The Astrologer (1976)
R | 96 mins | Drama | 14 January 1976
Director:
Craig DenneyWriter:
Dorothy June PidgeonProducer:
John WilliamCinematographer:
Alan Gornick Jr.Editor:
Owen GladdenProduction Designer:
Kurt W. GrunertProduction Companies:
E. J. Helm Productions Inc., Moonhouse InternationalThe summary for this unviewed film was based on reviews from the 17 Dec 1975 Var, 14 Jan 1976 HR, 16 Jan 1976 LAT, and 17 Jan 1976 LAHExam.
The 12 Nov 1974 DV reported that horoscope publisher Moonhouse International financed the film, which had been in production since 1972. The company’s founder and board chairman, Craig Denney, also starred in and directed the film, with a screenplay based on his novel of the same title. The publication of Denney’s novel has not been determined. At the time of the article, location photography had been completed in Africa, France, and Tahiti, and was currently underway in Southern California. Republic Arts, another company, which Denney led as chief executive, purchased the rights to the film, and a distributor was being sought for a spring 1975 release. The article described the film as, “a spinoff from an unsold half-hour tv pilot produced by Moonhouse under the same title.”
The review in the 17 Jan 1976 LAHExam, revealed that the film’s title theme, which was credited to orchestra conductor Zubin Mehta and performed by the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra, was used without Mehta’s knowledge, according to an unidentified spokesman for the orchestra. A full-page advertisement in the 20 Oct 1975 DV credited the band, Procol Harum, with the “end title theme.” However, the band’s name does not appear in a later advertisement from 9 Jan 1976 DV, nor is it mentioned in any reviews.
Critical reception of The Astrologer was generally negative. The ...
The summary for this unviewed film was based on reviews from the 17 Dec 1975 Var, 14 Jan 1976 HR, 16 Jan 1976 LAT, and 17 Jan 1976 LAHExam.
The 12 Nov 1974 DV reported that horoscope publisher Moonhouse International financed the film, which had been in production since 1972. The company’s founder and board chairman, Craig Denney, also starred in and directed the film, with a screenplay based on his novel of the same title. The publication of Denney’s novel has not been determined. At the time of the article, location photography had been completed in Africa, France, and Tahiti, and was currently underway in Southern California. Republic Arts, another company, which Denney led as chief executive, purchased the rights to the film, and a distributor was being sought for a spring 1975 release. The article described the film as, “a spinoff from an unsold half-hour tv pilot produced by Moonhouse under the same title.”
The review in the 17 Jan 1976 LAHExam, revealed that the film’s title theme, which was credited to orchestra conductor Zubin Mehta and performed by the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra, was used without Mehta’s knowledge, according to an unidentified spokesman for the orchestra. A full-page advertisement in the 20 Oct 1975 DV credited the band, Procol Harum, with the “end title theme.” However, the band’s name does not appear in a later advertisement from 9 Jan 1976 DV, nor is it mentioned in any reviews.
Critical reception of The Astrologer was generally negative. The HR review questioned the producers’ claim that the film had a $10 million budget, and called it “a vanity production, made to showcase one man’s talent—and ego.”
Alexander, a young astrologer, works alongside his mother, an aging fortuneteller, in a traveling carnival. The young man’s dreams of wealth and power take him to Africa, where he becomes a ruthless gem smuggler. There, he allows one of his co-conspirators to drown in quicksand. Following a prison term in Kenya, Alexander sells the stolen jewels in Tahiti and returns to the U. S. He buys a home for his mother, and marries a former girl friend, rescuing her from a life of prostitution. Over time, Alexander becomes a consultant to the U. S. Navy, a film and television producer, and a famous astrologer who creates forecasts via computer. His advice is sought by some of the most powerful men in the world. However, Alexander’s egotism and ruthlessness cause his undoing, resulting in the dissolution of both his marriage and his empire. ...
Alexander, a young astrologer, works alongside his mother, an aging fortuneteller, in a traveling carnival. The young man’s dreams of wealth and power take him to Africa, where he becomes a ruthless gem smuggler. There, he allows one of his co-conspirators to drown in quicksand. Following a prison term in Kenya, Alexander sells the stolen jewels in Tahiti and returns to the U. S. He buys a home for his mother, and marries a former girl friend, rescuing her from a life of prostitution. Over time, Alexander becomes a consultant to the U. S. Navy, a film and television producer, and a famous astrologer who creates forecasts via computer. His advice is sought by some of the most powerful men in the world. However, Alexander’s egotism and ruthlessness cause his undoing, resulting in the dissolution of both his marriage and his empire.
Viewed by AFI
Partially Viewed
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