Mr Kingstreet’s War *** (1971, John Saxon, Tippi Hedren, Rossano Brazzi) – Classic Movie Review 13,007

Mr Kingstreet’s War (1971, Tippi Hedren).

The involving 1971 South African wildlife wartime TV  film Mr Kingstreet’s War stars John Saxon, Tippi Hedren and Rossano Brazzi.

Writer/ director Percival Rubens’s 1971 South African TV film Mr Kingstreet’s War stars John Saxon, Tippi Hedren and Rossano Brazzi.

The idyllic life of a game warden and his family, running a wildlife preserve in Central Africa between Italian-governed Abyssinia and British Kenya, is shattered by the outbreak of World War Two in 1939.

The offbeat drama Mr Kingstreet’s War is involvingly well done, with strong and earnest appearances from iconic actors John Saxon and Tippi Hedren as an American couple, James Kingstreet and his wife Mary, and Rossano Brazzi as Major Bernadelli, the Italian commander.

The screenplay by Percival Rubens and George Harding is based on an an original story by Percival Rubens.

Also in the cast are Brian O’Shaughnessy as Morgan Kingstreet and Kerry Jordan as Colonel Harding.

Mr Kingstreet’s War runs 92 minutes, is made by HRS Films, is released by Gold Key Entertainment, is shot by Grenville Middleton, is produced by Thys Heyns, and scored by Harry Sukman.

Release date: February 1, 1971.

Original title: Mister Kingstreet’s War.

Tippi Hedren recalled: ‘Occasionally I accepted roles for the foreign travel involved.’ She said that didn’t think much of this movie, but enjoyed working with John Saxon and Rossano Brazzi immensely. She discovered that the big cats used in the film had no home and were likely to end up in small cages, so she obtained a parcel of land to establish a home with a natural setting for retired big cats. It is called Shambala.

© Derek Winnert 2024 – Classic Movie Review 13,007

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