Guns at Batasi is a 1964
drama filmA drama film is a film genre that depends mostly on in-depth development of realistic characters dealing with emotional themes. Dramatic themes such as alcoholism, drug addiction, infidelity, moral dilemmas, racial prejudice, religious intolerance, poverty, class divisions, violence against women...
starring
Richard AttenboroughRichard Samuel Attenborough, Baron Attenborough , CBE is a British actor, director, producer and entrepreneur. As director and producer he won two Academy Awards for the 1982 film Gandhi...
,
Jack HawkinsColonel John Edward "Jack" Hawkins CBE was an English actor of the 1950s, 1960s and early 1970s.-Career:Hawkins was born at Lyndhurst Road, Wood Green, Middlesex, the son of master builder Thomas George Hawkins and his wife, Phoebe née Goodman. The youngest of four children in a close-knit family,...
,
Flora RobsonDame Flora McKenzie Robson DBE was an English actress, renowned as a character actress, who played roles ranging from queens to villainesses.-Early life:...
,
John LeytonJohn Leyton is an English actor and singer. As a singer he is best known for his hit song, "Johnny Remember Me" , which reached Number 1 in the UK Singles Chart in August 1961.-Career:Leyton went to Highgate School and after completing his national service, he...
and
Mia FarrowMia Farrow is an American actress, singer, humanitarian, and fashion model.Farrow first gained wide acclaim for her role as Allison Mackenzie in the soap opera Peyton Place, and for her subsequent short-lived marriage to Frank Sinatra...
. It is set in an overseas colonial military outpost during the last days of the
British EmpireThe British Empire comprised the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom. It originated with the overseas colonies and trading posts established by England in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. At its height, it was the...
in
East AfricaEast Africa or Eastern Africa is the easterly region of the African continent, variably defined by geography or geopolitics. In the UN scheme of geographic regions, 19 territories constitute Eastern Africa:...
.
The film, which is based on the novel
The Siege of Battersea by
Robert HollesRobert Holles , was a British author and TV and film screenwriter.Holles was the son of a sergeant major, and enlisted in the British army as a boy soldier at 14...
, was directed by
John Guillermin and filmed at
Pinewood StudiosPinewood Studios is a major British film studio situated in Iver Heath, Buckinghamshire, approximately west of central London. The studios have played host to many productions over the years from huge blockbuster films to television shows to commercials to pop promos.The purchase of Shepperton...
despite being set in
AfricaAfrica is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
.
Plot
A group of veteran
BritishThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
sergeantSergeant is a rank used in some form by most militaries, police forces, and other uniformed organizations around the world. Its origins are the Latin serviens, "one who serves", through the French term Sergent....
s, headed by an ultra-correct, order-barking
Regimental Sergeant MajorRegimental Sergeant Major is an appointment held by warrant officers class 1 in the British Army, the British Royal Marines and in the armies of many Commonwealth nations, including Australia and New Zealand; and by chief warrant officers in the Canadian Forces...
, are caught between two dissident factions in an unnamed newly-created
AfricaAfrica is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
n state (most likely
KenyaKenya , officially known as the Republic of Kenya, is a country in East Africa that lies on the equator, with the Indian Ocean to its south-east...
, since the character of RSM Lauderdale mentions that the
TurkanaThe Turkana are a Nilotic people native to the Turkana District in northwest Kenya, a dry and hot region bordering Lake Turkana in the east, Pokot, Rendille and Samburuto the south, Uganda to the west, and Sudan and Ethiopia to the north...
people live in the north, which is where they live in Kenya). The story neatly exposes the feelings of the professional
NCOsA non-commissioned officer , called a sub-officer in some countries, is a military officer who has not been given a commission...
, their officers and the African soldiers and officers, who are still painfully new to both guns and political slogans.
When the post-colonial government of the unnamed African country is overthrown by a populist uprising, troops loyal to the new administration take over the barracks, arrest the commanding officer and seize weapons. With the British NCOs cut off in the Sergeants' mess during the
mutinyMutiny is a conspiracy among members of a group of similarly situated individuals to openly oppose, change or overthrow an authority to which they are subject...
