Arms smugglers from Kenya

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Movie
German title Arms smugglers from Kenya
Original title Sundown
Country of production United States
original language English
Publishing year 1941
length 90 minutes
Age rating FSK 12
Rod
Director Henry Hathaway
script Barré Lyndon
Charles G. Booth
production Daniel Keefe
music Miklós Rózsa
camera Charles B. Lang
cut Dorothy Spencer
occupation

Arms smugglers of Kenya , also The arms smugglers of Kenya (original title Sundown ), is an American World War I drama from 1941 directed by Henry Hathaway . The story is based on the story Sundown by Barré Lyndon, which was published in January / February 1941 in the Saturday Evening Post . Zia ( Gene Tierney ) as an English agent disguised as an Arab trader, helps the civil commissioner ( Bruce Cabot ) in British East Africa to prevent a local uprising.

The film, produced by Walter Wanger Pictures for United Artists , was distributed in Germany by Constantin Film .

action

From Manieka, a small isolated outpost in British East Africa , Protectorate of Kenya on the Somali-Abyssinian border, civil commissioner William Crawford sends a telegram to the governor of Nairobi , in which he asks for leave. He would like to use the time to study the customs of the local Shenzi tribe. Lieutenant Roddy Turner, concerned about rumors that there will be trouble with the Shenzi, sends a second telegram to the governor with his assessment of the situation, suggesting that the governor respond negatively to Crawford's request. The governor reacts by handing over the management of the outpost to Major Al Coombes. He immediately criticized the lax manner with which Crawford runs the outpost. He is also offended by the fact that the Italian prisoner of war Pallini is allowed to cook for the officers. Coombes has been given the task of using a captured rifle to find the supplier who will provide weapons to the rebel natives . Under Bill Crawfords and Lt. Turner's command, the Shenzi are to be attacked. Kipsang, an Askari friend of Crawford, lost his life to steal a rifle from the Shenzi. Crawford and Turner are alarmed as they face a Shenzi counterattack.

In this turbulent time Zia, the beautiful daughter of the late bursts Arab merchant Abu Khali with their camel - caravan . Kuypens, a Dutch mineralogist who previously worked for the Italian government, and Dewey, an American chemist, also arrive in Manieka . Kuypens has offered its services to the British.

Since it is Pallini's birthday, Coombes has relaxed the rules for prisoners and a festival is celebrated in his honor, which is crowned by the exceptionally beautiful and charming Zia. The happy celebration is suddenly interrupted by an attack by the Shenzi. They seem especially after Crawford. When a mirror breaks, the attackers reveal it. Zia, who tried to warn Crawford, is injured. With combined forces, however, the attacked succeeded in pushing the Shenzi back across a river. Crawford suspects that arms dealer Abdi Hammud also has a hand in it. When Zia is alone with Kuypens, she tells him on the head that she thinks he is an agent of the enemy. Kuypens then wants Zia to leave Manieka with him and support him. The beautiful woman agrees to appear. She wants Pallini Crawford to enlighten and warn him about Kuypens, but before he can do that, he is killed by Kuypens.

An incoming telegram made it possible for Crawford and Coombes to identify Kuypens as an arms dealer. There was no arrest, however, because Kuypens left in a hurry. He left behind stone and ore samples. When examining them, it turns out that they must have come from the nearby crater lake , which is located on the territory of the Shenzi. Crawford reaches the crater lake undetected and watches how weapons and ammunition are unloaded from a seaplane . The help he requested over the radio comes too late, however, as Kuypens has discovered Crawford and takes him prisoner and is put in a cell with Zia, whom he has with him as a hostage. Zia Camel Caravan is also forced by him to move weapons into Shenzi territory. When Kuypens sends his people on a second mission, when they return it turns out that there are British soldiers in Arab costumes. A wild scuffle ensues between them and Kuypens and his followers. Coombes, who also disguised himself as a member of the caravan, is seriously injured. Before he dies, however, he still manages to shoot Kuypens.

Back in London are Crawford and Zia in one of a bomb -ravaged church of Bishop Coombe, Al Coombes father, married, of this occasion also the last words repeated his son that he believe that Britain would be victorious.

