A Twist of Sand

Last updated

A Twist of Sand
A Twist of Sand FilmPoster.jpeg
Directed by Don Chaffey
Written by Geoffrey Jenkins (novel)
Marvin Albert (screenplay)
Produced by Fred Engel
Starring Richard Johnson
Honor Blackman
Jeremy Kemp
Peter Vaughan
Cinematography John Wilcox
Edited by Alastair McIntyre
Music by Tristram Cary
Production
company
Christina Films
Distributed by United Artists
Release dates
9 October 1968 (United States)
November 1968 (United Kingdom)
Running time
90 minutes
CountryUnited Kingdom
LanguageEnglish

A Twist of Sand is a 1968 British adventure film directed by Don Chaffey and starring Richard Johnson, Jeremy Kemp, Honor Blackman and Peter Vaughan [1] based on the novel by Geoffrey Jenkins.

Contents

Plot

A former British naval officer now makes his living by smuggling goods around the Mediterranean. After being forced to dump his cargo when nearly caught by the authorities in Malta, he is eager to recoup his losses. When a former colleague appears and tells a wild story about smuggling diamonds out of south-west Africa, he sees his chance to make a lot of money. The diamonds are hidden in a shipwreck buried in the sand dunes of Namibia's Skeleton Coast.

In recurring flashbacks, the captain relives his wartime experiences as the commander of a Royal Navy submarine, sent to South African waters to destroy an experimental U-Boat.

Cast

Production

Geoffrey Jenkins initially sold the rights for his 1959 novel to filmmaker Nunnally Johnson at 20th Century Fox. Johnson intended to write the script himself and have Robert Mitchum and Deborah Kerr cast in the starring roles. [2] Simon Petersen was the assistant underwater cameraman to Steve Halliday with Les Bowie in SFX

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Richard Curtis</span> British filmmaker (born 1956)

Richard Whalley Anthony Curtis is a British screenwriter, producer and film director. One of Britain's most successful comedy screenwriters, he is known primarily for romantic comedy films, among them Four Weddings and a Funeral (1994), Notting Hill (1999), Bridget Jones's Diary (2001), Love Actually (2003), Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason (2004), About Time (2013), and Yesterday (2019). He is also known for the drama War Horse (2011) and for having co-written the sitcoms Blackadder, Mr. Bean, and The Vicar of Dibley. His early career saw him write material for the BBC's Not the Nine O'Clock News and ITV's Spitting Image.

<i>Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World</i> 2003 film by Peter Weir

Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World is a 2003 American epic period war-drama film co-written, produced and directed by Peter Weir, set during the Napoleonic Wars. The film's plot and characters are adapted from three novels in author Patrick O'Brian's Aubrey–Maturin series, which includes 20 completed novels of Jack Aubrey's naval career. The film stars Russell Crowe as Aubrey, captain in the Royal Navy, and Paul Bettany as Dr. Stephen Maturin, the ship's surgeon. This is the second onscreen collaboration for Crowe and Bettany, who previously co-starred in 2001’s A Beautiful Mind.

Per Fine Ounce is the title of an unpublished novel by Geoffrey Jenkins featuring Ian Fleming's James Bond. It was completed c.1966 and is considered a "lost" novel by fans of James Bond because it was actually commissioned by Glidrose Productions, the official publishers of James Bond. It was rejected for publication, however, missing the opportunity to become the first continuation James Bond novel. The Adventures of James Bond Junior 003½, a novel written by the pseudonymous R. D. Mascott, was later published in 1967 featuring James Bond's nephew; Colonel Sun written by Kingsley Amis under the pseudonym Robert Markham was published in 1968 as the first adult continuation novel following Ian Fleming's The Man with the Golden Gun (1965).

<i>The Diamond Smugglers</i> Book by Ian Fleming

The Diamond Smugglers is a non-fiction work by Ian Fleming that was first published in 1957 in the United Kingdom and in 1958 in the United States. The book is based on two weeks of interviews Fleming undertook with John Collard, a member of the International Diamond Security Organisation (IDSO), which was headed by Sir Percy Sillitoe, the ex-chief of MI5 who worked for the diamond company De Beers.

Geoffrey Ernest Jenkins was a South African journalist, novelist and screenwriter. His wife Eve Palmer, with whom he collaborated on several works, wrote numerous non-fiction works about Southern Africa.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gayle Hunnicutt</span> American actress (1943–2023)

Gayle Jenkins, Lady Jenkins was an American film, television and stage actress. She made more than 30 film appearances.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Peter Vaughan</span> English actor

Peter Vaughan was an English character actor known for many supporting roles in British film and television productions. He also acted extensively on the stage.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jeremy Kemp</span> English actor (1935–2019)

Edmund Jeremy James Walker, known professionally as Jeremy Kemp, was an English actor. He was known for his significant roles in the miniseries The Winds of War and War and Remembrance, the film The Blue Max, and the TV series Z-Cars.

