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Showing posts from August, 2026

Race for the Yankee Zephyr (1981)

  David Hemmings is a fascinating character. Though I can’t profess to know all the nooks and crannies of his filmography, I enjoy his iconic late 60s counter-culture roles ( Blow Up , Barbarella ) and more conventional mid-70s leads or co-leads ( Deep Red , the wonderful Juggernaut ) and at the opposite end of the career spectrum his prolific last act adding weathered gravitas to titles like Gladiator , Spy Game , Gangs of New York , Last Orders , and The Night We Called It a Day . He was also, like Robert Powell and Richard Chamberlain, one of those British globally exported leading men who dabbled in Australian cinema, essaying bureaucrat-in-suit roles —Martin Donovan before Martin Donovan—in late 70s Ozploitation titles Harlequin and Thirst . Hemmings also directed for film —including David Bowie vehicle Just a Gigolo —and television, including episodes of The A-Team . He also helmed two Ozploitation movies produced by Antony I. Ginnane: spooky thriller The Survivor and adv...