Sammy Going South
| Sammy Going South | |
|---|---|
|
|
| Directed by | Alexander Mackendrick |
| Produced by | Hal Mason |
| Written by |
W.H. Canaway Denis Cannan |
| Screenplay by | Denis Cannan |
| Starring | Edward G. Robinson |
| Music by | Tristram Cary |
| Cinematography | Erwin Hillier |
| Edited by | Jack Harris |
|
Production
company |
Great Shows, Ltd.
Bryanston Films |
| Distributed by | Paramount Pictures |
|
Release date
|
|
|
Running time
|
118 minutes |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
Sammy Going South (retitled A Boy Ten Feet Tall for its later US release) is a 1963 British adventure film directed by Alexander Mackendrick, photographed by Erwin Hillier and starring Edward G. Robinson, Fergus McClelland and Constance Cummings.
Sammy Going South was based on a novel by W. H. Canaway and adapted for the screen by Denis Cannan. It was produced by Michael Balcon Productions and Bryanston Films. The film had a difficult production period; Robinson suffered a heart attack and some cast members were bitten by snakes. It was first broadcast on British television on BBC2 on Christmas Day 1970 and on American television by the American Broadcasting Company (ABC) in 1971.
Ten-year-old English boy Sammy Hartland (Fergus McClelland) lives in Port Said, Egypt, with his parents. When they are killed in a bombing during the Suez Crisis, the boy flees the city in the ensuing panic. He sets out to reach his only living relative, an aunt who lives 5,000 miles to the south in Durban, South Africa - at the other end of the continent and in a different hemisphere. Along his journey Sammy encounters a colourful array of characters. His first "guide" is an Arab peddler who dies in a freak accident.
Sammy is then rescued by wealthy tourist Gloria van Imhoff (Constance Cummings). When she wants to return him to Port Said, Sammy runs off and encounters a gruff old hunter/diamond smuggler, Cocky Wainwright (Edward G. Robinson), whose life is subsequently saved by the boy. When the police search for Sammy, they arrest the old man, who has been a fugitive for years. After Sammy is finally united with his Aunt Jane (Zena Walker), he learns that the old smuggler left him his entire fortune.
...
Wikipedia