s death, fellow actor Yorick van Wageningen told a Dutch newspaper he will never forget the moment when an extra on the set of 2005’s THE NEW WORLD came to Plummer and asked if he would sing the song “Edelweiss” at the cremation of her mother. Plummer looked her in the eye and said: “You can drop as dead as your mom.”

Charmian Carr, who played Liesl, and was twenty-two at the time, wrote in her autobiography that she was attracted to the 35-year-old Plummer, who played her father. Plummer admitted that the feeling was mutual, but insists that it didn't get beyond mere flirtation.

**Christopher Plummer and Julie Andrews in THE SOUND OF MUSIC**

In speaking of co-star Eleanor Parker (Baroness Elsa Schraeder) Christopher Plummer told People magazine in 2015 that “Eleanor had great fun because she fell in love with the cameraman and they had a marvelous time together. He was an awfully nice guy and she deserved a nice guy. She was the most delicious woman, and, my god, what a beauty, so I loved them both and they were such lovebirds always holding hands everywhere. I think their story is much more romantic than THE SOUND OF MUSIC.”

The New York Times critic Bosley Crowther thoroughly trashed Christopher Plummer in his review of the film: "The adults are fairly horrendous, especially Christopher Plummer as Captain Von Trapp. Looking as handsome and phony as a store-window Alpine guide, Mr. Plummer acts the hard-jawed, stiff-backed fellow with equal artificiality. And when he puts his expressions and his gestures to somebody else's singing of the wistful "Eidelweiss", it is just a bit too painfully mawkish for the simple sentiments of that nice song."

**Julie Andrews and Christopher Plummer in THE SOUND OF MUSIC**

Christopher Plummer softened his criticism of the film over the decades, stating that he had come to respect the picture's place in history and its great affection from audiences. However, he maintained that he didn’t care much for it as a movie, and the role of Captain von Trapp was the most difficult of his career due to his dislike of sentiment and working with children. He also was greatly frustrated being typecast as von Trapp in the years following, and strived hard to regain his status as a character actor.

Robert Wise directed the film. Among the film’s five Oscars (including “Best Picture”) was one for “Music (Scoring of Music—adaption or treatment).” The most recent release of the RCA soundtrack for the film was its 50th Anniversary Edition in 2015. THE SOUND OF MUSIC was the number one film at the box office in 1965, with a U.S. gross of $149 million. As late as 2014, the film was ranked the fifth highest-grossing film in history (with earnings adjusted for inflation), bringing in over $2.3 billion worldwide.

INSIDE DAISY CLOVER is set in California in 1936, when “Daisy Clover” (Natalie Wood), a rebellious fifteen-year-old, lives with her mother (Ruth Gordon) whom she calls "The Dealer" because of her passion for playing solitaire. Daisy, who likes to sing, makes a recording of her voice and sends it to Hollywood studio head “Raymond Swan” (Christopher Plummer), who gives Daisy a screen test and then a contract.

**Natalie Wood and Christopher Plummer in INSIDE DAISY CLOVER**

Producer Alan J. Pakula and director Robert Mulligan added INSIDE DAISY CLOVER to their joint production slate of upcoming projects after purchasing the rights to Gavin Lambert’s novel of the same name in 1963. Soon after, Natalie Wood signed on for the title role, continuing her collaboration with the duo upon their completion of LOVE WITH THE PROPER STRANGER (1963). Andre Previn scored the film, including writing three songs with his wife Dory Previn. Natalie Wood’s vocals on the songs were dubbed by Jackie Ward, who had done the same for Wood’s singing in THE GREAT RACE. The soundtrack LP was released by Warner Bros. Records. In 2009, Film Score Monthly re-issued the LP on CD along with the complete score. The $4.5 million production of INSIDE DAISY CLOVER was one of the top 40 films of the year, with an $8.1 million gross.

Set during World War II, TRIPLE CROSS told the true story of convicted bank robber “Eddie Chapman” (Christopher Plummer) who became a triple agent working for both the German secret service, commanded by “Baron Von Grunen” (Yul Brynner) and “Colonel Steinhager” (Gert Frobe), and the British military, led by “Freddie Young” (Trevor Howard) and “Commander Braid” (Jess Hahn). Meanwhile, he falls in love with gorgeous resistance fighter (Claudine Auger) and a mysterious German countess (Romy Schneider). TRIPLE CROSS marked Christopher Plummer's first lead role in a feature film.

**Claudine Auger and Christopher Plummer in TRIPLE CROSS**

Terence Young directed the 1966 film. Georges Garvarentz’s score was released on a United Artists LP, but it has not been re-issued on CD.

Producer Sam Spiegel reunited Peter O'Toole, Omar Sharif, and composer Maurice Jarre from LAWRENCE OF ARABIA for the World War II thriller THE NIGHT OF THE GENERALS. Sharif played Major Grau of German Intelligence who investigates three top-ranking Nazi generals who may be involved in a murder. Christopher Plummer played Field Marshal Rommel in the film.

Both O'Toole and Sharif were being held to the Spiegel contracts they had signed several years earlier, when they were less famous, and consequently they both had to accept smaller fees than one would expect, given how famous they were by 1967. Neither was very happy with this situation, but they took care to claim the lavish living expenses to which they were entitled. Location scenes were filmed in Warsaw and Paris.

Maurice Jarre’s score was released on a Colgems LP, which was re-issued on CD in an expanded version by Intrada in 1990. THE NIGHT OF THE GENERALS fought its way into the top 50 films of the year, with a $6 million gross.

In 1968, Christopher Plummer appeared in a filmization of the Sophocles play OEDIPUS THE KING, in which he played the title role. This classic Greek tale tells how a noble youth (Plummer) accidentally marries his own mother, “Jocasta” (Lilli Palmer), kills his own father, “Laius” (Friedrich von Ledeburand), and ends up paying a terrible price for invoking the wrath of the Gods.

**Lili Palmer and Christopher Plummer in OEDIPUS THE KING**

Philip Saville (STOP THE WORLD--I WANT TO GET OFF) directed, and the film was scored by Greek composer Jani Christou.

Released in Britain as "Nobody Runs Forever," 1968's THE HIGH COMMISSIONER found Rod Taylor playing a detective sergeant in the bush country of Australia, who is sent to London by his ambitious supervisor to arrest Australian High Commissioner “Sir James Quentin” (Christopher Plummer) for the murder of his first wife 25 years ago. Plummer reteamed with Lilli Palmer, who played his current wife “Sheila” in the film.

**Christopher Plummer in THE HIGH COMMISSIONER**

Ralph Thomas directed the film. A five-minute suite from Georges Delerue’s score was released in a 2008 Delerue compilation box set from Universal Jazz/Emarcy. The HIGH COMMISSIONER made a low impression at the U.S. box office, with a $1.3 million gross.

Here is Georges Delerue's main title for the film:

LOCK UP YOUR DAUGHTERS! is a bawdy period comedy that deals mainly with the attempts of an English fop , suitably named “Lord Foppington” (Christopher Plummer), to maintain the chastity of his daughters. Three randy sailors have other ideas.

**Christopher Plummer in LOCK UP YOUR DAUGHTERS!**

Although the film takes its title and some of its plot from the popular musical play, it leaves out all of the show's songs, has no other music from the stage version, changes many story details and takes its lead character (played by top-billed Christopher Plummer) from an entirely different play, Sir John Vanbrugh's "The Relapse"--which is set in a different historical period (and century).

Peter Coe directed the 1969 film, which had an unreleased score by Ron Grainer. LOCK UP YOUR DAUGHTERS! locked down $2.4 million at the U.S. box office.

In addition to the Bond films, producer Harry Saltzman hired Guy Hamilton to direct the second of his "Harry Palmer" spy films, FUNERAL IN BERLIN, as well as his 1969 production of BATTLE OF BRITAIN. Set in 1940, the film follows the British Royal Air Force as they fight a desperate battle to prevent the Luftwaffe from gaining air superiority over the English Channel as a prelude to a possible Axis invasion of the U.K. Christopher Plummer played “Squadron Leader Colin Harvey”. Susannah York played his wife, “Section Officer Maggie Harvey.”

**Susannah York and Christopher Plummer in BATTLE OF BRITAIN**

Despite its historic story and plethora of British stars, the $17 million film took in only $2 million at the American box office, and all told lost $10 million worldwide. The Ron Goodwin - William Walton score was last released by Varese Sarabande in 2004.

One of the rarely discussed plays of author Peter Shaffer was his 1964 effort THE ROYAL HUNT OF THE SUN, which was turned into a 1969 screenplay by Philip Yordan. Set in 1532, the film follows Spanish conquistador Francisco Pizarro (Robert Shaw) as he leads an expedition into the heart of the Inca Empire and captures the Incan Emperor Atahualpa (Christopher Plummer) and claims Peru for Spain.

Christopher Plummer had played Pizarro in the 1965 Broadway production of the play, but at the request of Robert Shaw, he signed on to portray the Incan king, Atahualpa, in the film. He drew inspiration for his own performance from David Carradine's stage depiction of the Inca. Plummer also swung a spear about for fifteen minutes a day in physical preparation for his role.

