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

action film The action film is a film genre that predominantly features chase sequences, fights, shootouts, explosions, and stunt work. The specifics of what constitutes an action film has been in scholarly debate since the 1980s. While some scholars such as D ...

directed by

Ralph Thomas Ralph Philip Thomas (10 August 1915 – 17 March 2001) was an English film director who directed the Doctor (film series), ''Doctor'' film series. Thomas cast the actor James Robertson Justice in many of his films. He often worked with the pr ...

and starring

Dirk Bogarde Sir Dirk Bogarde (born Derek Jules Gaspard Ulric Niven van den Bogaerde; 28 March 1921 – 8 May 1999) was an English actor, novelist and screenwriter. Initially a matinée idol in films such as ''Doctor in the House (film), Doctor in the Hous ...

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

and

Susan Strasberg Susan Elizabeth Strasberg (May 22, 1938 – January 21, 1999) was an American stage, film, and television actress. Thought to be the next Audrey Hepburn, Hepburn-type Ingénue, ingenue, she was nominated for a Tony Award at age 18, playing the ti ...

. It is set in

Cyprus Cyprus (), officially the Republic of Cyprus, is an island country in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Situated in West Asia, its cultural identity and geopolitical orientation are overwhelmingly Southeast European. Cyprus is the List of isl ...

during the

EOKA The Ethniki Organosis Kyprion Agoniston (EOKA ; ) was a Greek Cypriot nationalist guerrilla organization that fought a campaign for the end of Cyprus#Cyprus under the British Empire, British rule in Cyprus, and for enosis, eventual union with K ...

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, an American archaeology student, is visiting

and staying with the family of her father's best friend, Dr Andros. She witnesses an attack by two

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. Juno then realises that fugitive EOKA General Skyros 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, 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

as Major McGuire *

as Haghios *

as Juno Kozani *

Denholm Elliott Denholm Mitchell Elliott (31 May 1922 – 6 October 1992) was an English actor. He appeared in numerous productions on stage and screen, receiving BAFTA awards for Best Actor in a Supporting Role for ''Trading Places'' (1983), '' A Private Fu ...

as Baker *

Grégoire Aslan Grégoire Aslan (born Krikor Kaloust Aslanian (); 28 March 1908 – 8 January 1982) was a Swiss-Armenian actor and musician. Early life He was born to an Armenian family in Switzerland or in Constantinople, according to different sources. He m ...

as General Stavros Skyros * Colin Campbell as Emile Andros *

Joseph Furst Joseph is a common male name, derived from the Hebrew (). "Joseph" is used, along with " Josef", mostly in English, French and partially German languages. This spelling is also found as a variant in the languages of the modern-day Nordic count ...

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 her ...

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 h ...

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 ''One Morning Near Troodos'' (1956) was a British TV play by Iain MacCormick which aired on the BBC as part of ''Sunday Night Theatre''. It was the first British TV play about the Cyprus Emergency. Plot A journalist in Cyprus is captured by EOKA ...

'' (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 Order of the British Empire, 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 2 ...

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 In February 1964 Rank announced it would make eight films at a cost of £4.5 million, including ''The High Bright Sun'' which was to star an American and two British actors.

Shirley Anne Field Shirley Anne Field (born Shirley Broomfield; 27 June 1936 – 10 December 2023) was an English actress who performed on stage, film and television from 1955 until her death. She was prominent during the British New Wave. Early life Shirley Bro ...

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

Jane Fonda Jane Seymour Fonda (born December 21, 1937) is an American actress and activist. Recognized as a film icon, Jane Fonda filmography, Fonda's work spans several genres and over six decades of film and television. She is the recipient of List of a ...

Jean Seberg Jean Dorothy Seberg (; ; November 13, 1938August 30, 1979) was an American actress. She is considered an icon of the French New Wave as a result of her performance in Jean-Luc Godard's 1960 film ''Breathless''. Seberg appeared in 34 films in ...

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 (film), Days of Wine and Roses'' (1962) and was nominated fo ...

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. Known for his character actor roles, his entertainment career spanned over six decades. He received a British Aca ...

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: Names * George (given name) * George (surname) People * George (singer), American-Canadian singer George Nozuka, known by the mononym George * George Papagheorghe, also known as Jorge / GEØRGE * George, stage name of Giorg ...

Shooting

Filming began in June 1964. It took place on location for a month in

Bari Bari ( ; ; ; ) is the capital city of the Metropolitan City of Bari and of the Apulia Regions of Italy, region, on the Adriatic Sea in southern Italy. It is the first most important economic centre of mainland Southern Italy. It is a port and ...

Foggia Foggia (, ; ; ) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) of Apulia, in Southern Italy, capital of the province of Foggia. In 2013, its population was 153,143. Foggia is the main city of a plain called Tavoliere delle Puglie, Tavoliere, also know ...

and the

Gargano Gargano () is a historical and geographical sub-region in the province of Foggia, Apulia, southeast Italy, consisting of a wide isolated mountain massif made of highland and several peaks and forming the backbone of a promontory projecting into ...

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 eight previous films with Box and Thomas and the three of them generally got along very well. However, on this film Bogarde was difficult and temperamental. It 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. ''Sight and Sound'' wrote it "dodges the political issues and also fails to thrill. Well enough acted." 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 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 of Kyrenia has been populated before, ...

Plot

Cast

Production

Shooting

Release

References

Notes

External links