1972 - PURSUIT, author Michael Crichton directs his first film

 Michael Crichton the doctor turned author was primarily known for the techno thrillers.  Kind of a mix of science fiction and the espionage genres.  Crichton had a successful career as a writer.  Jurassic Park and The Andromeda Strain were very popular.  He created the long running TV series  E.R.  At some point Crichton got it in his head that he wanted to direct.  Pursuit, based on one of his early novels called Binary was a modest made for TV film that was first time behind the camera.

Pursuit has a clever plot which is about a government agent tracking a rich right wing industrialist who appears to be planning a terrorist act during the Republican convention in San Diego. Crichton or whoever his casting director was put together a good cast.  Ben Gazzzara is the government agent, E. G. Marshall casting against type is the industrialist, Martin Sheen shows up in a small part and  "Dr No" himself, Joseph Wiseman is one of those scientist types who are basically around to clear up plot points for the audience.

 

Pursuit maintains interest basically by focusing on Crichton's narrative as the government starts to piece together Marshall's plan.  For a first effort behind the camera Crichton does okay.  As a film director he was always a little on the mediocre side.  Basically he was a point and shot kind of filmmaker. He lined up the actors and got the scenes filmed.  In fact Crichton's career behind the camera is really noting special from a visual standpoint, but there was no question he was good with clever stories, witness films like Westworld, Coma, Looker and The Great Train Robbery.  Although Runaway his out of control robot film is kind of stupid. 

 

Pursuit is a good story and has good actors pulling the film across the finish line in spite of indifferent direction. 

The screenplay was by Robert Dozier, the running time was 74 minutes.  The film has the usual breaks in the narrative where advertising was inserted during the network showing.

1981 - LOOKER Michael Crichton film is interesting and inept

An evil corporation is killing supermodels and then digitally recreating them for TV advertisements.  It's up to a heroic plastic surgeon and one of his supermodel patients to solve the mystery and stop this evil plan. 

Looker is a Michael Crichton techno thriller which probably might have worked a little better as a novel.  The idea of digitally creating people was 29 years ahead of it's time.  Using good looking women who are models was a great idea to hang the film on.  Crichton used a similar approach in Jurassic Park with his DNA created dinosaur island which really didn't make much sense when you think about it. 

The problem for Looker is that Crichton didn't work out his story ideas very well.  The evil Digital Matrix company is killing the models off and that doesn't make any sense.  If they wanted to keep their digital imaging process a secret, this just calls attention to them. 

Crichton is also not much of a director, he seems to struggle with staging the action scenes throughout the film.  The final shootout during a digitally recreated television commercial is supposed to exciting and funny, but the staging is so inept, it ruins the action climax of the film. 

Looker certainly has an interesting cast.  The great British thespian, Albert Finney plays the plastic surgeon turned action hero and he seems really uncomfortable in the role.  Susan Dey is his hot model girlfriend and she is definitely not unattractive.   The film also has James Coburn who one critic pointed out was doing an imitation of director John Huston. He at least brings a little energy to a kind of lifeless film. 

94 minutes, written by Michael Crichton.