Cliff Twemlow (1937-1993)
Alias:
John Agar
Mike Sullivan
Peter Reno
Birthplace:
Manchester, England
Born:
October 16, 1937
Died:
May 5, 1993
Twemlow was a one time night club bouncer and avid movie fan who entered the film world via working as a stuntman. Based in the Manchester area, Twemlow came into his own by starring in a series of extremely low budget action films mostly shot on videotape. The first, 1983's G.B.H., was a true labour of love for Twemlow in which he not only played the lead role but also produced, co-ordinated the stunts and wrote the music for all under a variety of pseudonyms. It features Twemlow as an embittered former night club bouncer called Steve Donovan a.k.a. 'The Mancunian', drawn back into the violent world of Manchester club land. This was a world Twemlow knew only too well, his autobiography published around the time of the film's video release was called 'Tuxedo Warrior: Tales of a Mancunian Bouncer'. Although boasting fine performances from such curiosities as 3-2-1 voiceover man Anthony Schaeffer and stand up comedian Jerry Harris, most of the cast were merely Twemlow's mates from the local gym and fellow stuntmen. Movie buff Cliff filled the film with references to the likes of Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid and did the music under the name 'John Agar'. GBH very much set the tone for Cliff Twemlow's unique blend of cinema, with impressive stunt ridden set pieces, heavy emphasis on Manchester settings and Mancunian characters plus lots of very Northern humour. A modest success GBH begat around 13 Twemlow vehicles filmed throughout the 80s and 90s. Mostly directed by David Kent-Watson they include the horror themed The Eye of Satan (1988) and a GBH sequel called Lethal Impact (1991) which was shot in Malta, Liverpool and naturally Manchester. Twemlow was also a horror novelist penning the paperbacks 'The Beast of Kane' and 'The Pike', the latter of which was meant to be made into a film starring Joan Collins which never happened. Sadly Twemlow passed away in 1993, but his two fisted legacy of action films and horror paperbacks is well worth celebrating.