Conan in the 1970's

Ray Harryhausen in the late 1960's and early 1970's considered doing a Conan movie base on Robert Howard character.
I wonder who direct the Film. Doc Chaffrey come to mind. He work with Harryhausen before on Jason and the Argonauts and One Million years BC, and was considered a good Director for making low budget look bigger then they were. Look at the Viking Queen and A Twist of Sand for examples.

Writer, I suspect either Lin Carter or L Sprague De Camp or both. (it been a while since I read any of the Conan stories so I don't know which stories might make a good movie)

Actor Who to cast as Conan. How about Peter Lupus? He did some italian Sword and Sandals movies in the early 1960's before doing Mission Impossible.

With some Creature created by Harryhausan, I think we end up with a good little movie.

What do you think
 
Couldn't have been worse than the Arnold version.
It could very well have been worse than the Arnold version. It could have less memorable music, for instance. Or been just as keeping with Robert Howard's vision of Conan, but of less quality as a film taken on its own merits.
 
It could very well have been worse than the Arnold version. It could have less memorable music, for instances. Or been just as keeping with Robert Howard's vision of Conan, but of less quality as a film taken on its own merits.

Fair points.

However, it's almost tragic that a production with the resources the 1980s Conan had produced something that was so dissonant from the source material and just not that good.
 
It could very well have been worse than the Arnold version. It could have less memorable music, for instance. Or been just as keeping with Robert Howard's vision of Conan, but of less quality as a film taken on its own merits.

The Music would have been different yes. Maybe Miklos Rozsa as composer. He did Golden Voyage of Sinbad. John Williams is another possible composer.

Since Harryhausen is doing the Creatures, the film is going to be a PG rated film. So Conan bloodletting is going to be tone down.
 
Fair points.

However, it's almost tragic that a production with the resources the 1980s Conan had produced something that was so dissonant from the source material and just not that good.

According to Wikipedia, Oliver Stone wrote the first Draft of the script in the late 1970's, for Edward Pressman and Edward Summer, who also found Arnold. They were unable to raised the needed money and turn it over to Raffaella De Laurentiis who brought in John Milus who then rewrote the script.

Back in the late 1990's a roomate of mine had a copy of the First draft of Red Dawn, which was also rewritten and directed by Milius. The script was far better than the final movie.

So it seen to me that many of the problems with the way final movie were most likley the bad choices of a poor director.
 
Are there any Robert Howard Conan Stoires that would made a good movie?
There should some creatures for Harryhausen to animate. I don't remember Conan fighting many monsters, but it been a while since I read any Conan stories. (I was in high school when I read the 12 book ace series. And I read a few of the novels by De Sprung and Carter. Best of the Novels was the Poul Anderson. )
 
Fair points.

However, it's almost tragic that a production with the resources the 1980s Conan had produced something that was so dissonant from the source material and just not that good.
I'm not sure it's really all that dissonant from the source material. Continuity-wise yeah, but thematically it does hit some of the same notes.
 
Are there any Robert Howard Conan Stoires that would made a good movie?
There should some creatures for Harryhausen to animate. I don't remember Conan fighting many monsters, but it been a while since I read any Conan stories. (I was in high school when I read the 12 book ace series. And I read a few of the novels by De Sprung and Carter. Best of the Novels was the Poul Anderson. )

Howard and Lovecraft were friends, and many of the monsters in Howard's stories were thinly veiled copies of Lovecraft's creations
 
No one has any stories suggestion?

Oh, several. In particular, i'm thinking of the story where Conan becomes a pirate and sails with a great pirate queen. There is also "Red Nails" which is one of Howard's greatest Conan stories and deals with Conan comes to a city whose society is decaying.
 
Oh, several. In particular, i'm thinking of the story where Conan becomes a pirate and sails with a great pirate queen. There is also "Red Nails" which is one of Howard's greatest Conan stories and deals with Conan comes to a city whose society is decaying.

There was a attempt around 2005
5 to make Red Nails into a animated movie.
here are a few unfinish clips
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=86cIMDSmoSI
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UO-ykAD1xdM
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bhk4PTB6CKA
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bhk4PTB6CKA
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vuz-kzgiJPM
 
Oh, several. In particular, i'm thinking of the story where Conan becomes a pirate and sails with a great pirate queen. There is also "Red Nails" which is one of Howard's greatest Conan stories and deals with Conan comes to a city whose society is decaying.
I was thinking of Carita Jarvinen as the pirate queen (She was in the Hammer film the Viking Queen) but she seem to quit acting after that film, turning down two roles in Jame Bond films.
 
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