Plummer’s brown body makeup took more than two hours to apply each morning, and the actor studied with an Incan dialect coach to prepare for the part. Plummer reportedly suggested that some of his character’s speeches be translated into the ancient language for the final film.

**Christopher Plummer and Robert Shaw in THE ROYAL HUNT OF THE SUN**

At the time of production, citing frustrations with typecasting and the infrequency of high-quality roles, Christopher Plummer wanted to concentrate on directing and had suggested that this movie might be his last film appearance. That, of course, did not happen.

Irving Lerner directed the 1969 film, which had an unreleased score by Marc Wilkinson. The first cut of the film ran to more than three hours. After premiering at the Cork Film Festival at a shortened 121 minutes, UK distributor Rank decided to cut nine minutes from the film, which is the length at which it opened in the U.S. soon thereafter. Even with a short running time of 113 minutes, U.S. distributor National General Pictures gave the film a limited roadshow release in select cities.

Facing the decline of everything he has worked to obtain, conqueror Napoleon Bonaparte (Rod Steiger) and his army confront the British under the command of the Duke of Wellington (Christopher Plummer) at the Battle of WATERLOO. Peter O’Toole was originally slated for the part of Wellington, but Plummer was ultimately hired.

Sergei Bondarchuk directed the 1970 film. Nino Rota’s score was released on a Paramount LP and was re-issued on CD by Legend in 1995. WATERLOO met its Waterloo at the U.S. box office with a $4.1 million gross.

Quebec detective “Jim Henderson” (Christopher Plummer and his partner “Pierre Paquette” (Donald Pilon) arrive at the scene of a hooker's mysterious fall from a penthouse balcony and suspect foul play. The dead woman, “Elizabeth Lucy” (Karen Black), was wearing an inverted cross and clutching in her hand THE PYX—a small brass vessel used to deliver the host to the sick or dying who cannot come to church for communion. The dead woman's madame, “Meg” (Yvette Brind'Amour), is anything but helpful, but Henderson does learn that Elizabeth's good friend/fellow hooker “Sandra” (Louise Rinfret) mysteriously disappeared the week before.

This was the first film Christopher Plummer did in Canada for Canadian producers. Harvey Hart directed the 1973 film, which had an unreleased score by Harry Freedman. THE PYX was a non-factor at the U.S. box office, with a $2.5 million gross.

In 1975's THE RETURN OF THE PINK PANTHER, when the legendary diamond “The Pink Panther” is stolen from a museum in the Middle Eastern country of Lugash, “Inspector Clouseau” (Peter Sellers) identifies the white leather glove left behind by the thief as the calling card of “Sir Charles Litton” (Christopher Plummer), also known as “The Phantom,” the man who stole the Pink Panther once before.

**Peter Sellers and Christopher Plummer in THE RETURN OF THE PINK PANTHER**

The character of Sir Charles Litton was played by David Niven in the 1964 film THE PINK PANTHER (although the name was spelled Lytton in that film). Niven was unavailable for this sequel, and the 28 May 1974 Hollywood Reporter listed Douglas Fairbanks, Jr. as the new “Sir Charles Litton.” But after some consideration, Fairbanks turned it down, and Christopher Plummer was cast in the role.

Blake Edwards directed the film. Henry Mancini's score was most recently released by RCA in the box set “Henry Mancini: The Classic Soundtrack Collection” in 2014. A press junket to promote the film hosted at the La Costa Resort in La Costa, CA, cost United Artists $200,000. Sellers was in attendance, taking part in seventeen television interviews in one day, while Henry Mancini performed a live concert with a thirty-five-person orchestra. Mancini received Golden Globe and Grammy nominations for “Best Score.” He lost both awards to John Williams for JAWS. The $18 million production came in at #13 for the year at the U.S. box office, with a $41.8 million gross.

The play CONDUCT UNBECOMING by Barry England, was first performed during May 1969 at the Theatre Royal in Bristol, England, then transferred to the Queen's Theatre in the West End in July. In the 1975 film, a beautiful widow (Susannah York) in colonial India is brutally attacked by one of the new officers. In a desperate bid to prevent a public scandal, the superior officers Richard Attenborough, Trevor Howard, Stacy Keach, and Christopher Plummer undertake a Court Martial. Can an idealistic young officer (Michael York) defend the accused attacker (James Faulkner), even if it means shattering the military's - and his own - code of honor?

The was Plummer’s second film with Susannah York, after BATTLE OF BRITAIN. Michael Anderson directed the picture, which had an unreleased score by Stanley Myers. The film took in a less-than-becoming $2.5 million at the U.S. box office.

The Yugoslavian film THE DAY THAT SHOOK THE WORLD chronicles the event that precipitated World War I--the assassination of the Austrian-Hungarian Archduke Franz Ferdinand (Christopher Plummer) and his wife Sophie (Florinda Bolkan) in Sarajevo, on June 28, 1914. Maximilian Schell co-stars as a revolutionary who inspires a group of young Serbian students to commit the act, in furtherance of Serbian independence.

**Christopher Plummer in THE DAY THAT SHOOK THE WORLD**

The film benefits from being shot in the actual locales where the events took place, and boasts good production values. Although the deeper political motivations of the individuals and governments involved are not explored, this does not purport to be a documentary. But as an illustrated history lesson, it holds one's interest.

Veljko Bulajic directed the 1975 film, which was released in the U.S. in 1977. Juan Carlos Calderón and Lubos Fiser provided the unreleased score.

For more than twenty years, director John Huston was interested in filming THE MAN WHO WOULD BE KING, a short story by Rudyard Kipling that Huston read when he was fourteen. Finally, at long last, in a 12 December 1974 Daily Variety news item, Allied Artists and Columbia announced that the studios would jointly produce and distribute the film, which would star Sean Connery as “Daniel Dravot” and Michael Caine as “Peachy Carnahan”, and would be directed by Huston from a script that Huston and his long-time assistant, Gladys Hill, wrote. The only female role in the film, “Roxanne”, was portrayed by Shakira Caine, the wife of Michael Caine. Christopher Plummer (a late replacement for Richard Burton) was cast as “Rudyard Kipling.” In the film, two British former soldiers (Connery and Caine) decide to set themselves up as Kings in Kafiristan, a land where no white man has set foot since Alexander the Great.

**Michael Caine, Christopher Plummer, and Sean Connery in THE MAN WHO WOULD BE KING**

The picture closely follows Kipling’s original short story, although Huston enhanced the Masonic theme for the film. Another change made by Huston and Hill was the character played by Plummer, who in the short story was not given a name, but, like the real Kipling during his early career, worked for a small newspaper in Lahore.

The lyrics to the hymn by Reginald Heber, “The Son of God Goes Forth To War,” are sung by Daniel several times in the film and also appear in Kipling’s story. In the film, the words are sung to the tune of a traditional Irish melody, “The Moreen,” which is better known as “The Minstrel Boy.” The tune is a major theme in the soundtrack and is heard intermittently throughout the film.

THE MAN WHO WOULD BE KING was nominated for four Academy Awards (Art Direction-Set Decoration, Costume Design, Film Editing and Writing-Screenplay Adapted from Other Materials). Maurice Jarre was nominated for a Golden Globe for Best Original Score-Motion Picture, losing to John Williams for JAWS. Jarre’s score was released on a Capitol Records LP, which has been re-issued on CD by Bay Cities in 1990, Milan in 1992, and Kritzerland in 2010.

THE MAN WHO WOULD BE KING was among the top 20 films of 1975, with a $33.3 million U.S. gross.

Christopher Plummer was part of an all-star British cast in the World War I flying adventure ACES HIGH. In the early days of aerial warfare, “Gresham” (Malcolm McDowell) is in charge of the squadron, one of the few experienced pilots who has managed to survive for almost two years of operations in France. His number two is the reliable “Captain Sinclair,” known as ‘Uncle’ (Plummer), grounded by an old wound, and overseeing operations. We are introduced to the others, including the reluctant and possibly cowardly “Crawford” (Simon Ward), the ever-cheerful and likable “Thompson” (David Wood), and the experienced “Roberts” (Christopher Blake).

**Malcolm McDowell and Christopher Plummer in ACES HIGH**

The 1976 feature was directed by Jack Gold. Richard Hartley's score has not been released.

The four-episode miniseries THE MONEYCHANGERS was based upon a novel by Arthur Hailey (AIRPORT). In the film, bank president “Ben Rosselli” (Leonardo Cimino) has been stricken with a terminal illness, and the time has come for someone else to take over. Rather than naming his successor, Rosselli tasks the bank's board with choosing between two well-qualified candidates: the smooth-talking, charming “Alex Vandervoort” (Kirk Douglas) and the conservative, religious “Roscoe Heyward” (Christopher Plummer).

**Joan Collins, Lorne Greene, and Christopher Plummer in THE MONEYCHANGERS**

Boris Sagal (THE OMEGA MAN) directed, the miniseries, which aired on NBC on December 4, 5, 12, & 19, 1976. Christopher Plummer won an Emmy Award as “Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited Series.” Henry Mancini’s score was released by Intrada in 2011.

