The 7th Dawn (1964)

Political and personal intrigues surround a group of characters in Malaya, after the close of the Second World War.

Director:

Lewis Gilbert

Writers:

Michael Keon (novel), Karl Tunberg (screenplay)

Stars:

William Holden, Susannah York, Capucine

Nominated for 1 BAFTA Film Award.

Cast

Cast overview:
William Holden	...	Major Ferris
Susannah York	...	Candace Trumpey
Capucine	...	Dhana Mercier
Tetsurô Tanba	...	Ng
Michael Goodliffe	...	Trumphey
Allan Cuthbertson	...	Cavendish
Sydney Tafler	...	Tom - Chief Petty Officer
Maurice Denham	...	Tarlton
Beulah Quo	...	Ah Ming

Storyline

The end of WW2 finds Major Ferris fighting alongside guerrilla groups in the jungles of Malaysia. Major Ferris is an American who was attached to the Australian 8th Army and stayed behind to co-ordinate native guerrilla groups. When the Japanese unconditionally surrender, everyone is rejoicing but a British officer pertinently comments that although the Malaysian people aided the British to defeat the Japanese their allegiance will shift and they might not be so friendly towards the British in the near future. Malaysia is a British colony and like many other colonies it struggles to gain its independence from the European powers. Major Ferris' closest friend and comrade during the war, Malaysian colonel Ng, is asked by Ferris to join him into a business venture. Ferris has purchased a few acres of land rich in rubber trees and tin mines. He offers Ng an equal partnership in the venture but colonel Ng refuses. He explains that he has to go to Moscow to study at a school for political ...

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Plot Keywords:

british colonialism | guerilla | based on novel | hand to hand combat | showdown | 

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Taglines:

A STRANGE LAND SLEEPS LIKE A BEAUTIFUL WOMAN - SO STILL...SO MYSTERIOUS...SO UNTOUCHED- UNTIL THE FIRST LIGHT OF DAWN AWAKENS THE PASSIONS OF MEN AND THE FURIES OF WAR!

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Genres:

Adventure | Drama | War

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Did You Know?

Trivia

Trumpey's government vehicle is a 1952 Austin Princess four-liter limousine.

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Goofs

During the battle scene, Ferris spots Ng and Candace running away in the distance through his binoculars. They drop to the ground with their backs toward him as a mortar explodes. Then Ferris looks again in a completely different direction to his right and the pair suddenly appear much closer, facing toward him as they get up.

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Quotes

Ng: Even magic cannot protect you against stupidity.

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Connections

Referenced in Inside 'You Only Live Twice' (2000)

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Soundtracks

The Seventh Dawn
Music by Riz Ortolani
Lyrics by Paul Francis Webster

User Reviews

A story worth telling

Odd, that I don't recall the word 'communist' being uttered throughout this picture. Anyone notice if it was? It was pretty clear from the references and the red stars the Ng and his guerrillas were communists. This is an entertaining film from a jungle war that has been largely forgotten in the shadow of Vietnam. The British spent 12 years eradicating the elements they called "communist terrorists" before Malaysia became independent. Most of their enemies weren't conveniently

uniformed like Ng's forces, but were more like the grenade-tossing chauffeur. The SAS played a key role in suppressing the communists, and the British pretty much wrote the book on how to deal with these sort of insurgencies, lessons the

Americans too often seem to forget (though they slowly seem to be figuring it out in Iraq and Afghanistan). Saw this movie years ago and liked it, liked it more in a recent viewing, in spite of its flaws. Always liked Holden, have a real soft spot for Susannah York - and Capucine was splendid. Some great cars in this movie, too (and a Gloster Meteor, too, I think). And yes, superbly photographed.

Details

Country:

UK USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

13 August 1964 (UK)

Also Known As:

The Seventh Dawn

Filming Locations:

Merdeka Studios, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Company Credits

Production Co:

Holdean

Technical Specs

Runtime:

123 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound Recording)

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1