The Light at the Edge of the World (1971)

A ruthless pirate captures the keeper of a lighthouse, in the most southern city in Argentina. His goal is obvious and horrific. He plans to control the lighthouses signals in a way that the passing ships will be crushed on the rocks.

Director:

Kevin Billington

Writers:

Tom Rowe (screenplay), Jules Verne (novel)

Stars:

Kirk Douglas, Yul Brynner, Samantha Eggar

1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Kirk Douglas	...	Denton
Yul Brynner	...	Kongre
Samantha Eggar	...	Arabella
Jean-Claude Drouot	...	Virgilio (as Jean Claude Drouot)
Fernando Rey	...	Captain Moriz
Renato Salvatori	...	Montefiore
Massimo Ranieri	...	Felipe
Aldo Sambrell	...	Tarcante (as Aldo Sanbrell)
Tito García	...	Emilio (as Tito Garcia)
Víctor Israel	...	Das Mortes (as Victor Israel)
Antonio Rebollo	...	Santos (as Tony Skios)
Luis Barboo	...	Calsa Larga (as Luis Bar Boo)
Tony Cyrus	...	Valgolyo
Raul Castro	...	Malapinha
Oscar Davis	...	Amador

Storyline

Pirates take over a lighthouse on a rocky island. They then execute a devious plan to cause ships to run aground, pillaging their wrecks. A lone member of the lighthouse crew survives, and he deperately fights their plot. A shipwrecked maiden that avoids the pirates slaughter soon complicates the situation.

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Plot Keywords:

lighthouse | pirate | island | bare chested male | bare chested male bondage | 

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Taglines:

Jules Verne Takes You Over the Edge of the World!

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Genres:

Adventure | Drama | Fantasy | Thriller

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Certificate:

GP

Did You Know?

Trivia

The film was made and released about sixty-six years after its source novel "Le Phare du bout du monde" ("The Lighthouse at the End of the World") by French novelist Jules Verne had been first published in 1905.

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Goofs

When Kirk Douglas jumps, the dummy's legs flail around, the knees bending in unnatural angles, revealing it to be an obvious prop.

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Quotes

Kongre: Every ship that passes must pay tribute to this rock. A tribute to me, as yours did.

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Alternate Versions

The movie has a published running time of 120 minutes (although the UK DVD has a running time of 122:38) but cinemagoers in Britain were shown a truncated version of the film. MGM had acquired the United Kingdom release rights in the movie and were intent on releasing it in Britain as their major Christmas film for all the family. Unfortunately the British Board Of Film Censors would only grant the film an X certificate, barring all under eighteen years of age from seeing it. What MGM had perceived as a jolly action romp was deemed by the UK censors to be an excessively violent film suitable only for adults. In tandem with the censors MGM made extensive cuts for a lower 'A' certificate. Virtually all of the graphic violence and female assault scenes in the original film were excised and the British release of the movie was not a success. The current UK DVD contains the original full-length print but has a 15 certificate and is missing 35 secs of a scene featuring a horsefall.

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Connections

Referenced in Indian Summer (1972)

User Reviews

Pathological Pirates

One of my favorite films of all-time. Unusual because the pirates depicted in this movie are all too real. None of the romanticizing Errol Flynn or Jack Sparrow stuff. These pirates were shockingly ruthless and a real sense of danger permeates the film. Yul Brynner and Kirk Douglas bring intensity to their roles. Brynner as the egotistic sociopath who is the leader of the cutthroats and Douglas as a man who must deal with a desperate situation in a fight for survival. Samantha Eggar as a woman with flawed instincts for her own preservation evokes frustration and pity. From the brutal opening scenes, the message is clear that these pirates don't play. A sense of urgency then takes over until the final outcome. A great movie!

Details

Country:

Spain Liechtenstein USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

29 October 1971 (Spain)

Also Known As:

The Lighthouse at the End of the World

Filming Locations:

Colmenar, Málaga, Andalucía, Spain

Box Office

Budget:

$11,000,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Bryna Productions, Jet Films, Triumfilm

Technical Specs

Runtime:

128 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1