Elephant Walk (1954)

The young bride of a rich planter finds herself the only white woman at Elephant Walk tea plantation, British Ceylon.

Director:

William Dieterle

Writers:

John Lee Mahin, Robert Standish (novel)

Stars:

Elizabeth Taylor, Dana Andrews, Peter Finch

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Elizabeth Taylor	...	Ruth Wiley
Dana Andrews	...	Dick Carver
Peter Finch	...	John Wiley
Abraham Sofaer	...	Appuhamy
Abner Biberman	...	Dr. Pereira
Noel Drayton	...	Planter Atkinson
Rosalind Ivan	...	Mrs. Lakin
Barry Bernard	...	Planter Strawson
Philip Tonge	...	Planter John Ralph
Edward Ashley	...	Planter Gordon Gregory
Leo Britt	...	Planter Chisholm
My Lee Haulani	...	Rayna (as Mylee Haulani)
Madhyma Lanka Nritya Mandala Dancers	...	Dancers

Storyline

Colonial tea planter John Wiley, visiting England at the end of World War II, wins and weds lovely English rose Ruth and takes her home to Elephant Walk, Ceylon, where the local elephants have a grudge against the plantation. Ruth's delight with the tropical wealth and luxury of her new home is tempered by isolation as the only white woman in the district; by her husband's occasional imperious arrogance; by a mutual physical attraction with plantation manager Dick Carver; and by the hovering, ominous menace of the hostile elephants...

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Plot Keywords:

elephant | plantation | tea | ceylon | england | 

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Taglines:

One man claimed the land. Two men claimed the woman who lived there.

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Genres:

Drama

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

21 April 1954 (USA)

Also Known As:

Elefantenpfad

Filming Locations:

Iverson Ranch - 1 Iverson Lane, Chatsworth, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Paramount Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

103 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Vivien Leigh was originally cast. Her mental illness begun affecting things during filming, and so she was replaced by Elizabeth Taylor. Many long shots and shots from behind are still of Leigh.

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Goofs

At the beginning of the film, John Wiley (Peter Finch) does a voiceover reading of a page from "The Diary of Elephant Walk", shown on screen. Near the bottom of the page, Wiley (Finch), reading it aloud, says, "It was pouring with rain," even though the text seen on the screen reads "It was pouring rain." (In fact, as an Englishman, Wiley would normally have said - and written - "pouring with rain". "Pouring rain" is the American usage.)

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Connections

Referenced in Edith Head: The Paramount Years (2002)

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Soundtracks

"Many Dreams Ago"
Music by Franz Waxman
Lyrics by Mack David

User Reviews

A truly underrated Elizabeth Taylor film

The scintillating Elizabeth Taylor stars in this lesser-known classic as a young girl from London who falls in love with a tea plantation owner from British Ceylon (current day Sri Lanka). Upon arrival she instantly feels out of place and is forced to adapt to the new culture as well as be in constant awareness of the angry elephant herd. William Dieterle, who also directed The Life Of Emile Zola and Portrait Of Jennie , does a masterful job of bringing a somewhat dark, and almost eerie, undertone to this romance and the setting is one of the most beautiful I've seen with the black and white themed mansion and the gorgeous island scenery.