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.

 

 

Deborah Raffin is a Jane Fonda fan

In this short newspaper clipping from October 1983, Deborah Raffin discusses diet and exercise. She reveals that she does the Jane Fonda Workout every morning and then talks a bit about what she typically eats. How interesting!

Deborah Raffin talks Death Wish 3

In 1985, Deborah Raffin played Charles Bronson's love interest in Death Wish 3. Deborah Raffin had worked with the director of the film, Michael Winner, before in the 1977 horror classic The Sentinel. In Death Wish 3, Deborah Raffin plays a public defender. However, the primary purpose of her character in the movie is to die and further spur on the vigilante vengeance of star Charles Bronson. The following newspaper clipping from 1985 features quotes from Deborah Raffin about the film and character.

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Clip of Deborah Raffin in Grizzly II

Here's a clip of Deborah Raffin in the 1983 horror movie Grizzly II. The movie was never completely finished and never saw an actual release, though copies of the film have circulated for years. In this scene, bear expert Deborah Raffin has a serious chat with park ranger Steve Inwood.

Deborah Raffin gets some press for Ski Lift to Death

In 1978, Deborah Raffin starred in Ski Lift to Death. The TV movie also featured such names as Charles Frank, Howard Duff, Clu Gulager (who would co-star with Deborah Raffin the following year in another TV movie, Willa), Veronica Hamel and Don Johnson.

This project was Deborah Raffin's second starring role in a TV movie (the first was Nightmare in Badham County in 1976). Ski Lift to Death (later released under the title Snowblind) may not be her best remembered made-for-TV work but it fits right in with the campy material she was involving herself in the late 1970s.

Regardless of the stature of this film today, it was a movie of the week on CBS back in 1978 and it got a decent amount of publicity. Here are two examples of newspaper promos, both featuring a photograph of Deborah Raffin and co-star Charles Frank:

Deborah Raffin herself also got some press coverage for her role in Ski Lift to Death. This first article discusses how, since she was portraying a ski champion, Deborah Raffin had to take ski lessons in order to make it seem plausible.

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This article goes much more detail about Deborah Raffin's experiences making the movie:

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The article "Canada's cold turned actress into frigid fatty" (which is a slightly odd title) was also published elsewhere under this title: