Campbell's Kingdom (1960)

Really Surprised!

Absolutely Brilliant!

Through painfully honest and emotional moments, the movie becomes irresistibly relatable

what a terribly boring film. I'm sorry but this is absolutely not deserving of best picture and will be forgotten quickly. Entertaining and engaging cinema? No. Nothing performances with flat faces and mistaking silence for subtlety.

Campbell's Kingdom is directed by Ralph Thomas and adapted to screenplay by Robin Estridge from the Hammond Innes novel. It stars Dirk Bogarde, Stanley Baker, Michael Craig, Barbara Murray, James Robertson Justice, Athene Seyler, Robert Brown, John Laurie and Sid James. Music is by Clifton Parker and cinematography by Ernest Steward. With only six months to live, Bruce Campbell (Bogarde) arrives in the township of Come Lucky in the Rockies to take up his grandfather's inheritance. The inheritance is a valley area known as Campbell's Kingdom, a place where Bruce's grandfather insisted to his dying day that it held oil, something which caused a major rift in the township. Bruce arrives to a hostile reception, and told that his inheritance will not be allowed to stop the building of new dam, the building of which is ethically wrong but is the source of employment for most of the townsfolk. Bruce, fragile and short of friends, is determined to prove his grandfather was a honourable and correct man and so goes toe to toe with the ruthless dam builders led by Owen Morgan (Baker). The film makers take their time to build the characters and their part in the plot. Film then deftly builds up a head of steam in the second half where we are treated to genuine thrills as dirty tricks and action sequences go hand in hand. Beautifully photographed in Eastman Color by Steward (Cortina d'Ampezzo in Italy standing in for The Rockies), film is essentially a variant on Western movie staples that saw two opposing work forces (cattlemen/farmers/railroad/stageline etc) going against each other with pain and misery sure to surface. Here it's the delicate grace of Bogarde against the brawn of Baker, and both men are excellent in their portrayals. Around them are a bunch of more than competent performers to further add weight to the character dynamics, while the art department have come up with some decent sets and model work for when the story is away from the great outdoors. It's not all convincing, but the action and effects are good value in entertainment terms, while some romance helps things along considerably; even if it ultimately leads to an irritating twist at the finale.You could maybe be irked by the lack of location based accents, and even question the ethics on both sides of the argument here as the land is set up to be raped by man, but really why let such quibbles stop your enjoyment of this immensely satisfying entertainment? 7.5/10

I haven't seen this film for a long time. I saw it in the cinema in the late 50's early 60's and over the years since on TV. I think it probably still stands up due to the fact that it is in colour, it's a good clean action film with no heavy violence or strong language, and it has some familiar faces in it. Sid James of course was in Hell Drivers playing a truck driver,with Stanley Baker,who was the hero but, in this one he is the baddie, as he was in Checkpoint which also starred James Robertson Justice who was in the Doctor films with Dirk Bogarde. There are probably other connections, but this and the other films are very straight forward and untaxing to watch.

Well looking at some comments I thought it prudent to add mine in the defence of a remarkable film.Unlike some location flicks and despite the efforts of dramatic scenery this film is failed by it's casting. A film about a Scot in Canada and not a Scot or Canadian accent in site!There is however a strong British cast assembled for filming abroad, a rare treat for Bogarde and co in post war austere Britain and a rare treat of course for the audience - colour! So please accept it for what it is. A rare colour British melodrama to cheer and entertain and perhaps re-awaken the declining film audience of the time.If you are one that enjoyed the old days of an old black and white TV flickering away on a Sunday afternoon playing a comfort film then this is one to watch one day.I really don't understand what James Robertson Justice is doing in this, despite his Scottish roots he performs out of character (typecasting above all is the problem here),perhaps he should have played to his strengths and played the part as a booming eccentric, a Major perhaps?!. All the rest give their best and stoic Dirk Bogarde of course is excellent!I like the warm feeling this film brings to the watcher good may or may not triumph over evil here. I leave you to watch and enjoy the really well worked climatic end. Over sentimental at the conclusion? Perhaps! Glad it was made? Definitely! Enjoy a sweet film.The end.

If you can accept the concept of Dirk Bogarde athletically capering all over the Canadian Rockies, fighting bad guys and winning the day - then this is the movie for you.The story revolves around a guy who has been wrongly (it turns out) diagnosed with a terminal disease. Sporting a letter from his grandfather he comes to the Canadian town to prove that grandaddy's theory of "oil in them thar hills" is correct. Grandad has died, nobody believed his story of seeing oil one day after a landslide - and to complicate things evil Stanley Baker has built a dam and wants to flood the area where Grandaddy's land is. Our hero meets up with a surveyor who supports him in his quest and the whole story revolves around whether or not they will prove that the oil exists before bad Stanley floods the land.This movie is worth watching for two things - the ending when our hero is valiantly telling the dam workers of impending disaster (when they only had to look up to see it for themselves) and the unbelievable sight of the late Sid James playing a Canadian truck driver.The story is unbelievable, but the acting is quite good. This movie obviously cost a fair bit of money to make. What a pity they couldn't come up with something better for their trouble.