In British Colonial Kenya during the Mau Mau uprising, Peter and Kimani, who grew up together, find themselves on the opposite sides.In British Colonial Kenya during the Mau Mau uprising, Peter and Kimani, who grew up together, find themselves on the opposite sides.In British Colonial Kenya during the Mau Mau uprising, Peter and Kimani, who grew up together, find themselves on the opposite sides.
- Awards
- 1 win & 1 nomination total
- Policeman
- (uncredited)
- Mwange Wife
- (uncredited)
- Mr. Barker - the Client
- (uncredited)
- Superintendent
- (uncredited)
- Director
- Writers
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaIn the film, Dana Wynter drives a Land Rover. This was filmed in Kenya, and Wynter couldn't drive the Land Rover. A British citizen who bore an uncanny resemblance to Wynter and was living and working near to the filming location, stood in for this driving scene. Her name is Eileen Cussans, who lives in West Sussex, England.
- Quotes
A White Settler - Henry McKenzie: What in the name of Almighty God are we trying to do to these people?
Crown Consul: Preserve the law, Henry, that's all.
A White Settler - Henry McKenzie: Law? Whose law? Not theirs, surely.
Crown Consul: All men are equal before the law.
A White Settler - Henry McKenzie: Except some are more equal than others.
Crown Consul: That man is an accomplice to murder. H's admitted that.
A White Settler - Henry McKenzie: But can we make him understand it? We take away their customs, their habits, their religion. We stop their tribal dances, we stop them circumcising their women. Then we offer them our way of life, something they can't grasp. We say, "Look how clean and rich and clever we are." For the Africans... different wages, different life. We mock their wise men. Take away the authority from their fathers. What are the children going to do? They'll lose respect for their elders and fathers... and when they do, look out. maybe they'll lose respect for our white Jesus too. Turn to something else for help... It won't be to us.
Crown Consul: You understand , don't you Peter? If we don't make the African respect the Law... well, the next thing you know, he'll be wanting to rule this country.
Henry's Son - Peter: Imagine that, now.
[sarcastically says]
Henry's Son - Peter: Whatever could give him that idea?
- Crazy creditsThe starting credits start with the words: "When we take away from a man his traditional way of life, his customs, his religion, we had better make certain to replace them with Something of Value!"
- ConnectionsFeatured in Rock Hudson's Home Movies (1992)
As children, Peter (Rock Hudson) and Kimani grow up doing everything together. But as adults, the Black East African 'boy' is fit only to carry his White East African 'bwana' friend's rifle for him, something neither of them really understands though (naturally) Peter is slightly more accepting of it. When Kimani's father (Ken Renard) is imprisoned indefinitely for following a custom deemed barbaric by the ruling class of British colonists, he runs away to join a criminal gang (led by Juano Hernandez's character) that later becomes an insurgency group dubbed Mau Mau; read your history if you're unfamiliar with the real back-story.
Predictably, Peter and Kimani will inevitably meet again on opposite sides of the law. The movie also features the comely Dana Wynter as Peter's love interest come wife; their relationship parallels that of his aunt Elizabeth (Wendy Hiller) and Uncle Jeff (Robert Beatty).
Jeff and two of their children are murdered during the Mau Mau Uprising. Walter Fitzgerald plays Peter's father, who had been a friend of Kimani's dad and whose knowledge and skills help to end the revolt.
Michael Pate plays a White settler that reflects the colonists' racism; William Marshall plays the Black leader that organizes the revolution starting with a meeting in Nairobi.
Richard Brooks directed and adapted the screenplay from Robert C. Ruark's novel of the same name.
- jacobs-greenwood
- Oct 17, 2016
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Details
Box office
- Budget
- $2,553,000 (estimated)
- Runtime1 hour 53 minutes
- Color
- Aspect ratio
- 1.85 : 1