JESUS OF NAZARETH was an epic re-telling of the story of Jesus Christ, made as a television mini-series. Robert Powell starred in the title role, and the film featured nearly two dozen well-known actors and actresses in other roles. Director Franco Zeffirelli had considered Dustin Hoffman and Al Pacino for the part of Jesus, and Robert Powell to play Judas. Tom Courtenay was offered the role, but declined. Once Powell got the lead role, Peter O'Toole was cast as Judas, but had to back out of the project, due to illness. Ian McShane ultimately played the part.

Zeffirelli wanted Marcello Mastroianni for the role of Pontius Pilate, but they couldn't agree on financial terms. Zeffirelli was happy in the end, as he felt that Rod Steiger was a "magnificent Pilate". Maria Schneider was originally offered the role of the Virgin Mary, but declined, and later regretted the decision. Olivia Hussey played the part. Elizabeth Taylor was interested in playing Mary Magdalene, but the role went to Anne Bancroft. Christopher Plummer played the part of Herod Antipas. Ian Holm played the scribe "Zerah,” an entirely fictional character created purely for dramatic reasons.

At a cost estimated between twelve and twenty million dollars, this mini-series had a budget equivalent to many feature films of the time, and was by far the most expensive made-for-television movie at the time of production, a record it would hold for several years.

The mini-series premiered on NBC as "The Big Event" in two three-hour installments with limited commercials on Palm Sunday and Easter Sunday (April 3 and April 10, 1977). Additional footage was added for a 1979 re-run, which was broadcast in four two-hour installments. The film has been released on VHS and DVD as one complete presentation with one set of credits.

The film received Emmy Nominations for Outstanding Special and for James Farentino as Outstanding Supporting Actor, for playing Simon Peter. Zeffirelli received a BAFTA nomination for Best Direction of a Single Play. Maurice Jarre’s score for the film was released on an RCA LP in the U.S., and on Pye Records in the UK. The first CD release came from RCA Italy in 1996. An expanded release was issued in Italy by Legend in 2010.

In 1977’s THE DISAPPEARANCE, suave contract hit man “Jay Mallory” (Donald Sutherland) dispatches his latest victim. When he comes home to his swank wharf-side condo in Montreal, he finds that his beautiful wife “Celandine” (Francine Racette) is missing. Distraught and depressed, he ignores the pleadings of his contact “Burbank” (David Warner) to begin his next job in England, and instead mulls over past events with Celandine for clues to why she may have left him, and with whom. When finally he embarks on his next mission, to kill the lugubrious “Deverell” (Christopher Plummer), new company recruit “Atkinson” (John Hurt) turns up on a country road to guide him to the kill.

**Christopher Plummer and Donald Sutherland in THE DISAPPEARANCE**

American director Stuart Cooper's second feature film (his first was OVERLORD), THE DISAPPEARANCE had a disastrous distribution history. Independently produced by friend David Hemmings, it fell into the hands of a distributor that re-edited it into utter incoherence, replaced its delicate soundtrack by Robert Farnon with an electronic score, and then barely put it on the market. It did not have a release in the U.S. until 1981. Farnon’s original score was released by Kritzerland in 2014.

In INTERNATIONAL VELVET, “Sarah Brown” (Tatum O’Neal), the orphaned niece of “Velvet Brown” (Nanette Newman) follows her dream of Olympic glory with her horse Arizona Pie. Christopher Plummer plays Velvet’s longtime boyfriend, “John Seaton.”

**Christopher Plummer and Nanette Newman in INTERNATIONAL VELVET**

The studio asked Elizabeth Taylor to reprise the role of “Velvet Brown,” which she had played as a child in 1945’s NATIONAL VELVET, but she was unable due to scheduling conflicts. Actresses Julie Andrews, Jean Simmons, Claire Bloom and Glenda Jackson were also considered, but the role ultimately went to Nanette Newman, wife of the film’s director, Bryan Forbes. Francis Lai’s score was released on an MGM LP, which was re-issued on CD in 1994 by Soundtrack Listeners Communications in Japan. The 1978 release was a box office disappointment in the U.S., with a gross of just $2.2 million.

In 1978, Curtis Hanson wrote the screenplay for the well-regarded Canadian thriller THE SILENT PARTNER. The film was an adaptation of the novel "Tænk på et tal" (which translates into English as "Think of a Number") by author Anders Bodelsen. In the film, a timid bank teller (Elliott Gould) anticipates a bank robbery and steals the money himself before the crook arrives. When the sadistic crook (Christopher Plummer) realizes he's been fooled, he tracks down the teller and engages him in a cat-and-mouse chase for the cash. Susannah York played Gould’s girlfriend in the film, the third picture in which she had appeared with Christopher Plummer.

**Christopher Plummer and Elliott Gould in THE SILENT PARTNER**

Daryl Duke (THE THORN BIRDS) directed the film. THE SILENT PARTNER marked the first film to be produced by Carolco Entertainment. It was also the only dramatic theatrical feature film to be scored by jazz pianist and composer Oscar Peterson. Peterson had been a schoolmate of Christopher Plummer. Peterson’s score was released on an LP by Pablo Records, but it has never been reissued on CD. THE SILENT PARTNER didn’t make any noise at the U.S. box office, with a gross of only $900,000.

In STARCRASH, outlaw smuggler “Stella Star” (Caroline Munro) and her alien companion “Akton” (Marjoe Gortner) are recruited by the “Emperor of the Galaxy” (Christopher Plummer) to rescue his son “Prince Simon” (David Hasselhoff) and destroy a secret weapon of the evil “Count Zarth Arn” (Joe Spinell).

Christopher Plummer admitted that he did the film so he could visit Italy for free. In an interview, he said "Give me Rome any day. I'll do porno in Rome, as long as I can get to Rome. Getting to Rome was the greatest thing that happened in that for me."

**Christopher Plummer, Marjoe Gortner, and Caroline Munro in STARCRASH**

In an interview with Variety, director Luigi Cozzi stated that although people assume STARCRASH was an attempt to capitalize on the popularity of STAR WARS, the design of the picture and its script were developed before the release of STAR WARS. Cozzi said that the film's producer and screenwriter, Nat Wachsberger, and his son, producer Patrick Wachsberger, who had just developed the American production company Film Enterprises Productions, signed on to the film in May 1977 during the Cannes Film Festival after viewing sample work created by Cozzi for investors. Nevertheless, other reports claim that the Wachsbergers specifically asked Cozzi to make a space opera like STAR WARS, and that although Cozzi had never seen the film, he had the novelization of the film in his library. So he read it and began working on his own version.

Reportedly, Ennio Morricone was first offered the opportunity to compose the film's score, which he turned down. The filmmakers were highly reluctant to allow John Barry to see the film, in case he decided to quit the project. But ultimately, he agreed to score the film. His score was released on a Polydor LP, which was re-issued on CD by BSX in 2014. STARCRASH took in $5 million at the U.S. box office.

“Sherlock Holmes” (Christopher Plummer) was after Jack the Ripper again in the 1979 mystery MURDER BY DECREE. James Mason was “Dr. Watson,” and Frank Finlay played Scotland Yard's “Inspector Lestrade” in this tale.

**James Mason and Christopher Plummer in MURDER BY DECREE**

This was not the first time that Christopher Plummer had played Sherlock Holmes. He also played the detective in a half-hour Canadian television anthology series, “The Sunday Drama.” The 1977 episode was entitled “Silver Blaze.” Plummer wore a hairpiece for this movie.

Bob Clark (A CHRISTMAS STORY) was the director of this yarn. According to Clark, Christopher Plummer returned from lunch a bit tipsy one day, but played the scene anyway. Plummer won a Genie Award, given by the Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television, for “Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role.”

Paul Zaza and Carl Zittrer are credited with the Genie Award-winning, but unreleased, score. The film did only average business, with a U.S. box office take of $8.2 million.

In HANOVER STREET, "Margaret Sellinger" (Lesley-Anne Down) is a nurse in England during World War II, and married to a secret agent (Christopher Plummer). Things get complicated when she falls for "David Halloran" (Harrison Ford), an American pilot.

**Harrison Ford and Christopher Plummer in HANOVER STREET**

Peter Hyams directed the 1979 film. John Barry's score was released by Varese Sarabande in 2009. Harry Rabinowitz conducted the score, since, for tax reasons, Barry could not travel to England, where the score was recorded. The $7 million production crashed at the box office, with a $3.9 million American gross.

In the romantic fantasy SOMEWHERE IN TIME, Chicago playwright “Richard Collier” (Christopher Reeve) uses self-hypnosis to travel back in time and meet actress “Elise McKenna” (Jane Seymour), whose vintage portrait hangs in a grand hotel. When the pair strike up a romantic relationship in the past, the lovers are not alone. Richard has to contend with McKenna's iron-willed manager, “W.F. Robinson” (Christopher Plummer), who has nurtured and guided her career since she was a teenager, fending off all romantic distractions that might interfere with the actress' concentration. To Robinson, Richard is just another adventurer, perhaps a little bolder and more persistent than the rest.

**Christopher Plummer and Jane Seymour in SOMEWHERE IN TIME**

Max von Sydow was originally intended to play the role of “W. F. Robinson,” which eventually went to Plummer. Jeannot Szwarc directed the 1980 film. The $6 million production received mainly negative reviews and generated only moderate grosses of $9.8 million. But the film has fared better on cable and video over the years.

