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<\/p>\nCy Endfield\u2019s intense African survival adventure purports to teach lessons about the Territorial Imperative and the easy slide to savagery when civilization is far away. Plane-wreck survivors in a remote African desert must fight the local baboon population for food and water. Stuart Whitman, Stanley Baker and Nigel Davenport tempted by the female castaway, Susannah York. It\u2019s certainly realistic, if too insistent in its thesis that humans are No Damn Good. But it will delight nihilistic survivalists.<\/p>\n
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Sands of the Kalahari<\/b> Sands of the Kalahari<\/b> is a rough picture, unusually brutal and unforgiving for its year, 1965. We\u2019re told it didn\u2019t do well at the box office. In the U.S. it was sold almost like a Hammer film, with \u2018shocking\u2019 radio spots that reminded us of the promotions for \u00a0The Flesh Eaters<\/a> a year previous. It didn\u2019t sound like a date movie, that\u2019s for sure. The English censors reportedly took a scissors to the violence, which may have hurt its appeal to exploitation audiences.<\/p>\n Writer-director Cy (sometimes Cyril) Endfield was a remarkable Hollywood blacklistee whose career was taken away by the HUAC investigators just before he could establish himself as an A-list talent. Endfield\u2019s final Hollywood movies had been expos\u00e9 dramas highly critical of the social status quo. \u00a0The Underworld Story<\/a> and \u00a0Try and Get Me!<\/a> (both 1950) revealed undercurrents of bigotry, racism and lawlessness in a society dominated by the interests of the rich and powerful. Although never a member of the Communist party, Enfield had been active in leftist politics in the 1930s and knew that he would be called before the committee to \u2018confess\u2019 and name names. He instead left the country, joining the expatriate ranks of Joseph Losey, Jules Dassin and John Berry.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Relocated to England, Enfield began by directing under false names. In 1956 he worked with young actor Stanley Baker, who wanted very much to start his own production company. Their Diamond Films would produce the 70mm Road Show hit \u00a0Zulu<\/a> on an epic scale in South Africa. The partners\u2019 immediate follow-up feature took advantage of their South African experience. William Mulvihill\u2019s novel Sands of the Kalahari put a grimly realistic spin on the oft-told story of plane crash survivors lost in the wilderness. The standard plane crash tale was a small-scale disaster drama, with a passenger list that included a honeymoon couple, a criminal en route to prison, a disillusioned soldier of fortune, etc. The core classic is John Farrow\u2019s 1939 \u00a0Five Came Back<\/a>, which builds to a moral, sentimental reckoning on who will fly to safety and who will be left behind.<\/p>\n Endfield and Baker\u2019s Sands of the Kalahari<\/b> instead proffers a survival ordeal on the boundary between civilization and savagery. The theme was also prominent in two other African adventures of the middle 1960s, Robert Aldrich\u2019s \u00a0The Flight of the Phoenix<\/a> and Cornel Wilde\u2019s \u00a0The Naked Prey<\/a>. In Endfield\u2019s violent nightmare, the greatest hazard comes from within the downed group of passengers lost in the desert \u2014 five men and one young woman.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Inconvenienced by a flight delay, six impatient travelers collectively charter a smaller plane. All goes well until they hit a massive swarm of locusts and are forced down in the Kalahari Desert. One passenger is killed in the rough landing, and the others escape with little more than the clothes on their backs. They are the pilot Sturdevan (Nigel Davenport), retired German soldier Grimmelman (Harry Andrews), friendly Doctor Bondrachai (Theodore Bikel), injured engineer Bain (Stanley Baker), divorced Grace Munkton (Susannah York) and an American hunter, O\u2019Brien (Stuart Whitman). Badly in need of water, the group elects to start walking, and for a while functions as a cooperative unit. They discover that a rocky area is inhabited by a large band of ferocious, intimidating baboons \u2014 who have access to a natural spring.<\/p>\n Big game hunter O\u2019Brien has retained his rifle and supply of ammunition. As if taking up a challenge, he strips off his shirt and starts slaying monkeys left and right to establish dominance but also to lessen competition for the food supply. Old Grimmmelman dispenses cautious observations and the Doctor remains cheerful and cooperative. Bain stays silent, watching O\u2019Brien and Sturdevan establish themselves as the he-men of the outfit. When O\u2019Brien brings down an Eland, everybody feasts.