Starring Fraser Macintosh
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Fraser Macintosh was a
dynamic child actor rivaling the performances of other great child actors
like Freddie Bartholomew, Bobby Driscoll, Mark Lester, and Ricky Schroder. His riveting portrayal of Jonno
Durrant in
The Boy Cried Murder (1966)B> was nothing short of a legendary
performance! Fraser - born in Adelaide, Australia on November 17, 1953 - was the son of the broadcaster and TV newsreader Alex Macintosh. Alex Macintosh played the role of the Police Sergeant in The Boy Cried Murder (1966). It was believed that Fraser went by the nickname "Fiz"; however, nobody but his Dad called him Fiz, and that only occasionally. Fraser didn't like it. He was furious that it got put on the credits in The Boy Cried Murder (1966)! Fraser died in 1988 at the age of 34 from a brain tumor. He was a terrific person and is still missed desperately. He is survived by his wife (Julia) and two children, Lucy and Foster.
Fraser Macintosh (photo taken in 1988) Fraser's film career was very distinguished and was unfortunately limited to only two films. Both his roles were leading ones, in Yugoslav co-productions, and both were directed by George Breakston. In The Soldier (1965) aka Vojnik he played a Yugoslav boy, forced to grow mature before his time because of the cruel war circumstances. In The Boy Cried Murder (1966) - more or less a remake of the 1949 motion picture The Window (1949) - he is the witness of a murder and subsequently is terrorized by the murderer. Fraser's third film, started but never completed, was to be a remake of Treasure Island with none other than Orson Welles in the role of Long John Silver and Fraser as Jim Hawkins. Filming began and continued for nearly a month. Welles wanted to make Chimes at Midnight, but didn't have the money. The producers promised him the money for that project if he would make a commercial film like Treasure Island. When he got the money, he dropped Treasure Island, and began work on Chimes at Midnight (1965). (Six years later, Welles finally did play Silver in a Treasure Island (1972) directed by John Hough. But by then Fraser was nearly twenty and not able to play the young Jim Hawkins.) Around the time Fraser started filming with Orson Welles, the Disney studio wanted to sign Fraser up for two or three films (recognizing his tremendous talent, no doubt), but his mother vetoed the idea in favor of concentrating on his education. A noble ideal on the part of his mother to be sure, but oh what could have been. We can only imagine what other great works Fraser could have accomplished! Fraser displayed a strong and appealing personality in his films and an intensity most actors never achieve. He possessed that rare quality known as "stage presence"; that quality which only legendary stars have; like Humphrey Bogart, Charles Boyer, Edward G. Robinson, Spenser Tracy, Cary Grant, Betty Davis, Ingrid Bergman, Lucille Ball, Lionel Barrymore, Jack Nicholson, and John Wayne, just to name a few. Had he gone on to make more motion pictures, he would have achieved legendary status. . . Note: In my research, I have found multiple spellings for his name including: Fraser MacIntosh, Frazer MacIntosh, Frazer McIntosh, and Frejzer Mekintos. His sister informs me the correct spelling is Fraser Macintosh. |
