Plot
After an Egyptian Army, commanded by British officers, is destroyed in a battle in the Sudan in the 1880s, the British government is in a quandary. It does not want to commit a British military force to a foreign war, but they have a commitment to protect the Egyptians in Khartoum. They decide to ask General Charles "Chinese" Gordon (Charlton Heston), something of a folk hero in the Sudan, as he had cleared the area of the slave trade, to arrange for the evacuation. Gordon agrees, but also decides to defend the city against the forces of Mohammed Ahmed el Mahdi (Sir Laurence Olivier), "The Expected One", and tries to force the British to commit troops.
Written by
Robert Ardrey
Directed by
Basil Dearden, Eliot Elisofon
Crew
Production Countries
United Kingdom
Production Companies
United Artists, Julian Blaustein Productions Ltd.
Languages
English
Awards
Nominated for 1 Oscar. 3 nominations total