A Clockwork Orange A package deal with Russell directing and the Rolling Stones starring. Russell only heard about the possibility years after.

Dracula Ken Russell submitted two scripts, one for Dracula and one for The Rainbow. The latter was accepted.

Moll Flanders Ken was sued for failing to complete this film adaptation of the Daniel Defoe novel. He won the court case. As payment Russell did a pop video for his lawyer.

Moll Flanders (second attempt)   A cast of Lucinda Rhodes Flaherty, Steven Berkoff and Barry Humphries.  To be filmed in Croatia with a multi-million budget.  Ken would also do the script and possibly appear in the film.

Quadrophenia Pete Townsend and the Who´s follow up to Tommy.

Evita Before Madonna´s involvement Ken had the first attempt to make a film of the Andrew Lloyd Webber/Tim Rice musical.  He wanted Liza Minelli in the lead role rather than studio choice Elaine Page.

Summer Holiday Ken decided not to film Cliff Richard and the Shadows on the double decker bus. The relationship with the girl in French Dressing (which he did instead) is almost identical to that of the girl disguised as a boy in Summer Holiday. Ken later directed a Cliff Richard video.

Nijinsky A film project with dancer Rudolf Nureyev. Russell later filmed Nureyev in Valentino.

Sergei Diaghilev Another dancer.  Melvyn Bragg wrote a script which is now in the Brotherton Library in Leeds University.

The Gershwin Dream David Puttnam commissioned six music films on Mahler, Liszt, Gershwin, Vaugham Williams and two others to be decided. Mahler and Lisztomania were made, the rest were not. Neil Diamond was to star as Gershwin (much as I love Ken, I am glad this did not go ahead!!).

Cleopatra The project got stopped at the writing stage.

Maria Callas Russell wanted Sophia Loren to star in the story of the opera singer.

The Beethoven Secret Glenda Jackson, Charlotte Rampling, Jodi Foster and Anthony Hopkins.

The King´s Man A script by Oliver Reed who would play Thomas à Becket, the Archbishop of Canterbury murdered on the steps of his cathedral in 1170. TS Eliot´s play Murder in the Cathedral covers the same event.

The Gospel of Linda Regent/Moonstone announced at Cannes a "pre-production offering" of Ken directing Gospel of Linda. This did not go ahead.

The Angels The story of a ghost in the afterworld. It is based on Georges Neveux´s play Juliette which was made into an opera by Martinu, but Russell´s treatment would centre on commercialism (the beans advert, reappearing in a different form in Tommy). The script was completed but filming never started.

Scriabin Russell calls composer Aleksandr Scriabin "a man after my own heart- a true mystic who many saw as a charlatan". The film did not go ahead, but it was converted and broadcast as a radio play.

The Eleventh Commandment A film about Moses (mentioned in Empire magazine, Nov 1989).

Son of Man Variety, 15 Dec 1997 states "Russell already has scouted locations in Turkey for the John  Daly-produced "Son of Man", which will, he promises, "depict the life of Christ with a lot of joy and humor."  Shooting could start in Istanbul in March (1998). Expect Jesus "to crack a few  jokes," the jolly helmer adds."

Skeletons Any details are welcome.

Visions of Eight One of the eight short films about the 1972 Olympics. Directors included Milos Forman, Arthur Penn and John Schlesinger.

Kiplinger´s Syndrome It may be filmed (without Russell) and starring Malcolm McDowell.

Hamlet would have featured David Bowie and Elton John.

The Hunger  More Bowie, eventually filmed by Tony Scott.  Info from Blitz magazine June 1983.

When I´m 64 part of a Beatles tribute. Twelve directors would each do a video of one of the songs from Sgt Pepper.

A Burnt-Out Case Graham Greene´s novel of the leper colony. When Russell was interviewed by Huw Wheldon at the start of his career, his first suggestion for a documentary was "a film on Albert Schweitzer playing Bach to lepers in the jungle".

Mrs. Dalloway A novel by Virginia Woolf. It was later filmed with Vanessa Redgrave.

A Handful of Dust The novel by Evelyn Waugh. It was filmed by Charles Sturridge, one of the directors on Aria.

The House of Mirth Edith Wharton´s novel has been filmed many times, the latest with Gillian Anderson.

St Mawr A novella by D.H. Lawrence.

Gargantua by Rabelais. Ken calls it "the man with the biggest prick in the world".

King of the Crocodiles The third part of Clouds of Glory, never made, concentrating on Lake District poet Southey.

Stories of Isaac Babel Stories about the Jews of Odessa by the Russian writer who was tortured and executed in 1940.

The Living End   American comic writer Stan Elkin.  A shopkeeper is killed in a robbery and ends up in hell because he opened his shop on Sunday.  A wordy novel, with long monologues and characters either in Hell, or buried and unable to move.  Difficult to visualise on film, so a filmscript would be especially interesting.  The paperback version of the novel from 1977 has the label "soon to be filmed by Ken Russell".

