Targets (1968)

Director:

Peter Bogdanovich

Writers:

Polly Platt (story) and
Peter Bogdanovich (story) ...
(more)

Release Date:

15 August 1968 (USA)

Genre:

Horror | Thriller

Tagline:

TARGETS are people...and you could be one of them!

Plot:

Elderly horror-film star who, while making a personal appearance at a drive-in theater, confronts a psychotic Vietnam veteran who's turned into a mass-murdering sniper.

Plot Keywords:

Drive In | Sniper | Mass Murderer | High Powered Rifle | Projectionist

Cast

Tim O'Kelly	...	Bobby Thompson
Boris Karloff	...	Byron Orlok
Arthur Peterson	...	Ed Loughlin
Monte Landis	...	Marshall Smith (as Monty Landis)
Nancy Hsueh	...	Jenny, Orlock's Secretary
Peter Bogdanovich	...	Sammy Michaels, Director
Daniel Ades	...	Ludlum the Chauffeur
Stafford Morgan	...	Salesman (first gunshop) (Brass Rail)
James Brown	...	Robert Thompson, Sr.
Mary Jackson	...	Charlotte Thompson
Tanya Morgan	...	Ilene Thompson, Bobby's Wife
Timothy Burns	...	Room Service Waiter (as Tim Burns)
Warren White	...	Grocery boy
Mark Dennis	...	Ray, Salesman (second gunshop)
Sandy Baron	...	Kip Larkin, Dejay
Geraldine Baron	...	Larkin's girl
Gary Kent	...	Gas tank worker
Ellie Wood Walker	...	Woman on freeway
Frank Marshall	...	Ticket boy at Drive-in
Byron Betz	...	Drive-in Projectionist
Paul Condyllis	...	Drive-in manager (as Paul Condylis)
Mike Farrell	...	Man in phone booth
Carol Samuels	...	Cashier
Jay Daniel	...	Snack bar attendant
James Morris	...	Man with pistol at Drive-in
Elaine Partnow	...	Drive-in patron
Pete Belcher	...	Drive-in patron
James Bowie	...	Drive-in patron
Anita Poree	...	Drive-in patron
Robert Cleaves	...	Drive-in patron
Kay Douglas	...	Drive-in patron
Raymond Roy	...	Drive-in patron
Diana Ashley	...	Drive-in patron
Kirk Scott	...	Drive-in patron
Susan Douglas Rubes	...	Drive-in patron (as Susan Douglas)
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Jay Daniel	...	Snack bar attendant (uncredited)
Sandra Knight	...	Actress in scenes from 'The Terror' (archive footage) (uncredited)
Git Luboviski	...	Woman in car at drive-in (uncredited)
Milton Luboviski	...	Man in car at drive-in (uncredited)
Clark Marshall	...	Actor in scenes from 'The Criminal Code' (archive footage) (uncredited)
Dick Miller	...	Actor in scenes from 'The Terror' (archive footage) (uncredited)
Jack Nicholson	...	Actor in scenes from 'The Terror' (archive footage) (uncredited)
Don Steele	...	Himself - dejay on radio (voice) (uncredited)
Ethel Wales	...	Herself - Actress in scenes from 'The Criminal Code' (archive footage) (uncredited)

Directed by
Peter Bogdanovich

Writing credits
Polly Platt		(story) and
Peter Bogdanovich		(story)
Peter Bogdanovich		(screenplay)
Samuel Fuller		(co-screenwriter) uncredited

Produced by
Peter Bogdanovich	....	producer
Daniel Selznick	....	associate producer

Cinematography by
László Kovács		(as Laszlo Kovacs)

Film Editing by
Peter Bogdanovich		(uncredited)

Production Design by
Polly Platt

Costume Design by
Polly Platt		(uncredited)

Makeup Department
Scott Hamilton	....	makeup artist

Production Management
Paul Lewis	....	production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Gilles de Turenne	....	assistant director

Art Department
James Campbell	....	property master
Scott Fitzgerald	....	assistant art director

Sound Department
Verna Fields	....	sound editor
Sam Kopetzky	....	sound

Special Effects by
Gary Kent	....	special effects (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
Richmond L. Aguilar	....	gaffer (as Richmond Aguilar)
Tom Ramsey	....	key grip
Peter Sorel	....	assistant camera
Bill Pecchi	....	grip (uncredited)

Editorial Department
Mae Woods	....	assistant editor

Music Department
Charles Greene	....	radio music
Brian Stone	....	radio music

Other crew
Joyce King	....	continuity
Frank Marshall	....	assistant to director
James Morris	....	production assistant

Production Companies

• Saticoy Productions

Distributors

• Paramount Pictures (1968) (USA) (theatrical)
• Obelisk Film (1974) (West Germany) (theatrical)
• Paramount Filmes do Brasil (2004) (Brazil) (DVD)
• Paramount Home Video (2003) (USA) (DVD) (widescreen)

Other Companies

• Cinema Research  titles
• Ryder Sound Services  sound re-recording

Also Known As:

Before I Die

MPAA:

Rated R for violent content. (previously rated GP and R)

Runtime:

90 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Pathécolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Argentina:13 | Finland:K-18 (1970) | West Germany:18 (nf) | Brazil:14 | Norway:16 (1969) | Sweden:15 | UK:15 | USA:GP (cut version) (1971) | USA:R (original rating) | USA:R (re-rating) (2002) | Singapore:PG

Filming Locations:

Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Saticoy Productions

Trivia:

The story Orlock tells of the servant fleeing death is W. Somerset Maugham's short story "The Appointment in Samarra."

Goofs:

Continuity: The typeface of Bobby's note changes between shots. In the close-up of the word "DIE", the "I" is sans-serif; when the entire note is shown, the letters have normal typewriter serifs.

Quotes:

Byron Orlok: Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, I'd like to leave you with a little story to think about as you drive home... through the darkness... Once upon a time, many, many years ago, a rich merchant in Baghdad sent his servant to the marketplace to buy provisions...

Movie Connections:

References Blowup (1966)

As close to "A" as a "B-Movie" can get.

Roger Corman explains in his autobiography that he handed this "spec" project to the up-and-coming Bogdanovich primarily because he could basically pay the kid peanuts. Bogdanovich understood Corman's economic sensibilities well, and cut as many corners as he could. He uses Cormans regular bit-players as well as plenty of Jack Nicholson footage from 1963's "The Terror" - another Corman B-movie. Corman's specifications for the film were simple: make a cheap film referring to the recent Charles Whitman shootings at the University of Texas, and make it fast. The script draws heavily from the real-life Whitman story; the all-American boy gone bad kills his wife and mother, and then proceeds on a killing spree, shooting anyone in his sights from a snipers nest. This story is intertwined with that of Byron Orlocks ageing horror legend nearing retirement; here Boris Karloff plays himself, for all intents and purposes. Bogdanovich plays a major role in the film himself, and there is obvious affection between the young director and Karloff in the scenes they share. Although Bogdanovich's wife Polly Platt takes a screenwriting credit, it is often said that her role was actually more of a partner in all Bogdanovich's early work, collaborating and counter-balancing his excesses. There is probably a lot of truth to this theory, as after the couple separated Bogdanovich's suffered a deep decline. I had read much of the history of `Targets' in Peter Biskind's `Easy Riders - Raging Bulls' and Corman's own `How I Made a Hundred Movies in Hollywood and Never Lost a Dime', and have been lucky enough to catch it twice on cable in the last week. It really is a very competent debut, and Bogdanovich truly makes the most of what humble resources he had at his disposal. See it.