Set during the last days of the British Empire, Richard Attenborough plays Regimental Sergeant-Major Lauderdale, the martinet of an East African military outpost in the middle of the transfer of authority between the white overlords and a newly independent African nation on the eve that native revolutionists start a reign of terror.
The actor spent a year trailing an RSM in preparation for the role, and it paid rich dividends. Ferociously steely and ultra-officious, Attenborough is utterly convincing as Lauderdale, a man whose career is his very reason for being.
The coup d’état that threatens his position brings out the best and worst in the man.
Regimental Sgt. Major Lauderdale
Richard Attenborough
Colonel Deal
Jack Hawkins
Miss Barker-Wise
Flora Robson
Private Wilkes
John Leyton
Karen Eriksson
Mia Farrow
Fletcher
Cecil Parker
Lieut. Boniface
Errol John
Sgt. ‘Dodger’ Brown
Graham Stark
Captain Abraham
Earl Cameron
Colour Sgt. Ben Parkin
Percy Herbert
Sgt. ‘Muscles’ Dunn
David Lodge
Sgt. ‘Schoolie’ Prideaux
Bernard Horsfall
Sgt. ‘Aussie’ Drake
John Meillon
Corporal Abou
Horace James
Captain
Patrick Holt
Director
John Guillermin