Doppelgänger (1969 film)

Leading the cast was Roy Thinnes as Colonel Glenn Ross of NASA. Gerry Anderson cast Thinnes after seeing his performance as David Vincent in the TV series The Invaders.[10] In the Andersons' script, Ross's first name was Stewart and he was the first person on Mars.[7] In a 2008 interview, Thinnes said of the film: "I thought [Doppelgänger] was an interesting premise, although now we know that there isn't another planet on the other side of the Sun, through our space exploration and telescopic abilities. But at that time it was conceivable, and it could have been scary".[11] To reflect the script's characterisation of Ross as a heavy smoker, Thinnes went through numerous packets of cigarettes over the course of the production, to the detriment of his health. In September 1969, The Age reported that the actor would demand a non-smoking clause for his next film: "He smokes about two packets a day, but the perpetual lighting up of new cigarettes for continuity purposes was too much".[12]

Ian Hendry was cast as Dr John Kane, a British astrophysicist and head of the Phoenix project. In his biography, Anderson recalled that Hendry "was always drinking" and was visibly intoxicated during the filming of the Dove crash sequence: "... he was pissed as a newt, and it was as much as he could do to stagger away. Despite all that, it looked exactly as it was supposed to on screen."[10][13] In the original script, Kane's first name was Philip and he had a wife called Susan.[7] Scenes deleted from the finished film showed the character pursuing a romance with EUROSEC official Lise Hartman, played by Loni von Friedl.[7]

Ross's wife Sharon was played by Lynn Loring. The role had originally gone to Gayle Hunnicutt, who quit early in the production after falling ill.[2] This withdrawal led to the casting of Loring, Thinnes' then wife and a star of the TV series The F.B.I.[2] Had she remained in the role, Hunnicutt would have appeared in a nude scene, written in to distinguish Doppelgänger from the Andersons' earlier productions.[10] In a 1968 interview in the Daily Mail, Anderson expressed a desire to change the public's perception of Century 21, saying that his company had been "typecast as makers of children's films".[10] On rumours that the British Board of Film Censors (BBFC) would give the film an X certificate for mature content, he stated that it was Century 21's desire to "work with live artists doing subjects unsuitable for children".[10] The finished film replaced the nude scene with milder shots showing Sharon stepping into and out of a shower.[10] A subplot concerns the Rosses' attempts to have a child and Glenn's discovery that Sharon has been taking birth control pills.[10] The original script described Sharon as the daughter of a United States senator and had her pursue an affair with EUROSEC public relations officer Carlo Monetti.[7] In the finished film, this character, played by Franco De Rosa, is renamed Paulo Landi and appears only briefly; the affair is implied in one scene but not explored further.[10][14][15] In a deleted scene, Glenn finds Paolo and Sharon in bed together at the Rosses' villa and throws them both into a swimming pool.[7]

Patrick Wymark played Jason Webb, the director of EUROSEC. Wymark was cast for his performance as the antiheroic businessman John Wilder in the TV dramas The Plane Makers and The Power Game; he was described in publicity material as "John Wilder (2069 model)".[13] According to Anderson, Wymark's heavy drinking caused him to slur his lines: in one scene, the actor "had to list these explanations ... and on take after take he couldn't remember that 'two' followed 'one'. We had to do it over and over again".[13] Anderson's biographers, Simon Archer and Marcus Hearn, consider Wymark's portrayal of Webb to be the film's standout performance.[13] The original script described Webb as a former Minister of Technology who is romantically involved with his secretary, Pam Kirby (Norma Ronald, who had played Wilder's secretary in The Plane Makers and The Power Game).[7]

The supporting cast included George Sewell, Philip Madoc and Ed Bishop, who respectively played EUROSEC operations chief Mark Neuman (Mark Hallam in the original script), Dr Pontini, and NASA representative David Poulson.[7] Sewell and Madoc had both appeared in The Power Game.[16] Poulson was to have been played by Peter Dyneley, but the role was re-cast as the producers felt that Dyneley bore a strong resemblance to Wymark and that the scenes featuring both actors would cause audiences to confuse the characters of Poulson and Webb.[2]

Location shooting was conducted in Albufeira, Portugal.

