Elephant Walk
| Elephant Walk | |
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Theatrical release poster
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| Directed by | William Dieterle |
| Produced by | Irving Asher |
| Written by | John Lee Mahin?ö |
| Based on | the novel by Robert Standish |
| Starring |
Elizabeth Taylor Dana Andrews Peter Finch Abraham Sofaer Abner Biberman |
| Music by | Franz Waxman |
| Cinematography | Loyal Griggs |
| Distributed by | Paramount Pictures |
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Release date
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Running time
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103 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $3 million |
| Box office | $3 million (US) |
Elephant Walk is a 1954 Paramount Pictures film, directed by William Dieterle, and starring Elizabeth Taylor, Dana Andrews, Peter Finch and Abraham Sofaer.
It is based upon the novel Elephant Walk by "Robert Standish", the pseudonym of the English novelist Digby George Gerahty (1898–1981).
It was originally intended to star the husband and wife team of Laurence Olivier and Vivien Leigh (with Olivier in the Finch role). However Olivier was already committed to the project The Beggar's Opera (1953). Leigh was enthusiastic about the role and continued in her husband's absence, but she was forced to withdraw from production shortly after filming began in Colombo, Ceylon, as a result of bipolar disorder. According to Leonard Maltin's annual Movie Guide book, Leigh can be seen in some long shots that were not re-filmed after Elizabeth Taylor replaced her.
Colonial tea planter John Wiley, visiting England at the end of World War II, wins and weds lovely English rose Ruth and takes her home to Elephant Walk, Ceylon, where the local elephants have a grudge against the plantation because it blocks their migrating path. Ruth's delight with the tropical wealth and luxury of her new home is tempered by isolation as the only white woman in the district; by her husband's occasional imperious arrogance; by a mutual physical attraction with plantation manager Dick Carver; and by the hovering, ominous menace of the hostile elephants. The elephants end up destroying the plantation in a stampede along with a fire.
The film was based on a novel published in 1949. Film rights were originally bought by Douglas Fairbanks, Jr. and Alexander MacDonald for their production company, Dougfair. The movie was to be released through United Artists and star Fairbanks and Deborah Kerr.D.M. Marshman, Jr. signed to do the script. Filming was postponed due to poor weather in Ceylon.
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Wikipedia