55 Days at Peking (1963) Movie Overview
55 Days at Peking is a 1963 historical epic film made by Samuel Bronston Productions and released by Allied Artists. It was produced by Samuel Bronston and directed by Nicholas Ray, Andrew Marton (credited as the second unit director), and Guy Green (uncredited). The screenplay was written by Philip Yordan, Bernard Gordon, Ben Barzman, and Robert Hamer, the music score by Dimitri Tiomkin, and the cinematography by Jack Hildyard. The large cast was headlined by Charlton Heston, Ava Gardner, and David Niven. In addition to directing, Nicholas Ray plays the minor role of the head of the American diplomatic mission in China. This film is also the first known appearance of future martial arts film star Yuen Siu Tien. The acclaimed Japanese film director Juzo Itami, credited in the film as “Ichizo Itami”, appears as Colonel Goro Shiba. 55 Days at Peking is a dramatization of the Boxer Rebellion which took place in 1900 China. Fed up by foreign encroachment, the Dowager Empress Tzu-Hsi uses the Boxer secret societies to attack the foreigners within China, culminating in the siege of the foreign legations’ compounds in Peking (now Beijing). The film concentrates on the defense of the legat… Source
- 55 Days at Peking Movie Details
- Director: Nicholas Ray
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- Tagline: A handful of men and women held out against the frenzied hordes of bloodthirsty fanatics!
- Country: USA
- Run Time: 154 min
- Genre: Drama , History , War
- Cast Overview
Charlton Heston as Maj. Matt Lewis
Ava Gardner as Baroness Natalie Ivanoff
David Niven as Sir Arthur Robertson
Flora Robson as Dowager Empress Tzu-Hsi
John Ireland as Sgt. Harry
Harry Andrews as Father de Bearn
55 Days at Peking Movie Review from New York Times
Samuel Bronston produced this extravagant blockbuster, shot in Super Technirama 70. Nominally directed by Nicholas Ray (who makes a brief appearance as the U.S. ambassador), Ray was taken off the film and replaced by the more pliable directorial touches of Andrew Marton. Charlton Heston stars as Maj. Matt Lewis, the leader of an army of multination… Source
55 Days at Peking Movie Details from Imdb
Diplomats, soldiers and other representatives of a dozen nations fend off the siege of the International Compound in Peking during the 1900 Boxer Rebellion. The disparate interests unite for survival despite competing factions, overwhelming odds, delayed relief and tacit support of the Boxers by the Empress of China and her generals. Written by Mar… Source
55 Days at Peking (1963) from YouTube















