Evening in Byzantium (1978) (TV)

User Rating:

5.6/10   

Director:

Jerry London

Writers:

Glen A. Larson (writer)
Irwin Shaw (novel)

Release Date:

14 August 1978 (USA)

Genre:

Drama

Plot:

Terrorists invade the Cannes Film Festival.

Plot Keywords:

Based On Novel

Cast

Glenn Ford	...	Jesse Craig
Eddie Albert	...	Brian Murphy
Vince Edwards	...	Bret Easton
Patrick Macnee	...	Ian Waldeigh
Gregory Sierra	...	Fabricio
Harry Guardino	...	Jerry Olson
Michael Cole	...	Danny
Simon Oakland	...	Walter Klein
Gloria DeHaven	...	Sonia Murphy
Marcel Hillaire	...	Inspector Le Dioux
Christian Marquand	...	Inspector DuBois
Lee Bergere	...	Monsieur Carroll
Len Birman	...	Leonardo
James Booth	...	Jack Conrad
George Lazenby	...	Roger Tory

Runtime:

240 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Company:

Operation Prime Time (OPT)

Strangely Prescient with Very Strange Casting

The plot premise of Evening in Byzantium really impressed me at the time as being a semi-plausible way that terrorists might be able to attack the US, and even before 9/11 I would sometimes think of it whenever the government proposed spending billions of dollars on missile defense systems that were supposed to protect us from "rogue states".

But the other thing about it that struck me and stayed with me over the years was how strange the casting was. Glen Ford as a scriptwriter wasn't too hard to accept because he becomes an aging action hero as the plot develops. But Eddie Albert was an odd choice in such a serious role, and Shirley Jones (Mrs. Partridge, for heaven's sake!) as a junkie was just bizarre.