Writing

Alan Sharp

Born January 12, 1934 · Alyth, Perth and Kinross, Scotland

Died February 8, 2013 · aged 79

Alan Sharp (12 January 1934 – 8 February 2013) was a Scottish novelist and screenwriter. He published two novels in the 1960s, and wrote the first ever Play for Today, The Long Distance Piano Player, starring The Kinks frontman Ray Davies. He subsequently wrote the screenplays for about twenty Hollywood films, including The Hired Hand, Ulzana's Raid, Night Moves, and Rob Roy. His daughter is the a…

Known For

Dean SpanleyDean Spanley · 2008
Dean Spanley
7.42008
MovieComedyDrama
Set in Edwardian England where upper lips are always stiff and men from the Colonies are not entirely to be trusted, Fisk Senior has little time or affection for his son, but when the pair visit an eccentric Indian, they start a strange journey that eventually allows the old man to find his heart.
Damnation AlleyDamnation Alley · 1977
Damnation Alley
5.11977
MovieAdventureScience Fiction
Following World War III, four survivors at a desert military installation attempt to drive across the desolate wasteland of America to Albany, where they hope more survivors are living, using a specially built vehicles to protect themselves against the freakish weather, mutated plant and animal life, and other dangers encountered along the way.
Rob RoyRob Roy · 1995
Rob Roy
6.71995
MovieAdventureHistory
In the highlands of Scotland in the 1700s, Rob Roy tries to lead his small town to a better future, by borrowing money from the local nobility to buy cattle to herd to market. When the money is stolen, Rob is forced into a Robin Hood lifestyle to defend his family and honour.
Ulzana's RaidUlzana's Raid · 1972
Ulzana's Raid
6.91972
MovieWestern
After fierce war chief Ulzana and a small war party jump the reservation bent on murder and terror, an inexperienced young lieutenant is assigned to track him down.
Lathe of HeavenLathe of Heaven · 2002
Lathe of Heaven
6.02002
MovieScience FictionTV Movie
In a near future society a man claims that his dreams physically change reality. His therapist is confused at first but soon decides to use him for his own gain.
Night MovesNight Moves · 1975
Night Moves
6.71975
MovieThrillerCrime
Private detective and former football player Harry Moseby gets hired on to what seems a standard missing person case - a former Hollywood actress wants Moseby to find and return her daughter. Harry travels to Florida to find her, but he begins to see a connection between the runaway girl, the world of Hollywood stuntmen, and a suspicious mechanic when an unsolved murder comes to light.
While I Was GoneWhile I Was Gone · 2004
While I Was Gone
5.82004
MovieDrama
Jo Beckett leads a comfortable life with a successful veterinary practice, a devoted husband, and a beautiful home in a lovely small town outside of Boston. Still, she is strangely dissatisfied with her life. One afternoon, a man brings his dog into her veterinary practice to be treated, and Jo recognizes him as Eli, a former housemate from her bohemian days more than 20 years ago. When he invites her to lunch at a fancy hotel in Boston, she goes with the intention of sleeping with him. Instead, Eli reveals a secret to Jo that returns her to the darkest moments of her past and threatens to destroy life as she knows it.
Mission of the Shark: The Saga of the U.S.S. IndianapolisMission of the Shark: The Saga of the U.S.S. Indianapolis · 1991
Mission of the Shark: The Saga of the U.S.S. Indianapolis
6.41991
MovieTV MovieWar
True story of the sinking of the U.S.S. Indianapolis, its crew's struggle to survive the sharks and exposure, and the captain's scape-goat court-martial.

