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Sammy Going South

"Incredible Adventure in a Land That Knows a Thousand Dangers!"

After he is orphaned by an air raid on Port Said during the Suez Crisis, a young boy attempts to go by himself from the Suez Canal to Durban in South Africa where his nearest relative, Aunt Jane, lives. On the way he meets a variety of different people who help or hinder his journey - including an ageing diamond smuggler.

Top Cast

  • Edward G. Robinson

    Edward G. Robinson

    Cocky Wainwright

  • Fergus McClelland

    Fergus McClelland

    Sammy Hartland

  • Constance Cummings

    Constance Cummings

    Gloria van Imhoff

  • Paul Stassino

    Paul Stassino

    Spyros Dracondopolous

  • Harry H. Corbett

    Harry H. Corbett

    Lem

  • Zia Mohyeddin

    Zia Mohyeddin

    The Syrian

  • Orlando Martins

    Orlando Martins

    Abu Lubaba

  • John Turner

    John Turner

    Heneker

  • Zena Walker

    Zena Walker

    Aunt Jane

Overview

After he is orphaned by an air raid on Port Said during the Suez Crisis, a young boy attempts to go by himself from the Suez Canal to Durban in South Africa where his nearest relative, Aunt Jane, lives. On the way he meets a variety of different people who help or hinder his journey - including an ageing diamond smuggler.

Rating

6.3 / 10
17 Reviews
0 Popular

1 Reviews

  • Wuchak
    Wuchak
    6 Aug 22, 2025

    **_A 10 years-old boy’s colorful adventures in western Africa_** After a tragic bombing during the Suez Crisis in November, 1956, an English lad is forced to flee Port Said, Egypt, and travel to Durban, South Africa, a journey of some 5000 miles. Along the way he runs into an Arab “guide,” a concerned white woman tourist (Constance Cummings) and an old man hunter (Edward G. Robinson). “A Boy Ten Feet Tall” (1963) is also known by the name of the 1961 novel it’s based on, “Sammy Going South” (an inferior title). It’s, thankfully, not a Disney kid’s flick, but more along the lines of the future "The Black Stallion Returns" and, especially, “Duma,” which happens to be the best of the lot. Both this movie and “Duma” feature a galago (bush baby) scene. The director went on to do “A High Wind in Jamaica,” which is cut from the same cloth, an exotic adventure featuring kids and adults. It runs 1 hour, 53 minutes, and was shot at Shepperton Studios, just southwest of London, with location work done in Kenya (Mombasa), Uganda and Tanganyika, which is now Tanzania. GRADE: B-

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