The Rose Given a choice between The Rose, based on the life of Janis Joplin, and Valentino, Russell says "I foolishly chose Valentino".

The Revenge of the White Worm Ken Hanke says "there was talk of a sequel [to Lair] Revenge of the White Worm, but the idea largely collapsed with Vestron [the film company which went bankrupt]". Some parts of the script took place in Buckingham Palace involving Prince Charles.

All-American Murder A script by Ken Russell´s friend Barry Sandler, it was finally filmed by tv director Anson Williams and starring Christopher Walken (info from Ken Hanke´s White Haired Filmmaker article).  Barry Sandler also wrote Crimes of Passion.

How the West was Lost A western with script by Ken Russell.

Percy Grainger The Australian composer. Percy Grainger was a character in the Delius film Song of Summer.

Mike and Gaby´s Space Gospel The bible as science fiction. Russell converted his script into a novel.

Casanova Part 2 with Richard Chamberlain, Faye Dunaway, Sylvia Kristel, Ornella Muti and Hanna Schygulla.

Shrine In Ingrid Pitt´s interview for Shivers, Russell says "James Herbert [horror writer] gave me two of his books.  One was called Shrine.  It was about this girl who becomes a kind of second-hand Virgin Mary and there were things in the book that I thought were terribly good...but I think it had something like 2000 people at the end."  Maybe the second book was The Dark: Ingrid Pitt reveals in her introduction to the biography of James Herbert (Devil in the Dark by Craig Cabell, 2004) "I was asked to write a screenplay based on his novel The Dark".  The biography itself says of the possible filming of Shrine "perhaps some of this would be lost in a movie version, unless directed by somebody like Ken Russell: a girl floating in the air, her once pure white dress now soaked in blood and dripping over the faces of her smiling disciples".

Neverlands J.M. Barrie, the creator of Peter Pan.

Beneath the Underdog Russell has long wanted to film jazz musician Charles Mingus´ autobiography Beneath the Underdog.

The Temperance Seven Russell suggested the British jazz group The Temperance Seven to Huw Wheldon as a subject for a Monitor short- Wheldon rejected the ideas as too low-brow.

Venus in Furs The novel by Leopold von Sacher-Masoch (from where the word masochist comes).

Charged: Tesla & Katherine Nikola Tesla is now unknown but he was regarded as the greatest inventor of his time.  The film would deal with aspect of his private life based on his correspondence with close friends, Robert Johnson, poet and editor, and his wife Katharine, in New York during 1890s. This is a story of complex and delicate triangular relationship, and Tesla and Katharine's love.  The screenplay is by Ljiljana Kojic-Bogdanovich and Katarina Bogdanovich.  Music is by Michael Nyman.  Russell  renamed it Charged.  2004-2005.

The Wishing Tree William Faulkner's childrens story.  Twiggy says  "I first met Ken when I was 17 when he was looking for a young character to appear in a film based on William Faulkner's The Wishing Tree and although it didn't happen, we became friends.  Then, three years later, he cast me in The Boy Friend (info from here).

2 Way Romeo "The plot is a true story of two conjoined twins who were the frontmen in a rock band in mid seventies London. It follows their rise and fall through sex drugs and pub rock, playing alongside the likes of Kilburn & The Highroads".  You can hear Ken talking about the film here.  Thanks to Deborah for the information.

The basis was Brian Aldis' novel Brothers of the Head.  The book was eventually filmed by Keith Fulton and Louis Pepe, with the original title.  Ken appears in the films, along with some scenes from 2 Way Romeo.  In the DVD extras Ken says that he paid £50,000 for the rights to the novel, but didn't realise that Brian Aldiss had based his novel on living people.  So after Ken started filming Two way Romeo, he was faced with a lawsuit from the real-life people.

Pearl of the Orient   "Set in the Philippines of World War II, a headstrong and aristocratic young woman yearns to leave the islands and travel the world, only to fall in love with an American missionary and thereby come to terms with her heritage as a Filipina".  Script was by Richard A. Lasser, screenwriter Peter J. Bartels.  Click on the image for more details, thanks to Peter for the link.  Ken and the film came together via this website!!!  There were problems with financing and rumours of money disappearing.

Kings X.  Scriptwriters are Chris and Peter Cleverly and it is described as "A London professional woman takes revenge on gangland hardman after he destroys her life." Emily Lloyd was to be the star.

Wagner´s Tannhãuser An opera not a film. This was planned for Geneva in 1985: "I see it as a psychological-schizophrenic trip in Wagner´s mind".

Tchaikovsky´s Eugene Onegin Invited by Lorin Maazel to direct the opera on the stage for the Vienna State Opera in 1985: "Maazel saw my Music Lovers and thought I´d be very good doing a Tchaikovsky opera".