Bloodline (1979)

When her father is murdered, a pharmaceutical heiress becomes the next target of an unknown killer amid the international jet set.

Director:

Terence Young

Writers:

Laird Koenig, Sidney Sheldon (novel)

Stars:

Audrey Hepburn, Ben Gazzara, James Mason

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Audrey Hepburn	...	Elizabeth Roffe
Ben Gazzara	...	Rhys Williams
James Mason	...	Sir Alec Nichols
Claudia Mori	...	Donatella
Irene Papas	...	Simonetta Palazzi
Michelle Phillips	...	Vivian Nichols
Maurice Ronet	...	Charles Martin
Romy Schneider	...	Hélène Roffe-Martin
Omar Sharif	...	Ivo Palazzi
Beatrice Straight	...	Kate Erling
Gert Fröbe	...	Inspector Max Hornung
Wolfgang Preiss	...	Julius Prager
Marcel Bozzuffi	...	Man in Black
Pinkas Braun	...	Dr. Wal
Wulf Kessler	...	Young Sam Roffe

Storyline

Sam Roffe, president of a multi-national pharmaceutical corporation, is killed while mountain-climbing. It is first determined to be an accident, but Inspector Max Hormung later deduces that Roffe was murdered. Sam's daughter Elizabeth assumes control of the company, and while traveling through Europe she immediately becomes a target as well. Suspicion falls on the Roffe cousins, all of whom want to go public with the company and sell their stock at a huge profit. Since this would be against her father's wishes, Elizabeth rejects their advice and decides to keep the company within the family. As Inspector Hormung investigates the background of the cousins, more attempts are made on Elizabeth's life. Hoping to reveal the guilty party, Hormung is able to connect these attempts to a series of murders on prostitutes, which are recorded on snuff films.

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Plot Keywords:

murder of a nude woman | snuff film | heiress | attempted murder | detective | 

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Taglines:

Family secrets run deadly.

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Mystery | Romance | Thriller

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Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

West Germany USA

Language:

English Italian French

Release Date:

29 June 1979 (USA)

Also Known As:

Sidney Sheldon's Bloodline

Filming Locations:

Burghausen, Bavaria, Germany

Box Office

Budget:

$12,000,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Bavaria Film,NF Geria III-Produktion München

Technical Specs

Runtime:

117 min (cut) (original)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Audrey Hepburn was aged about 50 when this movie was made and released. The character she plays was much younger and in her 30s. Writer Sidney Sheldon revised his "Bloodline" novel to accommodate the literary age of the film version's lead actress. Hepburn had been in semi-retirement when she agreed to do this picture. The DVD sleeve notes declare that this movie was one of the final films of actress Audrey Hepburn. Hepburn's salary on this movie was $1,000,000 plus a percentage of the gross.

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Goofs

In Sardinia, when Major Campagna talks to his soldiers, he speaks in Italian, but when he talks to his superior, on the phone, he speaks in English and not in Italian.

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Quotes

Elizabeth Roffe: [during a board meeting to consider letting the company go public] Who didn't agree?
Simonetta Palazzi: Sam, but it was not, uh...

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Alternate Versions

Network TV version features 40 minutes of additional footage not included in theatrical release.

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Connections

Referenced in They All Laughed 25 Years Later: Director to Director - A Conversation with Peter Bogdanovich and Wes Anderson (2006)

User Reviews

For any True Audrey Hepburn fan, this movie should make you sick.

It was said that midway through shooting "Bloodline" Audrey Hepburn finally realized what a horrible and degrading movie this was going to be and desperately wanted to get out of it, but she was under contract and had no choice.

When you see this movie you will realize exactly why she felt so bad about making it. The absolute only reason to watch "Bloodline" is to see how Audrey Hepburn aged like fine wine.