John Barry received a Golden Globe nomination for “Best Original Score,” losing to Dominic Frontiere for THE STUNT MAN. Barry’s score was released on an MCA LP, which was re-issued on CD in 1985. Varese Sarabande re-recorded an expanded version of the score in 1998 with The Royal Scottish National Orchestra conducted by John Debney.

“Mary Flynn” (Elizabeth Montgomery) was a prim, proper, but spunky spinster from Savannah, GA, who took a sudden fancy to pack up and leave home WHEN THE CIRCUS CAME TO TOWN. There, she starts out at the very bottom, cleaning animal cages. Undaunted, Mary perseveres to become the somersaulting sequined headliner of an acrobatic troupe. That unexpected scary promotion presages an equally unlikely romance with “Duke Royal” (Christopher Plummer), the hard-bitten, rough-and-ready charmer who owns the circus and masters its center ring.

Boris Sagal directed the made-for-television film, which aired on CBS on 20 January 1981. Charles Gross provided the unreleased score.

In the 1981 thriller EYEWITNESS, Sigourney Weaver plays “Tony Sokolow,” a reporter covering the murder of an Asian businessman, which is being investigated by Stephen Hill's police lieutenant “Jacobs”. “Daryll Deever” (William Hurt), a janitor in the building where the dead man was found, is a prime suspect. Christopher Plummer plays Tony’s boyfriend, “Joseph.”

Peter Yates (BULLITT) directed the film. Stanley Silverman's score has not had a release.

Christopher Plummer is London businessman “Tony Wendice,” who concocts an intricate plan to murder his unfaithful wife “Margot” (Angie Dickinson) for her money in the 1981 made-for-television production of Frederick Knott’s play DIAL “M” FOR MURDER.

**Christopher Plummer in DIAL “M” FOR MURDER**

Boris Sagal directed the picture, his third and last television film with Plummer. Billy Goldenberg provided the unreleased score for the film, which aired on NBC on 6 April 1981.

In THE AMATEUR, a solitary American who works for the CIA as a mathematician (John Savage) goes behind the Iron Curtain on a mission of personal revenge to kill some terrorists who murdered the man’s girlfriend when she was working on a photographic assignment in Munich. Once he gets into Czechoslovakia, the CIA decides to send additional agents to Prague, not to help the man, but to kill him. The terrorists and the CIA are both using professional killers to try to kill him, and he is just "the amateur." He seems to be doomed, but he gets a break when a scholarly local policeman (Christopher Plummer) takes an interest in this whole business of CIA agents shooting at other CIA agents, and wonders why.

Charles Jarrott directed this 1981 Canadian-produced film. Christopher Plummer was nominated for another Canadian Genie Award for “Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role.” Ken Wannberg’s score was released by Prometheus in 2002.

In the action comedy HIGHPOINT, “James Hatcher” (Christopher Plummer) embezzles ten million dollars from a joint mafia and C.I.A. operation, leaving them squabbling with each other. Unemployed accountant “Lewis Kinney” (Richard Harris) gets caught up in the intrigue, and must try to recover the money himself.

Peter Carter directed the Canadian production, which originally began principal photography in July 1979. Once the filmmakers delivered the first cut, re-shoots were held in early 1981. A version of the film played in Europe throughout 1982. U.S. distributor New World acquired the film and significantly re-edited the picture by removing a lot of the comedy before debuting it in August 1984, where it earned about $50,000 at the U.S. box office.

In addition to editing, New World replaced the original score by John Addison with a more suspenseful score by Christopher Young. Four cues from Young’s score were released on a Cerberus LP in 1985. GNP Crescendo expanded that to seven cues for a 1989 CD.

The 1983 television mini-series THE THORN BIRDS is set in the arid 1920s Australian Outback, where Catholic priest “Ralph de Bricassart” (Richard Chamberlain) and “Meggie Cleary” (Rachel Ward), the beautiful granddaughter of a vast sheep station owner, stand powerless before God's will, tormented by desire. How far are they willing to go in the name of love? Christopher Plummer played “Archbishop Vittorio Contini-Verchese” in the film.

**Christopher Plummer in THE THORN BIRDS**

Daryl Duke directed the series, which aired on ABC on 27-30 March 1983. Henry Mancini's Emmy-nominated score was released by Varese Sarabande in 2004.

In ORDEAL BY INNOCENCE, Christopher Plummer plays “Leo Argyle,” whose equilibrium is disturbed when “Dr Arthur Calgary” (Donald Sutherland) turns up at his door, returning from the snowy wastes with a diary left in his car by Leo’s son Jack two years before his trip commenced. This provides an alibi that gets Jack out of the murder of his own mother (played in flashbacks by Faye Dunaway). The problem is that Jack has already been given the death penalty and executed. Nevertheless, Calgary is determined to uncover the true culprit, and works his way through a lengthy list of suspects including Ian McShane, Diana Quick and Sarah Miles.

**Donald Sutherland and Christopher Plummer in ORDEAL BY INNOCENCE**

This was the fifth and final film on which Plummer and fellow Canadian Donald Sutherland worked together. Desmond Davis and Alan Birkinshaw directed this 1984 Agatha Christie adaptation.

Pino Donaggio was engaged to provide the film’s score. But after Donaggio turned in his score, the film went through major revisions, with a lot of re-editing and some new footage. A scene with Christopher Plummer shooting a rabbit in the woods was filmed in New Jersey and not Devon, England where the rest of the film was shot. This was a scene added after principal photography had been completed--and Plummer could not return to work in England for tax reasons.

At that point, the film required rescoring, but Donaggio was already working on another project and was not available. So, jazz great Dave Brubeck was hired to score the film. He was told by the producers that he'd have two weeks to write an original score. He said no. They then agreed that they'd use already existing Brubeck tunes, newly record them, and lay them into the picture. Kritzerland released Donaggio’s unused score in 2011. Released in the U.S. in 1985, ORDEAL BY INNOCENCE earned less than $150,000 at the box office.

At Thornhill College in California, psychiatrist “Paul Novotny” (Max von Sydow), a sleep researcher; his colleague, “Dr. Jane DeVries” (Kate Capshaw); and a government agent named “Bob Blair” (Christopher Plummer) discuss the case of “Alex Gardner” (Dennis Quaid), a young psychic who disappeared nine years earlier. In DREAMSCAPE, Alex eventually finds himself recruited by a government agency experimenting with the use of dream-sharing technology and is given the task of planting an idea into the mind of the U.S. president (Eddie Albert).

**Christopher Plummer and Max von Sydow in DREAMSCAPE**

Joseph Ruben directed the 1984 film. Originally, the producers wanted Maurice Jarre to write the music for the film orchestrally, but Jarre insisted on scoring the film electronically because he felt that it was the right approach for the material and also set the tone of the film. Jarre’s score was released on the Sonic Atmospheres label, and was re-issued by Intrada in 2013.

The animated film AN AMERICAN TAIL followed “Fieval” (Phillip Glasser) a young Russian mouse emigrating to the United States. After being swept overboard from the ship, Fievel floats past the Statue of Liberty inside a glass bottle. Washed ashore, Fievel is discovered by “Henri” (Christopher Plummer), a French pigeon working on the Statue of Liberty, who informs Fievel that he has reached America.

**Christopher Plummer and Phillip Glasser in AN AMERICAN TAIL**

Henri was originally to be voiced by Sid Caesar, and was conceived as scraggly and worn, but later Christopher Plummer was cast for the part and Henri was drawn with a more dignified look. Director Don Bluth felt Henri was an essential character to act as a voice for the statue "welcoming" Fievel to the new world.

James Horner’s score for the 1986 film, recorded with the London Symphony, was released by MCA. Intrada released an expanded version in 2019. The film received particular acclaim for the song “Somewhere Out There,” which was nominated for an Academy Award for “Music (Original Song)” and a Golden Globe for “Best Original Song – Motion Picture.” It lost both awards to the song "Take My Breath Away,” from TOP GUN. However, it won a Grammy Award for “Best Song Written Specifically for a Motion Picture or for Television” in 1988.

DRAGNET was a comedic take on the long-time Jack Webb detective show. The film followed “Friday” (Dan Aykroyd) the equally-straight-laced and "by the book" nephew of Webb’s “Joe Friday,” who must work with his more laid-back partner, “Pep Streebek” (Tom Hanks) to solve a mystery that involves porno king “Jerry Caesar” (Dabney Coleman). Christopher Plummer plays “Reverend Jonathan Whirley,” head of the Moral Advance Movement of America (MAMA), which is rallying against pornography.

After Dan Aykroyd and co-writer Alan Zweibel had turned in their script, Frank Price, then chairman of MCA Motion Picture Group, called in Tom Mankiewicz to do further work on the screenplay. Mankiewicz was best known as a screenwriter and “script doctor,” having done rewrites on several of the James Bond and Superman movies, among others. Mankiewicz “loved” the script and stayed on to direct.

Ira Newborn’s score shared space on the MCA soundtrack CD with several songs. The $12 million production came in at #14 at the U.S. box office for the year, with a $57.4 million gross.

