The 7th Dawn

The 7th Dawn
Original film poster by Howard Terpning
Directed by	Lewis Gilbert
Written by	Karl Tunberg
Based on	The Durian Tree 1960 novel by Michael Keon
Produced by	Charles K. Feldman
Starring	William Holden Capucine Tetsurō Tamba Susannah York
Cinematography	Freddie Young
Edited by	John Shirley Jeremy Saunders
Music by	Riz Ortolani
Distributed by	United Artists
Release date	2 September 1964
Running time	123 minutes
Countries	United Kingdom United States
Language	English

The 7th Dawn is a 1964 Technicolor drama film directed by Lewis Gilbert and starring William Holden, Capucine and Tetsurō Tamba. The film, set in the Malayan Emergency, was based on the 1960 novel The Durian Tree by Michael Keon and filmed on location in Malaysia.

Plot

Three friends who fought the Japanese in Malaya during World War II end up on opposing sides in the Communist insurgency following the war. Ferris (William Holden) becomes a prosperous rubber plantation owner, while his mistress Dhana (Capucine) is now head of a schoolteacher's union. The third, former guerrilla Ng (Tetsurō Tamba), goes to Moscow to obtain an education. He returns an even more committed revolutionary than during the war, and Dhana is torn between the two men.

Ferris, whose friendship with Ng makes him and his holdings immune from attack, tries to steer clear of the conflict, but he is inexorably drawn in when Dhana is arrested and sentenced to death for carrying explosives for the insurgents. As an additional complication, Candace Trumpey (Susannah York), the daughter of the British Resident whom Ferris had met at the end of the war, is infatuated with the worldly Ferris. Candace, naive, offers herself as a hostage and falls into Ng's hands; he threatens to kill her if the sentence on Dhana is carried out. Ferris offers to flush Ng out in exchange for Dhana's life, but he is given only seven days to do so.

Cast

• William Holden as Major Ferris
• Capucine as Dhana
• Tetsurō Tamba as Ng
• Susannah York as Candace Trumpey
• Michael Goodliffe as Trumphey
• Allan Cuthbertson as Colonel Cavendish
• Maurice Denham as Tarlton
• Sydney Tafler as Police Commissioner Tom
• Beulah Quo as Ah Ming

Production

The Durian Tree was published in 1960. It was written by Australian journalist Michael Keon and the lead character Ferris was an Australian. The New York Times called it "a serious and ambitious novel" but said Keon was "a good reporter but a poor novelist." The Los Angeles Times called it "suspenseful, provocative, ultimately illuminating."

Film rights were bought by Charles K. Feldman.

There was a nude scene in the script to be performed by Susannah York, who did not want to do it. However, on location the filmmakers insisted she do it. She did one take and her stand-in did another. Photos taken of York doing the scene were later published in Playboy magazine. "Someone had a long distance camera", York explained. "I'd just like to forget about it. It's an unfortunate business."

Reception

The film generated US$2.3 million in revenue being 89th ranked in the films of 1964.

Soundtrack

The film's score was composed by Riz Ortolani following the popularity of his score for Mondo Cane that was released in the US in 1963. The theme song The Seventh Dawn was sung by The Lettermen on the movie soundtrack. Their version can be reviewed on YouTube. Sergio Franchi recorded the song on a 1964 single – RCA 47-8409 and Roland Shaw provided an instrumental cover version.

External links

• The 7th Dawn at the TCM Movie Database
• The 7th Dawn at IMDb
• The 7th Dawn at AllMovie
• The 7th Dawn at the AFI Catalog of Feature Films