, the action boils down to the initiative and confusion of the griping, duty-hardened British soldiers in defending Captain Abraham (a wounded African officer), and themselves, against their former allies. The mess situation is further complicated by having to temporarily accommodate a female British MP and a UN secretary, the latter providing some love interest.
Eventually the minor action comes to anti-climactic end when the country's new administration allows the senior British officers to return to the
barracksBarracks are specialised buildings for permanent military accommodation; the word may apply to separate housing blocks or to complete complexes. Their main object is to separate soldiers from the civilian population and reinforce discipline, training and esprit de corps. They were sometimes called...
at Batasi and end the siege, but not before the RSM and a private involve themselves in some 'action'. The film concludes with the news that a new government is in power. The film illustrates an erupting new world where the so-called common man, both black and white, no longer has a clear idea of the realpolik due to the social revolutions in a post-colonial world.
Performances
Richard Attenborough plays the
R.S.M.Regimental Sergeant Major is an appointment held by warrant officers class 1 in the British Army, the British Royal Marines and in the armies of many Commonwealth nations, including Australia and New Zealand; and by chief warrant officers in the Canadian Forces...
brilliantly as a ramrod and an unblinking slave to the letter of military law. He is a proper hero, albeit a boring one, to his tough mates who are not averse to mimicking him. In the face of attack by African troops with a
Bofors gunThe Bofors 40 mm gun is an anti-aircraft autocannon designed by the Swedish defence firm of Bofors Defence...
or a showdown with the African leader of the revolt, he proves his mettle in unflinching, steely style. Attenborough's opportunities to ham it up are many, but even in the face of climactic orders to return to
EnglandEngland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
he delivers a shaded performance that gives stature and meaning to what could have been a stereotyped role. He won a BAFTA Film Award for his performance.
Errol JohnErrol John was a Trinidadian actor and playwright.Born in Trinidad, he was home schooled then began his career as an artist and journalist. Deciding to pursue a career in acting, he joined the Whitehall Theatre Group...
, as the mutinous officer and
Earl CameronEarl Cameron, CBE is a Bermudian actor. He is known as one of the first black actors to break the "colour bar" in the United Kingdom, along with Cy Grant...
, as the African commander he arrests, are portrayed as hard and relentless men who are acting on ideologies.
Percy HerbertPercy Herbert was an English character actor who often played soldiers, most notably in The Bridge on the River Kwai, The Wild Geese and Tunes of Glory. However, he was equally at home in comedies and science fiction...
,
David LodgeDavid William Frederick Lodge was a British character actor.Before turning to acting he worked as a circus clown...
,
Bernard HorsfallBernard Horsfall is a British actor.Horsfall was born in Bishop's Stortford, Hertfordshire. He has appeared in many television and film roles including: Guns at Batasi , On Her Majesty's Secret Service , Enemy at the Door , Gandhi , The Jewel in the Crown , The Hound of the Baskervilles Bernard...
,
John MeillonJohn Meillon was an Australian actor, most widely known outside Australia for his role as Walter Reilly in the films "Crocodile" Dundee and "Crocodile" Dundee II. He also voiced Victoria Bitter beer commercials until his death.-Biography:Meillon was born in Mosman, Sydney...
and
Graham StarkGraham Stark is an English comedian, actor, writer and director.Stark was born in Wallasey on the Wirral in Cheshire, England. He first came to prominence on BBC Radio, making his debut in Happy Go Lucky and going on to Ray's A Laugh, Educating Archie and substitute on The Goon Show...
are tough, efficient and wise-cracking British NCOs.
Jack HawkinsColonel John Edward "Jack" Hawkins CBE was an English actor of the 1950s, 1960s and early 1970s.-Career:Hawkins was born at Lyndhurst Road, Wood Green, Middlesex, the son of master builder Thomas George Hawkins and his wife, Phoebe née Goodman. The youngest of four children in a close-knit family,...
contributes typical British restraint as the commandant of Batasi.