A HAZARD OF HEARTS was a romance based on a 1949 novel by Barbara Cartland. Compulsive gambler “Sir Giles Staverley” (Christopher Plummer) is tricked into gambling away his home by his old adversary “Lord Harry Wrotham” (Edward Fox). Since Staverley is distraught and desperate, Wrotham gives him one last chance--he will gamble everything Staverley has lost against Staverley's daughter's hand in marriage and her trust fund of 80,000 guineas.

John Hough directed this made-for-television film, which aired on CBS on 27 December 1987. Laurie Johnson’s score for the film has not been released.

ROCK-A-DOODLE was Christopher Plummer’s second animated film for director Don Bluth. In the film, “Chanticleer” (Glen Campbell) is a rooster whose crowing raises the sun every morning. Then one morning he forgets to crow, and the sun rises anyway. Having become the laughing-stock of the barnyard and also having lost his faith in his abilities, Chanticleer hightails it to the big city. But once Chanticleer leaves the farm, it begins to rain without stop and the evil owl, “Grand Duke” (Plummer), who likes things dark, takes over. So, Chanticleer's friends come to the city to find him and apologize and convince him to return home. Unbeknownst to them, Chanticleer has now become the toast of the big city, crooning to the masses like some knockoff Elvis Presley.

**Charles Nelson Reilly and Christopher Plummer in ROCK-A-DOODLE**

None of Robert Folk’s score appeared on the Liberty song-track CD, even though it runs a scant 21 minutes. Christopher Plummer’s voice appears on three of the tracks. ROCK-A-DOODLE played in Europe in 1991 and made its U.S. debut in 1992. The film’s budget was estimated at $13-16 million, but it grossed only $11.7 million in the U.S.

In addition to acting, Leonard Nimoy was the Executive Producer of 1991's STAR TREK VI: THE UNDISCOVERED COUNTRY. Nothing from the original story draft by Lawrence Konner and Mark Rosenthal was used in the final film. But the two went to the Writers Guild and demanded story credit. The Guild originally removed Leonard Nimoy's story credit, but Nimoy threatened to sue the Guild and Paramount if his credit was not restored. Finally, all three of them received story credit.

In the film, on the eve of retirement, “Kirk” (William Shatner) and “McCoy” (DeForest Kelly) are accused of assassinating the Klingon “High Chancellor Gorkon” (David Warner) and are imprisoned. The Enterprise crew must help them escape to thwart a conspiracy aimed at sabotaging the last best hope for peace. Christopher Plummer plays Gorkon’s Chief of Staff, “General Chang.”

General Chang was originally to have had hair, but as his make-up was being applied for the first time, Plummer liked the bald look, and had the make-up technician omit the hair. Plummer also asked that he be allowed to wear less "severe" Klingon make-up for his role.

**Christopher Plummer in STAR TREK VI: THE UNDISCOVERED COUNTRY**

At one point in the film, at the dinner with the Klingons, the characters quote from "Hamlet" by William Shakespeare. At that table are two notable Hamlets (Christopher Plummer in 1957 and 1964, and David Warner in 1965), as well as William Shatner, who began his career in Canada, understudying Plummer in Shakespearian plays. Early in their careers, Shatner understudied Plummer in "King Lear". Invited to the Edinburgh Festival, Plummer could not appear due to a kidney stone, and Shatner replaced him with no rehearsals and with only four hours notice. The two had been having a friendly rivalry and, hearing rave reviews of Shatner's Lear, Plummer's performance the following night was what he described as being the best of his career - and he later acknowledged Shatner as providing the impetus for this.

Director Nicholas Meyer and Nimoy disagreed as to who came up with the concept of using the film as an allegory for the fall of Soviet Communism, with both men claiming credit for the idea. Cliff Eidelman’s score was released by MCA. Intrada released an expanded edition in 2012. The $26 million production was the #15 film of the year at the U.S. box office, with a $74.9 million gross.

Following an accident which killed a family, “Mel Wexler” (Christopher Plummer) has thrown himself into his job as a TV producer, with his new project, a soap-opera called Manhattan, being his number one focus. And Mel has assembled a stunning cast from “Sabina Quarles” (Stephanie Beacham), a once big film star, to “Bill Warwick” (Ben Browder), a male model who will be a hit with the girls. But all these people have SECRETS—from a drug addicted wife who has turned to prostitution to pay for her habit, to an abused wife with a controlling husband.

SECRETS was based on the Danielle Steele novel of the same name. Peter H. Hunt directed the made-for-television film, which aired on NBC on 6 April 1992. Arthur B. Rubinstein provided the unreleased score.

Christopher Plummer had a cameo role as “Chaplin Gill” in Spike Lee’s 1992 biopic MALCOLM X, which starred Denzel Washington as the Black Nationalist leader. Terence Blanchard’s score was released by Columbia, while Quest released a CD of songs. It was estimated that Warner Bros. spent a total of $40 million on production and marketing of the film, which grossed $48 million at the U.S. box office.

In 1990, Christopher Plummer began starring in the Canadian-produced television series “Counterstrike”. After his wife is killed in a terrorist operation, international industrialist “Alexander Addington” (Plummer) assembles a private team of troubleshooters to help combat terrorism around the world. The team is led by ex-Scotland Yard investigator “Peter Sinclair” (Simon MacCorkindale), and includes the rough-and-tumble “J.J.” (Andre Mayers) and the sophisticated forger/thief “Gabrielle Germont” (Sophie Michaud).

In America, the hour-long adventure series aired for three seasons on the USA Network. It ended in 1993, after 66 episodes. For the show’s first season, Christopher Plummer was nominated for a Canadian Gemini Award for “Best Performance by an Actor in a Continuing Leading Dramatic Role.”

In WOLF, “Will Randall” (Jack Nicholson), a mild-mannered publisher, is going through a midlife crisis: A merger is leaving him forced out of his job, and a smarmy junior executive (James Spader) is betraying him both at work and at home. However, a recent attack by an animal he hit during a business trip to New England is leaving him feeling more assertive and manly than ever, and is attracting the advances of his boss’ troubled and seductive daughter (Michelle Pfeiffer), who has picked up on his scent. Christopher Plummer is Will’s boss and Pfeiffer's father, “Raymond Alden.”

**Jack Nicholson and Christopher Plummer in WOLF**

Before Christopher Plummer was cast, Marlon Brando called producer Douglas Wick to express interest in the role of Raymond Alden. In Christopher Plummer's memoir, he revealed that while filming a scene, he got so into character that he actually slapped Michelle Pfeiffer across the face instead of faking it.

Mike Nichols directed this 1994 horror tale. Ennio Morricone’s score was released by Sony Classical/Columbia. WOLF was in the top 20 films of the year at the U.S. box office, grossing $65 million. It took in an equivalent amount overseas.

Big-city reporter “Selena St. George” (Jennifer Jason Leigh) travels to the small town where her mother, DOLORES CLAIBORNE (Kathy Bates), has been arrested for the murder of an elderly woman for whom she worked as a maid. Christopher Plummer plays “John Mackey,” one of the detectives investigating the case.

**Christopher Plummer and Kathy Bates in DOLORES CLAIBORNE**

Christopher Plummer's character sports a prominent scar on the bridge of his nose. According to director Taylor Hackford, he wanted Mackey to look disheveled and careworn, so he asked his costume designer to put Mackey in the worst suits she could find, but without success. Plummer quietly approached Hackford and said, "Taylor, it's impossible for me to look bad in a suit, that's just the way I'm built. But let me do something that will change all that. I'll break my nose." Plummer took an eye-brow pencil and drew a line across the bridge of his nose, and then shaded it to create the illusion of an ugly, permanent scar. Upon seeing the result, Hackford was astounded by Plummer's transformed appearance: "My desired image of John Mackey suddenly materialized before my eyes."

Danny Elfman’s score for the 1995 crime drama was released by Varese Sarabande, who also released a Deluxe Edition in 2020. The film had modest box office receipts of $25 million in the U.S.

In 12 MONKEYS, Bruce Willis stars as “James Cole,” a convict from the future who is sent to the past to try and discover the origins of the virus that wiped out most of the world's human population. After a violent altercation with the police of 1990, Cole is sent to an asylum where he meets patient “Jeffrey Goines” (Brad Pitt), son of wealthy scientist “Dr. Goines” (Christopher Plummer), and quite possibly plants the seeds of mankind's destruction in the lunatic's mind. Together with his psychiatrist “Kathryn Railly” (Madeleine Stowe), Cole tries to prevent the disaster from occurring.

Terry Gilliam directed this 1995 science fiction film. Paul Buckmaster’s score was released by MCA. The film landed just outside of the top 30 films of the year at the U.S. box office, with a $57.1 million gross.

In the made-for-television biopic WINCHELL, Stanley Tucci played the American newspaper and radio gossip commentator Walter Winchell, who was famous for attempting to destroy the careers of people, both private and public, whom he disliked. Glenne Headly played his lover, showgirl "Mary Louise 'Dallas' Wayne," a fictionalized version of real-life Winchell confidante and speakeasy owner Mary Louise Cecilia "Texas" Guinan. Christopher Plummer played President Franklin D. Roosevelt in the film. Paul Mazursky directed the docudrama, which aired on HBO on 21 November 1998. The film has an unreleased score by Bill Conti.

