Hank Searls
Encyclopedia
Hank Searls is an American author and screenwriter. His novels included The Crowded Sky (1960), which was adapted as a film with Dana Andrews
and Rhonda Fleming, The Penetrators (1965, writing as Anthony Gray), and The Pilgrim Project (1965), which was adapted as the 1968 film Countdown. Searls also wrote the novelizations for the films Jaws 2 (1978) starring Roy Scheider and Murray Hamilton and Jaws: The Revenge (1987) starring Michael Caine and Lorraine Gary.
Set in the corridors of power of the USAF's Strategic Air Command
, the 1965 novel The Penetrators is the story of a maverick Royal Air Force
exchange officer who leads a mock Avro Vulcan
bomber attack on the USA. Replete with quotes from Curtis LeMay
, Robert S McNamara and other key figures of the Cold War
era, The Penetrators foreshadowed the kind of richly detailed, political-military thriller which later became the trademark of Tom Clancy
. The book also strongly argued the case for the US's manned long-range bomber force, which was then in danger of being phased out in favour of ICBMs.
Searls' novel The Pilgrim Project was adapted for the screen as the 1968 Robert Altman
film Countdown, which starred Robert Duvall and James Caan.
Based on his own novel of the same title, Searls wrote the screenplay for the 1978 Angie Dickinson
television film Overboard. He wrote a biography of Joseph P. Kennedy, Jr.
The Lost Prince: Young Joe, The Forgotten Kennedy. This became the basis of the 1977 television film Young Joe, the Forgotten Kennedy
, with Peter Strauss
in the title role.
Searls' other military and aviation-themed novels included: The Astronaut (1962), Pentagon (1971), Hero Ship (1969), The Big X (1959), and Altitude Zero (1991). His other writings were Firewind
(1981), Sounding (1982), Blood Song (1984), Kataki (1987), and The Adventures of Mike Blair (1988). He also wrote the novelisations of the films Jaws 2
in 1978 and Jaws: The Revenge
in 1987.
Dana Andrews
Dana Andrews was an American film actor. He was one of Hollywood's major stars of the 1940s, and continued acting, though generally in less prestigious roles, into the 1980s.-Early life:...
and Rhonda Fleming, The Penetrators (1965, writing as Anthony Gray), and The Pilgrim Project (1965), which was adapted as the 1968 film Countdown. Searls also wrote the novelizations for the films Jaws 2 (1978) starring Roy Scheider and Murray Hamilton and Jaws: The Revenge (1987) starring Michael Caine and Lorraine Gary.
Career
Hank Searls' novel The Crowded Sky was made into a motion picture in 1960 by Warner Brothers starring Dana Andrews, Rhonda Fleming, Anne Francis, and Troy Donahue.Set in the corridors of power of the USAF's Strategic Air Command
Strategic Air Command
The Strategic Air Command was both a Major Command of the United States Air Force and a "specified command" of the United States Department of Defense. SAC was the operational establishment in charge of America's land-based strategic bomber aircraft and land-based intercontinental ballistic...
, the 1965 novel The Penetrators is the story of a maverick Royal Air Force
Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Formed on 1 April 1918, it is the oldest independent air force in the world...
exchange officer who leads a mock Avro Vulcan
Avro Vulcan
The Avro Vulcan, sometimes referred to as the Hawker Siddeley Vulcan, was a jet-powered delta wing strategic bomber, operated by the Royal Air Force from 1956 until 1984. Aircraft manufacturer A V Roe & Co designed the Vulcan in response to Specification B.35/46. Of the three V bombers produced,...
bomber attack on the USA. Replete with quotes from Curtis LeMay
Curtis LeMay
Curtis Emerson LeMay was a general in the United States Air Force and the vice presidential running mate of American Independent Party candidate George Wallace in 1968....
, Robert S McNamara and other key figures of the Cold War
Cold War
The Cold War was the continuing state from roughly 1946 to 1991 of political conflict, military tension, proxy wars, and economic competition between the Communist World—primarily the Soviet Union and its satellite states and allies—and the powers of the Western world, primarily the United States...
era, The Penetrators foreshadowed the kind of richly detailed, political-military thriller which later became the trademark of Tom Clancy
Tom Clancy
Thomas Leo "Tom" Clancy, Jr. is an American author, best known for his technically detailed espionage, military science, and techno thriller storylines set during and in the aftermath of the Cold War, along with video games on which he did not work, but which bear his name for licensing and...