John LeytonJohn Leyton is an English actor and singer. As a singer he is best known for his hit song, "Johnny Remember Me" , which reached Number 1 in the UK Singles Chart in August 1961.-Career:Leyton went to Highgate School and after completing his national service, he...
as the youthful Private Wilkes and
Mia FarrowMia Farrow is an American actress, singer, humanitarian, and fashion model.Farrow first gained wide acclaim for her role as Allison Mackenzie in the soap opera Peyton Place, and for her subsequent short-lived marriage to Frank Sinatra...
(eldest daughter of the late director
John FarrowJohn Villiers Farrow, CBE was an Australian, later American, film director, producer and screenwriter. In 1957 he won the Academy Award for Best Writing / Best Screenplay for Around the World in Eighty Days and in 1942 he was nominated as Best Director for Wake Island.-Life and career:Farrow was...
and
Maureen O'SullivanMaureen Paula O’Sullivan was an Irish actress.-Early life:O'Sullivan was born in Boyle, County Roscommon, Ireland, the daughter of Roman Catholic parents Mary Lovatt and Charles Joseph O'Sullivan, an officer in The Connaught Rangers who served in The Great War...
) as a
United NationsThe United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
secretary, lend a touch of youthful romance to the proceedings in the roles of a couple of voyagers stranded in the barracks during the clash.
Flora RobsonDame Flora McKenzie Robson DBE was an English actress, renowned as a character actress, who played roles ranging from queens to villainesses.-Early life:...
, as a visiting
Member of ParliamentThe House of Commons is the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, which also comprises the Sovereign and the House of Lords . Both Commons and Lords meet in the Palace of Westminster. The Commons is a democratically elected body, consisting of 650 members , who are known as Members...
, provides a restrained performance as the shocked and confused politician caught up in the sudden turn of events. Robson's sympathetic portrayal balances the action with the political motivations. Her character states the film's theme precisely when she says to Attenborough's character: "I disapprove of their methods as I do of yours"; the character appears to share (at least in theory) the revolutionary objectives of the rebels while not understanding what such objectives commit the men to do.
Cast
- Richard Attenborough
Richard Samuel Attenborough, Baron Attenborough , CBE is a British actor, director, producer and entrepreneur. As director and producer he won two Academy Awards for the 1982 film Gandhi...
as Regimental Sergeant Major Lauderdale
- Jack Hawkins
Colonel John Edward "Jack" Hawkins CBE was an English actor of the 1950s, 1960s and early 1970s.-Career:Hawkins was born at Lyndhurst Road, Wood Green, Middlesex, the son of master builder Thomas George Hawkins and his wife, Phoebe née Goodman. The youngest of four children in a close-knit family,...
as Colonel Deal
- Flora Robson
Dame Flora McKenzie Robson DBE was an English actress, renowned as a character actress, who played roles ranging from queens to villainesses.-Early life:...
as Miss Barker-Wise MP
- John Leyton
John Leyton is an English actor and singer. As a singer he is best known for his hit song, "Johnny Remember Me" , which reached Number 1 in the UK Singles Chart in August 1961.-Career:Leyton went to Highgate School and after completing his national service, he...
as Private Wilkes
- Mia Farrow
Mia Farrow is an American actress, singer, humanitarian, and fashion model.Farrow first gained wide acclaim for her role as Allison Mackenzie in the soap opera Peyton Place, and for her subsequent short-lived marriage to Frank Sinatra...
as Karen Eriksson
- Cecil Parker
Cecil Parker was an English character and comedy actor with a distinctive husky voice, who usually played supporting roles in his 91 films made between 1928 and 1969....
as Fletcher
- Errol John
Errol John was a Trinidadian actor and playwright.Born in Trinidad, he was home schooled then began his career as an artist and journalist. Deciding to pursue a career in acting, he joined the Whitehall Theatre Group...
as Lieutenant Boniface
- Graham Stark
Graham Stark is an English comedian, actor, writer and director.Stark was born in Wallasey on the Wirral in Cheshire, England. He first came to prominence on BBC Radio, making his debut in Happy Go Lucky and going on to Ray's A Laugh, Educating Archie and substitute on The Goon Show...
as Sergeant 'Dodger' Brown
- Earl Cameron
Earl Cameron, CBE is a Bermudian actor. He is known as one of the first black actors to break the "colour bar" in the United Kingdom, along with Cy Grant...
