Creator *** (1985, Peter O’Toole, Mariel Hemingway, Vincent Spano, Virginia Madsen) – Classic Movie Review 10,220

Director Ivan Passer’s 1985 film Creator is a surprisingly affecting sci-fi romantic comedy, with Peter O’Toole ideally cast as Dr Harry Wolper, a dotty biologist who still loves his wife 30 years after she died and is trying to re-create her by growing her cells.

A typically boisterous latter-day performance by O’Toole, with lots of charm and twinkle, is supported by an attractive gallery of mainly young American players – Mariel Hemingway, Vincent Spano, Virginia Madsen, David Ogden Stiers and John Dehner and Jeff Corey. And the daft yarn (with Jeremy Leven’s screenplay taken from his novel) quite gets to you.

If Creator lacks drive and sharpness, it is still entertaining and much better than expected, and it did not deserve its fate of being left on the shelf in Britain until 1990. It was released in the US on 20 September 1985 and in the UK nearly five years later on 22 June 1990.

Creator is directed by Ivan Passer, runs 107 minutes, is made by Kings Road Entertainment and Universal Pictures, is released by Universal Pictures (1985) (US) and Enterprise Pictures Limited (1990) (UK), is written by Jeremy Leven, based on Jeremy Leven’s novel, is shot in Technicolor by Robbie Greenberg, is produced by Stephen Friedman, is scored by Sylvester Levay and is designed by Josan F Russo.

© Derek Winnert 2020 Classic Movie Review 10,220

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