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THE BOURNE IDENTITY (1988)
STARS: Richard Chamberlain, Jaclyn Smith, Yorgo Voyagis, Donald Moffat, Anthony Quayle, Denholm Elliott.
DIRECTOR: Roger Young. DURATION: 192mins.
SYNOPSIS: An amnesiac wakes up on a beach and attempts to piece together his life from clues he finds on himself - could he really be a professional assassin?
RC PLAYS: Jason Bourne.
This two-part drama was an attempt to revive Chamberlain's dying mini-series career. Based on Robert Ludlum's best-selling novel, it had originally been intended as a movie starring Burt Reynolds, but as in the case of The Thorn Birds, the tale was considered too long and complicated to condense.
Perhaps because of his failing stature as a bankable name, Chamberlain seemed more than willing to speak about the project and even embarked on a publicity tour.
Whatever the reason, his description of the plot makes it at least sound interesting - in fact, he's probably the best publicity the series had: "The show starts with my character getting shot to pieces in a storm at sea," explained Richard. "He washes up on a Mediteranean island and is saved by a drunken actor, played wonderfully by Denholm Elliott. Unfortunately, he's been shot in the head and can't remember anything. The only clues to his identity are a Swiss bank account and the fact that he knows all about weapons and martial arts, but he doesn't know why. He discovers shortly that he has $15million in the bank and everybody wants to kill him - and he still doesn't know why."
The producers decided to cast a well-known actress with pulling power of her own following Chamberlain's recent poor showings ratings-wise. First, Leslie Anne Down turned down the love interest role because the producers refused to also employ her husband, cameraman Don Fauntleroy. Ex-Charlie's Angel Jaclyn Smith wasn't so demanding and took the part.
As usual, Richard seemed to get on with his co-star well, although they had worked together previously while hosting a TV special. "Jacklyn is unselfish," said the actor. "She's a wonderful actress. She's incredibly beautiful, she's warm, she's vulnerable." Smith was equally pleasant, saying "It was a dream to work with Richard."
The Bourne Identity also provided Chamberlain with his most violent role. He gained glowing reviews from critics, who despite their praise for the actor were less positive about the show itself.
Despite this, in the US the mini-series ended up as a ratings success, proving that although he'd had a few setbacks in recent times, Richard Chamberlain was still a good TV draw.
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