''The High Bright Sun'' is a 1964 British

action film Action film is a film genre in which the protagonist is thrust into a series of events that typically involve violence and physical feats. The genre tends to feature a mostly resourceful hero struggling against incredible odds, which include l ...

directed by

Ralph Thomas Ralph Philip Thomas MC (10 August 1915 – 17 March 2001) was an English film director. He is perhaps best remembered for directing the ''Doctor'' series of films. His brother, Gerald Thomas, was also a film director, probably best remembere ...

and starring Dirk Bogarde,

George Chakiris George Chakiris (born September 16, 1932) is an American actor. He is best known for his appearance in the 1961 film version of ''West Side Story'' as Bernardo Nunez, the leader of the Sharks gang, for which he won both the Academy Award for Be ...

and Susan Strasberg. It is set in

Cyprus Cyprus ; tr, Kıbrıs (), officially the Republic of Cyprus,, , lit: Republic of Cyprus is an island country located south of the Anatolian Peninsula in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Its continental position is disputed; while it is ge ...

during the EOKA uprising against British rule in the 1950s. It was based on a 1962 novel by

Ian Stuart Black Ian Stuart Black (21 March 1915 – 13 October 1997 ) was a British novelist, playwright and screenwriter. Both his 1959 novel ''In the Wake of a Stranger'' and his 1962 novel about the Cyprus emergency, ''The High Bright Sun'', were made into ...

. The film was released in the US as ''McGuire, Go Home''.

Plot

In 1957, Juno ( Susan Strasberg), an American archaeology student, is visiting

and staying with the family of her father's best friend, Dr Andros (

Joseph Furst Joseph Fürst (13 February 1916 – 29 November 2005) was an Austrian-born international film and television actor known for his English language roles in Britain and Australia, after first appearing on the Canadian stage. Career Fürst was r ...

). She witnesses an attack by two EOKA gunmen which results in the death of two British soldiers, but is unable to identify the killers to the local British intelligence officer, Major McGuire ( Dirk Bogarde). Juno then realises that fugitive EOKA General Skyros (

Grégoire Aslan Grégoire Aslan (born Krikor Kaloust Aslanian; 28 March 1908 – 8 January 1982) was a Swiss-Armenian actor and musician. Early life Krikor Kaloust Aslanian ( hy, Գրիգոր Գալուստի Ասլանյան) was born in Switzerland or in Co ...

) is hiding in the house and Dr Andros is an EOKA collaborator. EOKA fighter Haghios (

) wants to kill Juno, in part because of her growing romantic relationship with McGuire. Haghios organises an ambush to kill Juno, but she is saved by Dr Andros' son, Emile, who is mortally wounded. Juno escapes and is rescued by McGuire, who brings her to his apartment. Haghios leads an attack on McGuire's apartment, which is unsuccessful, in part because of help from fellow British intelligence officer, Baker (

Denholm Elliott Denholm Mitchell Elliott, (31 May 1922 – 6 October 1992) was an English actor, with more than 125 film and television credits. His well-known roles include the abortionist in '' Alfie'' (1966), Marcus Brody in ''Raiders of the Lost Ark'' (19 ...

), who had an affair with McGuire's wife. Juno flies to Athens and realises that Haghios is on the plane. On arrival, Haghios tries to kill her again, mortally wounding Baker, but is shot dead by McGuire. Juno is reunited with McGuire.

Cast

* Dirk Bogarde as Major McGuire *

as Haghios * Susan Strasberg as Juno Kozani *

as Baker *

as General Stavros Skyros *

Colin Campbell Colin may refer to: * Colin (given name) * Colin (surname) * ''Colin'' (film), a 2008 Cannes film festival zombie movie * Colin (horse) (1905–1932), thoroughbred racehorse * Colin (humpback whale), a humpback whale calf abandoned north of Sydney, ...

as Emile Andros *

as Doctor Andros *

Katherine Kath Katherine Kath (born Rose Marie Lily Faess; 11 August 1920 – 17 November 2012) was a French prima ballerina at the Theatre du Chatelet in Paris, who became an actress after suffering from an injury which destroyed her chances of continuing he ...

as Mrs Andros *

George Pastell George Pastell (13 March 1923 – 4 April 1976) was a Cypriot character actor in British films and television programmes. Sources vary as to whether his real name was Nino (IMDb) or George Pastellides (BFI). His marriage record gives his name ...

as Prinos *

Paul Stassino Phaedros Stassinos (1930 – 28 June 2012) was a Greek Cypriot actor whose international stage name was Paul Stassino. Early life Stassino was born in Platres and grew up in nearby Limassol, but spent most of his acting career in England. He ...