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n As their hope for a timely rescue fades, the story\u2019s Darwinian outlines come to the fore. Sturdevant suddenly gets it in his head to rape Grace, an event that doesn\u2019t result in the expected further violence. But the disgrace motivates Sturdevant to volunteer to walk out alone to bring help. That leaves O\u2019Brien in charge, and Grace openly gravitates toward him like an animal choosing the fittest biological partner. The arrogant O\u2019Brien does indeed project a \u2018most likely to survive\u2019 vibe. He feels empowered to make autocratic decisions for the entire group, and contributes the un-reassuring observation that his personal chances for survival would be better if there were fewer colleagues to feed.<\/p>\n After the positive thrills of Zulu, writer-director Endfield\u2019s Kalahari returns to the unflinching pessimism of his earlier noir thrillers \u2014 unpleasant people committing violent, tragic crimes. O\u2019Brien\u2019s Darwinian ruthlessness soon becomes intolerable, serving as a bold critique of Ayn Rand\u2019s \u00a0The Fountainhead<\/a>. Given too much authority, egotistical individuals will wreck any society. \u2018Anti-social imperatives\u2019 would be the focus of Cornel Wilde\u2019s crude 1970 post-apocalyptic tale \u00a0No Blade of Grass<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Cy Endfield and cinematographer Erwin Hillier give Sands of the Kalahari a hard, bright surface in Panavision and Technicolor. Everything about the adventure is crisply staged and graphically clear. The thousands of locusts we see clogging the plane\u2019s engines pre-empt the need for a technical explanation for the crash. With such impressive baboon footage we wonder why no animal wrangler is credited. There are no phony cutaways to fake docu footage or nature film. These powerful, intelligent monkeys are a constant threat. The baboons seem to wait for an opportunity to retaliate. They tenderly care for their infants. None is disloyal to the tribe, behavior that contrasts strongly with that of the human intruders.<\/p>\n To Endfield\u2019s credit, the extreme survivalist madness is not endorsed. The thesis strains but does not break when Grace elects to passively let the strongest man claim her. O\u2019Brien becomes a modern Tarzan, lording it over the savage animals. What he\u2019s going to do when the cartridges run out, only he can say \u2014 he purposely throws himself into dangerous situations, as if craving the thrill of combat and not caring if anybody survives. The repeated image is that of O\u2019Brien running barebacked through the rocks to blast away at his simian foes. The least credible aspect is O\u2019Brien\u2019s skin: under that sun, one would think he would be blistering after only an hour.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n The ugly proceedings never seem to let up. Doctor Bondrachai is alone and unarmed when he is confronted by a wary band of Bushmen. When Sturdevan reaches the coast and is \u2018rescued,\u2019 he finds out the hard way that his plane crashed in territory set aside for diamond mining, and that anyone caught within the perimeter is presumed to be a smuggler. Brutal company security men proceed to torment him for information. \u00a0\u2191 \u00a0Back with the other survivors, Bain finally realizes that he must find a way to disarm the murderous O\u2019Brien.<\/p>\n Elements of Kalahari seem to presage more famous directors\u2019 films about the struggle for survival. O\u2019Brien\u2019s standoff against the aggressive baboons on a small outcropping of rock looks very much like the \u2018Dawn of Man\u2019 waterhole scene in Stanley Kubrick\u2019s \u00a02001: A Space Odyssey<\/a>, released three years later. Susannah York\u2019s silent response to the desolation of the desert reminds us of Jenny Agutter in Nicolas Roeg\u2019s later \u00a0Walkabout<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n The last thing Cy Endfield offers is a conventional hero or heroine. We\u2019re only given character detail that motivates the narrative; people don\u2019t step up to \u2018explain themselves.\u2019 \u00a0We must decide on our own why Grace behaves as she does, and why Bain remains passive for so long. O\u2019Brien, the man of action, may be Stuart Whitman\u2019s best screen performance. The next year\u2019s \u00a0An American Dream<\/a> signaled his descent into less important roles and television work. None of the passengers is a standard type, not even Harry Andrews\u2019 ex-Wehrmacht officer. Theodore Bikel is especially likable as the kind Doctor, an inoffensive fellow who isn\u2019t as helpless as he appears.