Cinema Canada (Jan-Feb 1981)

IN PROGREY When it came to robbing trains, the foxy Bill Minor had a major reputation (Richard Farnsworth, right) : his companions in crime are George Dawson (left) and James McLarty. with swirling machine-made fog as first assistant director John Board coached one of the extras where to walk so that he would cross Farnsworth’s path at the right moment. After checking for details (such as a wristwatch on the arm of a second extra — an employee of the fastfood restaurant that backed onto the alley) production manager Paul Tucker yelled, “Clear the alley at the bottom, please!” Crew and onlookers in woollen leg-warmers and down ski jackets scurried out of the way and the cameras rolled for three successful takes. Half-an-hour later, cameras were set up at the bottom of the alley for the second scene — Miner's first encounter with a horseless carriage; a beautiful 1910 Buick. An onlooker appeared with his pet German Shepherd, which wandered up onto the set. Director of photography Frank Tidy (The Lucky Star, The Duellist) decided the dog “added a note of authenticity’ and the cameras rolled. Both the car and the dog performed admirably — the old Buick puttputting up and down thealley for take after take, and 6/January— February 1981 Photo: Phil Hersee the poor shepherd sitting patiently through the clatter of the engine and the sickening smell of artificial fog. The idea for The Grey Fox has been in Borsos’ mind since 1974, all the while he was producing his award-winning documentary shorts — Cooperage, Spartree and Academy Award nominee Nails. After allying his company, Mercury Pictures Inc., with Canadian producer Peter O’Brian (Love At First Sight, Blood and Guts, Fast Company), John Hunter was added to the team to create a script that would “strike a balance between documentary and drama.” After eight rewrites Borsos and O'Brian were happy enough to set production wheels in motion. The documentary style of Borsos’ earlier work continues through The Grey Fox. The film is amazingly accurate in its recounting of the Bill Miner legend. Many of the scenes were filmed on or near the spots where they actually occurred; much of the dialogue is accurate, taken from actual court transcripts of Miner's trial. The capture scene, where Miner and his sidekicks Shorty Dunn (Wayne Robson of Popeye, McCabe and Mrs. Miller, Buf falo Bill and the Indians) and Louis Colquhoun (David Petersen of Skip Tracer) were arrested, was filmed within 300 meters of the actual site near Douglas Lake. The only substantial deviation from history is Miners romance with Kate Flynn (Jackie Burroughs of The Psychiatrist, If Wishes Were Horses, A Fan’s Notes), a feisty photographer from the East who wound up in Kamloops in her search for adventure. With spirits so high and the production going “awful smooth”, Borsos commented that “it’s kind of depressing having only four days left to shoot.” Despite the cliché, The Grey Fox has been a dream come true. Its release, slated for September 1981, will be the final test of reality. Glenda Bartosh The Grey Fox p.c. Grey Fox Pictures Inc. 1980 exec.p. David H. Brady p. Peter O’Brian sc. John Hunter d. Phillip Borsos co-p. Barry Healey d.o.p. Frank Tidy des. Bill Brodie admin. consult. Sandra Gould Sale asst. to exec. p. Linda Baca asst. to admin. consult. Kate McBride p.man. Paul Tucker p.acct. Elizabeth Pontsa, Victoria Emery (asst.) p. co-ord. Patrice Allen loc./unit man. Michael Steele a.d. John Board(1st), Mary Eilts (2nd), Tom Rowe (3rd) p. office asst. Wendy McGillvray art d. lan Thomas, David Wilson (asst.) construc. co-ord. Charles Leitrants chief carp. Thom Wells chief painter Phil Morgan scenic art. Richard Humenick prop. mas. Grant Swain prop. buyer Bill Thumm set dec. Kimberley Richardson set dress. Ann Marie Corbett cam.op. Ron Orieux key focus Sandy McCallum asst. cam. Bruce Ingram sd. mix Rob Young boom Lee Walkling gaf. John Bartley best boy elec. Len Wolfe gen. op. Steve Jackson key grip Barry Reid dolly grip John Brown ward. Christopher Ryan (design), Jane Grose (asst.) seamstress Linda Langdon spe. efx. Cliff Wenger make-up llona Herman (superv.), Phyllis Newman (artist) stills Phillip Hersee transp. capt. Scott Irvine drivers George Grieve (capt.), Rocky Zantolas (cocapt.), Brian Boyer, Ken Johnson, Dave Bowe head wrangler Tom Glass chef/driver Shelley Heatherington chef asst. Kim Armstrong craft services Joanne Ryan ed. Ray Hall, Bob Boyd (asst.) sync. ed. Maureen Levitt post-p. asst. Nigel Hollick elec. Jerry Zawerucha l|.p. Richard Farnsworth, Jackie Burroughs, Wayne Robson, David Petersen, Tim Webber, Gary Reineke, Samantha Langevin, Tom Heaton, Don Mackay, Heath Lamberts, Stephen Miller, Sean Sullivan, Jack Leaf, George Dawson, James McLarty, Ray Michal, Dona White, Jon York, James Defelice, Frank Turner, Angus Macinnes, David Crowley, Duncan Fraser, Bill Murdoch, Morris Pancyh, David McCulley, Jack Ackroyd, Nicholas Rice, Paul Jolicoéur, Bill Mellen, David Raines, Mel Tuck, Lisa Westman, David Ackridge, Paul Whitney, Murray Ord, Peter Jo bin pub. David Novek Associates ES