Khartoum (1966)

In the Sudan, in 1884 to 1885, Egyptian forces led by British General Charles "Chinese" Gordon (Charlton Heston) defend Khartoum against an invading Muslim Army led by a religious fanatic, Mohammed Ahmed el Mahdi (Sir Laurence Olivier).

Directors:

Basil Dearden, Eliot Elisofon

Writer:

Robert Ardrey

Stars:

Charlton Heston, Laurence Olivier, Richard Johnson

Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 2 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Charlton Heston	...	General Charles 'Chinese' Gordon
Laurence Olivier	...	The Mahdi
Richard Johnson	...	Colonel J.D.H. Stewart
Ralph Richardson	...	William Gladstone
Alexander Knox	...	Sir Evelyn Baring
Johnny Sekka	...	Khaleel
Michael Hordern	...	Lord Granville
Zia Mohyeddin	...	Zobeir Pasha
Marne Maitland	...	Sheikh Osman
Nigel Green	...	General Wolseley
Hugh Williams	...	Lord Hartington
Ralph Michael	...	Sir Charles Dilke
Douglas Wilmer	...	Khalifa Abdullah
Edward Underdown	...	Colonel William Hicks
Peter Arne	...	Major Kitchener

Storyline

After an Egyptian Army, commanded by British officers, is destroyed in a battle in the Sudan in the 1880s, the British government is in a quandary. It does not want to commit a British military force to a foreign war, but they have a commitment to protect the Egyptians in Khartoum. They decide to ask General Charles "Chinese" Gordon (Charlton Heston), something of a folk hero in the Sudan, as he had cleared the area of the slave trade, to arrange for the evacuation. Gordon agrees, but also decides to defend the city against the forces of Mohammed Ahmed el Mahdi (Sir Laurence Olivier), "The Expected One", and tries to force the British to commit troops.

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Plot Keywords:

1880s | place name in title | blackface | year 1885 | year 1883 | 

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Taglines:

THEY SAY THE NILE STILL RUNS RED FROM THE BATTLE OF KHARTOUM!

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Genres:

Action | Adventure | Drama | History | War

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Certificate:

Approved

Did You Know?

Trivia

Burt Lancaster turned down the role of Major General Charles "Chinese" Gordon.

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Goofs

Gordon's log is labeled "Journal of events Kartoum".

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Quotes

The Mahdi: [in horror: seeing Gordon's decapitated head on the end of a pole] Take it away! Where is Abdullah? I forbade it, I forbade it!

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Alternate Versions

The cinema version was uncut but UK video and DVD releases were cut by 29 secs by the BBFC to edit footage of dangerous horsefalls.

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Connections

Referenced in The Hateful Eight (2015)

User Reviews

Hard to believe this was filmed in 1966

I just now saw this movie on television for the first time. Somehow I missed it in 1966. I have always been interested in "Chinese Gorden" and they seemed to do his character quite well, though somehow I thought he was a "Teatotaler"! What surprised me about the movie was the flat out way it was admitted that his government abandoned him, expected him to do the job with no support, only caring that "people in the street" didn't know what they had done. In 1966, we didn't yet know that governments did such naughty things. In those days we still believed that the government was still the "good guy". That people liked the movie in spite of that amazes me----5 or 10 years later it would have been a "given".

Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

15 June 1966 (USA)

Also Known As:

Khartoum

Filming Locations:

Marylebone Station, Marylebone, London, England, UK

Box Office

Budget:

$6,000,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Julian Blaustein Productions Ltd.

Technical Specs

Runtime:

134 min

Sound Mix:

70 mm 6-Track (Westrex Recording System)

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.76 : 1