Movies

Dean SpanleyDean Spanley · 2008
Dean Spanley
7.42008
MovieComedyDrama
Set in Edwardian England where upper lips are always stiff and men from the Colonies are not entirely to be trusted, Fisk Senior has little time or affection for his son, but when the pair visit an eccentric Indian, they start a strange journey that eventually allows the old man to find his heart.
Damnation AlleyDamnation Alley · 1977
Damnation Alley
5.11977
MovieAdventureScience Fiction
Following World War III, four survivors at a desert military installation attempt to drive across the desolate wasteland of America to Albany, where they hope more survivors are living, using a specially built vehicles to protect themselves against the freakish weather, mutated plant and animal life, and other dangers encountered along the way.
Rob RoyRob Roy · 1995
Rob Roy
6.71995
MovieAdventureHistory
In the highlands of Scotland in the 1700s, Rob Roy tries to lead his small town to a better future, by borrowing money from the local nobility to buy cattle to herd to market. When the money is stolen, Rob is forced into a Robin Hood lifestyle to defend his family and honour.
Ulzana's RaidUlzana's Raid · 1972
Ulzana's Raid
6.91972
MovieWestern
After fierce war chief Ulzana and a small war party jump the reservation bent on murder and terror, an inexperienced young lieutenant is assigned to track him down.
Lathe of HeavenLathe of Heaven · 2002
Lathe of Heaven
6.02002
MovieScience FictionTV Movie
In a near future society a man claims that his dreams physically change reality. His therapist is confused at first but soon decides to use him for his own gain.
Night MovesNight Moves · 1975
Night Moves
6.71975
MovieThrillerCrime
Private detective and former football player Harry Moseby gets hired on to what seems a standard missing person case - a former Hollywood actress wants Moseby to find and return her daughter. Harry travels to Florida to find her, but he begins to see a connection between the runaway girl, the world of Hollywood stuntmen, and a suspicious mechanic when an unsolved murder comes to light.
While I Was GoneWhile I Was Gone · 2004
While I Was Gone
5.82004
MovieDrama
Jo Beckett leads a comfortable life with a successful veterinary practice, a devoted husband, and a beautiful home in a lovely small town outside of Boston. Still, she is strangely dissatisfied with her life. One afternoon, a man brings his dog into her veterinary practice to be treated, and Jo recognizes him as Eli, a former housemate from her bohemian days more than 20 years ago. When he invites her to lunch at a fancy hotel in Boston, she goes with the intention of sleeping with him. Instead, Eli reveals a secret to Jo that returns her to the darkest moments of her past and threatens to destroy life as she knows it.
Mission of the Shark: The Saga of the U.S.S. IndianapolisMission of the Shark: The Saga of the U.S.S. Indianapolis · 1991
Mission of the Shark: The Saga of the U.S.S. Indianapolis
6.41991
MovieTV MovieWar
True story of the sinking of the U.S.S. Indianapolis, its crew's struggle to survive the sharks and exposure, and the captain's scape-goat court-martial.
Billy Two HatsBilly Two Hats · 1974
Billy Two Hats
5.81974
MovieWestern
After a bank robbery, runaway Scottish outlaw Arch Deans and his young half-breed Kiowa partner Billy Two Hats develop a father-son relationship, but Sheriff Henry Gifford is determined to capture or kill them.
The Osterman WeekendThe Osterman Weekend · 1983
The Osterman Weekend
5.61983
MovieActionDrama
The host of an investigative news show is convinced by the CIA that the friends he has invited to a weekend in the country are engaged in a conspiracy that threatens national security.
The Last RunThe Last Run · 1971
The Last Run
6.61971
MovieCrimeThriller
A former mob getaway driver from Chicago has retired to a peaceful life in a Portuguese fishing village. He is asked to pull off one last job - to drive a dangerous crook and his girlfriend to France.
Descending AngelDescending Angel · 1990
Descending Angel
5.51990
MovieDramaThriller
A recently engaged man getting to know his future father-in-law better unearths clues that the man may have been a Nazi collaborator and a mass murderer.
Betrayed by LoveBetrayed by Love · 1994
Betrayed by Love
6.51994
MovieDramaCrime
An FBI agent and his pretty informant become lovers, which leads to tragedy.
The Hired HandThe Hired Hand · 1971
The Hired Hand
6.11971
MovieWestern
Harry Collings returns home to his farm after drifting with his friend, Arch. His wife, who had given up on him, reluctantly allows him to stay, and soon believes that all will be well again. But then Harry has to make a difficult decision regarding his loyalties and priorities.
AvengerAvenger · 2006
Avenger
6.02006
MovieTV MovieAction
After his own daughter was killed in Panama in 1994, former CIA agent Calvin Dexter became a private 'specialist' in cases which wouldn't reach justice trough the regular legal channels. Two years later he accepts to find Richard 'Ricky' Edmunds for his pa, influential rich businessman Stephen Edmonds. Ricky for a private Canadian war victims charity in Bosnia and went missing. Dexter discovers Ricky was beaten to pulp and drowned for no other crime then helping street boys from the other side by Zoran Zilic and his Serbian paramilitary 'order'. He offers Steven to 'finish the job' as such war criminals don't go to trial. But deputy CIA director Paul Devereaux cares only for a nuclear arms project he wants to use Zilic for. So CIA troubleshooter Frank McBride is ordered to protect him and handle Dexter.
Coming Out of the IceComing Out of the Ice · 1982
Coming Out of the Ice
7.41982
MovieDrama
A biographical film about Victor Herman, based on the memoir of the same name.
Reversible ErrorsReversible Errors · 2004
Reversible Errors
6.22004
MovieCrimeDrama
A corporate lawyer's interest in a decade-old murder case is piqued by a new confession that could clear the convicted killer, who sits on death row.
Little Girl Fly AwayLittle Girl Fly Away · 1998
Little Girl Fly Away
5.61998
MovieDramaThriller
Fact-based story about a woman whose life is shattered by a poetry-spouting stalker who manages to evade her police protectors.
The EdgeThe Edge · 1989
The Edge
4.01989
MovieDramaTV Movie
A three-part anthology suspense program in which men and women face life's ultimate danger zone. Each episode is introduced by a mysterious figure known as The Watcher (Barry Sattels), who arrives on the scene just as strange things being to happen - pushing men and women in crisis over the edge and into bizarre, unexpected actions.
The Long Distance Piano PlayerThe Long Distance Piano Player · 1970
The Long Distance Piano Player
7.01970
MovieDramaTV Movie
The first Play for Today is the story of one man's obsession (to win the world long distance piano playing record) and the battle for good (his wife) and evil (his agent) that rages around him.
Valentino's GhostValentino's Ghost · 2013
Valentino's Ghost
5.72013
MovieDocumentaryHistory
The documentary exposes the ways in which America's foreign policy agenda in the Middle East drives the U.S. media's portrayals of Arabs and Muslims. The film lays bare the truths behind taboo subjects that are conspicuously avoided, or merely treated as sound bites, by the mainstream American media: "Why do they hate us?" "Why do we hate them?" What were the events that led to the 9/11 attacks? What are the politics behind the U.S.-Israeli relationship? Why is there a robust debate about these subjects in Europe, the Arab World and in Israel itself, but not in the U.S.? Valentino's Ghost provides a fresh inquiry which challenges the media's daily barrage of rhetoric and misinformation about our complex and vital relationship with this part of the world
Sam Peckinpah: Man of IronSam Peckinpah: Man of Iron · 1993
Sam Peckinpah: Man of Iron
7.11993
MovieDocumentary
This straight-talking program seeks to understand the enigmatic and controversial Sam Peckinpah, whose violent films such as The Wild Bunch and Straw Dogs had a telling effect on the cinema of the 1970s and 80s. Those who knew and worked with him, including actor James Coburn, actress Ali MacGraw, his associate Katherine Haber, his cousin Bob Peckinpah, and several screenwriters and producers, examine his life in an attempt to separate the man from the persona. Clips from key films reinforce this detailed discussion of Peckinpah's art and a fixation on violence that still permeates Hollywood today.
Love and LiesLove and Lies · 1990
Love and Lies
1990
MovieTV MovieCrime
Fact-based story of real-life detective Kim Paris who was assigned to work undercover to find the murderers of an elderly couple who were shot in their beds. The chief suspect (Gallagher) is a charming man who once lived with the daughter of the couple. In acting in her undercover role, she gets too close to the suspect and the two start falling in love.
The Last HitThe Last Hit · 1993
The Last Hit
7.01993
MovieThrillerTV Movie
A retired asassin tries to make himself at home in New Mexico.

