The Adventurers (1951 film)
| The Adventurers | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Original British 1-sheet poster | |
| Directed by | David MacDonald |
| Written by | Robert Westerby |
| Produced by | Aubrey Baring Maxwell Setton (uncredited) |
| Starring | Dennis Price Jack Hawkins Siobhan McKenna |
| Cinematography | Oswald Morris |
| Edited by | Vladimir Sagovsky |
| Music by | Cedric Thorpe Davie |
Production company | |
| Distributed by | General Film Distributors |
Release date | 7 March 1951 (London) |
Running time | 86 minutes |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
The Adventurers is a 1951 British adventure film directed by David MacDonald and starring Dennis Price, Jack Hawkins, Peter Hammond.[1] In the wake of the Boer War several men journey into the South African veldt in search of diamonds.
It was also known as Fortune in Diamonds, The Great Adventure and The South African Story.
It was one of a series of movies made by the British film industry after World War Two which were set (and filmed) in the dominions.[2]
Plot
In 1902 as the Boer War finalises a South African soldier hides a cache of diamonds he finds on a body. He returns to the town he left three years earlier where his girl has married a disgraced English officer. Needing funds to get back to pick up the diamonds the Boer enlists the help of a fellow soldier as well as the Englishman and a local hotel keeper.[3]
Cast
- Dennis Price as Clive Hunter
- Jack Hawkins as Pieter Brandt
- Peter Hammond as Hendrik van Thaal
- Grégoire Aslan as Dominic
- Charles Paton as Barman
- Siobhan McKenna as Anne Hunter
- Bernard Lee as O'Connell
- Ronald Adam as Van Thaal
- Martin Boddey as Chief Engineer
- Philip Ray as Man in Restaurant
- Walter Horsbrugh as Man in Restaurant
- Cyril Chamberlain as Waiter
Production
The film was based on an original story by the novelist and screenwriter Robert Westerby, one of several he wrote for the independent production company Mayflower Pictures.
Jack Hawkins was borrowed from British Lion.
It was made at Pinewood Studios, with some location filming in South Africa beforehand near Johannesburg. Production was completed by September 1950[4], but the film wasn't released until the following March by General Film Distributors.
Release
The film was originally known as The South Africa Story. It had its world premiere aboard the Queen Mary liner.[5] The film was cut by 12 minutes for its U.S. release, and was twice retitled, as Fortune in Diamonds and The Great Adventure.[6]
Critical reception
Allmovie noted "an African variation of Treasure of the Sierra Madre, The Adventurers is buoyed by an unusually vicious performance by Jack Hawkins" ;[7] while the Radio Times wrote, "this could have been quite stirring if it hadn't been morbidly under-directed at a snail's pace by David MacDonald" ;[6] and TV Guide found that, despite its borrowings from Sierra Madre and from von Stroheim's Greed, "it is nevertheless an often-gripping film."[8]
References
- ^ "The Adventurers". BFI.
- ^ Carry On, Cowboy: Roast Beef Westerns Hall, Sheldon. Iluminace; Praha Vol. 24, Iss. 3, (2012): 103-125.
- ^ Perkins, Jeremy. "The Adventurers (1951)". Retrieved 1 July 2013.
- ^ Round the British Studios Nepean, Edith. Picture Show; London Vol. 55, Iss. 1433, (Sep 16, 1950): 7.
- ^ "Germans to see Australian film". The Mail. Adelaide: National Library of Australia. 19 May 1951. p. 11 Supplement: SUNDAY MAGAZINE. Retrieved 27 January 2014.
- ^ a b Tony Sloman. "The Adventurers". RadioTimes.
- ^ "Fortune in Diamonds (1951) – Trailers, Reviews, Synopsis, Showtimes and Cast – AllMovie". AllMovie.
- ^ "The Adventurers". TV Guide.
External links
- 1951 films
- British films
- British adventure films
- British historical films
- 1950s historical films
- 1950s adventure films
- Films directed by David MacDonald (director)
- English-language films
- Films shot at Pinewood Studios
- Films set in 1902
- Films set in South Africa
- Films shot in South Africa
- Treasure hunt films
- Lippert Pictures films
- British black-and-white films