THE INSIDER told the story of a research chemist (Russell Crowe) who comes under personal and professional attack when he decides to appear in a "60 Minutes" exposé on Big Tobacco. Al Pacino stars as “60 Minutes” producer Lowell Bergman and Christopher Plummer co-stars as reporter Mike Wallace.

**Al Pacino and Christopher Plummer in THE INSIDER**

Mike Wallace, who was seventy-six years old at the time the actual events dramatized in the film took place, was played by sixty-nine-year-old Christopher Plummer. Michael Mann directed this 1999 docu-drama. Columbia/Sony released the score by Lisa Gerrard and Pieter Bourke.

AMERICAN TRAGEDY was a behind-the-scenes look at the murder trial of O.J. Simpson, and of how his lawyers worked to defend him. Christopher Plummer played F. Lee Bailey, one of Simpson’s “Dream Team” of lawyers, who also included Johnny Cochran (Ving Rhames), Robert Shapiro (Ron Silver), Barry Scheck (Bruno Kirby), and Robert Kardashian (Robert Lupone).

Lawrence Schiller directed the film, which was written by Norman Mailer based upon Schiller’s book. The made-for-television film aired in two parts on CBS on 12 & 15 November 2000. Bill Conti provided the unreleased score.

Christopler Plummer was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for “Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Series, Miniseries or Motion Picture Made for Television.” He lost the award to Robert Downey Jr. for “Ally McBeal.”

Gerard Butler is “Dracula” and Christopher Plummer is “Abraham Van Helsing” in DRACULA 2000. Director Patrick Lussier’s tale tells how Dracula is accidentally released when a group of thieves breaks into a chamber expecting to find paintings. Once free, the count travels to New Orleans to find his nemesis' daughter, “Mary Van Helsing” (Justine Waddell).

Sony Music Soundtrax released a CD of songs from the film. Marco Beltrami’s score was finally released by Varese Sarabande in 2020. The $54 million production got staked at the box office, garnering a worldwide gross of only $47 million.

Thirty-six years after THE SOUND OF MUSIC opened, Julie Andrews and Christopher Plummer re-united for a live television production of Ernest Thompson’s play ON GOLDEN POND. The play tells the story of “Ethel Thayer” (Andrews) and “Norman Thayer” (Plummer), an old couple living in a house by a pond. Their daughter, “Chelsea Thayer Wayne” (Glenne Headly), is forty-two-years-old, and has never been married. She is dating a forty-five-year-old dentist, and brings him up to Golden Pond to meet her parents. Her boyfriend, “Bill Ray” (Sam Robards), has a fourteen-year-old son named “Billy” (Will Rothhaar), who comes along.

Plummer had not actually been the first choice for the role of Norman Thayer. Michael Caine and Patrick Stewart turned the part down before Plummer was cast.

Ernest Thompson directed the actors, while Martin Pasetta directed the live television production. Anthony Marinelli provided incidental music. The show aired on CBS on 29 April 2001.

In Ron Howard's film A BEAUTIFUL MIND, about brilliant but asocial mathematician John Nash (Russell Crowe), Christopher Plummer played psychiatrist “Dr. Rosen.” James Horner's score for the 2001 film was released by Decca. The $58 million Academy Award Best Picture winner was an international blockbuster, with a $317 million world-wide gross.

**Christopher Plummer in A BEAUTIFUL MIND**

In ARARAT, while being interrogated by a customs officer (Christopher Plummer), a young man (David Alpay) recounts how his life was changed during the making of a film about the Armenian genocide.

**Christopher Plummer and David Alpay in ARARAT**

This 2002 Canadian film was written and directed by Atom Egoyan. Mychael Danna’s score was released by Milan. Christopher Plummer was nominated for a Canadian Gemini Award for “Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role.” The $15.5 million production was perhaps too specialized a film to find a large audience, and grossed only $2.7 million worldwide.

The opening of the 2002 filmization of Charles Dickens’ NICHOLAS NICKLEBY introduces us to the Nicklebys, country gentry who enjoy a comfortable life in the Devon countryside until the father dies and leaves his family with no source of income. Nineteen-year-old “Nicholas” (Charlie Hunnam), his mother “Catherine” (Stella Gonet), and his younger sister, “Kate” (Romola Garai), venture to London to seek help from their wealthy, cold-hearted uncle “Ralph Nickleby” (Christopher Plummer), an investor who arranges for Nicholas to be hired as a tutor at Dotheboys Hall in Yorkshire and finds Kate work as a seamstress.

**Christopher Plummer in NICOLAS NICKLEBY**

Douglas McGrath wrote and directed this comedy-drama, which won an award from the National Board of Review for Best Acting by an Ensemble Cast. Rachel Portman’s score was released by Varese Sarabande. The film grossed just $3.7 million at the world-wide box office.

THE GOSPEL OF JOHN covered the life story of Jesus (Henry Ian Cusick) as told by the apostle John (Stuart Bunce). Christopher Plummer narrated the 2003 film. Philip Saville directed the Canadian-produced picture. Jeff Danna’s score featured instrumental sounds of the period and was released by Varese Sarabande. The $10 million production used 75 principal actors and 2,000 extras. It was a flop at the U.S. box office, taking in just $4 million.

NATIONAL TREASURE tells the tale of the hidden knowledge about a treasure of imperial spoils brought to the New World by the Founding Fathers. In the opening prologue, we watch an exciting montage of history as “John Adams Gates” (Christopher Plummer) explains to his young grandson, “Benjamin Franklin Gates” (Hunter Gomez, who’ll grow up to be Nicolas Cage) that the Knights Templar founded the Freemasons and that the Masons helped form America and shepherd away a national treasure that could only be found by following a series of clues embedded in national icons.

**Christopher Plummer and Hunter Gomez in NATIONAL TREASURE**

Jon Turteltaub directed the 2004 adventure-chase film. Trevor Rabin’s score was released by Walt Disney Records. Although the $100 million production told a seemingly American-centric story, it did equally well overseas, coming in at #11 at the worldwide box office, with a $348 million gross.

ALEXANDER was Oliver Stone’s bio-pic of the legendary King of Macedonia, who was one of the greatest military leaders in the history of warfare and conquered much of the known world. Colin Farrell played the title role. Christopher Plummer played Old Ptolemy, the Egyptian mathematician, astronomer, and philosopher.

Vangelis’ score was released by Sony Classical. The $155 million film did relatively poorly at the worldwide box office, not cracking the top 30 films and grossing just $167 million.

OUR FATHERS was a made-for-television film that dramatized the hidden sexual abuse and scandal that shook the foundation of the Catholic Church, and the characters, events, and policies that brought the abuse and scandal into existence. Christopher Plummer played Cardinal Bernard Francis Law, the Archbishop of Boston, who was instrumental in covering up the molestation of children by Catholic priests.

Dan Curtis directed the film, which aired on the Showtime channel on 25 May 2005. Robert Cobert provided the unreleased score. Christopher Plummer received an Emmy nomination as “Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Miniseries or a Movie” and a Screen Actors Guild nomination for “Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Television Movie or Miniseries.” Plummer lost both awards to Paul Newman for EMPIRE FALLS.

MUST LOVE DOGS is a romantic comedy about a newly divorced preschool teacher named “Sarah” (Diane Lane) who tries Internet dating, but mostly fails to get back in the game. Sarah’s sprawling Irish family, led by patriarch “Bill” (Christopher Plummer), treats her like a freak, a basket case, or a punchline. Her adventures in cyberdating produce one humiliation after another. And the neighborhood butcher looks on her with contempt because she’s only buying for one, and then with fear when she gives him a much-deserved dressing-down. But all that is before “Jake” (John Cusack) comes along.

**Christopher Plummer in MUST LOVE DOGS**

Gary David Goldberg wrote and directed the 2005 film. Craig Armstrong’s score did not make an appearance on the Epic/Sony Music song-track CD. The $30 million film was not a smash hit, but still nearly doubled its money at the international box office.

Loosely based on a memoir by one-time CIA field operative Bob Baer, SYRIANA (a term for a dream American puppet state in the Middle East) is at least as complicated as TRAFFIC, which brought writer-director Steve Gaghan a Best Original Screenplay Oscar in 2001. In his role as Foreign Minister of his unnamed Arab kingdom, “Prince Nasir Al-Subaai” (Alexander Siddig) has negotiated a lucrative contract to sell his nation's oil to the Chinese, making his aging and ailing father's longtime American allies more than a little upset. Nasir has reformer dreams of wielding oil money to build a modern democratic state with a parliament and civil rights for women.

American broker “Bryan Woodman” (Matt Damon) thinks Nasir's idealism is genuine, and hopes his company can make a couple of hundred million in supporting Nasir. But moguls like “Jimmy Pope” (Chris Cooper) and “Leland Janus” (Peter Gerety) at American energy conglomerate Connex Oil and their politically connected lawyer “Dean Whiting” (Christopher Plummer) aren't quite so pleased. And they've got allies in the CIA. So, they plan to move against Nasir.

Alexandre Desplat’s score for the 2005 film was released by RCA Red Seal. The $50 million production ended up in the top 50 films of the year at the international box office, with a $$94 million gross.