as Captain Abraham
- Percy Herbert
Percy Herbert was an English character actor who often played soldiers, most notably in The Bridge on the River Kwai, The Wild Geese and Tunes of Glory. However, he was equally at home in comedies and science fiction...
as Colour Sergeant Ben Parkin
- David Lodge
David William Frederick Lodge was a British character actor.Before turning to acting he worked as a circus clown...
as Sergeant 'Muscles' Dunn
- Bernard Horsfall
Bernard Horsfall is a British actor.Horsfall was born in Bishop's Stortford, Hertfordshire. He has appeared in many television and film roles including: Guns at Batasi , On Her Majesty's Secret Service , Enemy at the Door , Gandhi , The Jewel in the Crown , The Hound of the Baskervilles Bernard...
as Sergeant 'Schoolie' Prideaux
- John Meillon
John Meillon was an Australian actor, most widely known outside Australia for his role as Walter Reilly in the films "Crocodile" Dundee and "Crocodile" Dundee II. He also voiced Victoria Bitter beer commercials until his death.-Biography:Meillon was born in Mosman, Sydney...
as Sergeant 'Aussie' Drake
- Patrick Holt
Patrick Holt was a British film and television actor.-Biography:Patrick Holt's real name was Patrick G. Parsons. Some of his childhood was spent in India with his Uncle. Patrick was sent to Christ's Hospital, a famous charity school in England, UK...
as Captain
- Alan Browning
Alan Browning was an English film and television actor, born in Sunderland. He is best remembered as the character Alan Howard in the television series Coronation Street, a role he played from 1969 until 1973...
as Adjutant
- Richard Bidlake as Lieutenant
- Horace James as Corporal Abou
- Joseph Layode as Archibong Shaw
- Ric Hutton as Russell
Production notes
The film, although set in Africa, was shot entirely at
Pinewood StudiosPinewood Studios is a major British film studio situated in Iver Heath, Buckinghamshire, approximately west of central London. The studios have played host to many productions over the years from huge blockbuster films to television shows to commercials to pop promos.The purchase of Shepperton...
(at the same time as
GoldfingerGoldfinger is the third spy film in the James Bond series and the third to star Sean Connery as the fictional MI6 agent James Bond. Released in 1964, it is based on the novel of the same name by Ian Fleming. The film also stars Honor Blackman as Bond girl Pussy Galore and Gert Fröbe as the title...
). The exterior night scenes were filmed on a sound stage and opening scenes were done on
Salisbury PlainSalisbury Plain is a chalk plateau in central southern England covering . It is part of the Southern England Chalk Formation and largely lies within the county of Wiltshire, with a little in Hampshire. The plain is famous for its rich archaeology, including Stonehenge, one of England's best known...
.
Britt EklandBritt-Marie Ekland is a Swedish actress and singer, and a long time resident of the United Kingdom. She is best known for her roles as a Bond girl in The Man with the Golden Gun, and in the British cult horror film The Wicker Man, as well as her marriage to actor Peter Sellers, and her...
was originally cast as Karen Eriksson. Shortly after filming began, she went to
Los AngelesLos Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
. She had just married
Peter SellersRichard Henry Sellers, CBE , known as Peter Sellers, was a British comedian and actor. Perhaps best known as Chief Inspector Clouseau in The Pink Panther film series, he is also notable for playing three different characters in Dr...
who apparently was afraid she would have an affair with Leyton: her role was recast and completed by Farrow.
Three-packs-a-day smoker Jack Hawkins' voice is audibly fraying: it was almost the last film he made before surgery for
throat cancerHead and neck cancer refers to a group of biologically similar cancers that start in the upper aerodigestive tract, including the lip, oral cavity , nasal cavity , paranasal sinuses, pharynx, and larynx. 90% of head and neck cancers are squamous cell carcinomas , originating from the mucosal lining...
removed his vocal chords and left him with little more than a whisper as a voice.
John Leyton provides the DVD commentary on the making of the film.
Music was recorded by the
Sinfonia of LondonThe Sinfonia of London is a session orchestra based in London, England. Muir Mathieson, the director of music for Rank Films, founded the ensemble in 1955 specifically for the recording of film music...
orchestra.
External Links