Walter Mirisch

Walter Mirisch

Birth : 1921-11-08, New York City, New York, USA

Death : 2023-02-24

Profile

Walter Mirisch

Movies

A Wizard's Tale
Original Series Creator
Balloon kingdoms, dopey police dragons and happy wizards are exactly how Terry remembered his Grandmother's whacky fairy tales. Except they are real and it's definitely not as 'cheerful.'
A Very Pink Christmas
Executive Producer
Pink Panther and Big Nose establish rival Christmas tree businesses in their attempts to earn the purchase price for a mutually coveted luxury car. In the process, they inadvertently discover the true Christmas spirit of giving.
Turning Up the Heat: Movie Making in the 60's
Self
Documentary featuring interviews with director Norman Jewison and others providing an in-depth look at the production of the 1967 film IN THE HEAT OF THE NIGHT.
Inside 'The Apartment'
Self
A 2007 documentary on the making of 'The Apartment'.
The Legacy of 'Some Like It Hot'
Self
A look back at the impact Billy Wilder's comedy classic "Some Like It Hot" has left since it's release in 1959.
The Making of 'Some Like It Hot'
Self
A look back at the making of Billy Wilder's 1959 comedy classic 'Some Like It Hot'.
The Making of 'Some Like It Hot'
Thanks
A look back at the making of Billy Wilder's 1959 comedy classic 'Some Like It Hot'.
The Legacy of 'Some Like It Hot'
Thanks
A look back at the impact Billy Wilder's comedy classic "Some Like It Hot" has left since it's release in 1959.
Steve McQueen: The Essence of Cool
Self
Friends, family, co-stars and admirers of actor Steve McQueen talk about his life and his movie career.
The Revamping of Dracula
Self
A behind-the-scenes look at the making of "Dracula" (1979).
The Pink Panther Story
Himself
Documentary about the creation of the Pink Panther movies including interviews with the crew and cast.
West Side Memories
Self
Documentary attached to the 50th anniversary MGM Blu-ray collection of "West Side Story" (1961). Details how this successful stage production was reared and molded into a beautiful cinematic one. Deep-dives into Jerome Robbins' choreography and Leonard Bernstein's score-making processes.
Guns for Hire: The Making of 'The Magnificent Seven'
Self
A documentary about 'The Magnificent Seven'.
Trouble Shooters: Trapped Beneath the Earth
Executive Producer
A rescue team is looking for survivors in a sinking building after a devastating earthquake.
Desperado
Producer
Duell McCall finds himself in the middle of a deadly feud in a small mining town. Framed for the murder of Sheriff John Whaley, McCall is forced to wander the wild frontier in search of the one man who can clear him.
Romantic Comedy
Producer
Jason Carmichael is a popular New York City playwright in desperate need of a new writing partner who can provide him with inspiration. Phoebe Craddock is a small-town teacher who aspires to be a writer.
High Midnight
Executive Producer
Blue-collar worker Tony Giannetti vows to avenge the murder of his wife and child in a no-knock drug raid led by ruthlessly ambitious narcotics officer Capt. Lou Mikalich.
The Prisoner of Zenda
Executive Producer
Anthony Hope's classic tale gets a decidedly 'un-classic' treatment at the hands of Peter Sellers. Following the story somewhat, friends of the new King Rudolph of Ruritania fear for his life, and switch him with a look-a-like London cabby. Throw in two(!) lovely blondes, treachery, and a battle for life and honour, and enjoy life at its zaniest.
Dracula
Producer
Romanticized adaptation of Bram Stoker's 1897 classic. Count Dracula is a subject of fatal attraction to more than one English maiden lady, as he seeks an immortal bride.
Same Time, Next Year
Producer
A man and woman meet by chance at a romantic inn over dinner and, although both are married to others, they find themselves in the same bed the next morning questioning how this could have happened. They agree to meet on the same weekend each year—in the same hotel room—and the years pass each has some personal crisis that the other helps them through, often without both of them understanding what is going on.
Gray Lady Down
Producer
The USS Neptune, a nuclear submarine, is sunk off the coast of Connecticut after a collision with a Norwegian cargo ship. The navy must attempt a potentially dangerous rescue in the hope of saving the lives of the crew.
Midway
Producer
This war drama depicts the U.S. and Japanese forces in the naval Battle of Midway, which became a turning point for Americans during World War II.
Mr. Majestyk
Producer
A melon farmer battles organized crime and a hit man who wants to kill him.
The Spikes Gang
Producer
After escaping home, three young friends form a dynamic alliance of untamed youth. They meet an old man named Spikes with the experience only a master gunfighter can offer. The gang of men go on a crime spree and are converted to outlaws with a price on their heads.
Scorpio
Producer
Cross is an old hand at the CIA who often teams up with Frenchman Jean “Scorpio” Laurier, a gifted freelance operative. After their last mission together, the CIA orders Scorpio to eliminate Cross, leaving him no choice but to obey.
Fiddler on the Roof
Executive Producer
In a small Jewish community in a pre-Revolutionary Russian village, a poor milkman, determined to find good husbands for his five daughters, consults the traditional matchmaker – and also has words with God.