Production and Background

Filming began on June 16 and ended in early August 1941. The film was shot outside at Shiprock and other locations in New Mexico , the Mojave Desert , California and Crater Lake in Oregon . The film premiered on October 16, 1941 in Los Angeles . On October 31, 1941, it was generally shown in cinemas in the United States . In the Federal Republic of Germany the film was shown for the first time on January 26, 1951, in Austria on December 7, 1951. The film was also shown in the Federal Republic of Germany under the title Die Waffenschmuggler von Kenya .

In the opening credits of Arms Smugglers of Kenya it says: “All over the world men serve with courage and faith. This film is dedicated to them. ”According to the Hollywood Reporter , director Henry Hathaway was loaned to Paramount Pictures for the film. Wanger got Gene Tierney to star in 20th Century Fox on condition that the studio loan Century one of their stars in return. Woody Strode, also known as Woodrow Strode, made his screen debut in this film. Strode was also a gifted football player who, along with Kenny Washington, became the first African-American to play in the National Football League .

For the then 21-year-old Gene Tierney, the film served as a figurehead for her future work, which also justified the often-quoted statement by Darryl F. Zanuck that she was "undoubtedly the most beautiful woman in film history". Tierney wasn't very fond of filming in New Mexico for three weeks as she was newly married to fashion designer Oleg Cassini . In her 1980 autobiography, the actress expressed how lonely she felt so far from her husband and how difficult the conditions were during the shooting. She also could hardly bear the stifling heat and the stench of the camels. Advertising in the run-up to Sundown was very much focused on Tierney and the numerous exotic costumes specially designed for her.

Although the film implies that the enemy is Nazis and German armed forces, they are never explicitly named (the United States had not yet entered the war). The budget for Sundown was $ 1.2 million, and despite some negative reviews, the film became a respectable box office success.

criticism

Film Daily praised the film for "its political neutrality," noting that while it was known that the enemy was Germany, no names or nationalities were mentioned in the film, so there was no way to score points on disagreements over the propaganda .

Variety's reaction to the film was rather “lukewarm”, one spoke of an “adventurous melodrama in a colonial outpost of British East Africa” and an “interesting story of its own”.

In the New York Times, Theodore Strauss criticized Wangers “anti-fascist rhetoric”. The critic praised Gene Tierney's performance, but noted that in the midst of the mud huts of the village, she lived in a glamor that more suited to a Hollywood set . The fabricated story of intrigues among African blacks and by brave heroes is ridiculous.

For Glenn Erickson of DVD and Savant , the film had an “interesting cast”, and Sundown also turned out to be “much smarter than expected”. Overall, the film was given the “Excellent” rating.

Andrew Wick of The Stop Button thought Sundown was mostly excellent . Hathaway nested a colonial adventure story with a World War I propaganda piece and New Mexico stood for Kenya. It's an interesting war film because it doesn't show any Americans. In the end, however, the quality of the film deteriorates.

The lexicon of international films dismissed the film with the words: "Naive adventure film with some good landscape shots."

Awards

In 1942 , gun smugglers in Kenya were nominated for an Oscar in three categories :

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d Sundown (1941) Notes at TCM - Turner Classic Movies (English)
  2. ↑ Sundown. In: Turner Classic Movies . Retrieved March 17, 2019 .
  3. ↑ Sundown (1941) Original Print Information at TCM - Turner Classic Movies (English)
  4. ↑ movie poster on filmposter-archiv.de. Retrieved February 27, 2014.
  5. ↑ a b Arms smugglers from Kenya. In: Lexicon of International Films . Film service , accessed March 17, 2019 .Template: LdiF / Maintenance / Access used 
  6. ↑ a b c d Sundown (1941) Articles at TCM - Turner Classic Movies (English)
  7. ↑ Review: 'Sundown' at variety.com. Retrieved February 27, 2014.
  8. ^ Theodore Strauss: Sundown (1941) In: The New York Times, December 26, 1941. Retrieved February 27, 2014.
  9. ↑ Sundown at dvdtalk.com (English). Retrieved February 27, 2014.
  10. ↑ Sundown (1941, Henry Hathaway) at thestopbutton.com (English). Retrieved February 27, 2014.
  11. ↑ Sundown (1941) Awards at TCM - Turner Classic Movies (English)