The Roots of Heaven (1958)
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50% of users liked it
(519 ratings)
Romain Gary's best-selling novel The Roots of Heaven was adapted to film in Cinemascope and DeLuxe Color by producer Darryl F. Zanuck. Though billed third, Trevor Howard plays the central character, an idealist who has gone into Africa in hopes of saving the elephants from extinction. At first… More Romain Gary's best-selling novel The Roots of Heaven was adapted to film in Cinemascope and DeLuxe Color by producer Darryl F. Zanuck. Though billed third, Trevor Howard plays the central character, an idealist who has gone into Africa in hopes of saving the elephants from extinction. At first regarded as a crank, Howard shows he's not kidding by taking a shot at the posterior of a pompous news commentator (Orson Welles). As Howard's crusade gains momentum, several opportunists go along with him, among them a disgraced British military officer (Errol Flynn) hoping to redeem himself. Roots of Heaven represented the last truly worthwhile screen appearance by Errol Flynn, who died less than a year after filming his Roots death scene. The film itself was shot on location in French Equatorial Africa--a grueling experience for its stars and its director (John Huston), one worthy of a book in itself. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Directed By
- John Huston
- Genres
- Drama, Action & Adventure
Unrated,
- In Theaters
- Oct 15, 1958 Wide
- Studio
- Fox
Critic Reviews
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Sean Axmaker, Parallax View
...a different kind of African wildlife adventure: the heroes are early eco-warriors, animals rights activists who take on both private elephant poachers and government indifference...
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Fresh (60% or more critics rated the movie positively)
Rotten (59% or fewer critics rated the movie positively)
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Cast
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Errol Flynn
as Maj. Forsythe
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Juliette Greco
as Minna
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Trevor Howard
as Merel
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Eddie Albert
as Abe Fields
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Orson Welles
as Cy Sedgewick
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Paul Lukas
as Saint Denis
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Herbert Lom
as Orsini
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Grégoire Aslan
as Habib
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Andre Luguet
as Governor
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Edric Connor
as Watari
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Oliver Hussenot
as The Baron
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Pierre Dudan
as Maj. Scholscher
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Marc Doelnitz
as De Vries
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Dan Jackson
as Madjumba
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Maurice Cannon
as Haas
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Jacques Marin
as Cerisot
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Alain Saury
as A.D.C.
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Francis De Wolff
as Father Fargue
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Frederick Ledebur
as Peer Qvist
