‘Út í óvisunna [Running Blind] and Desmond Bagley.’
Desmond Bagley and his wife Joan. Many of those who have read Bagley’s books, have probably imagined him as a big, strong and adventurous person, a true “Super Man”. But they have been misled in error and confusion; the man is rather frail in appearance and far from being pretty adventurous.
Desmond Bagley, the British novelist, has become well-known to Icelanders in recent years, or rather his pulp fiction books have. These include the books Gildran [The Freedom Trap], Eitursmyglarar [The Spoilers], Fellibylurinn [Wyatt’s Hurricane], Skriðan [Landslide] and last but not least Út í óvisunna or Running Blind as it is called in the original language. People may remember that this latter book was set in our beloved homeland.
Running Blind was, in fact, very far-fetched. Bagley had hard-hitting spies from three (or more) nations wandering across the country, shooting at each other and generally using the most outrageous antics. That this would happen in our country. I’m sure, there’s nothing behind this. I don’t think the spies are wandering among us. After reading the book most people all over the country thought similar. Enough of that.
It is surprisingly common for Icelanders to direct the question to foreigners who come here, how they view Icelandic women. People have come to believe that this Icelandic variety is one of the most beautiful, if not the most beautiful, known on our planet. And it has not gone unnoticed that Bagley brought a wonderful beauty to the fore in Running Blind. The heroines of his books are usually attractive.
It was interesting how clear and geographically correct Bagley’s picture of Iceland was in the book, even though he had only spent a few weeks here getting to know the country. The adventurer must have worked hard during this time and no doubt taken his Bronco Jeep far and wide across the country. In relation to this, it may be mentioned that the undersigned is aware that in one of these “reconnaissance missions” he was well on the way to landing in hell (according to international interpretation), or rather his Jeep was, which he lost in one of the hot springs in Námaskarð, Mývatn. The Jeep had to be lifted out by crane, and the adventurer continued.
It has been mentioned that Desmond Bagley intends to make a film about his book Running Blind or rather has made a deal with a film company about it. Will it be filmed in this country? It is rumoured that he will be coming here this summer, along with experts to explore the possibility and begin preparations for filming.
He originally received an offer from a Hollywood film company to make the film. He was asked to go to the “city of dreams” to write the screenplay and talk to the producers. And there he went. However the “city of dreams” turned out to be the worst kind of hell for him. After staying there for some time he packed up and headed back home to “good old England.” And now it is understood that he has signed a contract with the British film company Rank.
No, this was not a Hollywood success story, and this is clearly stated in an interview in a Norwegian newspaper some time ago, whilst he was traveling in Norway with his wife Joan. Finally, here is a short extract from that interview.
It was a terrible experience, one I never want to go through again. Everything you’ve read about Hollywood is true. I was honoured when I was told that the book was going to be made into a movie and that I should travel to Hollywood to write the script. But my experience in the movie capital was unfortunately unpleasant. I stayed for three months, and during that time nothing but endless meetings were going on about the script. There I sat with one good idea in mind and around me a group of high-ranking men who argued and argued, but could not come to any agreement.
Endless meetings. I never managed to get my own opinions across, but the high-ranking men kept patting me on the back and saying that this was going perfectly well. They tore ‘Running Blind’ apart and then put the story back together so that they could tear it apart again. I politely suggested many times that we now start with the manuscript itself. And they just smiled at me and said that this was going wonderfully well. When they had finally cut and trimmed the story, so that it was unrecognisable, the director told me to start writing the script. But I’ve never been able to write with a group of people around me with endless observations and comments. By this time I was bored to death with Hollywood and wished I had never written Running Blind. The stupidity, prevaricating and general pettiness ultimately reached a peak one day, when we all sat at a round table and discussed for three days in a row whether the girl in the picture should say: “Hello darling. It’s great to see you” or “Darling, how marvellous to see you, come right in”. They could not reach an agreement and the scene was deleted. And I myself left Hollywood and have not thought of going back there.
– STP
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References
- ‘Út í óvissuna og Desmond Bagley.’ Tíminn 15 Apr. 1973, pp. 13, 39.