King of the Action Thriller

Name: King of the Action Thriller
Brand: McFarland
Availability: OutOfStock
Rating: 5 (1 reviews)

By Brian Hannan

0 - Default Title

Description

The Scottish novelist Alistair MacLean didn't speak English until he was six, but he went on to become one of the world's best-selling authors (over 150 million copies sold) and Hollywood's highest-paid. His films are the very portrait of action. Where Eagles Dare, The Guns of Navarone, Puppet on a Chain, and Fear Is the Key set the template for Die Hard, the Bourne films, and John Wick. The cable car fight, speedboat pursuit, and car chase set a new high for action sequences. Movies were sold on his name alone. He achieved Hollywood's highest honor--his name above the title--because he appealed to a vast global audience. This is the first book to explore Alistair MacLean's unique magic. This work details how 18 of his bestsellers were transformed into movies and mini-series. His movies starred Clint Eastwood, Charles Bronson, Gregory Peck, Donald Sutherland, multiple Oscar nominees Richard Burton and Richard Harris, and two-time Oscar-winner Anthony Hopkins. Although these massive actors lent their talents to his works, moviemakers had such faith in MacLean's name as a marketing tool that they handed leading roles to unknowns like George Maharis or Sven Bertil-Taube. "Broadsword calling Danny Boy," one of his greatest lines, has become a secret code among cinemagoers rejoicing in his works. This much-needed work of cinema history fills a gap in the scholarship, telling the full story of the man who dominated the action movie for two decades.

Product details

Binding:

Paperback

Number of Pages:

230

Release Date:

2026-02-04

Publication Date:

2026-02-11

Publisher:

McFarland

Languages:

Original: English

ISBN10:

1476695334

ISBN13:

9781476695334

Minimum Reading Age:

18

Weight:

442 g

Height:

178 cm

Width:

254 cm

Thickness:

13 cm

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