COOK AND PEARY: THE RACE TO THE POLE (1983)

STARS: Rod Steiger, Richard Chamberlain, Diane Venora, Michael Gross.

DIRECTOR: Robert Day. DURATION: 104 mins.

SYNOPSIS: Two former friends-turned-Arctic explorer rivals become locked in a cold-blooded race to become the first to reach the North Pole.

RC PLAYS: Frederick A. Cook.

Making a movie must have seemed like a weekend break after the mammoth task of filming two epic mini-series - Shogun and The Thorn Birds - back-to-back. Nevertheless, the shoot of Cook and Peary ended up being rather more like the real-life event that inspired it than it was meant to be... It also marked the end of Chamberlain's promise to never again play a recent real-life character, which he made having played the Duke of Windsor in 1972.

The movie focused on the relationship between Admiral Robert E. Peary (Steiger) and Frederick A. Cook (Chamberlain), a physician-turned-explorer. The men had been friends until they began arguing over who reached the North Pole first. Peary is generally credited with having won the race.

Filming took place in Canada and the North Atlantic, which Richard described as "like walking into God's house." At one point a great roaring noise heralded the breaking up of an ice floe on which the actor and several crew members were filming. It seemed a real tragedy was about to strike - until helicopters came to their rescue.

"They were plucked to safety just in the nick of time," recalls producer Robert Halmi. "Moments after they were removed from the ice, the platform broke apart."

So, what was it like to work with Rod Steiger - a thespian whose notoriously meticulous approach to his work has given him a reputation as an icy character himself. "He's a legendary actor andto find yourself in intense scenes with someone who is awe-inspiring, it puts one on your toes," revealed Chambelain. "Rod improvised a lot, but he usually ends up with the right cue. I never worked with anyone who does that before, and it's nervous-making, but in a good way. You really have to listen. He kept saying things differently, and I thought, 'Well, that's interesting.' It's like there's a time bomb in him that could go off at any time. That's a wonderful quality for an actor."

The project's success looked assured when it was greeted warmly by critics, but on its broadcast in the States on December 13th 1983, the film gained only modest ratings. A more superstitious person might claim the date played a rather telling part in the disappointment...

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