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Sands of the Kalahari (1965)

Approved | | Adventure, Crime, Drama | 2 December 1965 (UK)
Sands of the Kalahari Poster
After a small aircraft crashes in the Kalahari Desert, one of the seven passengers decides that his survival chances would increase if he would eliminate the other men in the group.

Director:

Cy Endfield

Writers:

Cy Endfield (screenplay), William Mulvihill (novel)

Stars:

Stanley Baker, Stuart Whitman, Susannah York | See full cast & crew »
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Cast

Complete credited cast:
Stanley Baker ... Mike Bain
Stuart Whitman ... Brian O'Brien
Susannah York ... Grace Monckton
Harry Andrews ... Grimmelman
Theodore Bikel ... Dr. Bondarahkai
Nigel Davenport ... Sturdevant
See full cast »
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Storyline

A small airplane crashes in the sweltering deserts of southern Africa hundreds of miles from civilization. As parallels are drawn between the stranded group of seven passengers and a nearby pack of savage baboons, one of the men's survivalist nature gets the better of him, as he decides his chances of survival would be better if the other men were eliminated one-by-one. Written by Doug Sederberg <vornoff@sonic.net>

Plot Summary | Add Synopsis

Plot Keywords:

africa | baboon | survival | desert | alcoholic | See All (35) »

Taglines:

The strangest adventure the eyes of man have ever seen! See more »

Genres:

Adventure | Crime | Drama

Certificate:

Approved | See all certifications »

Parents Guide:

Add content advisory for parents »
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Details

Country:

UK | USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

2 December 1965 (UK) See more »

Also Known As:

Die Verdammten der Kalahari See more »

Filming Locations:

Almería, Andalucía, Spain See more »

Company Credits

Production Co:

Joseph M. Schenck Enterprises, Pendennis Productions See more »
Show more on IMDbPro »

Technical Specs

Runtime:

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound Recording)

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1
See full technical specs »
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Did You Know?

Trivia

The Hunting knife O'Brien uses through out the film is a German made Puma White Hunter. See more »

Goofs

The diamond area warning sign said "Trespasses will be prosecuted" not "Trespassers will be prosecuted". See more »

Alternate Versions

When originally released theatrically in the UK, the BBFC made cuts to secure a 'A' rating. See more »

Connections

Featured in Trailer Trauma (2016) See more »

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User Reviews

 
Lord of the Baboons.
21 December 2013 | by Spikeopath – See all my reviews

Sands of the Kalahari is directed by Cy Endfield who also adapts the screenplay from the novel of the same name written by William Mulvihill. It stars Stuart Whitman, Stanley Baker, Susannah York, Harry Andrews, Theodore Bikel and Nigel Davenport. Music is by John Dankworth and cinematography by Erwin Hillier.

A raw survivalist thriller that finds a disparate group of people crash land in the deserts of Africa and promptly start to come apart as a group. Cue arguments, attempted rape, killings, animal slaughter, alpha male posturing and Adam and Eve complexes. The allegory is obvious but handled with skill by Endfield, and it all builds with great intensity towards a truly bleak, yet delightfully ambiguous finale. There's some over acting going on and the dialogue can stretch credibility at times, but yes this is a worthy entry in the survivalist hall of fame. 7/10
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