The Organization
Producer
After a group of young revolutionaries break into a company's corporate headquarters and steal $5,000,000 worth of heroin to keep it off the street, they call on San Francisco Police Lieutenant Virgil Tibbs for assistance.
They Call Me Mister Tibbs!
Executive Producer
A police detective's investigation of a prostitute's murder points to his best friend.
The Hawaiians
Producer
A wanderer returns home only to find political turmoil, disease and romantic difficulties.
The Landlord
Executive Producer
At the age of twenty-nine, Elgar Enders "runs away" from home. This running away consists of buying a building in a black ghetto in the Park Slope section of Brooklyn. Initially, his intention is to evict the black tenants and convert the building into a posh flat. But Elgar is not one to be bound by yesterday's urges, and soon he has other thoughts on his mind.
Halls of Anger
Executive Producer
An all-black inner city school has to become an integrated school. Few dozen white kids are transfered there, but the black students are aggressively opposed to this. The school then approaches a tough black teacher for help.
Some Kind of a Nut
Producer
A New York City bank teller becomes a media celebrity when he refuses to comply with his employer's demands that he shave his beard.
Sinful Davey
Executive Producer
Davey Haggart is quite certain of his paternity (even if nobody else is) and determined to emulate his father, a notorious rogue and highwayman. This includes breaking a man out of Stirling jail, holding up the stagecoach, and robbing the Duke of Argyll, among other feats. Unfortunately, he is handicapped by the fact that his childhood playmate Annie is equally determined to track him down and save his soul...
The Thomas Crown Affair
Executive Producer
Young businessman, Thomas Crown is bored and decides to plan a robbery and assigns a professional agent with the right information to the job. However, Crown is soon betrayed yet cannot blow his cover because he’s in love.
The Party
Executive Producer
Hrundi V. Bakshi, an accident-prone actor from India, is accidentally put on the guest list for an upcoming party at the home of a Hollywood film producer. Unfortunately, from the moment he arrives, one thing after another goes wrong with compounding effect.
Fitzwilly
Producer
When Miss Vicki's father dies, she becomes the world's greatest philanthropist. Unfortunately, she is flat broke! Her loyal butler, Claude Fitzwilliam, leads the household staff to rob from various businesses by charging goods to various wealthy people and misdirecting the shipments, all to keep Miss Vicki's standard of living.
In the Heat of the Night
Producer
African-American Philadelphia police detective Virgil Tibbs is arrested on suspicion of murder by Bill Gillespie, the racist police chief of tiny Sparta, Mississippi. After Tibbs proves not only his own innocence but that of another man, he joins forces with Gillespie to track down the real killer. Their investigation takes them through every social level of the town, with Tibbs making enemies as well as unlikely friends as he hunts for the truth.
How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying
Executive Producer
A young but bright former window cleaner rises to the top of his company by following the advice of a book about ruthless advancement in business.
Hawaii
Producer
Abner Hale, a rigid and humorless New England missionary, marries the beautiful Jerusha Bromley and takes her to the exotic island kingdom of Hawaii, intent on converting the natives. But the clash between the two cultures is too great and instead of understanding there comes tragedy.
A Shot in the Dark
Executive Producer
When rich Mr. Benjamin Ballon's Spanish driver is found shot dead, Inspector Jacques Clouseau is the first official on the scene. All evidence suggests Maria Gambrelli, the maid, to be the murderer. But Clouseau, being attracted to the beautiful girl, is convinced that she is hiding something. So, he has her released from jail and secretly tries to follow her. Things do not work out the way the inspector wants and people keep ending up murdered, and every time, innocent Maria seems to be the killer. But with someone important wanting Clouseau and nobody else to cover this case, his tolerance-challenged boss Charles Dreyfuss is close to losing his mind when casualties keep turning up. And Clouseau keeps on causing trouble without knowing it...
Toys in the Attic
Producer
Julian Berniers returns from Illinois with his young bride Lily Prine to the family in New Orleans. His spinster sisters Carrie and Anna welcome the couple, who arrive with expensive gifts. The sisters hope Julian will help with their expenses, and he tells them that while his profitable factory went out of business, he did manage to save money. It turns out that Julian pulled off a real estate scam and took off with the money. Carrie is obsessed with her brother. Her jealousy of Lily pushes her to discover the shady land deal for herself and she does everything she can to wreck their marriage.
The Great Escape
Executive Producer
