York plays Grace Munden, the lone female character, who displays a lack of moral strength until late in the film. Susannah York and Stuart Whitman face the toughest acting challenges. They bring their characters to life even though writer-director Cy Endfield fails to flesh their parts out as as skillfully as the survivors in The Flight of the Phoenix.ĭirector Enfield's numerous overhead shots suggest the baboons Fortunately, Sands of the Kalahari features solid veteran British performers such as Stanley Baker, Harry Andrews, Susannah York, and Davenport.
In a film with a small ensemble cast, well-drawn characters and strong performances can make all the difference. He just bides his time until Sturdevan leaves, then O'Brien takes over as the monarch of the group. The only difference is that O'Brien doesn't have to fight his biggest rival, Sturdevan. And he can only be deposed if he is defeated by a younger and stronger challenger." Bondrachai could just as well have been talking about the his fellow survivors. He gets first choice to all the food and the females. Bondrachai (Theodore Bikel) notes: "There is a leader, a king, an absolute monarch. In describing an article on baboons, a passenger named Dr. Indeed, although the baboons play a key role in the climax, their primary purpose is to provide an analogy. I was mistaken, though, for the baboons are not the film's villain that would be O'Brien. I could have sworn the central premise pitted the passengers against the baboons. I recently watched Sands of the Kalahari for the first time in probably two decades. However, it gradually becomes clear that O'Brien is an extreme survivalist who wants to get rid of more than just the baboons. He heartlessly kills the baboons, explaining that they are the group's competitors for food. When Sturdevan leaves the group to seek out help, O'Brien (Stuart Whitman) assumes his role. There is also a congress of baboons (yes, I looked that up) nearby, but the monkeys with the scary-looking teeth only express curiosity about their new neighbors. He guides the others to a mountainous area with drinkable water, melons for food, and caves for protection. The pilots are killed, but the passengers escape before the plane bursts into flames.Ī passenger called Sturdevan (Nigel Davenport) emerges as the group's leader. During the flight, the aircraft encounters an enormous horde of locusts that clogs the engines and sends the plane crashing into the Kalahari desert. The pilot accepts one final passenger even though he knows it puts the plane over its weight-carrying limit. The opening scenes closely mirror The Flight of the Phoenix with six passengers boarding a small cargo plane for Johannesburg after their commercial flight is delayed. However, time has been kind to this sometimes brutal film and it has developed a cult reputation over the years. It did not click with movie-goers nor critics (Bosley Crowthers of the New York Times wrote: "It is largely a question of who can take the Technicolored agony longer, the characters or the customers"). A third representative, the lesser-know Sands of the Kalahari, hit theaters as well. Two of the best-known examples of that subgenre- The Flight of the Phoenix and The Naked Prey-were released that year. 1965 was a banner year for well-made survivalist adventures.