Campbell's Kingdom

Campbell's Kingdom

Film poster with a huge Dirk Bogarde head in the background, looking upwards and resembling the Mount Rushmore heads, a kissing couple in the right foreground, and people running from a bursting dam in the left foreground.

Original British film poster
Directed by Ralph Thomas
Produced by Betty Box
Screenplay by Robin Estridge
Based on Campbell's Kingdom 
by Hammond Innes
Starring Dirk Bogarde
Stanley Baker
Michael Craig
Barbara Murray
Music by Muir Mathieson
Cinematography Ernest Steward
Edited by Frederick Wilson
Production
company
Release dates
  • 3 September 1957 (1957-09-03) (UK)
  • 9 January 1960 (1960-01-09) (US)
Running time
 102 minutes
Country United Kingdom
Language English

Campbell's Kingdom is a 1957 British adventure film directed by Ralph Thomas, based on the 1952 novel of the same name by Hammond Innes. The film stars Dirk Bogarde and Stanley Baker, with Michael Craig, Barbara Murray, James Robertson Justice and Sid James in support. The story is set in Alberta, Canada, and largely follows the principles of the Northwestern genre of film-making.

Plot

Recently diagnosed with a terminal disease, Bruce Campbell (Dirk Bogarde) unexpectedly finds himself the owner of a small valley in the Canadian Rocky Mountains as the result of a bequest from his grandfather.[1] After travelling from England, Bruce arrives at "Campbell's Kingdom" (as the locals disparagingly call it) to find its existence under threat from the construction of a new hydroelectricity dam. Convinced that his grandfather was right and that the Kingdom may be prospective for oil, the race is on to prove that there is oil under Campbell's Kingdom before the mining company building the dam can flood the valley. Standing in his way is corrupt construction contractor Owen Morgan (Stanley Baker), who resorts to dirty tricks in order to prevent Campbell from succeeding in his quest. However, Bruce is ably and enthusiastically assisted by love interest Jean Lucas (Barbara Murray), geologist Boy Bladen (Michael Craig) and drilling contractor James MacDonald (James Robertson Justice). Unfortunately for Campbell the residents of the nearby town of Come Lucky invested heavily in his grandfather's schemes, only to feel cheated when his projects came to nothing. Gradually Bruce manages to turn them around by exposing the fraud and lies of Morgan and the mining company.

Cast

Production

The story was serialised as Nothing to Lose. Film rights were purchased prior to the novel's publication and location scouting for the film began in 1952.[2][3]

Although the story is set in Alberta, the landscape exteriors were shot in the Italian Dolomites and the rest was shot at Pinewood Studios outside London.[1][4]

References

  1. 1 2 Weiler, A.H. (11 January 1960). "Movie Review - Campbell's Kingdom". New York Times. Retrieved 2010-05-05. (Registration required.)
  2. ↑ "Round the studios.". The Mail (Adelaide, SA : 1912 - 1954) (Adelaide, SA: National Library of Australia). 20 September 1952. p. 7 Supplement: SUNDAY MAGAZINE. Retrieved 31 October 2015.
  3. ↑ BY WAY OF REPORT: Box -- Thomas Activities -- Cinema 16 Plans -- By HOWARD THOMPSON. New York Times (1923-Current file) [New York, N.Y] 14 Sep 1952: X5.
  4. ↑ IMDb: Locations for Campbell's Kingdom Retrieved 2012-11-21

External links

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