Mastermind (1976 film)

Directed byAlex March

Screenplay byWilliam Peter Blatty
(as Terence Clyne)
Ian McLellan Hunter
(as Samuel B. West)

Story byWilliam Peter Blatty
(as Terence Clyne)

Produced byMalcolm Stuart

Mastermind
Directed by	Alex March
Screenplay by	William Peter Blatty (as Terence Clyne) Ian McLellan Hunter (as Samuel B. West)
Story by	William Peter Blatty (as Terence Clyne)
Produced by	Malcolm Stuart
Starring	Zero Mostel Keiko Kishi Gawn Grainger
Cinematography	Gerald Hirschfeld
Edited by	John C. Howard
Music by	Fred Karlin
Color process	Metrocolor
Production companies	ABC Pictures Master Associates
Distributed by	Goldstone Film Enterprises
Release date	September 10, 1976 (1976-09-10)
Running time	86 minutes
Countries	Japan United States
Language	English
Budget	$2.5 million[1]

Mastermind is a 1976 Japanese-American comedy thriller film directed by Alex March and starring Zero Mostel, Keiko Kishi and Gawn Grainger. Filmed in 1969, it sat on the shelf for seven years before receiving a limited theatrical release in 1976. It has developed a cult following since its release on home video.^{[citation needed]}

The second of producer Malcolm Stuart's two-picture deal with screenwriter, William Peter Blatty, the project was inspired by the success of the 1964 Peter Sellers comedy A Shot in the Dark which Blatty had co-written with producer/director Blake Edwards. Blatty's script was drastically revised by Ian McLellan Hunter prior to production, and the disgruntled screenwriter chose the pseudonym Terence Clyne for his screen credit.^[2] Finance came from ABC Pictures.^[3] By 1973 it had recorded a loss of $2.9 million.^[1] Blatty's original screenplay was published as part of a limited edition collection by Lonely Road Books in 2013 as Five Lost Screenplays by William Peter Blatty.