Ralph Thomas (director)
Network On Air (studio)
Cert U (certificate)
101min (length)
06 April 2015 (released)
15 April 2015
This competent little piece is based upon a novel by Hammond Innes and stars Dirk Bogarde as Bruce Campbell, the terminally ill inheritor of a small piece of land in the Canadian Rockies.
When Campbell arrives in the Rockies to claim his inheritance, he is met with a frosty welcome – and that’s not just the weather! Hoping that ‘Cambell’s Kingdom’, as the stretch of land is referred to, might have oil underneath it, the ailing man sets out to prove just that but his efforts are hampered by nasty construction contractor Owen Morgan (Stanley Baker) and his plans to construct a new hydroelectricity dam. Not only that, but the locals in the nearby backwater of Come Lucky take Morgan’s side as investments in Grandpa Campbell’s oil digging scheme never came to fruition.
As the situation, including Campbell’s health, worsens and Morgan even has one of his lackeys make attempt on the life of his new enemy, our unlikely hero finds stout support only in the loyal Jean Lucas (Barbara Murray) – soon to become his love interest – geologist Boy Bladen (Michael Craig), and drilling contractor MacDonald (James Robertson Justice, a multi-linguist whose Scots accent is singularly lacking in conviction). All this builds towards a gripping climax!
Stanley Baker always exhibited the intenseness of a Welsh Kirk Douglas, and here he gets it just right as the dastardly Morgan. As for the star of the film, the invariably oversensitive Dirk Bogarde may not appear to be the obvious choice for the part but gives a pleasing performance nevertheless. As for the female lead, Barbara Murray’s garish lipstick shade seems ridiculously out of place in the remote Rockies, especially given the fact that she is one helluva goody-goody two-shoes.
Cinematographer Ernest Steward cannot be faulted and his skill particularly comes to prominence in the splendidly restored print of Campbell’s Kingdom.
SPECIAL FEATURES:
* Original theatrical trailer and textless material
* Four image galleries, including behind-the-scenes and publicity shots