TV Shows

Play for TodayPlay for Today · 1970
Play for Today
6.61970
SeriesDrama
Play for Today is a British television anthology drama series, produced by the BBC and transmitted on BBC1 from 1970 to 1984. During the run, more than three hundred programmes, featuring original television plays, and adaptations of stage plays and novels, were transmitted. The individual episodes were between fifty and a hundred minutes in duration.
ITV PlayhouseITV Playhouse · 1967
ITV Playhouse
7.01967
SeriesDrama
ITV Playhouse is a British comedy-drama TV series that ran from 1967 to 1983, which featured contributions from playwrights such as Dennis Potter, Rhys Adrian and Alan Sharp. The series began in black and white, but was later shot in colour and was produced by various companies for the ITV network, a format that would inspire Dramarama. Actors appearing in the series included Leslie Anderson, Gwen Nelson, Ricky Alleyne, Pat Heywood, Michael Elphick, Ian Hendry, Edward Woodward, Margaret Lockwood, Jessie Matthews and Lloyd Peters.
The Wednesday PlayThe Wednesday Play · 1964
The Wednesday Play
5.21964
SeriesDrama
An anthology series of television plays which aired on BBC1 from October 1964 to May 1970. The plays were usually written for television, although adaptations from other sources also featured.
Ben HurBen Hur · 2010
Ben Hur
6.32010
SeriesDrama
The struggle between the Roman Empire and its rebellious conquest Judaea, and two best friends caught in a terrible moment in history.
Nightmares & Dreamscapes: From the Stories of Stephen KingNightmares & Dreamscapes: From the Stories of Stephen King · 2006
Nightmares & Dreamscapes: From the Stories of Stephen King
7.02006
SeriesSci-Fi & FantasyMystery
An anthology based on eight short stories by Stephen King in his 1993 collection of the same name.