Line #7 Trivia/Flashman


1	* DevelopmentHell:
2	** A film adaptation, written by Creator/GeorgeMacDonaldFraser's himself in collaboration with Charles Wood (who had recently co-written ''Film/TheChargeOfTheLightBrigade''), had been discussed even before the novel was published. Richard Lester was attached to direct with John Alderton (of ''Series/PleaseSir'' and ''Series/UpstairsDownstairs'' fame) in the title role. Days before principal photography, one of the financiers pulled out due to fears of budget overruns, effectively killing the production. Lester tried again a few years later after he and Fraser mounted a successful adaptation of ''[[Film/TheThreeMusketeers1973 The Three Musketeers]]'', but studios were still cold on the idea due to the large budget, so they adapted the smaller-scale ''Royal Flash'' instead.
3	** Creator/MalcolmMcDowell says that he was first approached to play Flashman by producer-actor Creator/StanleyBaker (''Film/{{Zulu}}''), who also tried adapting the first book after Lester's initial try fell through. [=McDowell=] would have played Flashman with Baker in an unspecified supporting role. Baker failed to raise enough money and backed out, though he recommended [=McDowell=] to Lester when ''Royal Flash'' finally went into production.
4	* {{Dedication}}:
5	** All of the books are dedicated to Fraser's wife, Katherine, [[IHaveManyNames who is variously referred to as]] "Kath", "Ekatrin" (''at the Charge''), "Mad White Woman of Papar River" (''in the Great Game''), "K", (''Lady''), "Ichimanpi-Wihopawin"/"Beautiful-Travels-Woman" (''Redskins''), and "Ka't-lin" (''Dragon'').
6	** Fraser also dedicated ''Royal Flash'' to his cinematic heroes, Creator/RonaldColman, Creator/DouglasFairbanksJr, Creator/ErrolFlynn, Creator/BasilRathbone, Louis Hayward, and Creator/TyronePower; he also gave a joint dedication in ''Mountain of Light'' to "Shadman Khan and Sardul Singh, [[WhereAreTheyNowEpilogue wherever they are.]]"
7	* DiedDuringProduction:
8	** Fraser's passing likely means it will never be known if he actually planned to write a novel of Flashman's American Civil War adventures, or if it was only a NoodleIncident along the same lines as Literature/SherlockHolmes' "missing cases". It would be interesting to know what the plot was of the novel GMF announced he was researching about six months before his death, but his estate/publishers/relatives aren't telling.
9	** Fraser indicated in various interviews (see [[http://www.andrewmueller.net/display.lasso?id=147 here]]) that he found the Civil War a "colossal bore" and researching it tiresome. Considering this, and that several of his later novels featured events never alluded to in earlier books (eg. ''Flashman on the March''), one may conclude Fraser never intended to write the Civil War novel.
10	** Around 2007, Celtic Films announced they were developing a miniseries adaptation of ''Flashman at the Charge'', to be written by Fraser himself. This project apparently fell apart after Fraser's death.
11	* DisownedAdaptation: Fraser's daughter said in 1981 that she was with him when he saw the film version of Creator/MalcolmMcDowell and he was so embarrassed by it that he had his head in his hands. Subverted, however, since by the time of the DVD release in the 2000s, he had softened up a bit on his view of the film and spoke highly of [=McDowell=] in the role.
12	* HypotheticalCasting: Fraser once talked about casting Creator/DanielDayLewis in a proposed Flashman film, though he mentioned his ideal choice was Creator/ErrolFlynn.
13	* InspirationForTheWork: Fraser was inspired by two events: going on a recent trip to Borneo and Malaya during the Indonesian Confrontation which re-ignited his interest in Asia and soldiering, and having just completed a stint as acting editor of his paper, which re-enforced his determination to get out of journalism. He told his wife "I'll write us out of this".
14	* ShownTheirWork: In contrast to the first book, which by was written at home after some research at Trinity College, for later novels Fraser did go abroad for research; notably in Samarkand, Sarawak, and Little Big Horn.
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16	* PlayingAgainstType: The film version of ''Royal Flash'' was a rare conventionally comedic role for Creator/MalcolmMcDowell who is more noted for ironic BlackComedy.
17	* ReferencedBy: The ''Literature/CiaphasCain'' novels by Sandy Mitchell, set in the ''TabletopGame/{{Warhammer 40000}}'' setting, are loosely inspired by ''Flashman'', though Ciaphas is considerably less of an asshole.
18	* SpiritualSuccessor: By Fraser's own admission, the series is as a whole to the classic Hollywood adventure movies he grew up loving, with a dash of British imperialist history and Boys Own adventuring.

Context Trivia / Flashman