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Dark of the Sun ()

The Mercenaries (original title)
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A band of mercenaries led by Captain Curry travel through war-torn Congo across deadly terrain, battling rival armies, to steal $50 million in uncut diamonds. But infighting, sadistic rebels and a time lock jeopardize everything.
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48 photos | 1 video

Cast verified as complete

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Curry
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Claire
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Henlein
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Ruffo
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Doctor Wreid
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Bussier
Olivier Despax ...
Surrier
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Delage
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Kataki
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Ubi
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Jansen
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Adams
Murray Kash ...
Cochrane
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Father Dominic
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General Moses
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Alex Gradussov ...
Belgian Refugee (uncredited)
Paul Jantzen ...
Capt. Hansen (uncredited)
David Lomas ...
Pilot (uncredited) (voice)
Monique Lucas ...
Mme. Bussier (uncredited)
Emery J. Ujvari ...
Functionary (uncredited)

Directed by

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Jack Cardiff

Written by

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Ranald MacDougall ... (screenplay by) (as Quentin Werty) and
Adrian Spies ... (screenplay by)
 
Wilbur Smith ... (based on a novel by) (as Wilbur A. Smith)

Produced by

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George Englund ... producer (produced by)

Music by

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Jacques Loussier

Cinematography by

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Edward Scaife ... director of photography
Jack Cardiff ... (uncredited)

Editing by

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Ernest Walter

Casting By

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Irene Howard ... (uncredited)

Art Direction by

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Elliot Scott

Production Management

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John Palmer ... production supervisor
Douglas Twiddy ... production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director

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Ted Sturgis ... assistant director

Art Department

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Bill Welch ... construction manager
John Barry ... assistant art director (uncredited)
Reg Bream ... chief draughtsman (uncredited)

Sound Department

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Roy Baker ... sound editor
J.B. Smith ... dubbing mixer
Gerry Turner ... sound recordist
A.W. Watkins ... recording supervisor
Richard Daniel ... sound maintenance (uncredited)
Jim Perry ... boom operator (uncredited)

Special Effects by

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Cliff Richardson ... special effects
John Richardson ... special effects technician (uncredited)

Stunts

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Gerry Crampton ... stunt double Peter Carsten (uncredited) / stunts (uncredited)
Louie Elias ... stunt double Rod Taylor (uncredited) / stunts (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department

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Alan McCabe ... camera operator
Roger Berner ... clapper loader (uncredited)

Costume and Wardrobe Department

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Eileen Sullivan ... wardrobe (uncredited)

Music Department

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Jacques Loussier ... conductor
Crew verified as complete

Production Companies

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Distributors

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Special Effects

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Storyline

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Plot Summary

British commando, Captain Curry (Rod Taylor), is hired by President Ubi (Calvin Lockhart) of war-torn Congo, to steal $50 million in uncut diamonds from a time-locked vault before the separatist Simba army that's fighting Ubi's forces and the UN peacekeepers overruns the remote town where the bank that holds the vault is located. Curry teams up with his friend Ruffo (Jim Brown), Doctor Wreid (Kenneth Moore), who's an alcoholic, and Henlein (Calvin Lockhart), a sadistic Nazi who left Germany after WWII to work as a mercenary. The mercenaries reach the town by Ubi's train after surviving an attack from the UN peacekeepers, only to find a number of terrified Westerners who were driven out from their homes by force, including torture, rape and murder, by the Simba rebels. They agree to help them leave town and befriend one of them, a pretty widow called Claire (Yvette Mimieux) whose husband was murdered by the rebels. As their mission nears completion everything suddenly goes horribly wrong and the story culminates in an orgy of sadistic graphic violence as Henlein betrays the group and the rebels arrive to brutalize and slaughter the whites. However, Curry still plans to complete his mission no matter what.

Plot Keywords
Taglines Brutes! Savages! Heroes! ...Paid to fight in the fury of the Congo! [UK theatrical] See more »
Genres
Parents Guide View content advisory »
Certification

Additional Details

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Also Known As
  • Dark of the Sun (United States)
  • Dark of the Sun (Canada, English title)
  • Le dernier train du Katanga (France)
  • Último tren a Katanga (Spain)
  • Темнота солнца (Soviet Union, Russian title)
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Runtime
  • 100 min
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Did You Know?

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Trivia Trade paper Variety erroneously reported in its review that this Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer movie was shot in Africa. The exteriors were lensed in Jamaica in the Caribbean as it could not be shot in Africa due to political unrest. Ironically, around the same, another picture from MGM, Graham Greene's The Comedians (1967), was set in the Caribbean, but filmed in Benin, West Africa. See more »
Goofs There are already cut diamonds in the stash. They don't mine cut diamonds in Congo - or anywhere else for that matter. See more »
Movie Connections Featured in Lionpower from MGM (1967). See more »
Quotes Curry: The gun's Chinese Ruffo, paid for by Russian rubles. The steel probably came from a West German factory built by French francs. Then it was flown out here on a South African airline probably subsidized by The United States. I don't think he got very far.
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