<\/p>\n When first announced, every film project seems to have tried to attract superstar actors, and when MGM was involved Kalahari announced that Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton were interested. Although dropping out of projects was the norm for the famous acting couple, other cast positions went through abrupt changes as well. George Peppard almost made it to filming, but he and director Endfield didn\u2019t get along. When Peppard left Stanley Baker moved in to play O\u2019Brien, which would have given the producer-star yet another villainous role to play. But Stuart Whitman asked to swap parts, a change that gave the survivor group a much better personality dynamic.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Stanley Baker spent ten years playing cruel, sneering villains, especially in \u00a0Biblical epics<\/a>. He\u2019s a great cop in Val Guest\u2019s \u00a0Hell is a City<\/a>, but Hollywood\u2019s idea of a breakthrough in a big pictures was a supporting role as a \u00a0psychotic commando<\/a>. Baker\u2019s stalwart hero in Zulu was magnificent, but after the failure of Sands of Kalahari he went back to criminals. As a producer he was a positive force in the English film industry.<\/p>\n The movie\u2019s unrelenting negativity can be disconcerting. The U.S. advertising campaign was accompanied by the kind of \u2018not recommended for children\u2026\u2019 viewer warnings associated with a horror film, a gambit that would prove successful with Cornel Wilde\u2019s \u00a0The Naked Prey and \u00a0Beach Red<\/a>. A couple of years later, the \u2018violence breakthrough\u2019 of \u00a0Bonnie & Clyde<\/a>, \u00a0Point Blank<\/a> and \u00a0The St. Valentine\u2019s Day Massacre<\/a> was enough to ensure the adoption of a ratings system, and the abandonment of the increasingly unworkable Production Code guidelines.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n The KL Studio Classics Blu-ray<\/b> of Sands of the Kalahari<\/b> is described as a new HD Master from a 4K Scan of the 35mm original camera negative. As such it betters by far Olive Films\u2019 release from 2011. The new disc is sharper overall, with desert textures that emphasize the harsh, clean environment. As noted before, Erwin Hillier\u2019s cinematography is so precise that we wince at a shot of the airplane flying into the sun. John Dankworth\u2019s serviceable score underlines the film\u2019s emotional highlights, especially the grim finale.<\/p>\n A new commentary from Kino regulars Howard S. Berger and Nathaniel Thompson is the main extra. There\u2019s a lot to say about Enfield & Baker\u2019s Diamond Films company, which hit paydirt with Zulu but miscalculated with this one: maybe the filmgoing audience that year just had its fill of cruel negativity.<\/p>\n Viewers with survivalist leanings may relish Kalahari\u2019s ideas about the territorial imperative, and the notion that savagery is always waiting beneath the veneer of civilization. Other audiences will find Cy Endfield\u2019s survivalist ideas to be far too cynical. As far as big lessons learned, my personal takeaway is to always carry Gatorade and to stay away from hostile diamond-country security police.<\/p>\n Reviewed by Glenn Erickson<\/p>\n Sands of the Kalahari<\/b> Visit CineSavant\u2019s Main Column Page<\/a>
Blu-ray<\/b>
KL Studio Classics
1965 \/ Color \/ 2:35 widescreen \/ 119 min. \/ Street Date June 17, 2025 \/ available through Kino Lorber<\/a> \/ 29.95
Starring: Stuart Whitman, Stanley Baker, Susannah York, Nigel Davenport, Harry Andrews, Theodore Bikel, Barry Lowe.
Cinematography: Erwin Hillier
Art Directors: Seamus Flannery, George Provis
Special effects: Cliff Richardson, Wally Veevers
Film Editor: John Jympson
Music Composer: John Dankworth
Screenplay Written by Cy Endfield from a novel by William Mulvihill
Executive producer Joseph E. Levine
Produced by Cy Endfield, Stanley Baker
Directed by Cy Endfield<\/p>\n![](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/6250CSlogoleft0120.png\")
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Endfield had previously directed \u00a0Mysterious Island<\/a>, a much different kind of lost-aircraft adventure. Ray Harryhausen\u2019s fantastic monsters were almost endearing. Here in the Kalahari, Endfield and his crew give us a mob of baboons that brandish frightening dagger-like teeth. \u00a0\u2192<\/p>\n![](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/5550KLSC917.jpg\")
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Blu-ray rates:
Movie: Good ++
Video: Excellent
Sound: Excellent
Supplements:
Audio commentary by Howard S. Berger and Nathaniel Thompson.
Deaf and Hearing-impaired Friendly? YES<\/b>; Subtitles: English (feature only)
Packaging: One Blu-ray in Keep case
Reviewed: August 19, 2025
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Glenn Erickson answers most reader mail: cinesavant@gmail.com<\/a><\/p>\n
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