King of the Action Thriller

A review of the book by Brian Hannan

Some of the movies based on Alistair MacLean's novels were captivating films that became box-office hits. Prime examples include such widely loved classics as Where Eagles Dare and The Guns of Navarone. Other adaptations, though, were clunkers that [justifiably] failed to attract much of an audience.

Prolific film historian Brian Hannan's 2026 book King of the Action Thriller: Films from the Mind of Alistair MacLean takes a deep dive into all aspects of the MacLean-based films: rights acquisition, production plans, cast choices, quality, marketing, and commercial success (or lack thereof). Published by the U.S. firm McFarland & Company (McFarlandBooks.com), and reflecting substantial research, it answers more questions than any MacLean fan probably has.

I was given the opportunity to see a review copy of this thorough treatise. (Actually, I was provided with only a PDF file, which doesn't carry the same flavor or sensory attraction as a physical book.) While the softcover volume's list price of $39.95 is on the high side, a dedicated MacLeanian may find it worthwhile.

After an introductory chapter, Hannan spends one chapter each on films in chronological order, from The Secret Ways (1961) to Bear Island (1980). The following chapter covers both The Hostage Tower (1980, based on a MacLean story that someone else turned into a book) and River of Death (1989). Television productions occupy the succeeding chapter. Then comes an exploration of a mystery: what happened to a pirate-tale screenplay MacLean wrote in the late 1960s? Hannan tracks it through multiple drafts and aborted attempts to film it, and he provides summaries of three versions of the plot. A final chapter, "Unmade, Sequels, Remakes," briefly looks at many potential films or sequels that didn't come to fruition.

The book is chock-full of facts, supported by a substantial list of published sources. Hannan also benefited from access to the archive of Elliott Kastner, a key figure in making multiple MacLean-based films. At times, the amount of background information about Hollywood's film industry - providing a broad context for the MacLean productions - feels like film-buff fodder rather than MacLean-fan content. But less-fascinating portions can always be skimmed or skipped.

As a quality-control check, and to make sure the author didn't wax too rhapsodic about some of the weaker films, I carefully read his opinions about The Secret Ways and Bear Island (each of which I rated a mere 2 stars out of 10). Regarding the former, he writes "... it's quite obvious that MacLean had a far better narrative than the film [star/producer Richard] Widmark opted to make". (I can forgive his earlier comment that "there are still considerable rewards from an intelligent screenplay" in this film.) About the latter, he gives a litany of shortcomings, including "there are several plot holes" and "The constant fallback on action destroys the mystery." I was glad to see he wasn't overselling the sparse merits of these travesties.

In short, if background knowledge of - and insights about - films based on MacLean's novels are your cup of tea, you'll find an overflowing helping in this welcome new work.