''The Last Grenade'' is a 1970 British

war film War film is a film genre concerned with warfare, typically about navy, naval, air force, air, or army, land battles, with combat scenes central to the drama. It has been strongly associated with the 20th century. The fateful nature of battle s ...

directed by

Gordon Flemyng Gordon William Flemyng (7 March 1934 – 12 July 1995) was a Scottish television and film director. He was also a writer and producer. He directed six theatrical features, several television films and numerous episodes of television series, some ...

and starring

Stanley Baker Sir William Stanley Baker (28 February 192828 June 1976) was a Welsh actor and film producer. Known for his rugged appearance and intense, grounded screen persona, he was one of the top British male film stars of the late 1950s, and later a pro ...

and

Alex Cord Alexander Viespi Jr. (May 3, 1933 – August 9, 2021), known professionally as Alex Cord, was an American actor, best known for his portrayal of Michael Coldsmith Briggs III, better known as Archangel, in 55 episodes of the television series '' ...

as two soldiers of fortune, formerly comrades, who now find themselves on opposite sides. The cast also includes Richard Attenborough,

Honor Blackman Honor Blackman (22 August 1925 – 5 April 2020) was an English actress, known for the roles of Cathy Gale in '' The Avengers''Aaker, Everett (2006). ''Encyclopedia of Early Television Crime Fighters''. McFarland & Company, Inc. . P. 58. (1962 ...

Rafer Johnson Rafer Lewis Johnson (August 18, 1934 – December 2, 2020) was an American decathlon, decathlete and film actor. He was the 1960 Olympic gold medalist in the decathlon, having won silver in 1956. He had previously won a gold in the 1955 Pan Amer ...

John Thaw John Edward Thaw, (3 January 1942 – 21 February 2002) was an English actor who appeared in a range of television, stage, and cinema roles. He starred in the television series '' Inspector Morse'' as title character Detective Chief Inspector ...

Andrew Keir Andrew Keir ( né Buggy, 3 April 19265 October 1997) was a Scottish actor who appeared in a number of films made by Hammer Film Productions in the 1960s. He was also active in television, and especially in the theatre, in a professional career ...

, and

Julian Glover Julian Wyatt Glover (born 27 March 1935) is an English classical actor with many stage, television, and film roles since commencing his career in the 1950s. He is a recipient of the Laurence Olivier Award and has performed many times for the ...

. It was the final feature film directed by Flemyng.

Synopsis

Beginning in the Congo, a group of mercenaries led by British Major Harry Grigsby are due to be picked up by helicopters after completing a mission. As they board the choppers they are fired on from the helicopters by another group of mercenaries led by American Kip Thompson, who has been hired to change sides. Recovering in the United Kingdom, Grigsby is recruited by the British government to take out Thompson, who has been hired by Red China to stir up trouble in the

New Territories The New Territories is one of the three main regions of Hong Kong, alongside Hong Kong Island and the Kowloon Peninsula. It makes up 86.2% of Hong Kong's territory, and contains around half of the population of Hong Kong. Historically, it ...

between Hong Kong and Red China. As neither nation wants open warfare with the other, each side hires expendable mercenaries. Grigsby recruits his surviving old crew including Joe Jackson, Terry Mitchell, Gordon Mackenzie, and Andy Royal. In addition to fighting Thompson, Grigsby finds time to seduce the wife, Katherine, of his liaison, a British General Charles Whiteley.

Cast

as Maj. Harry Grigsby *

as Kip Thompson *

as Katherine Whiteley * Richard Attenborough as Gen. Charles Whiteley *

as Joe Jackson *

as Gordon Mackenzie * Ray Brooks as Lt. David Coulson *

as Andy Royal *

as Terry Mitchell *

Gerald Sim Gerald Grant Sim (4 June 1925 – 11 December 2014) was an English television and film actor who is perhaps best known for having played the Rector in '' To the Manor Born''. Career Sim was born in Liverpool, Lancashire and made over a hundred ...

as Dr. Griffiths *

Philip Latham Charles Philip Latham (17 January 1929 – 20 June 2020) was a British television actor. He was educated at Felsted School and the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, from which he graduated in 1951. In the late 1960s/early 1970s he was well kno ...

as Adams * A. J. Brown as Governor * Pamela Stanley as Governor's Lady * Paul Dawkins as Commissioner Doyle * Kenji Takaki as Te Ching

Production

It was one of a series of films produced by Dimitri de Grunwald, who called ''The Last Grenades commercial prospects "safe-ish". The film was shot at

Shepperton Studios Shepperton Studios is a film studio located in Shepperton, Surrey, England, with a history dating back to 1931. It is now part of the Pinewood Studios Group. During its early existence, the studio was branded as Sound City (not to be confused ...

and on location in

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

and

Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delta i ...

. The sets were designed by the art director

Anthony Pratt Anthony Pratt may refer to: * Anthony Pratt (businessman) (born 1960), Australian billionaire, executive chairman of Pratt Industries and board member of Visy Industries * Anthony D. G. Pratt (born 1937), British art director * Anthony E. Pratt ...

. The film only uses names of the characters from John Sherlock's 1964 novel ''The Ordeal of Major Grigsby'' that was set in the Malayan Emergency in 1948. Sherlock co-wrote the original screenplay that was rewritten by James Mitchell. The

working title A working title, which may be abbreviated and styled in trade publications after a putative title as (wt), also called a production title or a tentative title, is the temporary title of a product or project used during its development, usually ...

of the film was ''Grigsby''.

References

External links

* * 1970 films British war films Cold War films Films set in the Democratic Republic of the Congo 1970s war films Films directed by Gordon Flemyng Films shot in Spain Films shot in Hong Kong Films set in Hong Kong Films about mercenaries Films produced by Dimitri de Grunwald Films shot at Shepperton Studios Films scored by John Dankworth 1970s English-language films 1970s British films {{war-film-stub