Luther *** (1974, Stacy Keach, Patrick Magee, Hugh Griffith, Robert Stephens, Judi Dench, Alan Badel) – Classic Movie Review 9132

Director Guy Green’s 1974 film Luther is another interesting item from producer Ely Landau’s American Film Theatre movie series in the Seventies. Released in January 1974, Luther is the fifth of the 13 films.

Edward Anhalt adapts John Osborne’s brilliant but wordy, intellectual Tony Award-winning play, which cries out for the theatre. But Stacy Keach is useful and quite impressive in the lead role as the 16th-century cleric Martin Luther, who brought about the Peasants’ Revolt of 1524–1526 against the Church. Keach replaces Albert Finney, the actor who created the role of Luther on stage.

The very considerable talents of the British thespians assembled in support command attention and respect too, even if Green’s direction is somewhat over-reverential and under-powered.

Julian Glover plays the key role of the young Knight, an everyman narrator character who confronts Luther on his advocacy for the putting down of the Peasants’ Revolt.

Also in the cast are Patrick Magee as Luther’s father, Hugh Griffith as John Tetzel, Robert Stephens as as Johann von Eck, Alan Badel as Cardinal Cajetan de Vio, Judi Dench as Luther’s wife, Leonard Rossiter as Brother Weinand, Maurice Denham as Johann von Staupitz, Vicar General, Julian Glover as the Knight, Peter Cellier as Prior, Malcolm Stoddard as Emperor Charles the Fifth, Thomas Heathcote as Lucas, a friend of Luther’s father, Bruce Carstairs as Duke Frederick, Elector of Saxony and Matthew Guinness as Reading Monk.

Luther is directed by Guy Green, runs 114 minutes, is made by American Film Theater, The Ely Landau Organization, Cinévision, American Express, is released by The American Film Theater (1974) (US) and Seven Keys (1976) (UK), is written by Edward Anhalt, is shot in Eastmancolor by Freddie Young, is produced by Ely Landau, is scored by John Addison and is designed by Peter Mullins.

It was made at Shepperton Studios, Shepperton, Surrey, England.

It was released on January 21, 1974 (US) and April 1976 (UK).

Director Richard Fleischer and star George C Scott had planned Luther as their next film after the 1972 The New Centurions [Precinct 45: Los Angeles Police].

Julian Glover re-creates his role of the Knight from the original stage production of Luther. The Broadway production opened at the St James Theater in New York on 25 September 1963, ran for 211 performances and won the 1964 Tony Award for the Best Play. Albert Finney created the role of Luther, which he played in both London and Broadway between 1961 and 1964. Matthew Guinness (born 6 June 1940), who appears as Reading Monk, is the only son of Alec Guinness and appeared with his father in the 1952 film The Card as a child. John Gielgud dropped out of playing a major cameo, though he did appear in the ninth film in the series, Galileo.

The American Film Theatre presented two seasons of film adaptations of well-known plays from 1973 to 1975, using about 500 cinemas across the US. Each film was shown only four times at each theatre. Eight films were shown in the first season and five in the second season. It was based on selling season subscriptions to an entire season of films and about 500,000 subscriptions were sold for the first season.

The budgets were tiny at just $750,000 a film with top talent working at minimal rates. Lee Marvin was paid the largest salary of $25,000 for The Iceman Cometh, but still said he lost $225,000 by acting in it as his usual fee was $250,000.

The major studios apparently began to exert pressure on cinemas, usually showing the films on quiet Mondays and Tuesdays, to withdraw from American Film Theatre, probably hastening its end.

The films were released by Kino International in 2008 as a DVD boxed set.

© Derek Winnert 2019 Classic Movie Review 9132

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