Elliott Kastner

Elliott Kastner (born 7 January 1933) is an American film producer, most famous for producing the war film Where Eagles Dare (1968).

Among the many films produced by Kastner are: Harper (1966), The Night of the Following Day (1968), The Long Goodbye (1973), Cops and Robbers (1973), 11 Harrowhouse (1974), Rancho Deluxe (1975), Farewell, My Lovely (1975), 92 In The Shade (1975), The Missouri Breaks (1976), Swashbuckler (1976), The Stickup (1976), Black Joy (1977), Equus (1977), The Big Sleep (1978), A Little Night Music (1978), The First Deadly Sin (1980), Man, Woman and Child (1983), Oxford Blues (1984), Garbo Talks (1984), Angel Heart (1987), A Chorus of Disapproval (1988), and Opa! (2005).

Biography

Kastner got his education at the University of Miami and Columbia University. During the fifties he was stationed with U.S. Eucom (United States European Command), in Frankfurt, Germany and Paris, France.

He is the second husband of the interior designer Tessa Kennedy with whom he has two children, a son, Dillon and a daughter, Milica. He is stepfather to her three sons from a previous marriage: film agent Cassian Elwes, artist Damian Elwes and actor Cary Elwes.

Career

Kastner started his career as a talent agent at the Music Corporation of America (MCA). When that agency was dissolved his first assignment as producer came in 1965, with Bus Riley's Back in Town.

He then temporarily switched his base of operations to England where he formed Winkast Film Productions Ltd. with producer Jerry Gershwin based at Pinewood Studios.

Together Gershwin and Kastner would produce Harper (1966) from a novel by Ross Macdonald, and three films all based on Alistair MacLean novels: Where Eagles Dare (1968), When Eight Bells Toll (1971) and Breakheart Pass (1975).

He then partnered up with noted producers Alan Ladd Jr. and Jay Kanter and together they produced the films Villain (1971), The Nightcomers (1972), Zee and Co. (1972) and Fear Is the Key (1972) also based on an Alistair MacLean novel.

Kastner is probably most famous for his productions of Raymond Chandler's books, like The Long Goodbye (1973), Farewell, My Lovely (1975) and The Big Sleep (1978) the latter two both starring Robert Mitchum as Philip Marlowe.

He has made three movies with Marlon Brando, five with Richard Burton and two with Anthony Hopkins. He has worked with stars like Paul Newman; Warren Beatty; Clint Eastwood; Michael Caine; Peter Sellers; Robert Shaw; Jeff Bridges; Jack Nicholson; Robert de Niro and Mickey Rourke.

Filmography

Producer

• Bus Riley's Back in Town (1965)
• Harper (1966)
• Kaleidoscope (1966)
• The Bobo (1967)
• Sweet November (1968)
• Where Eagles Dare (1968)
• The Night of the Following Day (1968)
• The Walking Stick (1970)
• A Severed Head (1970)
• When Eight Bells Toll (1971)
• Villain (1971)
• The Nightcomers (1971)
• Fear Is the Key (1972)
• Zee and Co. (1972)
• The Long Goodbye (1973)
• Jeremy (1973)
• Cops and Robbers (1973)
• 11 Harrowhouse (1974)
• Rancho Deluxe (1975)
• Farewell, My Lovely (1975)
• Russian Roulette (1975)
• 92 In The Shade (1975)
• Breakheart Pass (1975)
• The Missouri Breaks (1976)
• Swashbuckler (1976)
• Black Joy (1977)
• Equus (1977)
• A Little Night Music (1977)
• The Big Sleep (1978)
• Absolution (1978)
• The First Deadly Sin (1980)
• Man, Woman and Child (1983)
• Oxford Blues (1984)
• Garbo Talks (1984)
• Nomads (1986)
• Angel Heart (1987)
• White of the Eye (1987)
• A Chorus of Disapproval (1988)
• Homeboy (1988)
• The Last Party (1993)
• Frank & Jesse (1994)
• Love Is All There Is (1996)
• Sweet November (2001)
• Opa! (2005)
• The Madman's Tale (2009)

External links

• IMDb
• Cinema VII
• Freebase
• Oldies.com
• Variety
• Channel 4
• Vanity Fair
• Unofficial Where Eagle's Dare Site
• ebay
• Turner Classic Movies
• Portfolio
• Encyclopedia.com