The Roots of Heaven (1958)

Director:

John Huston

Writers:

Romain Gary (novel)
Romain Gary (screenplay) ...
(more)

Release Date:

15 October 1958 (USA)

Genre:

Adventure | Drama

Plot:

In Fort Lamy, French Equitorial Africa, idealist Morel launches a one-man campaign to preserve the African elephant from extinction...

Plot Keywords:

Elephant | Africa | Foreign Language Adaptation | Based On Novel

Cast

Errol Flynn	...	Forsythe
Juliette Gréco	...	Minna (as Juliette Greco)
Trevor Howard	...	Morel
Eddie Albert	...	Abe Fields
Orson Welles	...	Cy Sedgewick
Paul Lukas	...	Saint Denis
Herbert Lom	...	Orsini
Grégoire Aslan	...	Habib
André Luguet	...	Governor
Friedrich von Ledebur	...	Peer Qvist (as Friedrich Ledebur)
Edric Connor	...	Waitari
Olivier Hussenot	...	Baron
Pierre Dudan	...	Major Schölscher
Marc Doelnitz	...	De Vries
Francis De Wolff	...	Father Farque (as Francis de Wolff)
Dan Jackson	...	Madjumba
Maurice de Canonge	...	Haas (as Maurice Cannon)
Jacques Marin	...	Cerisot
Habib Benglia	...	Korotoro
Bachir Touré	...	Yussef
Alain Saury	...	A.D.C.
Roscoe Stallworth	...	N'Dolo
Hassane Fall	...	Inguele (as Assane Fall)
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Colin Drake	...	Journalist (uncredited)
Hans Verner	...	(uncredited)

Directed by
John Huston

Writing credits
Romain Gary		(novel "Les Racines du Ciel")
Romain Gary		(screenplay) and
Patrick Leigh-Fermor		(screenplay)

Produced by
Robert L. Jacks	....	associate producer (as Robert Jacks)
Darryl F. Zanuck	....	producer

Original Music by
Malcolm Arnold

Cinematography by
Oswald Morris		(director of photography)

Film Editing by
Russell Lloyd

Art Direction by
Stephen B. Grimes		(as Stephen Grimes)

Set Decoration by
Bruno Avesani

Costume Design by
Rosine Delamare

Makeup Department
George Frost	....	makeup artist

Production Management
Guy Luongo	....	production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Carlo Lastricati	....	assistant director

Art Department
Raymond Gabutti	....	associate art director

Sound Department
Basil Fenton-Smith	....	sound (as Basil Fenton Smith)
Ray Bomba	....	sound editor (uncredited)
Ralph Hickey	....	sound editor (uncredited)
Don Isaacs	....	sound editor (uncredited)

Special Effects by
L.B. Abbott	....	special photographic effects
Fred Etcheverry	....	special effects

Camera and Electrical Department
Gilles Bonneau	....	photographer: second unit
Skeets Kelly	....	photographer: second unit
Henri Persin	....	photographer: second unit

Music Department
Malcolm Arnold	....	conductor
Alfred Newman	....	composer: additional music (uncredited)
Henri Patterson	....	music recordist: African drums and chants (uncredited)
Edward B. Powell	....	orchestrator: Alfred Newman (uncredited)

Other crew
Angela Allen	....	script girl
Claude Hettier De Boislambert	....	technical advisor (as Claude Hettier de Boislambert)
Anna-Marie Cazalis	....	publicist (uncredited)
Lucie Lichtig	....	continuity (uncredited)
Eva Monley	....	location manager (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Darryl F. Zanuck Productions
• Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation

Distributors

• Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation (1958) (USA) (theatrical)
• 20th Century Fox (1958) (France) (theatrical)
• Centfox (1958) (West Germany) (theatrical)
• National Broadcasting Company (NBC) (1963) (USA) (TV)
• Krause & Schneider Multimedia (KSM) (2011) (Germany) (DVD)

Also Known As:

Runtime:

121 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

4-Track Stereo (Westrex Recording System)

Certification:

Finland:K-16 | Sweden:15 | West Germany:6 (f)

Filming Locations:

Sarh, Chad

Company:

Darryl F. Zanuck Productions

Trivia:

In his 1959 autobiography "My Wicked, Wicked Ways", Errol Flynn wrote that he enjoyed making this film more than any other.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in John Huston: The Man, the Movies, the Maverick (1989)

Soundtrack:

Minna's Theme

A superb film based on my all-time favorite novel.

This was an excellent film based on my all-time favorite novel of the same title. Both novel and film were ahead of their time in their concern for the fate of the African elephant specifically and the sustainability of the earth generally. The cast was superb; Trevor Howard and Juliette Greco were perfect. (But then, so was everyone else involved.) An important theme in both novel and film was the tendency for others to analyze Morel's motives through their own eyes. Thus some thought him politically ambitious, some supposed that he detested humankind, and others found other motives. I believe his actual motives were purer, simpler, more altruistic, and altogether as he stated them. I would like to have used this film in my university classes, but like an earlier reviewer I regret that it was not possible to find it. That's a great shame.

Given the apparent unavailability of the film, I highly recommend the book - if you can find a copy! Occasionally I have challenged bright students to tell me why the character Father Tassin is so interested in learning everything he can about Morel. To help them, I have lent them not only the novel but a short book about the real-life "Tassin." One or two succeeded in making the connection and thus understanding the work at its most profound level. And it truly is profound, once you understand that connection.

Incidentally, author (and screenplay writer) Romain Gary lived an adventurous, unique life which made him just about as interesting as Morel. War hero, winner of France's highest military and literary honors, literary prankster, tragic political victim, and much more.