Where No Vultures Fly

Plot

The film is set in East Africa near the boundary between Kenya and Tanzania. The story follows the early days of game warden Bob Payton (Anthony Steel) in his establishment of a 1000 square mile wildlife reserve. He is horrified by the destruction of wild animals by ivory hunters. He establishes a wildlife sanctuary. He is attacked by wild animals and must contend with a villainous ivory poacher (Harold Warrender).

When he confronts the ivory poacher in a remote area one night the poacher's native accomplices spear him in the leg and run off. As a leopard is about to attack the injured Payton one of his own native helpers comes to his rescue. The poacher meets a fatal end when his jeep is chased over a cliff by a rhinoceros.

Featured cast

Production

Development

Where No Vultures Fly was one of a series of "expeditionary films" Harry Watt made, like The Overlanders, where he would find the story from visiting a location. "These expeditionary films are really journalistic jobs", he wrote later. "You get sent out to a country by the studio, stay as long as you can without being fired and a story generally crops up."

Watt got the idea of the film after a chance remark from a game warden in Tanganyika. He was shooting zebras and when Watt wondered if it was necessary, the warden remarked that Watt "talk like Mervyn Cowie". This prompted the director to track down Cowie in Nairobi, who inspired the story.

W. P. Lipscomb wrote the script based on Harry Watt's original idea. Ralph Smart worked on it. According to Leslie Norman "the script was turned down generally, so I went in and added a bit which made them accept it."

The film was a co-production between Ealing and South Africa's African Films, with half the financing coming from South Africa. (Africa Films was a South African theatre chain.)

Shooting

Dinah Sheridan flew to Kenya at the end of November 1950 for a four-month shoot.Dinah Will Be Four Months in Jungle Author: Cecil Wilson Date: Friday, Nov. 17, 1950 Publication: Daily Mail (London, England) Issue p 3 Watt took a full unit to Africa and based it at Amboseli, south of Nairobi. They built a complete village of huts for the crew to live in.

Anthony Steel contracted malaria during filming on location in Kenya.

Reception

The film was selected for the 1951 Royal Command Performance, over other contenders such as A Place in the Sun and Outcast of the Islands, becoming the last one during the reign of George VI.

Critical response

Variety praised the photography but felt the film had been given "false value by the Command selection".

According to Filmink "this played more to his strengths" than Watt's previous movie Eureka Stockade with "location filming, based on a true story, simple concept."

Box office

It was the second most popular film at the British box office in 1952. It also made $800,000 in the US, which was considered strong at the time for a British film. It made Anthony Steel a star of British cinema.{{cite magazine|magazine=Filmink|first=Stephen|last=Vagg|url=https://www.filmink.com.au/the-emasculation-of-anthony-steel-a-cold-streak-saga/|title=The Emasculation of Anthony Steel: A Cold Streak Saga

In 1957, the film and its sequel were listed among the seventeen most popular films the Rank organisation ever released in the US.

References

References

1. (2003). "British Cinema of The 1950s The Decline of Deference". Oxford University Press USA.
2. The film was inspired by the work of the [[conservation movement
3. [https://web.archive.org/web/20090114021638/http://ftvdb.bfi.org.uk/sift/title/57777 Where No Vultures Fly], British Film Institute.
4. John Allan May. The. (Apr 4, 1952). "Come What May: In Lightest Africa ...". Christian Science Monitor.
5. [http://movies.nytimes.com/movie/review?_r=2&res=950DE0DA123AE23BBC4152DFBE668389649EDE&oref=slogin Ivory Hunter (1951)], ''New York Times'', 1952-08-19.
6. "BFI Screenonline: Where No Vultures Fly (1951)".
7. (16 February 1952). "Film circus goes on safari.". [[The News (Adelaide).
8. Brian McFarlane, ''An Autobiography of British Cinema'', Metheun 1997 p440
9. J. A. BROWN. (Apr 13, 1952). "A REPORT ON FILM PRODUCTION IN SOUTH AFRICA: Exports Bolster Dark Continent's Small But Hopeful Industry". New York Times.
10. Our Financial Staff. (14 July 1953). "U.S. CONCERN SELLS ODEON SHARES: South African Buyer". The Manchester Guardian.
11. (28 November 1951). "Stars glitter for Royalty.". [[The Australian Women's Weekly]].
12. (27 October 1951). "Surprise choice for command screening.". [[The Mail (Adelaide).
13. (7 November 1951). "COMMAND FILM GLAMOUR NIGHT.". [[The Mercury (Hobart).
14. (21 November 1951). "Where No Vultures Fly".
15. Vagg, Stephen. (5 January 2024). "Wrecking Australian stories: The Siege of Pinchgut".
16. (28 December 1952). "COMEDIAN TOPS FILM POLL.". [[The Sunday Herald (Sydney).
17. Thumim, Janet. "The popular cash and culture in the postwar British cinema industry".
18. (6 March 1957). "Rank's Rebel Yell".
19. STEPHEN WATTS. (Mar 24, 1957). "BRITAIN'S MOVIE SCENE: AN AMERICAN FILM EVOLVES IN THE ORIENT". New York Times.