
A handful of men and women held out against the frenzied hordes of bloodthirsty fanatics!
Plot outline
Personal notes
Cast
- Charlton Heston
- Ava Gardner
- David Niven
- Flora Robson
- John Ireland
- Harry Andrews
- Leo Genn
- Robert Helpmann
- Kurt Kasznar
- Philippe Leroy
- Paul Lukas
- Elizabeth Sellars
- Massimo Serato
- Jacques Sernas
- Jerome Thor
- Geoffrey Bayldon
- Joseph Fürst
- Walter Gotell
- Jûzô Itami
- Mervyn Johns
- Alfredo Mayo
- Martin Miller
- Conchita Montes
- José Nieto
- Eric Pohlmann
- Aram Stephan
- Robert Urquhart
- Lynne Sue Moon
- Burt Kwouk
- Lucy Appleby
- R.S.M. Brittain
- Carlos Casaravilla
- Michael Chow
- Siu Loi Chow
- Félix Dafauce
- Andrea Esterhazy
- Andy Ho
- Dong Kingman
- Mitchell Kowall
- Cheng-Liang Kwan
- Soong Ling
- Alfred Lynch
- John Moulder-Brown
- Enzo Musumeci Greco
- Paul Naschy
- Nicholas Ray
- Milton Reid
- Robert Rietty
- Fernando Sancho
- Lucille Soong
- Mike Steen
- Kenji Takaki
- John A. Tinn
- Guillermo Vera
- George Wang
- Stephen Young
- Siu Tin Yuen
Plots
During the 1900 Boxer Rebellion, U.S. marine, Maj. Matt Lewis, along with British consul, Sir Arthur Robertson, develop a plan to keep the rebels at bay until an international military relief force can arrive.
Diplomats, soldiers, and other representatives of a dozen nations fend off the siege of the International Compound in Peking during the 1899 to 1901 Boxer Rebellion. The disparate interests unite for survival, despite competing factions, overwhelming odds, delayed relief, and tacit support of the Boxers by Dowager Empress Tzu-Hsi (Dame Flora Robson) and her Generals.
During the 1899 to 1901 Boxer Rebellion, Peking is an open city with the Chinese, and several European countries vie for control. The Boxers, who oppose Christianity and the western powers, who still exercised complete sovereignty over their compounds and their citizens. The head of the U.S. garrison is Marine Major Matt Lewis (Charlton Heston), an experienced China hand who knows local conditions well. He meets exiled Russian Baroness Natalie Ivanoff (Ava Gardner), with whom he falls in love. The political situation is tension-filled with the Boxers having the tacit approval of Dowager Empress Tzu-Hsi (Dame Flora Robson). When the Boxers attack the foreigners, Major Lewis, working with the senior officer from the British Embassy, Sir Arthur Robertson (David Niven), tries to keep them at bay pending the arrival of a relief force.
During the 1899 to 1901 Boxer Rebellion, U.S. Marine Major Matt Lewis (Charlton Heston), along with British consul Sir Arthur Robertson (David Niven), develop a plan to keep the rebels at bay until an international military relief force can arrive.