The closing scenes were filmed at Heatherden Hall in Iver Heath.

No TV monitors were used in the videoconference scene. Instead, the crew employed set alterations and forced perspective to reduce costs.[17]

Filming began on 1 July 1968 at Pinewood Studios and ended on 16 October.[2] The exterior of the EUROSEC Headquarters was represented by Neptune House in Borehamwood, Hertfordshire (now part of BBC Elstree Centre), while Heatherden Hall appeared as the old Jason Webb's nursing home.[7] In September, the crew travelled to Albufeira, Portugal for location shooting.[2] Shortly after their arrival in the country, Marcello Caetano succeeded the incapacitated António de Oliveira Salazar as prime minister.[2] Parrish was concerned that this political instability might hold up the shoot, so reduced the filming schedule from one month to two weeks.[2]

To create an illusion of a mirror Earth, the crew reversed the film negatives using a process called "flop-over".[2] This technique spared the production considerable time and money building specially "reversed" props and sets and organising road closures to film cars driving on the "wrong" side of the road.[2] However, it meant that scenes set on the Counter-Earth required careful planning and rehearsal with the cast and crew.[2] It also resulted in a number of continuity errors: for example, the "Heart-Lung-Kidney" machines aboard Phoenix are first shown connected to Ross and Kane's left wrists, then their right.[7]

The crew had difficulty creating a scene in which the EUROSEC board hold an international videoconference on high-resolution viewing monitors.[17] Due to the high cost of colour TV at the time of production and the need to avoid black and white to reflect the film's futuristic setting, instead of using real viewing monitors the crew cut screen-sized gaps in a wall and positioned the actors playing the conference delegates behind them.[17] Silver paper was added to reflect the studio lights and simulate a high-resolution image, with altered eyelines creating the illusion that each delegate is looking into a camera.[17] Archer and Hearn praise this scene as an example of how Anderson "proved once again that his productions were ahead of their time".[17]

As filming progressed, Anderson and Parrish came into conflict. Anderson said that Kanter was brought in more than once to mediate between them: "[Sylvia and I] both knew how important the picture was to our careers, and we both desperately wanted to be in the big time".[18] At one point, Parrish refused to film a number of scenes, saying that he would only end up deleting them.[18] According to Anderson, when he reminded Parrish of his contractual obligations, the director loudly announced to the cast and crew: "Hell, you heard the producer. If I don't shoot these scenes which I don't really want, don't need and will cut out anyway, I'll be in breach of contract. So what we'll do is shoot those scenes next!"[18] In his biography, Anderson stated that his one regret about the film "[was] that I hired Bob Parrish in the first place".[18] Sylvia described Parrish's direction as "uninspired. We had a lot of trouble getting what we wanted from him".[5]

Parrish also clashed with Thinnes over the actor's refusal to have his hair cut a certain way for the scenes set on the Counter-Earth. Thinnes, whose hair had already been repeatedly styled, later decided that this was merely Parrish's way of asserting authority, having received a letter from a friend warning him that Thinnes could be difficult to work with. Anderson said that his own relationship with Thinnes was awkward, but that he liked the actor's performance.[19]

Other scenes led to disagreements within Century 21.[17][20][21] For a scene depicting Lise Hartman (Loni von Friedl) taking a shower, cinematographer John Read did the lighting in silhouette as instructed by Parrish.[22] Gerry Anderson, who had intended the scene to show Friedl nude, demanded a reshoot, insisting that Read honour his obligations not just to Parrish as director, but also to him as producer.[22] According to Sylvia, "Gerry was very keen to show that he was part of the 'Swinging Sixties' and felt that seeing a detailed nude shot – as he visualised it – was more 'with it' than the more subdued version".[23]

Another dispute arose when Read filmed shots of the Phoenix spacecraft model using a hand-held camera. In his biography, Anderson recalled: "I knew enough about space travel to know that in a vacuum a spacecraft will travel as straight as a die ... [Parrish] told me that people were not familiar with space travel and therefore they would expect to see this kind of movement".[17][20] Read refused to reshoot the scenes, stating that Parrish's instructions took precedence over Anderson's, and resigned from both the film and Century 21 at the request of fellow company directors the Andersons and Reg Hill.[22] Anderson elaborated: "Clearly, John was in a difficult position. I do now understand how he must have felt, but in my heart I feel he couldn't play a double role".[20]