. The book also strongly argued the case for the US's manned long-range bomber force, which was then in danger of being phased out in favour of ICBMs.
Searls' novel The Pilgrim Project was adapted for the screen as the 1968 Robert Altman
Robert Altman
Robert Bernard Altman was an American film director and screenwriter known for making films that are highly naturalistic, but with a stylized perspective. In 2006, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences recognized his body of work with an Academy Honorary Award.His films MASH , McCabe and...
film Countdown, which starred Robert Duvall and James Caan.
Based on his own novel of the same title, Searls wrote the screenplay for the 1978 Angie Dickinson
Angie Dickinson
Angie Dickinson is an American actress. She has appeared in more than fifty films, including Rio Bravo, Ocean's Eleven, Dressed to Kill and Pay It Forward, and starred on television as Sergeant Suzanne "Pepper" Anderson on the 1970s crime series Police Woman.-Early life:Dickinson, the second of...
television film Overboard. He wrote a biography of Joseph P. Kennedy, Jr.
Joseph P. Kennedy, Jr.
Joseph Patrick "Joe" Kennedy, Jr. was an American bomber pilot during World War II. He was the eldest of nine children born to Joseph Patrick Kennedy, Sr., and Rose Elizabeth Kennedy....
The Lost Prince: Young Joe, The Forgotten Kennedy. This became the basis of the 1977 television film Young Joe, the Forgotten Kennedy
Young Joe, the Forgotten Kennedy
Young Joe, the Forgotten Kennedy is a 1977 television movie that originally aired on ABC. Based upon the biography by Hank Searls called The Lost Prince: Young Joe, the Forgotten Kennedy, the film chronicles the life of Joseph P. Kennedy, Jr., the unlucky older brother of John F. Kennedy. Young Joe...
, with Peter Strauss
Peter Strauss
Peter Strauss is an American television and movie actor, known for his roles in several television miniseries in the 1970s and 1980s.-Personal life:...
in the title role.
Searls' other military and aviation-themed novels included: The Astronaut (1962), Pentagon (1971), Hero Ship (1969), The Big X (1959), and Altitude Zero (1991). His other writings were Firewind
(1981), Sounding (1982), Blood Song (1984), Kataki (1987), and The Adventures of Mike Blair (1988). He also wrote the novelisations of the films Jaws 2
Jaws 2
Jaws 2 is a 1978 thriller film and the first sequel to Steven Spielberg's Jaws , which is based on Peter Benchley's novel of the same name...
in 1978 and Jaws: The Revenge
Jaws: The Revenge
Jaws: The Revenge, Also known as, 'Jaws 4: The Revenge', is a 1987 thriller film directed by Joseph Sargent. It is the third sequel to Steven Spielberg's Jaws and the final installment of the series....
in 1987.
Film and television adaptations
- Overboard (1978) (TV) (novel) (screenplay)
- Wheels (1978) TV mini-series (writer)
- Young Joe, the Forgotten Kennedy (1977) (TV) (biography: The Lost Prince: Young Joe, The Forgotten Kennedy)
- O'Hara, U.S. Treasury: Operation: Offset (1971) TV episode (writer)
- Countdown (1968) (novel The Pilgrim Project)
- Felony Squad: A Date with Terror (1966) TV episode (writer)
- Convoy: The Man with the Saltwater Socks (1965) TV episode (writer)
- Kraft Suspense Theatre: Streetcar, Do You Read Me? (1965) TV episode (teleplay) (as Henry Searls)
- The Fugitive: Never Wave Goodbye: Part 2 (1963) TV episode (writer); Never Wave Goodbye: Part 1 (1963) TV episode (writer)
- The New Breed: No Fat Cops (1961) TV episode (writer)
- The Crowded Sky (1960) (novel)
External links
- http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/s/hank-searls/ Hank Searls' bibliography] at Fantasticfiction.co.uk
- http://www.scifan.com/writers/ss/SearlsHank.asp
- The Hero Ship book review