TimR

I remember the plot of this film quite well - but not many other details!

It must have been made in the 1960s because I saw it in a theatre when I was about eight or nine. It took place in Africa; the opening scenes were in Egypt - Port Said, I think - and the plot concerns a boy (English, I think) whose parents are killed in some sort of bomb attack; I think it took place during the Suez Crisis. He then sets out alone and travels down the African continent until he reaches South Africa.

I believe Edward G. Robinson was in it, but the rest of the cast was English or African.

I have not seen or heard of the film since, and have no idea what the title was. It had a great impact on me - and would like to find it.

Thanks for your help.

DB7

Sammy Going South.

TimR

Bravo! Thank you very much.

I just looked it up - and yes that is defnitely the film.

Perhaps it had a different title in the US when it was released here. I will have to look into that. That sounds like the sort of title that would have been changed for the US market, especially at the time.

Mr Cosmo

Hi Tim,
Funny you saying it had a big impact on you because in his book WHAT THE CENSOR SAW, John Trevelyan said he had a problem with the opening which he thought was violent and could distress a young person, but he balanced it with the rest of the film saying it was rather beautiful and compensated. He received a call from an irate mother (in Edinburgh) some time later who complained that she had taken her son to see it and he was quite distressed and as a result she had taken him out of the cinema.
The fact you still remember it says something about the power of this particular film (which I have never actually seen).

D Cairns

"in his book WHAT THE CENSOR SAW, John Trevelyan said he had a problem with the opening which he thought was violent and could distress a young person, but he balanced it with the rest of the film saying it was rather beautiful and compensated. He received a call from an irate mother (in Edinburgh)"

Was probably me.

Not really. of course, the problem might be that the mother removed her kid before the rest of the film could do it's job of compensating him. It's about trauma and recovery, so it's less upsetting if you see the whole film.

*I* started to cry at my very first cinema experience: it was DR DOLITTLE and nobody had warned me that they turn the lights out.

TimR

Gosh - what a fascinating comment! That exactly describes my own response.

The opening has stayed with me all these years: the parents are only seen briefly, and are then killed in a very violent but very quick scene. The boy then starts on his trek alone, and it becomes an existential journey, not just an adventure. My dad later told me I was very troubled by it at the time and apparently my mother felt guilty about taking me.

I do remember it as being a beautiful film as well - both in content and visually. All films at that time were like travelogues for me: Egypt and South Africa were very far away and films were an open door.

It will be interesting to see it again, now that I finally have found the title again.

TimR

Trauma and recovery - that sums it up.



Dr. Dolittle! I saw that one with a school trip, in a large theatre in New York. I remember the huge size of the screen. Some of it seemed very weird: there is a scene where the doctor dresses up a seal in a costume and sings a song to it (her?) and then throws her off a cliff. I can still remember sitting in that theatre looking at that huge seal on the huge screen in its weird costume and thinking: What is this? Then the llama thing with two or three cheap looking heads..... It seemed very strange. (Of course it has been a long time since I saw it...)

There some nice color scenes of England, though (at least it was supposed to be England - I don't know where it was filmed)

TimR

I just found the American title for "Sammy Going South": it was released as "A Boy Ten Feet Tall".

NappieB

I saw the original as "Sammy Going South"... I don't dispute for one minute the alternative (US) title of "A Boy Ten Feet Tall" but be aware that it weas also released in the US (maybe just for TV) with the title "Never Give Up".

For me it will always be "Sammy Going South"!

"The future is yet to come" - George W. Bush

TimR

Thanks - I will use all three potential titles in my search. I found the title "A Boy Ten Feet Tall" on a site that lists the films directed by Alxander Mackendrick:

Alexander Mackendrick - Films as director:, Other films:

Apparently it is not available on DVD or VHS, at least in the US. But I have just begun the search. Until today, I had no title to work with - now I have three!

(It's interesting to note how many British films were given different titles when released in the US)

You live in Vermont? Beautiful state - especially in about six weeks, the peak of the season!

vaggmk1938

Interestingly IMDb does not pick up "Never Give Up".

Tim you should put a want up in the thread Looking for a Video/DVD (Film). I suspect Aphra might have a copy—she has practically everything worth having!

TimR

Alright, thanks! I do believe, however, that most DVDs made in Britain would not work on US players, and vice versa. (I may be wrong?)

vaggmk1938

If you are a really serious (which you appear to be) film buff, you need to get a zone-free DVD player which will play most DVDs irrespective of the zone they were originally issued in. Do a Google for "zone-free" or "multi-zone" +"DVD player". I have one and it opens up the world! I paid about $250 for mine, but there are a number out there considerably cheaper.

If you want to go higher Samsung has a combination DVD/VHS which will play PAL (Britain and a lot of Europe—speak to a techie) and NTSC (us and Canada—again speak to a techie) VHSs—availble in the range of $350-$500—I haven't priced the Samsung recently, but it also allows conversion between PAL and NTSC, so you can take a PAL VHS and translate it to a NTSC DVD. It all gets very complicated—qualitywise, But if most of your movies are on DVD and you are not buying old VHSs on Ebay or in charity shops, just go with a zone-free DVD.