The Greek Tycoon

The Greek Tycoon (1978)

She was the most famous woman in the world. He was a peasant, a pirate, a shark. What he couldn't buy with money he stole with charm.

A lusty Greek shipping magnate courts the widow of an assassinated U.S. president.

Date of release
1978-05-12
TMDB
5.5 / 10 (31)
Runtime
1h 47m
Genres
Drama
Director
J. Lee Thompson

Casting

Interesting facts

  • Filmed in: Greece

The Greek Tycoon is a 1978 American biographical romantic drama film, of the roman à clef type, directed by J. Lee Thompson. The screenplay by Morton S. Fine is based on a story by Fine, Nico Mastorakis, and Win Wells, who loosely based it on Aristotle Onassis and his relationship with Jacqueline Kennedy. Mastorakis denied this, instead stating "We're not doing a film about Aristotle Onassis. It's a personification of all Greek Tycoons." The film stars Anthony Quinn in the title role and Jacqueline Bisset as the character based on Kennedy. Quinn also appeared in Thompson's 1979 film The Passage.

Production

Producer Nico Mastorakis reportedly offered Jackie Onassis $1 million to play herself in a film called Tycoon. She refused. When Christina Onassis declined to give permission for the movie, Mastorakis changed it to be "fictional".

Quinn said that he met Onassis six months before the latter's death and the tycoon gave his blessing to Quinn's casting. Quinn said Jackie Kennedy asked him to not make the movie. Quinn originally decided not to do it but then changed his mind after Jackie snubbed him at a restaurant.

Filming started 1 October 1976 with a reported budget of $4 million. Quinn was paid $500,000 and Bissett $250,000.

The film was shot on location in New York City, Athens, Mykonos, Corfu, Washington, D.C., and London.

The film's theme song, "(Life is) Just a Dance with Time," was written by John Kongos and recorded by Petula Clark in both English and French (as "Le Grec").

Read on Wikipedia · Text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. Data from Wikidata.

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