In 1870, a Jamaican colonial family sends its children to Britain for proper schooling but their ship is taken over by pirates who become fond of the kids.
Ukrainian Archbishop Kiril Lakota is set free after twenty years as a political prisoner in Siberia. He is brought to Rome by Father David Telemond, a troubled young priest who befriends ... See full summary »
Director:
Michael Anderson
Stars:
Anthony Quinn,
Laurence Olivier,
Oskar Werner
Mandy Garland was born deaf and has been mute for all of her life. Her parents believe she is able to speak if she can only be taught and enroll her with a special teacher.
Director:
Alexander Mackendrick
Stars:
Phyllis Calvert,
Jack Hawkins,
Terence Morgan
In World War II, a Romanian gentile peasant is denounced by the village gendarme and sent to a concentration camp for Jews where, due to an error, he's drafted into the S.S.
Mountain Rivera, a punchy has-been managed by the unprincipled Maish, is mauled in a fight and forced to quit boxing. Can his devoted cutman and a sympathetic social worker help him find a ... See full summary »
Director:
Ralph Nelson
Stars:
Anthony Quinn,
Jackie Gleason,
Mickey Rooney
When a U.S. Intelligence Agent is unable to bring a ruthless drug baron to justice, he resorts to hiring a contract killer. But the man with whom he is put in contact turns out to be an old friend.
An altruistic chemist invents a fabric which resists wear and stain as a boon to humanity, but big business and labor realize it must be suppressed for economic reasons.
Director:
Alexander Mackendrick
Stars:
Alec Guinness,
Joan Greenwood,
Cecil Parker
The parents of children living in Jamaica, afraid that the kids are growing up uncivilized, decide to send them to England. But during the voyage, the childrens' ship is boarded by pirates and in the confusion the children wind up trapped on the pirate ship. The children view it as a lark, and one of them, a girl named Emily, develops an unusual bond with Chavez, the pirate captain. The superstitious pirates can't wait to unload the kids at the first port, but a tragedy prevents it, and Emily's relationship with Chavez takes a fateful twist.Written by
Anonymous
This film had a long and troubled history. Richard Hughes's original novel, published in 1929, is a dark and disturbing story, and James Mason, who greatly admired it, wanted to make a film of it in the 1950s, producing it for Twentieth Century-Fox as well as playing one of the leads. However, the studio saw it as a light-hearted Disney-style pirate adventure aimed at a family audience; several years after Mason's plans had come to nothing, they revived the project along these lines with Nunnally Johnson assigned as writer and producer. When Alexander Mackendrick was approached to direct, he was appalled by the travestying of Hughes's novel, and was able to persuade leading man Anthony Quinn that a more faithful and disturbing version of the book was a better idea. Johnson's script was rejected. Quinn used his (considerable) influence to help Mackendrick and the ensuing film was highly praised; it was, however, cut by the studio by about 25 minutes, which Mackendrick claimed had ruined it. He always insisted subsequently that he should never have attempted the film, which was a box-office failure. See more »
Goofs
The hurricane at the beginning of the film is rather clearly created with a combination of wind machines and water sprayed onto the set. Despite the torrential downpour there is sun-dappling beneath the tree where Emily is looking for her cat, and blue sky and puffy white clouds are visible in the distance behind her and her father. See more »
Quotes
Chavez:
What kind of man are you? You are a butcher! Why don't you tell us where the money is?
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Having read the book in 1965, I took my (then) 3 young daughters to see the film. They were so stirred and charmed that they made me sit through a second screening. Anthony Quinn and James Coburn were brilliant, lovable rogues and the main little girl was someone my kids could identify with. Gert Frobe as the Dutch sea captain was memorable, and the English cast, director Alexander Mackendrick and the screenwriter(s) should be commended for creating a superb example of the art of cinema. I have but one sad comment: Why isn't this film available on videotape or disk, or at least on cable?
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Having read the book in 1965, I took my (then) 3 young daughters to see the film. They were so stirred and charmed that they made me sit through a second screening. Anthony Quinn and James Coburn were brilliant, lovable rogues and the main little girl was someone my kids could identify with. Gert Frobe as the Dutch sea captain was memorable, and the English cast, director Alexander Mackendrick and the screenwriter(s) should be commended for creating a superb example of the art of cinema. I have but one sad comment: Why isn't this film available on videotape or disk, or at least on cable?