The Hellions

Last updated

The Hellions
The Hellions (film).jpg
Directed by Ken Annakin
Written by Harold Huth
Patrick Kirwan
Harold Swanton
Based onstory by Harold Swanton
Produced byHarold Huth
executive
Irving Allen
Starring Richard Todd
Cinematography Ted Moore
Edited by Bert Rule
Music by Larry Adler
Production
companies
Distributed by Columbia Pictures
Release date
  • 2 November 1961 (1961-11-02)(London)
Running time
86 minutes
CountriesUnited Kingdom
South Africa
LanguageEnglish

The Hellions is a 1961 British Western film directed by Ken Annakin [1] starring Richard Todd, Anne Aubrey, Lionel Jeffries, Ronald Fraser and Colin Blakely that was set and filmed in South Africa. [2]

Contents

Plot

A lone law enforcement officer, Sam Hargis, battles criminals in South Africa when the Billings family of Luke Billings and his four sons ride into town to get revenge on Hargis for a previous clash, when he ran Luke Billings out of town.

At first, the locals leave all of the fighting to Hargis, saying that it is his sole responsibility. However, after the Billings kill two innocent residents, some of them arm themselves and shoot dead all the Billings except Luke who, during a fist fight with Hargis, falls from a roof and is killed.

Cast

Production

The film was offered by Warwick Productions to Ken Annakin, who agreed to direct as he had fond memories of South Africa from another film, Nor the Moon by Midnight. [3]

Filming took place in Brits, a small town north of Pretoria. Annakin decided to make the film " as a spoof of the normal American Western. With many laughs and broad gags — such as were used so successfully years later in Cat Ballou. We proceeded to shoot the film this way." [4] Annakin fell so ill with polio during the shoot he was unable to make it on set so Harold Huth and his assistant Clive Reed took over and directed under Annakin's instructions from the hospital bed. It took Annakin months to recover. [5] Richard Todd recalled James Booth in particular was difficult for Huth. Notheless Todd was excited by the possibilities of filming in South Africa and went on to make more films there. [6]

Reception

The New York Times called it "High Noon on the veldt... wide screen drivel." [7]

Annakin later wrote " Most of the critics panned the film for being uneven — which was not surprising since I had directed big portions of the scenes tongue-in-cheek while Harold Huth and Clive Reed, God bless them, had loyally tried to complete them but somehow had allowed everything to be played straight" [8]

Related Research Articles

<i>The Story of Robin Hood</i> (film) 1952 film by Ken Annakin

The Story of Robin Hood and his Merrie Men is a 1952 action-adventure film produced by RKO-Walt Disney British Productions, based on the Robin Hood legend, made in Technicolor and filmed in Buckinghamshire, England. It was written by Lawrence Edward Watkin and directed by Ken Annakin. It is the second of Disney's complete live-action films, after Treasure Island (1950), and the first of four films Annakin directed for Disney. It was also the first of three films Todd made for the studio.

<i>The Sword and the Rose</i> 1953 film by Ken Annakin

The Sword and the Rose is a family/adventure film produced by Perce Pearce and Walt Disney and directed by Ken Annakin. The film features the story of Mary Tudor, a younger sister of Henry VIII of England.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ken Annakin</span> English film director (1914–2009)

Kenneth Cooper Annakin, OBE was an English film director.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lionel Jeffries</span> English actor, screenwriter and film director (1926–2010)

Lionel Charles Jeffries was an English actor, director, and screenwriter. He appeared primarily in films and was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for his role in The Spy with a Cold Nose.

<i>The Trials of Oscar Wilde</i> 1960 film by Ken Hughes

The Trials of Oscar Wilde, also known as The Man with the Green Carnation and The Green Carnation, is a 1960 British drama film based on the libel and subsequent criminal cases involving Oscar Wilde and the Marquess of Queensberry. It was written by Allen and Ken Hughes, directed by Hughes, and co-produced by Irving Allen, Albert R. Broccoli and Harold Huth. The screenplay was by Ken Hughes and Montgomery Hyde, based on an unperformed play The Stringed Lute by John Furnell. The film was made by Warwick Films and released by Eros Films.

Anne Aubrey is a retired English film actress.

<i>Royal Flash</i> (film) 1975 British adventure comedy film

Royal Flash is a 1975 British adventure comedy film based on the second Flashman novel by George MacDonald Fraser. It stars Malcolm McDowell as Flashman. Additionally, Oliver Reed appeared in the role of Otto von Bismarck, Alan Bates as Rudi von Sternberg, and Florinda Bolkan played Lola Montez. Fraser wrote the screenplay and the film was directed by Richard Lester.

<i>Rob Roy: The Highland Rogue</i> 1953 film by Harold French

Rob Roy: The Highland Rogue is a 1953 adventure film produced by RKO-Walt Disney British Productions which is about Rob Roy MacGregor. It was the last Disney film released through RKO Radio Pictures.

