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

This 1971 adaptation of a Jules Verne novel was released about three-and-a-half years before Disney's similarly titled 1974 Vernesque adventure movie The Island at the Top of the World (1974).

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Goofs

Throughout the movie, every time a cannon fires there is no recoil.

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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

UK DVD version not quite uncut. Compulsory cuts of 35s for an illegal horse tripping scene, in line with anti-animal cruelty laws.

User Reviews

The lonely island

I once owned this movie on VHS and while it's been many years since I've laid eyes on it, I remember it well - and that, for me, is generally the sign of a good movie. Some of the criticisms levelled by fellow armchair critics are valid (e.g.overlong) but it's still a very picturesque and curious movie that's definitely worth a look.

Douglas is fairly restrained as the sole survivor of a remote island lighthouse, besieged by pirates led by the pitiless Yul Brynner, his clan of bandits opportunistically decide to use the lighthouse to misdirect approaching ships into the rocks where they can pilfer the payloads. Samantha Eggar plays one such shipwrecked maiden taken as a romantic gesture by Brynner, and who Douglas (who's taken refuge in a subterranean cave with his pet monkey), must try and free.

Reasonably violent, though it's Jules Verne inspired, it's not the typical family fare you might expect. Little dialogue and a fairly loose plot might not convince some audiences, but overall I remember it to be quite a sombre picture, with a few cruel twists and a fiery conclusion. Great cast as well with support including Fernando Rey and the familiar faces of Aldo Sambrell, Victor Israel and American ex-pat in Spanish pictures, John Clark.

Details

Country:

USA Spain Liechtenstein

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:

120 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1