In THE NEW WORLD, as Captain John Smith (Colin Farrell) arrives in Jamestown in chains in 1607 and is pardoned for his mutinous ways, he is sent on a mission by Captain Newport (Christopher Plummer) to trade with the local tribes. There he has an extended stay as he learns the ways of the native people and falls in love with Pocahontas (Q'orianka Kilcher), the beautiful and beloved daughter of the mighty Chief Powhatan (August Schellenberg). When he returns to the settlement, his pacifistic nature upsets the settlers who begin to engage the natives in war. Smith continues his love affair with Pocahontas until he is sent on an exploratory mission. At this point, she is brought to live in the settlement and eventually marries John Rolfe (Christian Bale), an admirable plantation owner.

**Christopher Plummer in THE NEW WORLD**

Christopher Plummer was infuriated after watching the final cut of the movie and discovering that key scenes had been cut and one of his important speeches had been reduced to background noise. Plummer revealed in a 2012 Newsweek interview that he went to the lengths of writing a letter to director Terrence Malick after his experience. "He insists on writing, and overwriting, and overwriting, until it sounds terribly pretentious,” he told Newsweek. “You have to work terribly hard to make it sound real. And then he edits his films in such a way where he cuts everybody out of the story." In the letter, he told Malick that he was boring and he had to get a writer. Plummer vowed never to work with Malick again.

It’s likely that Plummer’s cut scenes have been restored in the extended home video version of the film, which runs nearly 40 minutes longer than the general theatrical release version. James Horner’s score was released by New Line Records in the U.S. and Silva Screen in the UK. The $30 million production was not popular in the U.S., grossing just $13 million at the domestic box office, but it earned nearly three times as much overseas, adding another $37 million to its take.

In Spike Lee’s INSIDE MAN, a gang of bank robbers led by “Dalton Russell” (Clive Owen) have taken over a bank and taken hostages. Denzel Washington plays hostage negotiator “Detective Keith Frazier,” a good cop with an edgy suspect past, which despite his plea of innocence, still continues to haunt him. Christopher Plummer plays “Arthur Case,” the Chairman of the bank that Russell is holding up, and it seems that he has a dark secret hidden inside the bank which he doesn't want revealed. Jodie Foster is “Madeline White,” a mysterious power-broker who gets employed to muscle her way into the situation between felon and cop.

**Jodie Foster and Christopher Plummer in INSIDE MAN**

Terence Blanchard’s score for this 2006 crime drama was released by Varese Sarabande. The $45 million production was in the top 25 films of the year at the worldwide box office, with a gross of $186 million.

In THE LAKE HOUSE, Keanu Reeves stars as “Alex Wyler,” a talented architect who works on creating condo communities, much to the chagrin of his domineering designer-genius father “Simon” (Christopher Plummer). When Alex moves into a lake house outside of Chicago, there is a letter in the mailbox waiting for him from a former tenant, a doctor named “Kate Forster” (Sandra Bullock) who makes curious mention of imperfections around the house. Alex is confused, as the house has been abandoned for years, and the things that Kate speaks of are things that Alex cannot see. After a few (rushed and poorly executed) correspondence exchanges via the spooky mailbox, the two discover that Alex is living exactly two years behind Kate, and the imperfections that Kate speaks of have yet to happen in Alex’s time.

**Christopher Plummer in THE LAKE HOUSE**

Alejandro Agresti directed this 2006 romantic fantasy. Rachel Portman’s score was released by Lakeshore Records. The $40 million film made its way into the top 50 films of the year at the international box office, with a world-wide gross of $115.

In the Pixar animated film UP, we first meet “Carl Fredricksen” (Edward Asner) as a young boy who dreams of being an explorer, much as his idol “Charles Muntz” (Christopher Plummer). Then Carl meets young “Ellie” (Elie Docter) who is just as much an explorer at heart as Carl is. The two hit it off. They eventually fall in love and have a long, loving marriage.

But then things change, and Carl – now a retired balloon salesman -- suffers from depression and becomes a recluse. When he’s forced to move to an old folks’ home, he decides to tie a thousand helium balloons to his house and fly off. His plan works out well until he discovers a stowaway – boy scout “Russell” (Jordan Nagai), who is determined to earn his merit badge by offering his assistance to Carl. Together, they set off to find Paradise Falls, a place where Ellie had always wanted to visit with Carl before real life interfered. On their way, they come across an exotic bird, talking dogs, and eventually Charles Muntz himself.

Pete Docter and Bob Peterson directed the 2009 film. Michael Giacchino’s score was released by Disney/Intrada. The $175 million production came in at #6 for the year at the world-wide box office, with a gross of $735 million.

In the fantasy adventure THE IMAGINARIUM OF DOCTOR PARNASSUS, the London sideshow troupe of "Doctor Parnassus" (Christopher Plummer) promises audiences a journey to the "Imaginarium", an imaginary world commanded by the mind of Parnassus where dreams come true. In the stories that Parnassus tells to his daughter "Valentina" (Lily Cole), to his long-time assistant "Percy" (Verne Troyer), and to his new assistant "Anton" (Andrew Garfield), he claims to have lived more than one thousand years.

Percy and Anton save the life of a man hanging from a bridge. The man on the rope is "Tony" (Heath Ledger). He joins the traveling wagon performance, is repulsed by its primitive style, and recommends making it more state-of-the-art. Heath Ledger died during the production of the film, and production was shut down for a few months. Then it was re-started when Johnny Depp, Jude Law, and Colin Farrell agreed to complete Ledger's role. The film's fantasy premise, and some clever re-writes, let the actors play a man whose appearance changes as he travels between imaginary worlds. After Ledger's passing, Verne Troyer and Lily Cole both got heart tattoos in memory of him.

**Christopher Plummer and Tom Waits in THE IMAGINARIUM OF DOCTOR PARNASSUS**

Terry Gilliam directed the 2009 film. The film's score, by Mychael Danna and Jeff Danna, was released on a Lion's Gate CD in the U.S. and by Silva Screen in Britain. The $30 million film was a bust in the U.S., grossing under $8 million. But it did better internationally, and ultimately grossed $62 million in total.

The animated film 9 is set in a dingy, post-apocalyptic, steampunk-inspired world. We meet “9”, a tiny, burlap-sack rag doll built by an aged scientist/inventor. With his dying breath, the scientist brings 9 to life. But what is his purpose? Wandering his way around earthly ruins stripped of any organic life, 9 soon locates a collection of similar creations—of which he appears to be the latest (and last).

Each “stitchpunk” has a different personality: “1” (voiced by Christopher Plummer) is a stubborn religious type; “2” (Martin Landau) is an adventurous explorer; “5” (John C. Reilly) is a loyal friend; “6” (Crispin Glover) is a visionary artist; “7” (Jennifer Connelly) is a dexterous warrior. And “9” (reed-voiced Elijah Wood)? Well, he’s, you know, the brave hero.

Elijah Wood and Christopher Plummer in 9. — **Elijah Wood and Christopher Plummer in 9**.

Shane Acker directed the 2009 fantasy. Deborah Lurie’s score was released by Koch Records. The $30 million film broke even in the U.S. and was a modest earner overseas, finishing with a $48 million world-wide gross.

In THE LAST STATION, a young man, “Valentin” (James McAvoy), has been hired to be an assistant to Russian literary giant Leo Tolstoy (Christopher Plummer). In fact, however, he has been placed there as an informant by Vladimir Chertkov (Paul Giamatti), one of Tolstoy's top loyalists, in order to spy on Tolstoy’s wife, Countess Sofya (Helen Mirren). The Countess opposes her husband's ideals, particularly his commitment to a life devoid of material things.

**James McAvoy and Christopher Plummer in THE LAST STATION**

Michael Hoffman wrote and directed this 2009 biographical drama. Christopher Plummer was eighty during filming, just two years younger than Leo Tolstoy was in the period depicted in this movie. Michael Hoffman really liked the fact that Plummer could play his own age. Plummer received both an Oscar nomination and a Golden Globe nomination as Best Supporting Actor. He lost both awards to Christoph Waltz for INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS.

Sergey Yevtushenko wrote the entire score after reading the script and before filming had even started. Michael Hoffman rejected it on principle, but after several months, several composers and other attempts to score the movie, he realized that Yevtushenko's score was perfect for the film. The score was released by Varese Sarabande. The $18 million production essentially broke even at the world-wide box office, with a gross of $20 million.

BEGINNERS focuses on “Oliver” (Ewan McGregor), who is at the crossroads of his life with the death of his mom “Georgia” (Mary Page Keller), and with his dad “Hal” (Christopher Plummer) revealing that he's gay. In a way, it's one depressing blow after another, especially when his mother's death seemed like a release for his dad to finally lead the remaining years of his life in as honest a fashion as possible. Oliver is also concerned about caring for his father in his twilight years, while at the same time he is falling for a French actress, “Anna” (Melanie Laurent), who also has issues of her own to contend with.

The role of Hal was intended for Max von Sydow, who declined due to the nature of the subject in favor of appearing as a mute in EXTREMELY LOUD & INCREDIBLY CLOSE. Plummer was attracted to the role because he liked the fact there was no self-pity regarding his character.

