Cont.

FIGHTING THE GREAT FIGHT
DARKER THAN AMBER

Amber includes not only one of  Bill's longest fight scenes [his fight with Clint Eastwood in Any Which Way You Can had more screen time], but includes his longest on-screen kiss.  Unfortunately for those who would like to see Bill in a love scene, he's kissing Suzy Kendall so she can't scream.  He holds her tight in this lip lock until his partner can bring the car around so Bill can throw her in front of it.  This scene didn't come from MacDonald.  In the book, Travis simply finds Vangie's body in the morgue and guesses that Terry (Bill) is responsible.

Q:  This is a very effective scene.  Some of us liked it almost as well as your fight with Rod Taylor.  You simply use brute strength to hold this woman so immobile that passersby think you're lovers kissing.
Bill:  The director, Bob Clouse wanted to set up a complication after I thought I'd already killed her by dropping her off a bridge.  We just started doing it.  She was really hitting me hard.  She was inflicting more pain in that scene than I was.  It was unbelievable.  She was a pretty good actress.  She was married to what's his name, great  comedian,   English guy . . . Dudley Moore.  That's who she was married to then.  He came around and visited her on the set.

Bill:  That's Ahna Capri there.  [pointing to body]  I'd already killed her before the fight.  She was also in Piranha, Piranha.  She killed me in that one.  [The fight with Rod starts on screen.]  I hit that wall so hard man.  That was such a tough fight scene.  We didn't use any stunt doubles at all.   [Said with boyish enthusiasm and pride.]

He broke three of my ribs and I busted his nose.  That happened in the bedroom there, but you don't even get to see it in this version.  After he busted three of my ribs, I hit him with a bottle, a real one.
Q:  Now why did you do that?
Bill:  He busted three of my goddamn ribs and I couldn't even breath and he was still hitting me.
Q:  So that's how you stopped him?
Bill:  Yeah.  There was a lot more here too.  All the way down the hallway and the stairs.  I was throwing guys around.

Q:  They left a couple in.  You shoved one guy aside then just picked up another guy and tossed him like he was nothing.
Bill:  He was a small guy.
Q:  What 150 lbs.
Bill:  Maybe 168. Q:  Looks like you came out of the fight a little better off than Rod
Bill:  Until he got me back in the last scene.

Terry makes a final try for Travis.  As Bill's running toward him, Rod picks up a long board, swings it into Bill's knee, knocking him down long enough for the cops to gather him up.

Bill:  When he whacked me with that board, he missed the knee pad and hit me right there [indicating a spot just below the knee].  To this day when I talk to him, I accuse him of doing it on purpose.  Luckily that was the last take of the whole movie.
Q:  It's really a shame that the only video available is the one they cut for TV.  They cut out so much of the fight.
Bill:   These days they would add in extra violence for the video version.
Q:  Have you ever been able to get a hold of an uncut version?
Bill:  No, I've been looking for years.  Several people have sent me tapes thinking it was an original, but they've all been cut.  [Aside to Joanne confirming that the last one they received was a cut version.]
 
 

MAVERICK  v. FALCONETTI

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