A Double Bout of Amnesia: Love Letters and The Groundstar Conspiracy

Jennifer Jones and Joseph Cotten.

Love Letters (1945). During World War II, soldier Allen Quinton (Joseph Cotten) writes eloquent love letters on behalf of his less‑articulate comrade Roger. The woman receiving them, Victoria (Jennifer Jones), falls in love with the writer--whom she believes is Roger. She and Roger later wed, but the marriage ends in tragedy. The trauma results in amnesia, with Victoria forgetting everything about her past except the name Singleton. After the war, Allen struggles with PTSD. At a low point in his life, he meets a beautiful, strange woman with whom he connects instantly. She goes by a one-word name: Singleton.

Ayn Rand (The Fountainhead) penned the screenplay Love Letters from the novel Pity the Simplicity by Christopher Massie. It's a canny mixture of Cyrano de Bergerac and Random Harvest, though it never reaches those heights in terms of drama. The film's first half works best, with its emphasis on Allen and Singleton and their evolving relationship. Eventually, though, it turns into a somewhat conventional mystery with Allen trying to figure out what happened on the tragic night that caused the amnesia.

Jennifer Jones gives one of her most restrained performances. However, Cotten anchors the film with his quiet compassion. Surprisingly, he was the second choice for the role of Allen, with Gregory Peck turning down the part. The strong supporting cast includes a very likable Ann Richards, Cecil Kellaway in a role that should have been larger, and Glady Cooper in a brief, compelling appearance.

Love Letters earned four Academy Award nominations: Best Actress for Jennifer Jones; Best Score and Best Song for Victor Young; and Best Art Direction (black & white). 

I always find a certain charm about Hollywood's recreation of England in the 1930s and 1940s (see The Ghost and Mrs. Muir, The Uninvited). Love Letters is another fine example, aided by Lee Garmes' evocative cinematography. The acclaimed Garmes worked with Jennifer Jones on three films, the other two being Since You Went Away (1944) and Duel in the Sun (1946). 

George Peppard as Tuxan.

The Groundstar Conspiracy (1972). A sabotage attempt at a top‑secret research facility leaves a single survivor: a badly injured man who insists he has no memory of who he is or why he was there. Government investigator Tuxan (George Peppard) becomes convinced the man—now calling himself Welles—is a spy, and he pressures him for answers. As Welles (Michael Sarrazin) struggles to piece together fragments of his identity, a larger web of deception emerges, revealing that the truth behind the break‑in is far stranger and more unsettling than anyone expected.

The Groundstar Conspiracy was one of several amnesia films made in the 1960s and early 1970s (others include Mirage, Mister Buddwing, and Jigsaw). It's an efficiently made movie that holds interest without delivering the thrill its teases. The big twist at the climax, while lacking originally, works surprisingly well. And that's important in a film like this, because if the "big reveal" is a letdown, then the audience may feel ripped off for investing its time in a shoddy product.

George Peppard's "hero," Tuxan, is an unlikable, relentless security expert. To potentially gain information, he has no qualms about using a hidden camera to film an innocent woman--even when she is making love. Thematically, Tuxan's belief that potential intelligence outweighs an individual's privacy is the most provocative part of The Groundstar Conspiracy and an issue that remains relevant today. However, even of exploring this theme in depth (as The Conversation would do later), The Groundstar Conspiracy is content to function as disposable thriller.

Peppard is well cast, having long ago jettisoned the romantic, nice guy roles that stifled his early career (e.g., Home from the Hill, Breakfast at Tiffany's). He brings a hard edge and a rebellious attitude toward authority to his role. Michael Sarrazin does what he can as the amnesiac, but it's a thankless part to some extent because he essentially functions as what Hitchcock would call the MacGuffin.

I first saw The Groundstar Conspiracy on NBC's Monday Night at the Movies in the 1970s. While I forgot the plot over the years, the opening always stuck with me because of a very long pre-title sequence (an oddity at the time).

The Five Best Episodes of "Banacek"

Banacek with his trademark cigar.

