The notoriously awful 1985 sci-fi movie Michael Caine wanted nothing to do with
Michael Caine is among the most respected actors of all time, not necessarily because his track record has been spotless.
He has appeared in many classics and given brilliant performances, but he’s also the type of actor who can elevate garbage films and at least make them somewhat more entertaining. There’s actually a debate to be had about which lane of his career is more impressive, whether it is his two Academy Awards for Hannah and Her Sisters and The Cider House Rules, or that he survived being in misfires like Bewitched and The Last Witch Hunter with his dignity intact?
Caine was at the peak of his popularity in the ‘80s because he was among the most prominent British actors to have become just as successful in the United States, establishing himself as a non-nonsense action star with films like The Italian Job and Get Carter, while also attaining respectability for his work in weighty dramas like Sleuth and Educating Rita. Nonetheless, Caine worked frequently enough that his name was desirable for the producers of Lifeforce, a science fiction horror film from director Tobe Hooper.
Hooper was best known for directing The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, an incredibly influential horror film, and so the project was seen as being potentially legitimate. Caine was sought out for the role of Colonel Colin Caine, but turned it down, and he wasn’t the only actor to get cold feet, as Sir John Gielgud, Olivia Hussey, and Klaus Kinski were all attached to the film, but dropped out before it began filming in 1985.
That Caine would turn down the film is somewhat surprising, given what he was willing to sign on to; between Jaws: The Revenge and On Deadly Ground, he was certainly not above signing on for a minor role in a film that would, in all likelihood, be a disaster.
However, the negative vibes coming from the set of Lifeforce were uniquely disastrous, making it a minor miracle that the film was able to assemble any semblance of a respectable cast. Among the actors finally cast were Patrick Stewart, Steve Railsback, and Peter Firth in the role that had been intended for Caine.
Lifeforce wasn’t just a box office disaster, but a subject of ridicule. The film failed to recoup even half of its $25million budget, and reviews were scathing; it was more than obvious that the film was trying to cash in on the popularity of space opera horror, as the sequel to Alien was slated to be released the following year.
The one thing that benefited the film’s stars is that not enough people actually saw it, and thus it didn’t really impact their careers, with Stewart being able to take on the leading role in Star Trek: The Next Generation two years later.
The one attribute of Caine that is immensely respectable is that he generally understands how to pick interesting parts, even if the films themselves aren’t spectacular. Recently, films like Now You See Me and Kingsman: The Secret Service have allowed him to chew the scenery as memorable villains, whereas he would have been nothing more than a victim of an alien attack in Lifeforce.
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