The Steagle (1971)

In the midst of the Cuban missile crisis, a mild-mannered professor decides to live out all of his daydreams, travelling across the country and adopting a different persona in each city.

Director:

Paul Sylbert

Writers:

Irvin Faust (novel), Paul Sylbert

Stars:

Richard Benjamin, Chill Wills, Cloris Leachman

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Richard Benjamin	...	Harold Weiss, B.A., M.A., Ph.D.
Chill Wills	...	Tall-Guy McCoy
Cloris Leachman	...	Rita Weiss
Jean Allison	...	Florence Maguire
Suzanne Charney	...	Marcy (as Suzanne Charny)
Ivor Francis	...	Reverend
Susan Tyrrell	...	Louise
Jack Bernardi	...	Marty Panesh
Susan Kussman	...	Joan
Peter Hobbs	...	Dr. Payne
Joseph Bernard	...	Max Levine
Frank Christi	...	Mr. Forbes
Diane Ladd	...	Mrs. Forbes
Harold Reynolds	...	Dr. Plymile
John Hiestand	...	Matt Mahew

Storyline

In the midst of the Cuban missile crisis, a mild-mannered professor decides to live out all of his daydreams, travelling across the country and adopting a different persona in each city.

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Plot Keywords:

professor | cuban missile crisis | nudity | living out fantasy | pretender | 

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Taglines:

How Long Has It Been Since You Did Something You Always Wanted to Do--But Didn't Dare?

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Genres:

Comedy

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Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

15 September 1971 (USA)

Filming Locations:

Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$1,850,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

AVCO Embassy Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

87 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Trivia

Director Paul Sylbert had the film cut against his will, at the hands of studio head Joseph E. Levine. This experience is accounted in Paul Sylbert's book entitled "Final Cut: The Making and Breaking of a Film".

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Connections

References The Maltese Falcon (1941)

User Reviews

Wonderful, unknown film

I remember often seeing this movie on local TV stations when I was a kid, and it has remained a favorite. The story of a daydreaming English Prof who goes on an adventure binge when he believes the world is coming to an end raises all the questions about getting older and settling that have been raised before. But the cold war back drop, Benjamin's nerdy, action starved Professor, and the hilarious Chill Wills as the slightly nuts ex-cowboy actor, make this a real gem. The make out scene at the airport is weird and sets up the tone for this wild, funny, occasionally mystifying flick. This should've been an important film, but it's entirely forgotten.