A 22 May 1968 DV news brief announced that Bob Booker and George Foster had signed a deal with Warner Bros.-Seven Arts, Inc., to produce a film from their original story, “The Phynx.” Stan Cornyn was set to adapt the screenplay, and Lee H. Katzin was brought on to direct by fall 1968, as confirmed in a 12 Oct 1968 LAT news item.
       A top cameo role was offered to Greta Garbo, according to an 8 Jan 1969 LAT brief, which named Lonny Stevens, Dennis Larden, A. Michael Miller, and Ray Garcia as the four “unknown youngsters” who had been cast as the four members of the film’s titular band. Garcia was credited as “Ray Chippeway.”
       Filming was originally scheduled to begin in the fall of 1968 but was delayed by re-shoots on Lee H. Katzin’s previous project, What Ever Happened to Aunt Alice? (1969, see entry), as reported in the 25 Nov 1968 DV. A production chart in the 14 Feb 1969 DV confirmed that principal photography had begun days earlier on 10 Feb 1969. Shooting took place at the Warner Bros.-Seven Arts studio lot in Burbank, CA, and also in New York City, where Ed Sullivan’s cameo was filmed, according to the 7 Mar 1969 DV. In early Apr 1969, production moved to Europe, where three weeks of filming were scheduled to take place in London, England; Rome, Italy; and Avila, Spain, as stated in the 16 Apr 1969 Var.
       While production was underway, the 26 Feb 1969 DV stated that Hal Tulchin had recently been named head of Bob Booker and George Foster’s Cinema Organization, and that his Tulchin Productions was involved in the film.
       An article in the 9 Oct 1969 Los Angeles Sentinel noted that the movie’s soundtrack would serve as the first album by The Phynx, and its release would be accompanied by “a major personal appearance tour” during which the band was scheduled to play at Madison Square Garden in New York City, at the Chicago Opera House, and at the Forum in Los Angeles, CA. However, when the movie opened in Indianapolis, IN, on 6 May 1970, a review in that day’s DV made no mention of the band’s real-life exploits. DV described the picture as a “shelf item” from the Warner Bros.-Seven Arts partnership, which had since dissolved, and predicted it would “bomb in most situations.”
       The Phynx marked the feature film acting debut of soul singer James Brown. In a 20 Feb 1969 item, LAT called it the “first overground movie” for Ultra Violet, one of pop artist Andy Warhol’s “superstars.”
       The following actors and actresses were listed as cast members in DV and LAT published between Feb and Apr 1969: Sally Struthers; Evie Lesley; Charlie McCarthy; Sunny Woods; Sharyn Bailey; Ellen Leddy; Jamet Campion; Marlys Burdette; Rachel Benson; Lois Ursone; Koko Tani and Her Geisha Girls; Pamebla Woolman; Pamela Austin; George Raft; Hildegarde Wendt; Cathy Marshall; Diane Lewis; Sally Frei; Susanna Ceullar; Doreen Jaros; Pernell Mirka; Marie St. Michael; Sandy Taylor; Margaret Terry; Donna Long; and Virginia Steding.