Two Guys Abroad

Two Guys Abroad
Directed byDon Sharp
Produced byIan Warren
exec
Maurie Suess
StarringGeorge Raft
Maxie Rosenbloom
Diana Decker
Diane Todd
Production
company
Summit Films
Release date
  • 1962 (1962) (intended)
Running time
75 mins
CountryUnited Kingdom
LanguageEnglish
Budget£20,000[1]

Two Guys Abroad is an unreleased 1962 British film directed by Don Sharp and starring George Raft and Maxie Rosenbloom.[2][3][4] The screenplay was by Alex Gottlieb. It was intended as a pilot for a TV series or as a B movie. Neither eventuated.[5][6]

Plot

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A pair of Piccadilly Club owners continually get in trouble.

Cast

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Production

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The film was shot at Shepperton Studios in March 1962.[7] George Raft and Maxie Rosenbloom were old friends; Raft even once owned a share in Rosenbloom when the latter was a boxer.[8]

Director Don Sharp later recalled "at the time there was a fashion for these 'products'. They were made for a double purpose: as a pilot episode for a TV series; if that failed, for release as a B movie supporting the main feature. Very few of them even made the grade."[5]

Sharp said the film was made "on a very small budget in very minimal time... a terrible script." He said the film was made because Maurie Seuss had "come into money and wanted to make a movie"; Seuss had been George Raft's dresser.[9]

Sharp says he "got on very well with George – the complete Hollywood pro. He was amiable, always ribbing Maxie; constantly doing his coin-flipping act; and likely at any moment to break into a few dance steps – for no particular reason. There is a photo of me and my camera operator on the camera dolly with George doing the grip's job and pushing it because he said, he always wanted a real job."[5] Filming took three weeks. "We're just aiming to make a film that will entertain people for 75 minutes or so," said Suess.[1]

References

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  1. ^ a b Champ, John (22 March 1962). "Production". Kine Weekly. p. 7.
  2. ^ "Two Guys Abroad". British Film Institute Collections Search. Retrieved 11 May 2024.
  3. ^ Two Guys Abroad at BFI
  4. ^ Vagg, Stephen (9 February 2020). "Why Stars Stop Being Stars: George Raft". Filmink.
  5. ^ a b c Aaker, Everett (2013). The Films of George Raft. McFarland & Company. p. 183. ISBN 9780786466467.
  6. ^ Vagg, Stephen (27 July 2019). "Unsung Aussie Filmmakers: Don Sharp – A Top 25". Filmink.
  7. ^ "Two Guys Abroad".
  8. ^ Share in Rosenbloom Bought by George Raft The Washington Post 7 Aug 1934: 13
  9. ^ Sharp, Don (2 November 1993). "Don Sharp Side 3" (Interview). Interviewed by Teddy Darvas and Alan Lawson. London: History Project. Retrieved 14 July 2021.
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