Dove (right) exits Phoenix. The film's effects have been well received.[24]

The film's special effects were produced at Century 21 Studios on the Slough Trading Estate under the direction of Derek Meddings.[2][18] More than 200 effects shots were filmed.[18] The design of the Phoenix spacecraft was based on the Saturn V rocket.[18] During filming, the six-foot-long (1.8 m) scale model unexpectedly caught fire and had to be completely rebuilt.[18] For realism, the launch sequence was shot in the car park against the actual sky.[2][18]

Although Century 21 built a full-sized Dove module in Slough, they were prevented from using it at Pinewood due to an agreement those studios had with the National Association of Theatrical Television and Kine Employees that all props featured in Pinewood productions were to be made in-house.[17] The module was destroyed, and although Pinewood carpenters built a replacement, Anderson considered it inferior to the original.[17]

Commenting on the film's effects, Martin Anderson of Den of Geek describes the Phoenix command module as "beautifully ergonomic without losing too much NASA-ness" and the Dove lander as "a beautiful fusion of JPL gloss with classic lines".[24] He regards the Phoenix launch as Meddings' finest work prior to Moonraker (1979).[24] Archer and Hearn describe the sequence as "one of the most spectacular" of its kind produced by Century 21.[18]

Composer Barry Gray, who wrote the music for all of Century 21's productions, said that his score for Doppelgänger was his favourite.[25] The score was recorded over three studio sessions held between 27 and 29 March 1969.[20][26] The first session used a 55-member orchestra, the second 44, and the third 28.[26] The sequence showing Ross and Kane's journey to the Counter-Earth was accompanied by a piece titled "Sleeping Astronauts", featuring an ondes Martenot played by French ondiste Sylvette Allart.[25][26] Archer and Hearn describe this piece as "one of the most enchanting" ever written by Gray, adding that the soundtrack as a whole evoked a "traditional Hollywood feel" which contrasted with the film's futuristic setting.[20]

The title sequence, set inside Dr Hassler's laboratory, was accompanied by a spy theme. This took its inspiration from the character's use of an ocular prosthesis containing a hidden micro-camera to carry out his undercover activities. Archer and Hearn regard this as a stylistic imitation of James Bond films.[13]

Writing for The Times, critic John Russell Taylor praised Doppelgänger as "quite ingenious" but suggested that the title and pre-release publicity gave away too much of the plot.[20] In the US, Howard Thompson of The New York Times wrote that the film "never really gets off the ground" and "remains a little too civilised and restrained for its own good." He praised the "crispness" of certain dialogue, along with the visual style and Parrish's direction, but argued that the story deserved "a larger movie, at least one with more stratospheric sweep and suspense".[34] Judith Crist of New York magazine described Doppelgänger as "a science-fiction film that comes up with a fascinating premise three-quarters of the way along and does nothing with it."[35] She commended the film for being "nicely gadget-ridden", as well as raising questions about the conflict between science and politics, but criticised the editing.[35] Variety magazine considered the plot confusing, equating the Dove crash to the quality of the writing: "Astronauts take a pill to induce a three-week sleep during their flight. Thereafter the script falls to pieces in as many parts as their craft."[36]

While The Miami News and the Montreal Gazette regarded the film as better than average for its genre,[37][38] The Pittsburgh Press dismissed it as "a churned out science-fiction yarn ... Let's hope there's only one movie like this one", and ranked it among the worst films of the year.[39] The Gazette added that while the film gets worse towards the end, "until then it's a reasonably diverting futuristic melodrama."[38] A review in the Southeast Missourian stated that "in today's space terminology [the film] almost rates as science – and pure reportage through film. Still it evolves as a fascinating motion-picture entertainment."[40] In 1975, Jeff Rovin called Doppelgänger "confusing but colourful" and praised its "superb" effects.[41]

