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The Deadly Tower

The Deadly Tower (also known as Sniper) is a 1975 American made-for-television action drama thriller film directed by Jerry Jameson. It stars Kurt Russell and Richard Yniguez[1] and is based on the University of Texas tower shooting.

The Deadly Tower
Official DVD cover
Genre
Written byWilliam Douglas Lansford
Directed byJerry Jameson
Starring
Narrated byGilbert Roland
Music byDon Ellis
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
Production
Executive producerRichard Caffey
ProducerAntonio Calderón
Production locations
CinematographyMatthew F. Leonetti
EditorTom Stevens
Running time95 minutes
Production companyMGM Television
Original release
NetworkNBC
ReleaseOctober 18, 1975 (1975-10-18)

Plot

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The film is based on the true story of Charles Joseph Whitman, an engineering student and former Marine who murdered his wife and mother and then killed 14 more people and wounded 31 others in a shooting rampage at the University of Texas at Austin on the afternoon of August 1, 1966.

Cast

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Production

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The film was produced by Antonino Calderon, who was head of Image, an organization dedicated to providing more positive screen depictions of Mexican Americans. He met with Robert Howard, president of the NBC network and asked if he could make a film about an actual Chicano hero. Howard agreed. Calderon pitched several stories and Howard agreed to finance The Deadly Tower as it was about a Chicano police officer, Martinez. MGM were commissioned to make the movie with Calderon as producer, Richard Caffey as executive producer and David Goldsmith as production executive.[2]

The Deadly Tower was filmed between the 16 June through 4 July 1975, at the Louisiana State Capitol in Baton Rouge, Louisiana because the University of Texas refused to allow filming there.[2]

Release

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Lawsuits

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In 1976, Martinez received an undisclosed out-of-court settlement[3][4] after suing the producers of the Deadly Tower for negative and racist depictions of his wife,[5] portrayed in the movie as a nagging Hispanic woman; in fact, she is a blonde and blue-eyed German.

In 1990, Houston McCoy, one of two policemen who took part in killing Whitman, sued Turner Broadcasting System (which held the ownership of most of MGM's pre-1986 works) for $14 million for emotional distress and damage to his reputation, claiming the film caused him to become an alcoholic and lose self-respect by depicting him as a coward.[6]

Reception

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Critical response

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The Los Angeles Times called the film "highly effective" but wondered "no matter how well done is there any reason to relive that bloody moment of history."[2]

References

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  1. ^ "Sniper (1975)". AllMovie.
  2. ^ a b c 'Deadly Tower' at Texas U.: CECIL SMITH Death Tower on a Campus Smith, Cecil. Los Angeles Times 17 Oct 1975: h1.
  3. ^ Cox, Mike (16 March 1978). "Lawman to get cash in settlement of Whitman film suit". Austin American-Statesman.
  4. ^ Paul Mavis |The Deadly Tower : DVD Talk Review of the DVD Video | http://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/42081/deadly-tower-the/
  5. ^ Kendall R. Phillips (2004). Framing public memory. University of Alabama Press. p. 81. ISBN 978-0-8173-1389-0. Retrieved 2010-06-21. Both policemen who shot Whitman sued MGM after the made-for-TV movie was released. Martinez received a settlement; the other policeman, Houston McCoy, whose name was not used in the film, received nothing, even though the film portrays him standing by passively as the actor playing Martinez fires the fatal shot. Whitman's autopsy showed that it was McCoy's bullet that killed the sniper.
  6. ^ "Former Police Officer Sues Over Tower Sniper Movie". AP News. November 30, 1990.
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