A look at Dance of the Dwarfs

In 1983, Deborah Raffin expanded the horror credits on her resume by starring alongside Peter Fonda in Dance of the Dwarfs (also released on video under the title Jungle Heat).

Deborah Raffin and Peter Fonda

Deborah Raffin and John Amos

Though Dance of the Dwarfs was filmed in 1982 and released in 1983 (IMDb says 1984 but the film was assuredly released at least by October 1983 when it aired on HBO), apparently the project had been simmering for quite some time prior. A newspaper article from the summer of 1975 reveals that the Deborah Raffin and her husband Michael Viner were planning to co-produce the movie back then.

When they finally did get the movie into production, it was decided to film it in the Philippines. Though it was much cheaper to make the film there, other problems arose during filming.

Here's a bit of gossip about the stars of Dance of the Dwarfs, Deborah Raffin and Peter Fonda, during a stay in Hong Kong. The article does refer to the film as a "classy thriller" and also that 20 minutes of the movie was shown at the Cannes Film Festival and received a positive response.

And finally, just for fun, a short quote from actress Ella Joyce who appeared unbilled in the film:

Deborah Raffin: The latest American heroine

Here's a nice profile of Deborah Raffin from 1983. In the first part of the article, her two new projects that year, the TV movie Running Out and the feature film Dance of the Dwarfs, are discussed. The second section of the article focuses on her personal life.

Deborah Raffin: Actress enjoying Chinese adulation

Here's a nice vintage newspaper clipping from 1983 about Deborah Raffin. The entire article concerns the actress and her special relationship with China.