Stanley Baker

A small aircraft crash lands in the Kalahari Desert. One of the passengers decides to search for help, while the remaining five, including one woman, take shelter in a mountain populated by a troop of baboons. A small airplane crashes in the sweltering deserts of southern Africa hundreds of miles from civilization. As parallels are drawn between the stranded group of seven passengers and a nearby pack of savage baboons, one of the men's survivalist nature gets the better of him, as he decides his chances of survival would be better if the other men were eliminated one-by-one.

In January 1879, a communiqué to the government in London, (narrated by Richard Burton), details the crushing defeat of a British force at the hands of the Zulus at the Battle of Isandlwana on January 22, 1879. At a mass Zulu marriage ceremony witnessed by Boer missionary Otto Witt (Jack Hawkins) and his daughter (Ulla Jacobsson), Zulu King Cetewayo (Chief Mangosuthu Buthelezi) is also informed of the great victory earlier in the day. Witt and his daughter flee from the Zulu village to warn the British soldiers at their mission at Rorke's Drift about an impending Zulu attack. A company of the British Army's 24th Regiment of Foot, a Welsh regiment, is using the missionary station of Rorke's Drift in Natal as a supply depot and hospital for their invasion force across the border in Zululand. Upon receiving news of Isandhlwana from the Witts and that a large enemy force is advancing their way, Lieutenant John Chard (Stanley Baker) of the Royal Engineers assumes command of the small 135-man British detachment, being senior by virtue of his commission date to Lieutenant Gonville Bromhead (Michael Caine), who, as an infantry officer, is rather put out to find himself subordinate to an engineer. From a Boer frontier police officer, Chard and Bromhead are told of the Zulu's standard tactical doctrine, the simple but deadly effective Bull formation that enables a twinned pincer maneuver while a front force keeps the enemy occupied. Realising that they cannot outrun the Zulu army, especially with wounded soldiers and a counter-offensive against Zulu tactics would be suicide in any case, Chard decides to fortify the station and make a stand, using wagons, sacks of mealie, and crates of ship's biscuit. When Witt becomes drunk and starts demoralising the men with his dire predictions, causing the soldiers of the Natal Native Contingent to desert, Chard orders him and his daughter to leave. A group of Zulu warriors, on the hills around the fort, see them but recognizing them as missionaries, allow Witt and his daughter to pass by them. As the Zulu impis approach, a contingent of Boer horsemen arrives. They advise Chard that defending the station is hopeless before they flee, despite Chard's desperate pleas for them to stay. Minutes later, a low rumbling is heard which are thousands of Zulu warriors banging their spears against their cow-hide sheilds which according to Bromhead "it sounds like a train". The 4,000-strong Zulu impis appears on a ridge overlooking Rorke's Drift and advances to attack. After an inital assault, hundreds of Zulu riflemen open fire on the station from a neighbouring hill. Over the next few hours, wave after wave of Zulu attackers are repelled. The Zulus do succeed in setting fire to the hospital, leading to intense hand-to-hand fighting between British patients and Zulu warriors as the former try to escape the flames. Malingering Private Henry Hook (James Booth) surprises everyone by taking charge in the successful breakout. Attacks continue into the night. The next morning, at dawn, the Zulus approach to within several hundred yards and begin singing a war chant; the British respond by singing "Men of Harlech". In the last assault, just as it seems the Zulus will finally overwhelm the tired defenders, the British soldiers fall back to a tiny redoubt that Chard had earlier ordered constructed out of mealie bags. With a reserve of soldiers hidden within the redoubt, they form into three ranks, and pour volley after volley into the stunned natives, who withdraw after sustaining heavy casualties. Later, the Zulus sing a song to honour the bravery of the defenders and leave. The film ends with a narration by Richard Burton, listing the defenders who received the Victoria Cross, including Private Hook. Eleven were awarded for the actual fighting at Rorke's Drift.

British soldiers are sent on a mission to dismantle two large German guns guarding the Greek island of Navarone and making the evacuation of endangered British troops on a neighboring island impossible.

The captain of an Antarctic whaling ship falls overboard in mysterious circumstances and his daughter, aided by a sympathetic American, decides to investigate the accident. Duncan Craig signs on a whaling ship, partly because his own business deal has fallen through, partly to help Judie Nordhall find her father. Rumor has it that her father may have been murdered by Erik Bland, son of her father's partner and her one-time lover. Duncan and Erik find themselves on rival whaleboats and, ultimately, on an ice floe. —Ed Stephan <stephan@cc.wwu.edu>

King Arthur's rule is threatened by the adulterous love between Sir Lancelot and Queen Guinevere, a relationship the king's enemies hope to exploit. King Arthur establishes the greatest reign England has ever seen, and along for the ride are his indispensable Knights of the Round Table, particularly Sir Lancelot. Then, Arthur finds himself a bride, the beautiful Guenivere. While she loves Arthur, she also loves Lancelot and though Lancelot repeatedly fights it, he loves her, too. Treachery is brewing as the evil Morgan le Fay and her knight Sir Modred work to trap them. So begins the decline and eventual fall of Arthur and Camelot. —Tommy Peter Sir Lancelot travels from France to pledge his allegiance to Arthur Pendragon, whose fame has spread far and wide. Arthur is named king after he draws the sword Excalibur from the anvil in which his father had placed it. Arthur isn't the only claimant to rule as Mordred also has his eye on the throne. Sir Lancelot is immediately attracted to a beautiful woman not realizing she is Guinevere and promised to Arthur. He is loyal and true to his King. Mordred takes advantage of the situation but his treachery is uncovered in the end. It does not lead to a happy ending however. —garykmcd In the middle ages, the knight, Sir Lancelot of the Lake, travels from his home in Benwick, France to England in search of Arthur Pendragon, who, on reputation alone, he plans to serve loyally as the rightful sovereign ruler of England. There has already been much bloodshed over the issue of rule in England, with Arthur's half sister, Morgan Le Fay, claiming she is the rightful ruler, while Arthur has demonstrated such by the legend of being able to remove the sword Excaliber from its anvil, something that Morgan's knight champion, Modred, was unable to do. In ruling, Arthur plans to marry his childhood sweetheart, Lady Guinevere, in Camelot. Upon their meeting, Lancelot and Arthur become steadfast friends with Lancelot making that commitment to Arthur's service as long as he is needed. The pair prove to be an unbeatable combination as they defeat Modred and his men in battle, with Arthur ascending to the throne. In wanting peace in England and against the advice of Lancelot, Arthur, as King, pardons all those against who he fought in battle, including Modred. Merlin, the sorcerer who has been like a wise father to Arthur, believes it best to keep both Modred and Morgan close to their breasts to be able to watch their actions more closely. Indeed, Modred and Morgan plan to overthrow Arthur by exploiting something that Arthur does not know: that Lancelot and Guinevere have fallen in love with each other. Indeed, Lancelot fell in love with her at first sight before knowing who she was, with both knowing that nothing can happen between them, which may not be enough to prevent Modred's plan. Meanwhile, Percival, Arthur's knight errant, has seen visions that he is to go on a quest in search of the Holy Grail, that search may affect the fates of Arthur, Guinevere and Lancelot. —Huggo