Guns of Darkness

1962
Approved
1h 42m

IMDb RATING

YOUR RATING

An English couple and a deposed ruler head for the border during a South American revolution.An English couple and a deposed ruler head for the border during a South American revolution.An English couple and a deposed ruler head for the border during a South American revolution.

Director
- Anthony Asquith
Writers
- John Mortimer
- Francis Clifford
Stars

See production info at IMDbPro

IMDb RATING

6.1/10

429

YOUR RATING

Director
- Anthony Asquith
Writers
- John Mortimer
- Francis Clifford
Stars

See production info at IMDbPro

Photos8

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Storyline

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Did you know

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Trivia
Throughout filming, the film was known as "Act Of Mercy," the title of writer Francis Clifford's novel. At the last minute, the title was changed to the meaningless Guns of Darkness (1962). The front office was worried about its box-office potential and thought the new name was more dramatic, as well as being similar to The Guns of Navarone (1961), which had been a big hit for star David Niven the previous year. It was also reported the film was re-titled for the American market.

Goofs
When the airplane flies over the escaping trio, the sky is alternately very cloudy or clear.

Quotes
Tom Jordan: [to his wife, Claire Jordan, as they shelter in a cave with rain pouring down outside] Look at the rain. It's like England. Do you remember when we first arrived in England? And you were expecting to find a country full of green lawns, and stately homes, and tall titled men in tweed suits, making witty remarks and eating cucumber sandwiches, hmm? Remember the first few weeks all we did was sit in the railway hotel and watch the rain, pouring down on Pennington Station... and not a Lord came near us, hmm?

Crazy credits
Closing credits: The characters in this photoplay are fictitious and bear no resemblance to any real persons living or dead.

Connections
References Swiss Family Robinson (1960)

User reviews10

Review

Featured review

5/10

He is eating my piece of chocolate!

I really wish I could be more enthusiastic about this film. In theory the story of a South American coup and a race against time to get the deposed president to safety across the border looks exciting but in reality this is a deadly dull and dreary affair. Anthony Asquith, indisputably one of our greatest directors, is so quintessentially English as to be totally unsuited to this kind of material. His direction is leaden and the film totally devoid of tension, suspense and momentum. Even the scene in the swamp fails to impress! The script by John Mortimer is weak and Benjamin Frankel's score ineffectual. As for the cast, James Robertson Justice never disappoints, there is a telling cameo from Ian Hunter and lovely Leslie Caron is I'm afraid, rather annoying. David Niven's next film 'Captive City' was even worse than this but all was not lost. Just around the corner were the helping hands of Sir Arthur Robertson and Sir Charles Lytton, the notorious Phantom!