Director: Nicholas Ray

Writers: Bernard Gordon; Robert Hamer; Philip Yordan

Keywords: Drama

Name	Occupation	Birth	Death	Known for
Harry Andrews	Actor	10-Nov-1911	6-Mar-1989	The Agony and the Ecstasy
Ava Gardner	Actor	24-Dec-1922	25-Jan-1990	The Barefoot Contessa
Leo Genn	Actor	9-Aug-1905	26-Jan-1978	Quo Vadis
Charlton Heston	Actor	4-Oct-1923	5-Apr-2008	The Ten Commandments
John Ireland	Actor	30-Jan-1914	21-Mar-1992	All the King's Men
Paul Lukas	Actor	26-May-1887	15-Aug-1971	Watch on the Rhine
David Niven	Actor	1-Mar-1909	29-Jul-1983	Pencil-moustachioed actor
Nicholas Ray	Film Director	7-Aug-1911	16-Jun-1979	Rebel Without a Cause
Flora Robson	Actor	28-Mar-1902	7-Jul-1984	Fire Over England

REVIEWS

Review by mumford (posted on 24-Mar-2008)

One of Samuel Bronstons "epics" of the 60's 55 Days at Peking is notable for its lavish sets, thousands of extras and "big" name stars. Similar formulas were used for The Fall Of The Roman Empire, El Cid and King of Kings with variable results. 55 Days was a box office failure but all things considered not too bad. You won't remember much after viewing the film but it has its moments. Of course the casting is all over the map with non Asian actors playing the Chinese. Flora Robeson plays the Empress with authority, David Niven walks through his part and Charlton Heston is well, Charlton Heston. Wooden as an old utility pole. Boy was he ever terrible most of the time. Ava Gardner has the thankless role of a "woman of ill repute, etc. with a heart of gold. But Ms. Gardner does a fine job of it. The real stars of the film are the craftspeople who built the lavish sets and staged the great action scenes. Forget the script, it's horrible. Bronston could stage huge productions due to the low overhead in Spain. His films are impressive for their attention to detail, no CGI in those days. They had to build everything. Not anywhere near the class of El Cid but on the whole a good way to see why many say "They don't make them like that anymore".

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