Gary Gerani, co-writer of Pumpkinhead, ranks Doppelgänger 81st in his book Top 100 Sci-Fi Movies, calling the film "enigmatic" and a "fine example of speculative fantasy in the late '60s". He praises Thinnes' and Wymark's performances, the characterisation, the film's lesser themes (which include adultery, infertility and corruption) and its "Fourth of July-style" effects.[42] Sylvia Anderson suggested that American audiences, who were less familiar with Century 21's puppet productions than their British counterparts, were more enthusiastic about the film.[4] She explained: "It was all too easy to compare our real actors with our puppet characters and descriptions such as 'wooden', 'expressionless', 'no strings attached' and 'puppet-like' were cheap shots some of the UK critics could not resist ... Typecasting is the lazy man's friend, and boy, were we typecast in Britain".[4] In 1992, she said of the film: "I saw it on TV a couple of years ago and I was very pleased with it. I thought it came over quite well".[43] To Chris Bentley, Doppelgänger is a "stylish and thought-provoking science-fiction thriller".[44]

TV Guide magazine gives the film two stars out of four, calling it a "strange little film" with an "overwritten script".[45] Glenn Erickson of DVD Talk considers Doppelgänger a "good" film but writes that it "takes an okay premise but does next to nothing with it. We see 100 minutes of bad drama and good special effects, and then the script opts for frustration and meaningless mystery". He criticises the cinematography, comparing it to that of Thunderbirds in so far as the characters "stand and talk a lot", while defining the script as "at least 60 percent hardware-talk and exposition ... How people move about – airplane, parachute, centrifuge – is more important than what they're doing".[46] In a review for Den of Geek, Martin Anderson praises the direction and effects but states that the film's "robust and prosaic" dialogue sits "ill-at-ease with the metaphysical ponderings". He criticises some of the editing, noting that many of the effects shots have "that 'Hornby' factor, slowing up the narrative unnecessarily". He rates Doppelgänger three stars out of five, summing it up as "an interesting journey with many rewards".[29]

The Film4 website gives Doppelgänger two-and-a-half stars out of five, summing it up as "an occasionally interesting failure". The review praises the effects and costume design but judges the subplots about Hassler's treachery and the Rosses' marital problems to be unnecessary distractions from the main story. It also questions the originality of the premise and the depth of the writing: "Anderson's has to be the cheapest alternate Earth ever. Whereas audiences might expect a world where the Roman Empire never fell or the Nazis won World War II, here the shocking discovery is that people write backwards. That's it".[47] A similar view is expressed by Gary Westfahl, who describes the setting as "the most boring and unimaginative alien world imaginable".[48]

The ending scene has drawn comparisons to the visual style of 2001: A Space Odyssey.[46] Glenn Erickson calls Doppelgänger "infected with 2001-itis'", noting that the "feeble asylum patient" Jason Webb "sits in a wheelchair in a corridor resembling Dave Bowman's holding cell on the alien planet beyond the Star Gate."[46]

Archer and Nicholls suggest as possible causes of the film's box office failure its "quirky, offbeat nature" and waning public interest in space exploration after Apollo 11.[30] The topic of the Moon landing dominated a contemporary review in the Milwaukee Journal, which found similarities in the plot of Doppelgänger: "... the spacemen find a few bugs in their 'LM' and crash on the planet. And do they ever have their hands full in getting back to Earth!" Suggesting that the performances are hampered by an excess of technical dialogue, the review concluded: "... the makers of this space exploiter may get lots of mileage at the box office, but Neil, Buzz and Mike did it better on TV."[49]

It has also been suggested that 2001: A Space Odyssey and Planet of the Apes, both released the year before, set a high standard for Doppelgänger and other films to follow.[20][46] Erickson argues that Doppelgänger is inferior to 2001 for presenting a "working future" that is still dominated by commercialism. Comparing the visual style to that of 2001, he notes similar use of "psychedelic" images and close-ups of human eyes but calls such imitation "fluff without any deeper meaning". Film4's review describes the final scene featuring the elderly Webb as "hell-bent on recreating the enigmatic finale of 2001 by using a mirror, a wheelchair and a tartan blanket."[47] Rovin argues that Doppelgänger's effects "[occasionally] outshine" 2001's", going on to state that it "attempts to kindle a profundity similar to that of [2001] in its abstract philosophising about the dichotomy of dual worlds, but fails with a combination of meat-and-potatoes science fiction and quasi-profound themes." He argues that Doppelgänger is "neither a kid's film nor a cult film" but rules that "the elements that comprise the finished effort are more than individually successful."[50]

