Lindsay Shonteff was born in Toronto, Ontario and made his directing, producing, editing and screenwriting debut in 1959 with a Canadian made WesternThe Hired Gun/The Last Gunfighter that he edited in his own home.[1] After the film's release, Shonteff went to England following his friend and fellow Canadian Sidney J. Furie.
Shonteff's debut in Britain was Devil Doll (1964); Furie was originally scheduled to direct, but was offered a more prestigious film and recommended Shonteff. Richard Gordon said Furie advised Shonteff throughout the making of the film.[2] Shonteff had to cut the horror tale of a ventriloquist's dummy for an X rating from the British Board of Film Censors.
This film led to interest from Columbia Pictures for a contract but Shonteff argued over the matter and the contract did not come through.[3]
Shonteff then filmed the "African horror adventure" Curse of Simba (aka Curse of the Voodoo) in 1965 for Gordon.[4]
The same year, he co-wrote and directed a James Bond type film for producer S.J.H. "James" Ward, Licensed to Kill. The film was picked up for American and international release by Joseph E. Levine; it was re-edited and retitled The Second Best Secret Agent in the Whole Wide World. Reportedly Shonteff was offered a contract by 20th Century Fox but disagreed on conditions.[5]
In 1969, Shonteff directed the rarely seen crime film Clegg, followed in 1970 by the horror film Night After Night After Night and the cult film Permissive which explored the world of groupies. In addition, Shonteff directed the 1971 sex drama The Yes Girls and the rarely seen crime thriller The Fast Kill in 1972. He then directed the cult exploitation film Big Zapper in 1973, and its sequel, The Swordsman, the following year.
^p. 300 Morris, Peter Canada in The International Movie Industry SIU Press, 2000
^Weaver, Tom Return of the B Science Fiction and Horror Movies: The Mutant Melding of Two Classic Interviews 1999 McFarland & Co
^Bryce, Allan Nickels and Dimes and No Time. The Ups and Downs of Lindsay Shonteff featured in Jaworzyn, S Shock Xpress" The Essential Guide to Exploitation Cinema Titan 1994
^Weaver, Tom Return of the B Science Fiction and Horror Movies: The Mutant Melding of Two Classic Interviews 1999 McFarland
