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 (1968-10-09)(United States)
  • November 1968 (1968-11)(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] [2] . The screenplay was by Marvin Albert was based on Geoffrey Jenkins' 1959 novel of the same name.

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. [3] Simon Petersen was the assistant underwater cameraman.[ citation needed ]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ian Fleming</span> English author (1908–1964)

Ian Lancaster Fleming was an English writer, best known for his postwar James Bond series of spy novels. Fleming came from a wealthy family connected to the merchant bank Robert Fleming & Co., and his father was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Henley from 1910 until his death on the Western Front in 1917. Educated at Eton, Sandhurst, and, briefly, the universities of Munich and Geneva, Fleming moved through several jobs before he started writing.

<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 British 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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Honor Blackman</span> British actress (1925–2020)

Honor Blackman was an English actress and singer, known for the roles of Cathy Gale in The Avengers (1962–1964), Bond girl Pussy Galore in Goldfinger (1964), Julia Daggett in Shalako (1968), and Hera in Jason and the Argonauts (1963). She is also known for her role as Laura West in the ITV sitcom The Upper Hand (1990–1996).

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.

<i>The Four Just Men</i> (TV series) 1959 British TV drama series

The Four Just Men is a 1959 television series produced by Sapphire Films for ITC Entertainment. It was broadcast for one series of 39 half-hour monochrome episodes.

<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) 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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Upper Barrakka Gardens</span> Public garden in Valletta, Malta

The Upper Barrakka Gardens are a public garden in Valletta, Malta. Along with the Lower Barrakka Gardens in the same city, they offer a panoramic view of the Grand Harbour.

<i>Dateline Diamonds</i> 1965 British film by Jeremy Summers

Dateline Diamonds is a 1965 black and white British music film directed by Jeremy Summers and starring William Lucas, Kenneth Cope and the Small Faces.

<i>Ghost Squad</i> (TV series) British TV crime drama series (1961–1964)

Ghost Squad, known as GS5 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>Death Drums Along the River</i> 1963 British film by Lawrence Huntington

Death Drums Along the River is a 1963 British-German international co-production directed by Lawrence Huntingdon ad starring Richard Todd and Marianne Koch.

<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.

<i>No Time to Die</i> (1958 film) 1958 British film by Terence Young

No Time to Die is a 1958 British war film directed by Terence Young and starring Victor Mature, Leo Genn, Anthony Newley and Bonar Colleano. It is about an American sergeant in the British Army during the Second World War.

<i>Account Rendered</i> (1957 film) 1957 British film by Peter Graham Scott

Account Rendered is a 1957 British 'B' crime film directed by Peter Graham Scott and starring Griffith Jones, Ursula Howells and Honor Blackman. It was written by Barbara S. Harper based on Pamela Barrington's 1953 novel of the same name. It was released by the Rank Organisation.

<i>Green Grow the Rushes</i> (novel) 1949 novel

Green Grow the Rushes is a 1949 comedy novel by the British writer Howard Clewes. The title refers to the traditional folk song "Green Grow the Rushes, O". It revolves around a group of officials from a Whitehall government department who travel to the Kent coast for an investigation, only to find themselves encountering a community entirely committed to smuggling.

References

  1. "A Twist of Sand". British Film Institute Collections Search. Retrieved 19 August 2024.
  2. BFI | Film n& Database | A TWIST OF SAND (1968)
  3. Barkham, John (12 March 1961). "Young Novelist Writes 12,000 Words a Day". Lewiston Morning Tribune . p. 4.