55 Days at Peking
| 55 Days at Peking | |
|---|---|
 DVD cover by Howard Terpning | |
| Directed by | Nicholas Ray |
| Written by | Philip Yordan Bernard Gordon Robert Hamer Ben Barzman |
| Produced by | Samuel Bronston |
| Starring | Charlton Heston Ava Gardner David Niven Flora Robson John Ireland Leo Genn Robert Helpmann Kurt Kasznar Paul Lukas |
| Cinematography | Jack Hildyard |
| Edited by | Robert Lawrence |
| Music by | Dimitri Tiomkin |
| Distributed by | Allied Artists Pictures Corporation |
Release date | May 29, 1963 |
Running time | 150 minutes |
| Country | Template:Film US |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $17,000,000 |
55 Days at Peking is a 1963 historical epic film starring Charlton Heston, Ava Gardner, and David Niven, made by Samuel Bronston Productions, and released by Allied Artists. The movie was produced by Samuel Bronston and directed by Nicholas Ray, Andrew Marton (credited as the second unit director), and Guy Green (uncredited). The screenplay was written by Philip Yordan, Bernard Gordon, Ben Barzman, and Robert Hamer, the music score was written by Dimitri Tiomkin, and the cinematographer was Jack Hildyard.
In addition to directing, Nicholas Ray plays the minor role of the head of the American diplomatic mission in China. This film is also the first known appearance of future martial arts film star Yuen Siu Tien. The Japanese film director Juzo Itami, credited in the film as "Ichizo Itami", appears as Colonel Goro Shiba.
Plot
55 Days at Peking is a dramatization of the Battle of Peking during the Boxer Rebellion which took place in 1900 China. Fed up by foreign encroachment, the Dowager Empress Tzu-Hsi uses the Boxer secret societies to attack the foreigners within China, culminating in the siege of the foreign legations' compounds in Peking (now Beijing). The film concentrates on the defense of the legations from the point of view of the foreign powers, and the title refers to the length of the defense by the colonial powers of the legations district of Peking.
The foreign embassies in Peking are being held in a grip of terror as the Boxers set about massacring Christians in an anti-Christian nationalistic fever. United States Marine Corps Major Matt Lewis heads an army of multinational soldiers and Marines defending the foreign compound in Peking.
Inside the besieged compound, the British ambassador gathers the beleaguered ambassadors into a defensive formation. Included in the group of high-level dignitaries is the sultry Russian Baroness Natalie Ivanoff, who begins a romantic liaison with Lewis. As the group conserves food and water while trying to save hungry children, it awaits reinforcements, but Empress Tzu Hsi is plotting with the Boxers to break the siege at the compound with the aid of Chinese troops.
Eventually, the forces of the Eight-Nation Alliance arrive to lift the siege over the legations district and put down the rebellion, an event which foreshadowed the demise of the Qing Dynasty.
Cast
- Charlton Heston as Maj. Matt Lewis
- Ava Gardner as Baroness Natalie Ivanoff
- David Niven as Sir Arthur Robinson
- Flora Robson as Empress Dowager Tzu Hsi
- John Ireland as Sergeant Harry
- Leo Genn as Gen. Jung-Lu
- Harry Andrews as Father de Bearn
- Robert Helpmann as Prince Tuan
- Juzo Itami as Col. Shiba
- Kurt Kasznar as Baron Sergei Ivanoff
- Philippe Leroy as Julliard
- Paul Lukas as Dr. Steinfeldt
- Lynne Sue Moon as Teresa
- Elizabeth Sellars as Lady Sarah Robinson
- Massimo Serato as Menotti Garibaldi
- Jacques Sernas as Maj. Bobrinski
- Jerome Thor as Capt. Andy Marshall
- Geoffrey Bayldon as Smythe
- Joseph Furst as Capt. Hanselman
- Walter Gotell as Capt. Hoffman
- Alfred Lynch as Gerald
- Alfredo Mayo as Spanish Minister
- Martin Miller as Hugo Bergmann
- Jose Nieto as Italian Minister
- Eric Pohlmann as Baron von Meck
- Aram Stephan as Gaumaire
- Robert Urquhart as Capt. Hanley
- R.S.M. Ronald Brittain as Sgt. Britten
- Fernando Sancho as Belgian Minister
- Michael Chow as Chiang
- Nicholas Ray as U.S. Minister (chief diplomatic representative)
- Yuen Siu Tien (uncredited)
- Burt Kwouk Old Man (voice)
Production
 | This section possibly contains original research. (July 2009) |
- The film maintains a certain curiosity value for cinephiles due to its credited director Nicholas Ray. Best known for his 1955 film Rebel Without a Cause, starring James Dean, Ray was a tortured individual at the time of the production of 55 Days at Peking, somewhat akin to the Dean persona he helped to create for Rebel. Paid a very high salary by producer Samuel Bronston to direct 55 Days, Ray had an inkling that taking on the project, a massive epic, would mean the end of him and that he would never direct another film again. The premonition proved correct when Ray collapsed on the set, half-way through the shooting. Unable to resume working (the film was finished by Andrew Marton and Guy Green), he never received another directorial assignment. In the final months of his life, he collaborated with Wim Wenders, on the 1979 feature Lightning Over Water aka Nick's Film/Nick's Movie, which recorded his last moments.
- Charlton Heston stated that the working relationship between himself and Ava Gardner was very bad. Heston reported that Gardner was very difficult to work with and behaved unprofessionally throughout filming. By contrast, Heston said he greatly enjoyed working with David Niven. Heston would work with Gardner again, in the 1974 Universal disaster film Earthquake.
- 55 Days at Peking was filmed in Technicolor and Technirama, which involved the horizontal use of 35-millimeter film, resulting in 70-millimeter printed film format. The aspect ratio was 2.20:1, with the image viewed at 2.35:1 on 35-millimeter prints.
- Dong Kingman painted the watercolors for the titles as well as gave an uncredited appearance in the film.
Academy Award nominations
The film received two Academy Award nominations for Dimitri Tiomkin (Best Song and Original Music Score).
Home media
DVD release came on February 28, 2001, nearly thirty-eight years after the film's premiere.
