The 7th Dawn
Political and personal intrigues surround a group of characters in Malaya, after the close of the Second World War.
Political and personal intrigues surround a group of characters in Malaya, after the close of the Second World War.
William Holden
Major Ferris
Susannah York
Candace Trumpey
Capucine
Dhana Mercier
Tetsuro Tamba
Ng
Michael Goodliffe
Trumphey
Allan Cuthbertson
Cavendish
Sydney Tafler
Tom, Chief Petty Officer
Maurice Denham
Tarlton
Beulah Quo
Ah Ming
Political and personal intrigues surround a group of characters in Malaya, after the close of the Second World War.
**_William Holden stuck between Communist fighters and the Brits in Southeast Asia_** A former OSS officer who helped the Malaysian guerillas during WW2 (Holden) is now a mogul there in 1953. His prior comrade in the jungle (Tetsurô Tanba) now leads the Communistic revolutionaries, who carry out terrorist attacks as the British strategize their departure from the independence-minded colony. Wanting to stay neutral, Major Ferris finds himself caught between these two forces. Since "The 7th Dawn” (1964) features William Holden involved with militarists in a Southeast Asian jungle, it naturally brings to mind “The Bridge on the River Kwai” (1957), but it’s closer to Brando’s "The Ugly American" (1963), just with loads of jungle action in the last act. It lacks the avant-garde artistry of “Kwai” and thus feels stiff and old-fashioned by comparison, which also marred “Ugly American.” It’s not great like “Kwai,” but it’s more compelling than “Ugly.” Speaking of stiffness, the sequence involving Ferris, his mistress (Capucine) and the swooning daughter of the new commissioner (Susannah York) plays so robotically you have to see it to believe it. This is definitely a case where the scene needed rewritten or ad-libbed, anything to make it feel more natural and real. While the flick is based on the 1960 book "The Durian Tree," the author obviously ripped-off the plot from the 1953 British miniseries (serial) "A Place of Execution." Although the story is fictional, the situation is historical. The Malayan Insurgency was one of the most pointless conflicts ever fought since the British were leaving and the Communist terrorists delayed their withdrawal… and therefore Malaysia’s independence. Why? Obviously because they wanted to overthrow the Brits through violent revolution and be the ones in power. Fanatics tend to destroy the well-intentioned causes they support because their “cause” (and the corresponding authoritarian control) becomes more important than the folks they claim to represent. This is just a taste of the thought-provoking material here. The film runs 2 hours, 3 minutes, and was shot in Malaysia with some studio stuff done in England. GRADE: B-/B
Members of the U.S. Army's 101st Airborne Division are fighting for their country amidst the rugged terrain of Bastogne, Belgium, in December 1944. Holley and his American compatriots have already seen one of their own, Roderigues, perish under enemy fire. The men try to rebuff another series of Nazi attacks, but what they really need is a change in the weather. Without clear skies, they'll never get the air support they need.
A team of allied saboteurs are assigned an impossible mission: infiltrate an impregnable Nazi-held island and destroy the two enormous long-range field guns that prevent the rescue of 2,000 trapped British soldiers.
Italian partisans help a professor sent by the OSS to find an atomic scientist held by Nazis.
A chronicle of the Cristeros War (1926-1929), which was touched off by a rebellion against the Mexican government's attempt to secularize the country.
In feudal India, a warrior who renounces his role as the longtime enforcer to a local lord becomes the prey in a murderous hunt through the Himalayan mountains.
Regent Horthy is the leader of Hungary and a German ally, but his favorable standing with Hitler changes as the war comes to an end. Forced to cede Hungary’s power or else witness the execution of his son, Regent Horthy gives up control of his country to the Nazis, who quickly move Hungarians to ghettos and death camps, with no hope in sight. But the despair changes when a young man named Elek emerges. Separated from his family during the relocations and aided by the woman he loves , Elek defies the enemy by becoming one of them. In a race against time, disguised as a Nazi Officer he embarks on a mission to save his family and thousands of his countrymen.
Based on a true story, during World War II, four Jewish brothers escape their Nazi-occupied homeland of West Belarus in Poland and join the Soviet partisans to combat the Nazis. The brothers begin the rescue of roughly 1,200 Jews still trapped in the ghettos of Poland.
A WWII veteran escapes his care home in Northern Ireland and embarks on an arduous but inspirational journey to France to attend the 75th anniversary of the D-Day landings, finding the courage to face the ghosts of his past.
After the fall of Tobruk in June 1942, U.S. Army sergeant Joe Gunn leads his tank into the Sahara desert, in order to evade advancing Rommel's forces and reach Allied lines. Along the way he picks up few Allied soldiers, but soon they are running out of water. They find water at the ancient well, but the well is a goal of an entire German battalion. Despite the impossible odds, Sergeant Gunn decides to defend the well.
During the harrows of WWII, Jo, a young shepherd along with the help of the widow Horcada, helps to smuggle Jewish children across the border from southern France into Spain.