The Nazis, exasperated at the number of escapes from their prison camps by a relatively small number of Allied prisoners, relocate them to a high-security 'escape-proof' camp to sit out the remainder of the war. Undaunted, the prisoners plan one of the most ambitious escape attempts of World War II. Based on a true story.
Kid Galahad
Executive Producer
After completing his military service, Walter Gulick takes a job as a sparring partner at a gym, the owner of which sees potential in Walter as a professional fighter—and takes him under his wing.
Two for the Seesaw
Producer
Jerry Ryan wanders aimlessly around New York after giving up his Nebraskan law practice. His wife asks for a divorce. He meets Gittel, a struggling dancer from Greenwich Village and they try to sort out their lives. An extended conversation piece with a static camera, but reflects the moral climate of the time.
Follow That Dream
Executive Producer
When the Kwimper family car runs out of fuel on a new Florida highway and an officious state supervisor tries to run them off, Pop Kwimper digs in his heels and decides to do a little homesteading. He and his son Toby and their 'adopted' children—Holly, Ariadne, and the twins—start their own little community along a strip of the roadside.
The Children's Hour
Executive Producer
A private school for young girls is scandalized when one spiteful student accuses the two young women who run the school of being in a relationship.
West Side Story
Executive Producer
In the slums of the upper West Side of Manhattan, New York, a gang of Polish-American teenagers called the Jets compete with a rival gang of recently immigrated Puerto Ricans, the Sharks, to "own" the neighborhood streets. Tensions are high between the gangs but two romantics, one from each gang, fall in love leading to tragedy.
By Love Possessed
Producer
An unhappily married woman engages in an affair with her husband's law partner.
The Magnificent Seven
Executive Producer
An oppressed Mexican peasant village hires seven gunfighters to help defend their homes.
Cast a Long Shadow
Producer
A young man without surname inherits a big indebted ranch and has to prove his worthiness managing a cattle drive.
The Man in the Net
Producer
A artist living in a quiet Connecticut town is the main suspect in the disappearance of his shrew wife. Things turn ugly when the townsfolk attempt to take the law into their own hands.
The Gunfight at Dodge City
Producer
Fleeing to Dodge City after killing a man in self defence Masterson finds his brother Ed (Harry Lauter) running for sheriff of the town. When Ed is killed by hired guns of the corrupt incumbent Bat is determined to settle the score with violence but he is convinced by the townspeople that the best way to avenge his brother's death is by taking Ed's place on the ballot. Bat agrees and wins the election but his new role on the right side of the law will lead him to unexpected confrontations as he finds himself torn between his loyalties to his friends and his duties as sheriff.
Man of the West
Producer
Heading east to Fort Worth to hire a schoolteacher for his frontier town home, Link Jones is stranded with singer Billie Ellis and gambler Sam Beasley when their train is held up. For shelter, Jones leads them to his nearby former home, where he was brought up an outlaw. Finding the gang still living in the shack, Jones pretends to be ready to return to a life crime.
Fort Massacre
Producer
New Mexico Territory, August 1879. The few surviving members of a cavalry column, which has been relentlessly decimated by the Apaches, attempt to reach Fort Crain. On their way through a hostile land, the obsessive and ruthless Sergeant Vinson takes to the limit the battered will of the troopers under his command.
The Tall Stranger
Producer
A Union soldier returns to his western home at the end of the Civil War and finds himself caught in the middle of a land war between his greedy half-brother and a wagon train of Confederate homesteaders.
Friendly Persuasion
Executive Producer
The story of a family of Quakers in Indiana in 1862. Their religious sect is strongly opposed to violence and war. It's not easy for them to meet the rules of their religion in everyday life but when Southern troops pass the area they are in real trouble. Should they fight, despite their peaceful attitude?
Crime in the Streets
Executive Producer
A social worker tries to end juvenile crime by getting involved with a street gang.
Wichita
Producer
Former buffalo hunter and entrepreneur Wyatt Earp arrives in the lawless cattle town of Wichita Kansas. His skill as a gun-fighter makes him a perfect candidate for Marshal, but he refuses the job until he feels morally obligated to bring law and order to this wild town.
The Dark Avenger
Producer
Edward, Prince of Wales, son and heir to his father King Edward III of England, leads an English army to the French province of Aquitaine to protect the inhabitant from the ravages of the French. After defeating the French in battle, the defeated French plot to kill the prince. Failing in this, they kidnap his lady, the lovely Lady Joan Holland. Of course Prince Edward has to ride to the rescue, adopting numerous guises to save his paramour, which ultimately end in him leading his men into one final climactic battle against the French. (Also known as "The Warriors" and "The Black Prince").
The Big Combo
Executive Producer
