Unproduced and Unfinished Films

Country:	Italy / Italian USA / English

Several times there have been plans to carry Mandrake the Magician on to the screen. But the adaptation of the iconic newspaper comic strip never got beyond initial talks.

1960s

At the international comic festival in Lucca, Fedrico Fellini get an agreement with Lee Falk to make a movie with Mandrake the Magician. He made some scenes, with Marcello Mastroianni as Mandrake and Claudia Cardinale in the role as Narda, but without succeeding making the movie. Federico Fellini never gave up his hope to make a movie with Mandrake the Magician.

In the freewheeling autobiographical film "Intervista" from 1987 Mastroianni appears outside the office window dressed like Mandrake the Magician, waving a wand.

In the 60's and 70's the names of Kirk Douglas was mention, also the names of; David Niven, Kevin Kline, Basil Rathbone (preferred from Lee Falk), Alain Delon (and Cassius Clay in the part of Lothar), but non of these plans came throught.

1980s

In the magazine Variety of May 7, 1980 on pages 280-281 there was an add:

"Mandrake the Magician, comming to life, on film, Cinema Art Associates, Production, in association with, King Features, Producer Eric Rochat, Contact in Cannes, tel: 00.00.00, telex Paris: 000000".

Embassy Pictures picked up the idea, commissioning a screenplay by Julien Temple, who imagined David Bowie in the lead. Dissatisfied with Temple’s approach, Embassy hired Michael Almereyda to do a complete rewrite in 1982, but a new studio head dropped the project before a director was attached.

A few years later William Hjortsberg scripted a screenplay for Timnick Films and Bob La Balance Swaim was to direct the film in fall 1985.

2000s

In 2002 Hyde Park Entertainment and Crusader Entertainment bought a Mandrake script written by Josh Oppenheimer and Tom Donnelly. This movie was to be produced by Ashok Armitraj and Howard Baldwin.