The Roots of Heaven
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| The Roots of Heaven | |
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 Original film poster |
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| Directed by | John Huston |
| Produced by | Darryl F. Zanuck |
| Written by | Romain Gary |
| Starring | Errol Flynn, Juliette Gréco, Trevor Howard |
| Distributed by | 20th Century Fox |
| Release date(s) | 1958 |
| Running time | 121 mins |
| Language | English |
| IMDb profile | |
The Roots of Heaven is a 1958 adventure film made by 20th Century Fox, directed by John Huston and produced by Darryl F. Zanuck from a screenplay by Romain Gary and Patrick Leigh-Fermor based on the novel Les racines du ciel by Romain Gary.
The film starred Errol Flynn, Juliette Gréco, Trevor Howard, with Eddie Albert, Orson Welles, Paul Lukas, Herbert Lom and Gregoire Aslan.
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[edit] Plot
Set in French Equatorial Africa, the film tells the story of Morel (Trevor Howard), a crusading environmentalist who sets out to preserve the elephants from extinction as a lasting symbol of freedom for all humanity. He is helped by Minna (Juliette Gréco), a nightclub hostess and Forsythe (Errol Flynn), a disgraced British military officer hoping to redeem himself.
[edit] Cast
Errol Flynn - Maj. Forsythe
Juliette Gréco - Minna
Trevor Howard - Merel
Eddie Albert - Abe Fields
Orson Welles - Cy Sedgewick
Paul Lukas - Saint Denis
Herbert Lom - Orsini
Gregoire Aslan - Habib
André Luguet - Governor
Edric Connor - Watari
Oliver Hussenot - The Baron
Pierre Dudan - Maj. Scholscher
Marc Doelnitz - De Vries
Dan Jackson - Madjumba
Maurice Cannon - Haas
Jacques Marin - Cerisot
Alain Saury - A.D.C.
Francis de Wolff - Father Fargue
Frederick Ledebur - Peer Qvist
[edit] Notes
- William Holden left the production and Trevor Howard replaced him. Errol Flynn assumed top billing.
- The film was made on location in Chad.
- The cast and crew suffered from the heat, malaria and other tropical diseases.
- It is the memories of the challenging location that Flynn mentions with affection in his memoirs My Wicked, Wicked Ways (1959).
[edit] References
- Flynn, E. My Wicked, Wicked Ways. G.P. Putnam’s Sons 1959, Pan Books 1961 in association with William Heinemann Ltd, 5th Printing 1979.
- Norman, B. The Hollywood Greats. Arrow Books, 1988 edition.
- Thomas, T. Behlmer, R. & McCarty, C. The Films of Errol Flynn. Citadel Press. 1969.