as Alkis * Nigel Stock as Colonel Park *

Derek Partridge Derek Partridge (born 29 June 1935) is a British television presenter, spokesman and voice-over artist, formerly a film and TV actor. Partridge's father was a diplomat in the British Foreign Service. In the 1960s, Partridge appeared in a nume ...

as MP Corporal (uncredited)

Production

It was the first British feature film to depict the Cyprus Emergency. However, there had been a number of British TV plays on the subject prior to that including '' One Morning Near Troodos'' (1956), '' Arrow in the Air'' (1957), '' Air Mail from Cyprus'' (1958), '' Incident at Echo Six'' (1958) and '' The Interrogator'' (1961). There had also been Peter Barnes' stage play ''Sclerosis'' (1965) and the novels ''Violence in Paradise'' (1957), ''The Bad Summer'' (1958), ''Interrupted Journey'' (1958) and Ian Stuart Black's ''The High Bright Sun'' (1962), which formed the basis of the film. Film rights to Black's novel were bought by Betty Box under the aegis of the Rank Organisation. Black was hired to do the screenplay. Later on, Box hired

Bryan Forbes Bryan Forbes CBE (; born John Theobald Clarke; 22 July 1926 – 8 May 2013) was an English film director, screenwriter, film producer, actor and novelist described as a "Renaissance man"Falk Q. . BAFTA. 17 October 2007. Retrieved 9 May 2013 and ...

to do some additional work on the script, saying "he was paid rather a lot of money, I thought, for what he eventually produced". Box said this mostly consisted of a 12-minute scene between Denholm Elliott and Bogarde, and a few extra lines of dialogue.Box p 249

Shirley Anne Field Shirley Anne Field (born Shirley Broomfield; 27 June 1938) is an English actress who has performed on stage, film and television since 1955, prominent during the British New Wave. Early life Broomfield was born in Forest Gate, Essex (now in ...

was originally announced for the female lead but Rank wanted an international name. Box and Thomas tried Jane Fonda,

Jean Seberg Jean Dorothy Seberg (; ; November 13, 1938August 30, 1979) was an American actress who lived half of her life in France. Her performance in Jean-Luc Godard's 1960 film ''Breathless'' immortalized her as an icon of French New Wave cinema. Seb ...

and

Lee Remick Lee Ann Remick (December 14, 1935 – July 2, 1991) was an American actress and singer. She was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress for the film '' Days of Wine and Roses'' (1962), and for the 1966 Tony Award for Best Actress in ...

but they turned the role down; Susan Strasberg was cast.Box p 238 It was said to be the most expensive film made by the team of Box and Thomas and the most ambitious film they had ever done. Chakiris was paid $100,000, Strasberg $50,000 and Bogarde £30,000. Uniformed extras were provided from the Duke of Edinburgh's Royal Regiment based in Malta.Stubbs p 108

Eli Wallach Eli Herschel Wallach (; December 7, 1915 – June 24, 2014) was an American film, television, and stage actor from New York City. From his 1945 Broadway debut to his last film appearance, Wallach's entertainment career spanned 65 years. Origina ...

was mentioned as possible casting but ended up not appearing in the final film. The character of Spyros was based on

George Grivas George may refer to: People * George (given name) * George (surname) * George (singer), American-Canadian singer George Nozuka, known by the mononym George * George Washington, First President of the United States * George W. Bush, 43rd Presiden ...

. Filming began in June 1964. It took place on location for a month in Bari, Foggia and the Gargano in Southern Italy, which stood in for Cyprus.Betty Box, ''Lifting the Lid'', The Book Guild, 2000, p 237-250 Cyprus was considered too dangerous to film, fighting having broken out there again in December 1963. The unit then transferred to Pinewood Studios. Northolt Airport stood in for Athens Airport. Bogarde had made a number of films with Box and Thomas and the three of them generally got along very well. However, on this film Bogarde was difficult and temperamental. This was the last film he made with Box and Thomas.

Release

The movie's script and release downplayed the political implications of the film. Most contemporary reviews were poor, with criticism of the minimal mention of the Turkish population. The movie was a disappointment at the box office. According to Jonathan Stubbs, "the film depicts the decline of British rule without nostalgia, suggesting that the soldiers called upon to maintain British sovereignty during the Cyprus Emergency were disillusioned and bitterly disengaged from the values which traditionally underpinned traditional power."Stubbs p 105 Ralph Thomas later built a house in Cyprus near

Kyrenia Kyrenia ( el, Κερύνεια ; tr, Girne ) is a city on the northern coast of Cyprus, noted for its historic harbour and castle. It is under the ''de facto'' control of Northern Cyprus. While there is evidence showing that the wider region ...

Plot

Cast

Production

Release

References

Notes

External links