Saturday, July 16, 2022

The Token

Shelley in a publicity pic from the mid/late 80s

Shelley appeared in the TV movie series Frederick Forsyth Presents. It was a set of six telefilms by internationally acclaimed author Frederick Forsyth, all original spy thrillers. The first, aired in December of 1989, was called A Casualty of War. Shelley played Monica Browne, an enigmatic and very wealthy horse breeder who becomes the love interest of retired British secret service agent Tom Rowse (played by David Threlfall) who was recruited to intercept an arms shipment from Libya to the IRA. The telefilm was shot in England, Germany and Yugoslavia. Shelley said she read Forsyth's books as a young girl and found them to be "very macho, exciting Cold War stuff." Being the only American among the predominantly British cast, she laughed and said, "Yes, I'm the token." She enjoyed working with her British co-stars and found their approach to their craft very interesting.

Shelley in a publicity pic from the mid/late 80s