User:Pfifieldny/A Boy Ten Feet Tall

Sammy Going South (1963) Alternate Title: A Boy Ten Feet Tall

Released in the US as A Boy Ten Feet Tall, Sammy Going South is an adventure movie about a 10-year-old boy who travels across the entire continent of Africa. Sammy (Fergus McClelland) lives in Port Said, Egypt, with his parents. They are killed in a bombing during the Suez Crisis and in the ensuing panic he flees the city. He sets out to reach his only living relative, an aunt who lives 5000 miles to the south in Durban, South Africa--on the other side of the continent and in a different hemisphere.

Along his journey Sammy encounters a colorful array of characters. His first "guide" is an Arab peddler who dies in a freak accident. Sammy is then "rescued" by wealthy tourist Gloria van Imhoff (Constance Cummings). She wants to return him to Port Said, so Sammy runs off and encounters a crusty old hunter/diamond smuggler Cocky Wainwright (Edward G. Robinson). The winds up saving Wainwright's life. When the police search for Sammy, they arrest the old man, who has been a fugitive for years. When Sammy is finally united with his Aunt Jane (Zena Walker), he learns that the old smuggler has willed him his fortune.

I viewed this film as a little boy in the cinema and it had several scary scenes that have stayed with me all these years.

"Released in the US at 88 minutes, Sammy Going South was restored to its full 118 minutes for television." ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Sammy Going South was directed by Alexander Mackendrick, of Sweet Smell of Success fame. It was based on a novel by W.H. Canaway and was adapted for the screen by Denis Cannan.

It was produced by Michael Balcon Productions and Bryanston Films. Bryanston released the film in the UK while in the US Sammy Going South was released as A Boy Ten Feet Tall by Paramount Pictures in 1965. It was first broadcast on American television by the American Broadcasting Company (ABC) in 1971.

Sammy Going South was nominated for a BAFTA Film Award for best British cinematography in 1964. The director of photography was Erwin Hillier.

Sammy Going South at IMDB: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0056886/