<i>The Fast Lady</i> 1962 British film by Ken Annakin

The Fast Lady is a 1962 British comedy film, directed by Ken Annakin and starring James Robertson Justice, Leslie Phillips, Stanley Baxter, Kathleen Harrison, and Julie Christie. The screenplay was by Henry Blyth and Jack Davies, based on the 1925 novel The Fast Lady by Keble Howard. It was the third in a trilogy of comedies written by Jack Davies that Annakin made for Independent Artists.

<i>Here Come the Huggetts</i> 1948 British film

Here Come the Huggetts is a 1948 British comedy film, the first of the Huggetts series, about a working class English family. All three films in the series were directed by Ken Annakin and released by Gainsborough Pictures.

<i>The Planters Wife</i> (1952 film) 1952 British film

The Planter's Wife is a 1952 British war drama film directed by Ken Annakin, and starring Claudette Colbert, Jack Hawkins and Anthony Steel. It is set against the backdrop of the Malayan Emergency and focuses on a rubber planter and his neighbours who are fending off a campaign of sustained attacks by Communist insurgents while also struggling to save their marriage.

<i>The Seekers</i> (1954 film) 1954 film

The Seekers is a 1954 British-New Zealand adventure film directed by Ken Annakin. It starred Jack Hawkins, Glynis Johns, Noel Purcell, and Kenneth Williams. The film was produced by the Rank Organisation and was shot at Pinewood Studios with location shooting around Whakatāne. The film's sets were designed by the art director Maurice Carter with costumes by Julie Harris. It was the first major international studio film shot in New Zealand. The film was adapted from the novel The Seekers by New Zealander John Guthrie. It was released in the United States by Universal Pictures as Land of Fury.

<i>Go for a Take</i> 1972 British film by Harry Booth

Go for a Take is a 1972 British comedy film starring Reg Varney and Norman Rossington, directed by Harry Booth. The screenplay was by Alan Hackney.

<i>Broken Journey</i> 1948 British film by Ken Annakin

Broken Journey is a 1948 British drama film directed by Ken Annakin and featuring Phyllis Calvert, James Donald, Margot Grahame, Raymond Huntley and Guy Rolfe. Passengers and crew strugge to survive after their airliner crashes on top of a mountain; based on a true-life accident in the Swiss Alps.

Loser Takes All is a 1956 British comedy film directed by Ken Annakin, starring Glynis Johns, Rossano Brazzi and Robert Morley. The screenplay was by Graham Greene based on his 1955 novella of the same name.

<i>Nor the Moon by Night</i> 1958 film

Nor the Moon by Night is a 1958 British drama film directed by Ken Annakin and starring Belinda Lee. It was based on the novel by Joy Packer and partly filmed in the Kruger National Park, South Africa. The title is a quote from the Old Testament passage ; "The sun shall not smite thee by day, nor the moon by night."

<i>Across the Bridge</i> (film) 1957 British film by Ken Annakin

Across the Bridge is a 1957 British thriller film directed by Ken Annakin and starring Rod Steiger, David Knight and Bernard Lee. It is based on the 1938 short story "Across the Bridge" by Graham Greene. According to his obituary, it was director Annakin's favourite film.

<i>Raising a Riot</i> 1955 British film by Wendy Toye

Raising a Riot is a 1955 British comedy film directed by Wendy Toye and starring Kenneth More, Shelagh Fraser and Mandy Miller about a naval officer who attempts to look after his three children in his wife's absence.

<i>Lets Get Married</i> (1960 film) 1960 British film by Peter Graham Scott

Let's Get Married is a 1960 British comedy drama film directed by Peter Graham Scott and starring Anthony Newley, Anne Aubrey and Hermione Baddeley. The film features Newley singing the song "Do You Mind", which reached #1 in the British Hit Singles chart the same year.

<i>Jazz Boat</i> 1960 British film by Ken Hughes

Jazz Boat is a 1960 British black-and-white musical comedy film directed by Ken Hughes and starring Anthony Newley, Anne Aubrey, Lionel Jeffries and big band leader Ted Heath and his orchestra. It was written by John Antrobus and Hughes based on the 1960 novel Jazz Boat by Rex Rienits. The cinematographer was Nicolas Roeg.

References

  1. ↑ The New York Times
  2. ↑ HELLIONS, The Monthly Film Bulletin; London Vol. 28, Iss. 324, (Jan 1, 1961): 169.
  3. ↑ Annakin p 129
  4. ↑ Annakin p 129
  5. ↑ Annakin p 130-132
  6. ↑ Todd, Richard (1989). In camera : an autobiography continued. Hutchinson. p. 187.
  7. ↑ 'Hellions,' in British Western, Play 'High Noon' on the Veld New York Times 15 Mar 1962: 28.
  8. ↑ Annakin p 133

Notes

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.