55 Days at Peking (1963) | |
| Director(s) | Nicholas Ray, Guy Green (uncredited), Andrew Marton (uncredited) |
| Producer(s) | Samuel Bronston, Michal Waszynski (associate) |
| Top Genres | Action, Drama, Historical, War |
| Top Topics | |
Featured Cast:
55 Days at Peking Overview:
55 Days at Peking (1963) was a Drama - Historical Film directed by Guy Green and Andrew Marton and produced by Michal Waszynski and Samuel Bronston.
Academy Awards 1963 --- Ceremony Number 36 (source: AMPAS)
| Award | Recipient | Result |
| Best Music - Scoring | Dimitri Tiomkin | Nominated |
| Best Music - Song | Music by Dimitri Tiomkin; Lyrics by Paul Francis Webster | Nominated |
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Quotes from
German Ambassador:
You have to admire Sir Arthur; he always manages to give the impression that God must be an Englishman.
Dowager Empress Tzu-Hsi: The boxer bandits will be dealt with, but the anger of the Chinese people cannot be quieted so easily. The Germans have seized Kiaochow, the Russians have seized Port Arthur, the French have obtained concessions in Yunnan, Kwan See and Kwantang. In all, 13 of the 18 provinces of China are under foreign control. Foreign warships occupy our harbours, foreign armies occupy our forts, foreign merchants administer our banks, foreign gods disturb the spirit of our ancestors. Is it surprising that our people are aroused?
Sir Arthur Robertson: Your Majesty if you permit me to observe, the violence of the Boxers will not redress the grievances of China.
Dowager Empress Tzu-Hsi: China is a prostrate cow, the powers are not content milking her, but must also butcher her.
Sir Arthur Robertson: If China is a cow, Your Majesty, she is indeed a marvelous animal. She gives meat as well as milk, and yet grows stronger.
Baroness Natalie Ivanoff: You know, I think I'll get you to take me to San Francisco with you.
Maj. Matt Lewis: Oh? Why to San Francisco?
Baroness Natalie Ivanoff: Well, isn't that the place where they found all the gold?
Maj. Matt Lewis: [laughs]
read more quotes from 55 Days at Peking...
Dowager Empress Tzu-Hsi: The boxer bandits will be dealt with, but the anger of the Chinese people cannot be quieted so easily. The Germans have seized Kiaochow, the Russians have seized Port Arthur, the French have obtained concessions in Yunnan, Kwan See and Kwantang. In all, 13 of the 18 provinces of China are under foreign control. Foreign warships occupy our harbours, foreign armies occupy our forts, foreign merchants administer our banks, foreign gods disturb the spirit of our ancestors. Is it surprising that our people are aroused?
Sir Arthur Robertson: Your Majesty if you permit me to observe, the violence of the Boxers will not redress the grievances of China.
Dowager Empress Tzu-Hsi: China is a prostrate cow, the powers are not content milking her, but must also butcher her.
Sir Arthur Robertson: If China is a cow, Your Majesty, she is indeed a marvelous animal. She gives meat as well as milk, and yet grows stronger.
Baroness Natalie Ivanoff: You know, I think I'll get you to take me to San Francisco with you.
Maj. Matt Lewis: Oh? Why to San Francisco?
Baroness Natalie Ivanoff: Well, isn't that the place where they found all the gold?
Maj. Matt Lewis: [laughs]
read more quotes from 55 Days at Peking...
Facts about
It is still possible to walk around the area of Beijing which was the actual location of the Siege of the Peking Legations in 1900, and to recognize sites and street layout depicted with admirable accuracy by the sets constructed in Spain for '55 Days At Peking'. The former legation quarter is east of Tiananmen Square, bounded in the north by Changan Avenue and south by Qianmen Street. One such important site is the gate of the former British Legation in Zhengyi Road, looking remarkably as it did in photos taken in 1900. Much of the area has been occupied for many years by Chinese Government agencies. Most of the heritage buildings remaining of the old legation quarter are reconstructions after the Boxer uprising. The area's tourist potential has been little exploited. The post-Boxer former French Legation post office is the foyer of the Dongjiaominxiang Hotel. The site of the former US Legation has been renovated for up-market restaurants, bars and event venues.
Charlton Heston's character, Major Matt Lewis, was loosely based on the real-life officer in charge of the marine guard at the US Legation, then Captain, later Lieutenant General, John Twiggs Myers USMC (1871-1952). Myers was in the forefront of some of the toughest fighting in the besieged legations, wounded during the fighting on the Tartar Wall.
The production was troubled almost from the beginning. It ran into financial troubles, there were conflicts among the cast, and director Nicholas Ray argued so violently with producer Samuel Bronston that he eventually walked off the set and quit the picture, and soon afterward suffered a severe heart attack. Andrew Marton and Guy Green finished directing the picture, uncredited.
read more facts about 55 Days at Peking...
Charlton Heston's character, Major Matt Lewis, was loosely based on the real-life officer in charge of the marine guard at the US Legation, then Captain, later Lieutenant General, John Twiggs Myers USMC (1871-1952). Myers was in the forefront of some of the toughest fighting in the besieged legations, wounded during the fighting on the Tartar Wall.
The production was troubled almost from the beginning. It ran into financial troubles, there were conflicts among the cast, and director Nicholas Ray argued so violently with producer Samuel Bronston that he eventually walked off the set and quit the picture, and soon afterward suffered a severe heart attack. Andrew Marton and Guy Green finished directing the picture, uncredited.
read more facts about 55 Days at Peking...