Police Lt. Leonard Diamond vies to bring a clever, well connected, and sadistic gangster to justice all the while obsessing over the gangster's girlfriend.
The Golden Idol
Producer
Prince Ali wants the Golden Idol of Watusi and hires a ruthless hunter to get it for him. Bomba has the idol and, with the help of Commissioner Barnes, Eli, and a beautiful archeologist, he foils Ali's plans.
Fighter Attack
Executive Producer
World War II film set in German occupied Italy. A US fighter pilot is shot down in enemy territory during a raid against a German supply depot. He receives from Italian partisans in laying the groundwork for a new attack by his squadron.
The Maze
Executive Producer
A Scotsman abruptly breaks off his engagement to pretty Kitty and moves to his uncle's castle in the Scottish highlands. Kitty and her aunt follow Gerald a few weeks later, and discover he has suddenly aged. Some mysterious things happen in a maze made from the hedges adjoining the castle.
Safari Drums
Producer
A group of movie makers arrive in Africa to make a film about jungle wildlife.
Bomba and the Jungle Girl
Producer
Bomba decides to find out who his parents were. He starts with Cody Casson's diary and follows the trail to a native village. An ancient blind woman tells him his parents and the village's true ruler were murdered by the current chieftain and his daughter.
The Rose Bowl Story
Executive Producer
The newly crowned Rose Bowl Princess and a tough but tender football player find the California Rose Bowl is an area for their budding romance.
African Treasure
Producer
Against stock footage of lions, elephants and wildebeasts, Bomba the Jungle Boy captures a pair of nefarious diamond smugglers.
Wild Stallion
Producer
A young orphan grows into adulthood, all the while searhing for his beloved white horse that disappeared years earlier.
Rodeo
Producer
Nancy Cartwright is determined to collect an $1,800 feed bill owed to her father Harry Cartwright by a rodeo association. Instead, she is talked into assuming management of the rodeo by Slim Martin and the other performers when they learn the promoter has run off with the cash receipts.
Flight To Mars
Producer
Four scientists and a newsman crash land on Mars and meet martians who act friendly.
Elephant Stampede
Producer
Bomba the jungle boy swings into action when an elephant herd is threatened by ivory hunters.
Cavalry Scout
Producer
Kirby Frye, a former Confederate officer but now a Union Cavalry scout, is sent into Montana territory to locate and retrieve three Gatling Guns stolen from the U.S. Arsenal by outlaws believed to have taken them west to sell to the Soiux and Cheyenne. The trail leads him to Red Bluff where, aided by Claire Corville, he and the audience discover together and real quick like that Martin Gavin, a supposedly-honest operator of a freight line, has the guns and intends to exchange them to the Indians for furs.
The Lion Hunters
Producer
A lion trapper and his daughter rendezvous with their hardheaded partner in the African jungle. Bomba, with assistance from a local tribe, strives to run them off.
Bomba and the Hidden City
Producer
A photographer and his guide meet a corrupt Emir with a dirty secret. Only jungle-dwelling Bomba knows the truth.
County Fair
Producer
"Ma" Ryan, who runs a burger stand at the county fair, asks daughter Loretta to put a bet on a horse that Loretta's boyfriend Tommy is riding. Unfortunately, Loretta mistakenly places the bet on the wrong horse. When she discovers her error she tries to get the cashier to exchange the ticket for the horse she wanted, but the cashier refuses. Peter Brennan, standing in back of her in line, buys the ticket for the horse Loretta wants and then exchanges it with her. It turns out that Peter is from a wealthy family that owns racehorses, and Peter is a horse trainer himself. He soon begins to fall for Loretta, and Tommy doesn't like it one bit. Complications ensue.
The Lost Volcano
Producer
Little David Gordon lives in the jungle with his parents Ruth and Fred, along with their servant Nona. David likes living there while his father captures wild animals; he's made friends with Bomba the jungle boy, who has shown him a great deal about life in the jungle. One day two adventurers come looking for ancient treasure in the shadow of a live volcano.
Bomba on Panther Island
Producer
In this second film in the "Bomba, the Jungle Boy" series, Bomba tracks a dangerous panther.
Bomba, the Jungle Boy
Producer
George Harland and his daughter Pat are photographers who discover a wild boy in the jungle. When Pat becomes lost, Bomba brings her back, overcoming plagues of locusts, forest fires and fierce wild animals.
I Wouldn't Be in Your Shoes
Producer
Around Christmas time, a woman tries to prove the innocence of her dancer husband jailed for a crime she just knows he didn't commit.
Fall Guy
Producer
A drugged man covered in blood is picked up by police. Before the cops can get answers the man escapes in search of answers to the mystery himself.
The Pink Panther
Executive Producer
A live-action/CGI hybrid feature film centered on the iconic cat. Will focus on a smooth operating inspector who, thanks to a traumatic event, now has a pink panther for an imaginary friend. The latter, although he doesn’t speak, does help solve the case.