Der Kurier des Zaren
In early November 1958, Bryna Productions announced its forthcoming production plans, which included eleven films and three television series to be made for a total budget of $30,000,000 over the next three-to-four years. In addition to the previously-announced "Spartacus", "Viva, Gringo!", "The Adventures of Simon Bolivar", "Michael Strogoff", "The Brave Cowboy", "The Silent Gun", "A Most Contagious Game" and "The Shadow," Bryna Productions added "And the Rock Cried Out", "The Indian Wars" and "The Sun at Midnight" to its film production schedule, together budgeted at $25,000,000. "And the Rock Cried Out", an original science fiction novel by Ray Bradbury, had been in circulation for some time. British director Carol Reed had optioned the property in the mid-1950s and brought it over to Hecht-Hill-Lancaster Productions in May 1957 as his second directorial task for the company (following "Trapeze"). Reed and Bradbury developed a screenplay together, which was ultimately acquired by Bryna Productions in 1958 with plans to film on location in Mexico. "The Sun at Midnight", an original story and screenplay developed by Lewis, was set in the far north amongst the Eskimos, while "The Indian Wars" was a western. "A Most Contagious Game" was still under development with Curtis, but was pushed back as his third picture for Bryna Productions following "The Vikings" and "Spartacus", while Verne's "Michael Strogoff" picture budget had been reduced from $15,000,000 to $7,500,000. The remaining $5,000,000 budget was to be divided between three television series: the previously announced "The Vikings" and "Report from Space", and the newly announced "The Indian Fighter", adapted from Bryna Productions' 1955 feature film, set to star John Ireland. In January 1959, Bryna Productions' three-year option on "A Most Contagious Game" expired and the filming rights were scooped up by Dick Clark. Curtis would later option the property for development through his own film production company, Curtis Enterprises; that version of the film would also never be made.