<i>Play Dirty</i> 1969 film by André de Toth

Play Dirty is a 1969 British war film starring Michael Caine, Nigel Davenport, Nigel Green and Harry Andrews. It was director Andre de Toth's last film, based on a screenplay by Melvyn Bragg and Lotte Colin.

<i>The McKenzie Break</i> 1970 British film

The McKenzie Break is a 1970 British war drama film starring Brian Keith as Jack Connor, an intelligence officer investigating recent disturbances at a prisoner of war (POW) camp in Scotland. The Nazi German POWs are led by the charismatic and ruthless Willi Schlüter. Filmed in DeLuxe Color, the picture was directed by Lamont Johnson,

<i>Shalako</i> (film) 1968 British/American/German film by Edward Dmytryk

Shalako is a 1968 Western film directed by Edward Dmytryk and starring Sean Connery and Brigitte Bardot. It was shot at Shepperton Studios near London with sets designed by the art director Herbert Smith. Location shooting took place in Almería in southern Spain, particularly in the Tabernas Desert which was frequently used in European westerns during the decade.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tiffany Case</span> Character in James Bond novel and film Diamonds Are Forever

Tiffany Case is a fictional character in the 1956 James Bond novel Diamonds Are Forever and its 1971 film adaptation. A "Bond girl", she was portrayed by Jill St. John in the film. In the novel, the story of her name is that when she was born, her father Case was so embittered she was not a boy that he gave her mother a thousand dollars and a powder case from Tiffany's and walked out. In the film it is stated that she was named after her accidental preterm birthplace, Tiffany & Co., where her parents were going through a choice of wedding bands, to which Bond dryly jokes that she was lucky that it had not happened at Van Cleef & Arpels.

<i>The Rum Diary</i> (film) 2011 film by Bruce Robinson

The Rum Diary is a 2011 American comedy-drama film written and directed by Bruce Robinson, based on the 1998 novel of the same name by Hunter S. Thompson. The film stars Johnny Depp, Aaron Eckhart, Michael Rispoli, Amber Heard, Richard Jenkins, and Giovanni Ribisi.

<i>Ghost Squad</i> (TV series) British television series

Ghost Squad, known as G.S.5 for its third series, was a crime drama series that ran between 1961 and 1964, about an elite division of Scotland Yard. In each episode the Ghost Squad would investigate cases that fell outside the scope of normal police work. Despite the show and characters being fictional, an actual division did exist within the Metropolitan Police at the time.

<i>Two a Penny</i> 1968 British film

Two a Penny is a 1967 British film, released nationally in 1968, featuring singer Cliff Richard. The film was directed by James F. Collier and produced by Frank R. Jacobson for Billy Graham's film distribution and production company World Wide Pictures. The original story and screenplay was written by Stella Linden.

<i>Death Drums Along the River</i> 1963 British film

Death Drums Along the River is a 1963 British-German international co-production, using the characters from Edgar Wallace's 1911 novel Sanders of the River and Zoltán Korda's 1935 film based on the novel, but placed in a totally different story. Filmed on location in South Africa, it features Richard Todd and Marianne Koch leading a cast of British, German and South African actors. The film was the first feature film of British producer Harry Alan Towers.

<i>Green Grow the Rushes</i> (film) 1951 British film

Green Grow the Rushes is a 1951 British comedy film directed by Derek N. Twist and starring Roger Livesey, Richard Burton and Honor Blackman. It was the first film to be released by ACT Films, an entity formed by a trade union for filmmakers. The film was produced by John Gossage and funded by the National Film Finance Corporation and the Co-Operative Wholesale Society Bank. It is an adaptation of the 1949 novel of the same title by Howard Clewes.

<i>The Strange Affair</i> 1968 British film by David Greene

The Strange Affair is a 1968 British crime drama film directed by David Greene and starring Michael York, Jeremy Kemp and Susan George. It is based on the 1966 novel by former Metropolitan policeman and private investigator Bernard Toms that was believed to be based on policeman Harold Challenor

"Death on the Rocks" is the tenth episode of the second series of the 1960s cult British spy-fi television series The Avengers, starring Patrick Macnee and Honor Blackman. It was first broadcast by ABC on 1 December 1962. The episode was directed by Jonathan Alwyn and written by Eric Paice.

"Lobster Quadrille" is the twenty-sixth episode of the third series of the 1960s cult British spy-fi television series The Avengers, starring Patrick Macnee and Honor Blackman. It was first broadcast by ABC on 21 March 1964. The episode was directed by Kim Mills and written by Richard Lucas.

References

  1. BFI | Film n& Database | A TWIST OF SAND (1968)
  2. Barkham, John (12 March 1961). "Young Novelist Writes 12,000 Words a Day". Lewiston Morning Tribune . p. 4.