George Peppard starred as free-lance, Boston-based insurance investigator Thomas Banacek in a pilot movie and 16 episodes of Banacek. The series aired as part of the NBC Wednesday Mystery Movie in 1972-74. He was assisted in each episode by his friend, bookstore owner (and researcher) Felix (Murray Matheson) and chauffeur Jay (Ralph Manza). The episodes were typically 75 minutes (without commercials) and focused on elaborate thefts. Here are our picks for the five best episodes:

Stefanie Powers.

1. Let's Hear It for a Living Legend  - A professional football player disappears from the field during a nationally televised game. An ingenious, yet deceptively simple, crime highlights this episode that also features Stefanie Powers as a guest star. She and series star George Peppard have great chemistry; it's a shame she couldn't return for a second outing. An added bonus for NFL fans is the brief appearances from real-life former players John Brodie, Ben Davidson, and Deacon Jones.

2. No Stone Unturned - A massive three-ton piece of modern art is stolen from a museum. We're talking an object so large that the museum's glass front had to be removed so the artwork could be emplaced by a crane. So how was it nabbed during an opening night party without anyone knowing? I admit that my enjoyment of this episode was enhanced by the fact that I figured out how the basics of how the theft was accomplished!

Margot Kidder.

3. A Million the Hard Way - A Las Vegas casino has one million dollars stolen from a tamper-proof display case in the middle of a busy room with an armed guard on duty. This may be the most complex caper in the Banacek series. Plus, Margot Kidder is on hand as a part-time photographer, displaying the kind of spunk that would earn her the role of Lois Lane in Superman (1978).

4. Fly Me — If You Can Find Me - A jet has to make an emergency landing at a small desert airport. One pilot stays with the aircraft while the other crew members spend the night in a nearby motel. The next morning, the airplane and the pilot are gone! This is another crime which is clever despite its simplicity. If you think about it, there's really only one way the plane could have been stolen. But, in this case, another question is why was the plane stolen? The above-average guest star cast features Sterling Hayden and a pre-Dallas Victoria Principal.

5. Now You See Me, Now You Don't - An amateur magician, wanted for embezzling, disappears from a theatre surrounded by the police. This caper employs a trick featured prominently in one of Agatha Christie's mystery novels. It works effectively here, though there's a secondary impact that's pretty hard to swallow (no plot spoilers!).

Seven Things to Know About George Peppard

Peppard in Breakfast at Tiffany's.

1. George Peppard didn't get along with either of his female co-stars on the set of Breakfast at Tiffany's (1961). According to Breakfast at Tiffany's: The Official 50th Anniversary Companion, he and Patricia Neal were friends when they attended the Actors Studio in the 1950s. However, her opinion of him had changed by the time they made Tiffany's: "Boy, he'd gotten rotten. At the Actors Studio, I'd adored him." As for Audrey Hepburn, she and Peppard seemed unable to overcome their different personalities. He sometimes referred to her as the "Happy Nun" on the set (she had made The Nun's Story two years earlier).

2. George Peppard was married five times. His second wife was actress Elizabeth Ashley, who commented  in a 2015 interview: "I married a movie star 11 years older than me because I was looking for a father. Big mistake! Granted, he was gorgeous. Maybe too gorgeous! And good for breeding. But I believe it was doomed from the start." Peppard and Ashley had met on the set of The Carpetbaggers (1964) and they shared top billing the following year in The Third Day. Their marriage lasted six years and they had a son, Christian (also an actor).

George Peppard as Banacek.

3. After Peppard's film career hit a lull, he starred in Banacek, one of the rotating series that aired as part of the NBC Wednesday Mystery Movie in 1972. Thomas Banacek was a very successful free-lance insurance investigator who lived in a plush house on Boston's Beacon Hill and had a chauffeur. In the first season episode "Project Phoenix," Banacek mentioned that he learned "combat judo" in the Marine Corps. Peppard actually served in the Marines from 1946-48 and rose to the rank of corporal.

4. At the 2004 SF Ball X, A-Team regular Dwight Schultz talked about working with George Peppard. On Schultz's first day on the set, Peppard walked up to him and said: "Hello, I’m George Peppard. I’m not a very nice man. I used to be a drunk. I tell everybody that. I’m not a drunk anymore." Schultz also said that both Peppard and Mr. T considered themselves to be the star the show. So, when Peppard started leaving the set at 5:00 pm each day, so did Mr. T. The shooting schedule had to be rearranged so that Schultz and Dirk Benedict could stay late to complete any scenes without the show's "stars."