Martin Anderson compares Doppelgänger to other science fiction films like Solaris, identifying a "lyrical" tone to the dialogue. However, he concedes that Doppelgänger "doesn't bear comparison with Kubrick or Tarkovsky", the directors of 2001 and Solaris.[29] Both commentator Douglas Pratt and the Institute of Contemporary Arts in London compare the film to "The Parallel", an episode of The Twilight Zone in which an astronaut returns to Earth to find his world bizarrely changed and realises that he has ended up in a parallel universe.[51][52] S. T. Joshi likens Doppelgänger's theme of duplication to the premise of Invasion of the Body Snatchers, in which a race of extraterrestrials called the Pod People abduct humans and replace them with alien doubles.[53]

Despite the film's failure, Grade gave the Andersons further commissions with live actors.[22] The first of these was the TV series UFO, which began airing in 1970.[22] Doppelgänger is considered a precursor to UFO and has also been described as a "trial run" for the follow-up series, Space: 1999.[32][54] Most of the cast went on to appear in UFO, notably Ed Bishop as the protagonist Colonel Ed Straker and George Sewell as his deputy, Colonel Alec Freeman.[7] In addition, many of the film's costumes, shooting locations, and musical tracks were re-used, along with props including the Phoenix and Dove miniature models and a number of futuristic vehicles (which were modelled on Mini Mokes and Ford Zephyr Zodiacs).[55][7][56] Neptune House appeared as the exterior of Harlington-Straker Film Studios where SHADO, the organisation headed by Colonel Straker, is based.[7] The recycled music included the tracks "Sleeping Astronauts" and "Strange Planet", the latter accompanying the series' end credits.[32] The opening titles imitated the teleprinter shots that formed the basis of Doppelgänger's title sequence.[57]

A retrospective by IGN argues that the presentation of politics and economics in Doppelgänger goes against the conventions of 1960s science fiction.[54] This is reflected in UFO, whose characters "were constantly having to deal with the pressures of having to show progress under the scrutiny of accountants and elected officials, much the same way NASA was starting to in the US".[54] On the links between Doppelgänger and UFO, Martin Anderson makes another connection to Kubrick: "... the most interesting common ground between the two projects remains the bleak ending(s) and the slight flirtation with the acid-induced imagery and mind fucks of 2001".[29]

• Anderson, Sylvia (2007). My Fab Years! Sylvia Anderson. Neshannock, Pennsylvania: Hermes Press. ISBN 978-1-932563-91-7.
• Archer, Simon; Hearn, Marcus (2002). What Made Thunderbirds Go! The Authorised Biography of Gerry Anderson. London, UK: BBC Books. ISBN 978-0-563-53481-5.
• Archer, Simon; Nicholls, Stan (1996). Gerry Anderson: The Authorised Biography. London, UK: Legend Books. ISBN 978-0-09-922442-6.
• Bentley, Chris (2008) [2001]. The Complete Gerry Anderson: The Authorised Episode Guide (4th ed.). London, UK: Reynolds & Hearn. ISBN 978-1-905287-74-1.
• Fryer, Ian (2016). "Doppelgänger". The Worlds of Gerry and Sylvia Anderson: The Story Behind International Rescue. Fonthill Media. pp. 138–143. ISBN 978-1-781555-04-0.
• La Rivière, Stephen (2009). Filmed in Supermarionation: A History of the Future. Neshannock, Pennsylvania: Hermes Press. ISBN 978-1-932563-23-8.
• Rovin, Jeff (1975). A Pictorial History of Science Fiction Films. Secaucus, New Jersey: Citadel Press. ISBN 978-0-8065-0263-2.