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Overview
User Rating:
Director:
Writers:
Bernard Gordon (screenplay)
Robert Hamer (additional dialogue)
more
Release Date:
26 July 1963 (Australia) more
Tagline:
A handful of men and women held out against the frenzied hordes of bloodthirsty fanatics!
Plot:
Diplomats, soldiers and other representatives of a dozen nations fend off the siege of the International... more | add synopsis
Awards:
Nominated for 2 Oscars. Another 2 wins & 1 nomination more
NewsDesk:
Charlton Heston Dies at 84
(From IMDb News. 6 April 2008)
User Comments:
Not A Racist Film more (27 total)
Cast
(Cast overview, first billed only)| Charlton Heston | ... | Maj. Matt Lewis | |
| Ava Gardner | ... | Baroness Natalie Ivanoff | |
| David Niven | ... | Sir Arthur Robertson | |
| Flora Robson | ... | Dowager Empress Tzu-Hsi | |
| John Ireland | ... | Sgt. Harry | |
| Harry Andrews | ... | Father de Bearn | |
| Leo Genn | ... | Gen. Jung-Lu | |
| Robert Helpmann | ... | Prince Tuan | |
| Kurt Kasznar | ... | Baron Sergei Ivanoff | |
| Philippe Leroy | ... | Julliard | |
| Paul Lukas | ... | Dr. Steinfeldt | |
| Elizabeth Sellars | ... | Lady Sarah Robertson | |
| Massimo Serato | ... | Garibaldi | |
| Jacques Sernas | ... | Maj. Bobrinski | |
| Jerome Thor | ... | Capt. Andy Marshall |
Additional Details
Also Known As:
Fifty Five Days at Peking (USA) (alternative spelling)
more
Parents Guide:
Runtime:
154 min
Country:
Language:
Color:
Color (Technicolor)
Aspect Ratio:
2.20 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
70 mm 6-Track (Westrex Recording System)
Certification:
Iceland:12 | Norway:16 | Argentina:13 | Australia:G | Finland:K-16 | Spain:18 | Sweden:15 | UK:U | USA:Unrated | West Germany:12
Filming Locations:
Company:
Fun Stuff
Trivia:
In China at the time working as a professional mining engineer, future President of the United States, Herbert Hoover and his wife were civilians under siege at the foreign legations' compound. The future first Lady, Louise "Lou" Henry Hoover, collected shrapnel from Boxer artillery that is on display at the Presidential Library in West Branch, IA. The Hoovers picked up Mandarin Chinese while in China and used it at the White House when they didn't want to be overheard. more
Goofs:
Anachronisms: The rifle used by the US Marines in the film is a .303 Lee Enfield British rifle. The US .30-40 Krag-Jorgensen rifle would have been correct. more
Quotes:
German Ambassador: You have to admire Sir Arthur; he always manages to give the impression that God must be an Englishman. more
Soundtrack:
So Little Time (The Peking Theme) more
FAQ
Who are the Indian cavalry that are the first to lead the relief column at the end of the movie?more
more (27 total)
Message Boards
Discuss this movie with other users on IMDb message board for 55 Days at Peking (1963) moreRecommendations
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Watching this film in a PC era like today you may find allegations of racism being made against it , but you have to remember that 55 DAYS AT PEKING was made in 1963 . The war in the Pacific had ended less than 20 years earlier and the horrors of the Burma railway and the Bataan death march were still fresh in the memory . Likewise the UN had fought a dirty and bloody war against North Korea and Communist China ten years earlier and 1963 was a year when America started committing ground troops to South Vietnam , so this was an era where many people were worried about " the yellow peril " . One thing you can't really accuse the film of being is geo-nationalist , a coalition featuring diverse nations like Germany , Russia , Italy and France fighting alongside Britain and America ! You can tell this was made a long time ago and if it was made today the Americans would have saved the day single handed while portraying everyone else as total cowards . At least the makers of 55 DAYS AT PEKING had the decency of showing a factual historical event without having to totally rewrite history . I do hope present day Hollywood producers will take note .
My only problem with this film is that the main story is held up with a romantic subplot featuring Charlton Heston who's not exactly romantic material , but this is soon forgiven when the battle scenes arrive and what battle scenes they are . Watching these scenes today I was struck as to how they were achieved by a combination of stuntmen and stuffed dummies . That's what I hate about modern day blockbusters that rely on cartoonish CGI figures running around . It's a lot more fun seeing a couple of man sized dolls falling a couple of hundred feet with dubbed screams on the soundtrack , Hollywood doesn't seem to do this type of action sequence anymore which is a great pity