Skullduggery (1970 film)
| Skullduggery | |
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| Directed by | Gordon Douglas |
| Produced by | Saul David |
| Written by | Nelson Gidding |
| Based on | Les Animaux dénaturés by Vercors |
| Starring |
Burt Reynolds Susan Clark Roger C. Carmel |
| Music by | Oliver Nelson |
| Cinematography |
Robert C. Moreno Vincent Saizis |
| Edited by | John Woodcock |
| Distributed by | Universal Pictures |
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Release date
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Running time
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105 minutes |
| Language | English |
Skullduggery is a 1970 American science fiction film directed by Gordon Douglas, produced by Saul David, and stars Burt Reynolds, Susan Clark and Edward Fox.
The screenplay is based on the French novel Les Animaux dénaturés (1952) (variously titled in English as You Shall Know Them, Borderline, and The Murder of the Missing Link) by Jean Bruller (writing under the pseudonym "Vercors").
On an expedition in Papua New-Guinea, Tropis, a tribe of apelike creatures, are being used as slaves by humans. When one of the Tropis is allegedly murdered, the following murder trial centres round the question: are the Tropis a form of human or animal. The question is a form of the Sorites paradox.
In an interview with Tom Weaver, screenwriter Nelson Gidding related the convoluted history of the film. Giddings showed the original novel by Jean Bruller writing as "Vercors" to Otto Preminger with the idea of making a film of the book. After they viewed a play based on the novel presented in Carcassonne, Preminger agreed but later became busy with other film projects. The rights to the novel were sold to producer Saul David after he left 20th Century Fox. The film was to have been the first major feature film production of ABC Pictures with the film crew planning on shooting in Papua New Guinea where an Australian Army General who Gidding had known in World War II provided extensive cooperation to the production.
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