5. Although known for his film and TV roles, Peppard also performed on stage. He made his Broadway debut in 1956 opposite Shelley Winters and Pat Hingle in Girls of Summer. A young Stephen Sondheim, who wrote the title song, was uncredited in the play's original program.

Peppard and Linda Evans on Banacek.

6. According to TV Guide, George Peppard was the original choice to play Blake Carrington on the TV series Dynasty. He was replaced by John Forsyte due to "creative differences" with the show's producers (interestingly, Linda Evans had been a guest star on Banacek). Peppard did star in another TV series between Banacek and The A-Team. He portrayed a neurosurgeon in Doctors' Hospital, which lasted 16 episodes on NBC in 1975-76. The show co-starred Zohra Lampert and John Larroquette.

7. George Peppard was married five times. In addition to Ashley, his fourth wife Sherry Boucher was an actress. He had three children, one with Ashley and two with his first wife Helen Davies. George Peppard died in 1994 at age 65 from pneumonia. A former smoker for many years, he had been battling lung cancer.

James Cameron, John Sayles, and John-Boy? It Must be "Battle Beyond the Stars"

Hoping to capitalize on the enormous popularity of 1977's Stars Wars, producer Roger Corman turned to John Sayles to craft an outer space adventure about another young man destined to become an unlikely hero. Sayles was on the verge of achieving critical success for his reunion comedy-drama Return of the Secaucus Seven (1979), the unofficial inspiration for The Big Chill. In the meantime, though, he paid the bills by writing witty screenplays for Corman and other budget-minded producers. His writing credits during this period include Piranha, Alligator, and The Howling.

Richard Thomas as John-Boy...I mean, Shad.

Battle Beyond the Stars is one of Sayles' lesser efforts. His intent seems clever enough: Transplant the premise of Akira Kurosawa's epic Seven Samurai (remade as the 1960 Western The Magnificent Seven) to a science fiction adventure. To that end, Richard Thomas stars as Shad, a young lad whose planet is under siege by the evil Sador (John Saxon). After inflicting some random killings, Sador promises: "I will return in seven risings. You are mine."

Not wanting to be "his," the village elders send Shad on a mission to find some mercenaries ("To fight creatures of violence, you must use creatures of violence"). Aboard his talking, smart-aleck ship Nell, Shad scours the galaxy and returns with six companions--only one of which could be described as a mercenary. Still, they prove to be a formidable force when Sador and his army return.

They are Nestor.

The first hour of this galactic hodgepodge has its share of amusing moments, such as the five beings that share a single conscience.

NESTOR: We are Nestor...these five facets. Four of us are required to operate the shop.

SHAD: What about the fifth?

NESTOR: We always carry a spare.

Alas, once Sador returns for the big showdown, Battle Beyond the Stars drops into a black hole. The spaceship battles drag on for over 20 minutes, leaving plenty of time to realize that special effects aren't special when you're working on a tight budget. Many of the effects were devised by a young crew member named James Cameron (and, yes, it is that James Cameron). Don't expect any amazing, innovative special effects, though. It's apparent that Cameron was a novice and had much to learn before developing the stunning visuals in Avatar (and, of course, benefiting from an exponential  budget increase and three decades of technological advances).

Cult fan favorite Sybil Danning.

Richard Thomas is adequate in the lead role, though John-Boy Walton still looks out of place on a spaceship. Robert Vaughn, who played one of the mercenaries in The Magnificent Seven, pays homage to his earlier film (though, oddly enough, Vaughn's role this time around shares many similarities with Charles Bronon's in Magnificent Seven). George Peppard seems bored with his part as the rascally gun-runner Cowboy (think Han Solo). Sybil Danning looks physically imposing, as always, but has nothing to do. Ditto for Marta Kristen, which is sure to disappoint her Lost in Space fans.

It's easy to dismiss Battle Beyond the Stars as a routine Star Wars rip-off. Indeed, that may be an apt description, but it's still worth viewing as a training ground for Cameron, Sayles (who later earned two Oscar nominations for screenwriting), and composer James Horner (who teamed up with Cameron on Titanic and Avatar).