Mike Mills wrote and directed this 2011 film. The score was by Roger Neill, David Palmer, and Brian Reitzell. Score tracks and songs shared space on the CD released by Relativity Music Group in the U.S. and Silva Screen in the UK. This independent, low budget ($3.2 million) production did well, grossing $14.3 million world-wide.

Christopher Plummer won an Academy Award for the “Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role.” In so doing, he became the oldest winner of a competitive Oscar in an acting category, at 82, surpassing the achievement of Jessica Tandy who had won hers at 81 for DRIVING MISS DAISY.

**Christopher Plummer wins the Best Supporting Actor Oscar for BEGINNERS**

The original production of the (essentially) one-man play “Barrymore” opened at the Music Box Theatre on Broadway on March 14, 1997 and ran for 236 performance, closing on November 2, 1997. The original cast consisted of Christopher Plummer as John Barrymore and Michael Mastro as Frank. Plummer won Tony and Drama Desk awards for best actor. The production then toured the United States with Plummer as Barrymore from July 6, 1998 to December 6, 1998.

More than a dozen years later, Christopher Plummer appeared in the film BARRYMORE, reprising the role he originated on Broadway. Plummer again portrays John Barrymore, the youngest of the legendary acting family's accomplished first generation, who gained fame for Shakespearean drama on Broadway and London stages, before graduating to silent films and early talkies. The film’s opening titles establish 1925 as the peak of this Barrymore's stage success, then followed by a slow descent into alcoholism, which would ultimately claim his life at age 60 in May of 1942.

The show, conceived by William Luce and adapted and directed by Erik Canuel, is set two months before the actor's death. He is dropped off at Broadway's old Majestic Theatre, which he has rented for the night to go over his lines for an audition and potential comeback. The play is Shakespeare's Richard III, the title role of which Barrymore once performed to some acclaim. But that seems ages ago to this cynical, old alcoholic.

Michel Corriveau provided incidental music for this Canadian-produced film. The film aired on Canadian television and had a scant theatrical release in selected English-speaking countries. Christopher Plummer won an ACTRA -Toronto Award for “Outstanding Performance - Male,” presented by the Association of Canadian Television and Radio Artists.

In David Fincher’s remake of the 2009 Swedish art-house hit THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO, Rooney Mara is “Lisbeth Salander,” the eponymous girl who bears the psychological scars of a harsh upbringing, and is now a ward of the state due to being declared legally incompetent as a child. When her existing ward suffers a stroke, she is assigned to “Nils Bjurman” (Yorick van Wageningen), who uses his position to sexually abuse her. Although Lisbeth is reserved and withdrawn – and possibly psychotic – she possesses a knack for research and computer hacking which makes her invaluable to the security company that employs her. One of her assignments is an investigation into the background of “Mikael Blomkvist” (Daniel Craig), a reporter whose finances have been wiped out in a libel case brought against him by a ruthless businessman.

The report on Blomkvist has been commissioned by “Henrik Vanger” (Christopher Plummer), a wealthy industrialist whose extended family live in separate houses overlooking one another on an island. Vanger’s family members are not only largely estranged from one another but also include neo-Nazis amongst their number. Forty years ago, Vanger’s niece Harriet disappeared during a family gathering on the island. Vanger and the police believe she is dead, but a body was never found, and each year he receives a pressed flower as an anonymous birthday present – as he used to get from Harriet when she was alive. Haunted by her disappearance, Vanger has amassed a wealth of documentary evidence and hires Blomkvist to search it for any clues he may have missed.

**Christopher Plummer and Daniel Craig in THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO**

Max von Sydow, a genuine Swede, was the original choice to play Henrik Vanger, but had to bow out, and was replaced by Christopher Plummer. The score for the 2011 film, by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross, was released by The Null Corporation in a 3-CD or 6-LP box set. The $90 million production came in at #25 at the international box office, with a world-wide gross of $233 million.

ALL THE MONEY IN THE WORLD told the story of the kidnapping of 16-year-old John Paul Getty III (Charlie Plummer) and the desperate attempt by his devoted mother (Michelle Williams) to convince his billionaire grandfather J. Paul Getty (Christopher Plummer) to pay the ransom. (Charlie Plummer and Christopher Plummer are not related.)

Originally, Jack Nicholson was offered the role of J. Paul Getty, but he declined the offer. Kevin Spacey eventually signed on for the role. Principal photography began in March 2017 and was completed in August 2017. In late October, numerous sexual misconduct allegations were made against Kevin Spacey. Fearing that the film would be unmarketable with Spacey as its star, on November 8, the producers announced that although the film was otherwise ready for release, reshoots had been commissioned with Christopher Plummer replacing Spacey in the role of Getty.

Plummer claimed he was prepared to replace Spacey as J. Paul Getty on short notice because he had previously been considered for the role and had read the script. He had less than two weeks to memorize his lines, but did have the advantage of having met Getty in London at a couple of his parties during the 1960s. J. Paul Getty was eighty years old when his grandson was kidnapped. Kevin Spacey, at age 58, had to be prosthetically aged to resemble Getty, whereas Plummer, at age 88, needed no special makeup applications.

Director Ridley Scott decided not to show Plummer any footage of Spacey in character, or even tell him how Spacey played the scenes. Scott noted that Spacey played J. Paul Getty as a more explicitly cold and unfeeling character, while Plummer's take on the role showed a warmer side to the billionaire, but the same unflinching refusal to simply pay off his grandson's kidnappers. When finished, Scott found both performances to be quite different but equally effective in their own particular styles.

Afterwards, Plummer said, “I was just hopeful that at my age my memory would serve me. Because I had to learn my lines very quickly and I thought, ‘Oh, Christ, am I going to be able to hang on to this?’ But that's because of years in the theatre. You're trained to be in an emergency like that. The whole theatrical experience is an emergency.”

The re-shoots (22 scenes) took eight days to film at a cost of $10 million. They also involved co-stars Mark Wahlberg and Michelle Williams having to return to the Rome set during the Thanksgiving holiday of 2017.

Daniel Pemberton’s score was released by Sony Classical. With the re-shoots, the film ended up costing $50 million to produce. It essentially broke even at the world-wide box office, with a total gross of $57 million. Christopher Plummer received an Academy Award nomination for “Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role,” making him the oldest Academy Award nominee for acting. He also received a Golden Globe nomination for “Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture.” Plummer lost both awards to Sam Rockwell for THREE BILLBOARDS OUTSIDE EBBING, MISSOURI.

KNIVES OUT is a "who-done-it?", which turns into a "was-it-really-done?", that turns into a "how-was-it done?". Daniel Craig is corn-pone detective “Benoit Blanc,” who traverses through all of the plot turns in trying to find out whether or not foul play was involved in the death of noted mystery writer “Harlan Thrombey” (Christopher Plummer).

Rian Johnson wrote and directed the 2019 crime comedy. Nathan Johnson’s score was released on an LP by Mondo and as a download from Cut Narrative. The $40 million film was a big hit, placing among the top 30 films of the year at the international box office, with a $311 million gross.

Like another great stage actor, Richard Burton, early in his career Christopher Plummer failed to connect with the screen in a way that would make him a star. Dynamic on stage, he didn't succeed as a younger leading man in films. Perhaps if he had been born earlier, and acted in the studio system of Hollywood's golden age, he could have been carefully groomed for stardom. As it was, he shared the English stage actors' disdain for the movies, which did not help him in that medium, as he confessed. But he was equally at home in London as he was on the boards of Broadway or on-stage in his native Canada.

Plummer once said, “The theatre is not for sissies. It separates the men from the boys.” For his stage work, Plummer racked up two Tony Awards on six nominations, the first in 1974 as Best Actor (Musical) for the title role in "Cyrano" and the second in 1997, as Best Actor (Play), in "Barrymore". Plummer won two Emmy Awards out of seven nominations stretching over 46 years from 1959 and 2011, and one Genie Award in six nominations from 1980 to 2009.

Plummer is one of nine actors to have won the “Triple Crown of Acting” (an Oscar, Emmy and Tony); the others in chronological order are Thomas Mitchell, Melvyn Douglas, Paul Scofield, Jack Albertson, Jason Robards, Jeremy Irons, Al Pacino and Geoffrey Rush.

Plummer eventually made peace with his place in film history as part of THE SOUND OF MUSIC. In 2011, he observed “People were unnaturally sentimental about the film. So, I always gave it a tough time. But a few years ago, I went to an Easter party and had to watch the damn thing with these kids. I was a prisoner! And then I thought, it's got everything - the lovely songs, the Nazis and the nuns and the kids. It's timeless and I'm grateful for it.”

Regarding the arc of his career, Christopher Plummer said “My type of roles [early on were] sort of uptight, urbane, sophisticated young men ... sort of boring and dull. People don't have any imagination in this business, do they? I can do comedy. I can do all sorts of things. Why are they giving me this uptight crap? So, I was so happy when I arrived at a certain age and I could become a character actor and be free of all that nonsense.”

That’s where Plummer shined—in dozens of great character roles. He wasn’t an action star or a genre actor. But in dramatic roles large and small he delivered solid performances on screen for well over 60 years, and leaves a film legacy worth exploring in depth. Farewell, Chris.

B.D.

The Cinema Cafe

End Credits #100: Cinema's 2021 Lost Treasures Christopher Plummer