Biography
Director Robert S. Fiveson only ever got around to making one feature film, 1979's "Parts: The Clonus Horror", but one can certainly imagine a worse legacy to have, as it made good use of a then relatively untapped premise and delivered a disquieting tale that still entertains almost thirty years later.
Born in Winnipeg on June 15, 1947, Fiveson moved to Toronto at a young age and lived there until age 10, at which time his family moved to Brooklyn. His youth was an interesting dichotomy, as he would move back and forth between acts of juvenile delinquency and performing in school plays, often in lead roles. An avid reader, he was particularly entertained by tales of the weird and macabre. The theatre work would take hold until he discovered cinema at the University of Bridgeport in Connecticut. There he had a professor who would prove to be a great help in shaping his future career. Fiveson made a number of student films, winning awards for this work; one example was something titled "Skin Flick"; the title made it sound like porn, but it was actually one slow examination of a bearded man's face. From then on, Fiveson was enrolled at USC.
His thesis film, "Good Times", was a story about gangs in NYC, which contained material he'd incorporated from his own life. It was picked up by Universal Studios for use in their educational division, where he subsequently worked upon graduation from USC. He would be employed there as a staff writer / producer. During this time, he became interested in the subject of cloning, hooking up with Myrl A. Schreibman, a cost controller at Universal, who would be instrumental in getting "Clonus" made.
The film had seven investors, including Fiveson's own father. It would cost approximately $257,000 (some of which would of course go to securing such name performers as Peter Graves, Dick Sargent, and Keenan Wynn) and be shot in 18 days. Although the Academy of Science-Fiction, Fantasy and Horror would bestow it with the award for best low-budget independent film in 1979, it would unfortunately not become a financial success.
Fiveson spent the next stage of his career writing various scripts that just couldn't generate enough interest. It was during the writers' strike of 1988, when he moved on to a new career path. He would work for the Air Force and Department of Defense as the head of production. After that, he became a documentary film-maker working for such television channels as A & E and The Discovery Channel.
"Parts: The Clonus Horror" may have turned out to be his sole feature credit to date, but Fiveson will always deserve credit for a film that was intelligent, provocative, and dared to be disturbing, and showed the mighty influence wielded by big money and special interests.
