Writing

Alan Sharp

Born 1934-01-12 · Alyth, Perth and Kinross, Scotland

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 actor Rudi Davies, from a relationship with the novelist Beryl Bainbridge.

Acting credits

Sam Peckinpah: Man of Iron poster
7.1

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.

Sam Peckinpah: Man of Iron

1993

Valentino's Ghost poster
5.7

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

Valentino's Ghost

2013

The Odd Man poster
NR

A documentary profile of three Scottish screenwriters: Edward Boyd, Gordon Williams and Alan Sharp.

The Odd Man

1978

Behind the camera

Night Moves poster
6.7

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.

Night Moves

1975

Rob Roy poster
6.7

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.

Rob Roy

1995

Mission of the Shark: The Saga of the U.S.S. Indianapolis poster
6.4

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.

Mission of the Shark: The Saga of the U.S.S. Indianapolis

1991

Ulzana's Raid poster
6.9

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.

Ulzana's Raid

1972

The Osterman Weekend poster
5.6

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 Osterman Weekend

1983

Damnation Alley poster
5.1

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.

Damnation Alley

1977

The Last Run poster
6.5

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.

The Last Run

1971

Dean Spanley poster
7.4

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.

Dean Spanley

2008

Billy Two Hats poster
5.8

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.

Billy Two Hats

1974

The Hired Hand poster
6.1

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.

The Hired Hand

1971

The Edge poster
4.0

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 Edge

1989

Betrayed by Love poster
6.5

An FBI agent and his pretty informant become lovers, which leads to tragedy.

Betrayed by Love

1994

Love and Lies poster
NR

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.

Love and Lies

1990

Little Treasure poster
4.4

Margo is an ex-stripper who meets her long, lost father in Mexico. She looks after him in the waning days of his life, with the help of a traveling projectionist. The father passes away, telling of the loot from a botched bank robbery that he buried years earlier. The two get jobs in town as their relationship grows and they search for the treasure on the weekends. But while the treasure seems to bring them together, it also seems to be tearing them apart.

Little Treasure

1985

Little Treasure poster
4.4

Margo is an ex-stripper who meets her long, lost father in Mexico. She looks after him in the waning days of his life, with the help of a traveling projectionist. The father passes away, telling of the loot from a botched bank robbery that he buried years earlier. The two get jobs in town as their relationship grows and they search for the treasure on the weekends. But while the treasure seems to bring them together, it also seems to be tearing them apart.

Little Treasure

1985

The Long Distance Piano Player poster
7.0

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.

The Long Distance Piano Player

1970

The Last Hit poster
7.0

A retired asassin tries to make himself at home in New Mexico.

The Last Hit

1993

No artwork available
7.0

Tom is a working class Scots teenager, but he dreams of much more.

A Knight in Tarnished Armour

1965

Coming Out of the Ice poster
6.8

A biographical film about Victor Herman, based on the memoir of the same name.

Coming Out of the Ice

1982

No artwork available
NR

While hitchhiking towards the coast, two young men find themselves trapped at an inn by its strange landlord and his beautiful wife.

A Sound from the Sea

1970