En Afrique-Équatoriale française, Morel, un idéaliste français de Fort Lamy, entame une lutte pour sauver de l’extinction les éléphants qu’il considère comme nos dernières « racines du ciel ». Minna, une barmaid amoureuse de lui, et Forsythe, un ancien commandant de l’armée britannique, sont les premiers à se rallier à sa cause. Ils sont bientôt rejoints par deux professionnels des médias qui réussissent à alerter l’opinion mondiale, les Américains Cy Sedgewick, journaliste TV, et Abe Fields, reporter-photographe. Inversement, Saint Denis, délégué gouvernemental, et Orsini, trafiquant d’ivoire, vont être ses adversaires acharnés tandis que Waitari, chef opportuniste d’un douteux mouvement africain, va essayer de récupérer son action pour servir ses seuls intérêts…


Réal : John Huston

USA, 1958, Fiction


LES RACINES DU CIEL par peace4all

Adaptation du célèbre roman éponyme de Romain Gary.

avec Errol Flynn, Juliette Gréco, Trevor Howard, Eddie Albert, Orson Welles, Paul Lukas, Herbert Lom, Habib Benglia, Bachir Touré

In Fort Lamy [Chad], French Equitorial Africa, idealist Morel (Trevor Howard)launches a one-man campaign to preserve the African elephant from extinction, which he sees as the last remaining « roots of Heaven. » At first, he finds only support from Minna (Juliette Greco), hostess of the town’s only night club, who is in love with him, and a derelict ex-British Army Major, Forsythe (Errol Flynn.) His crusade gains momentum and he is soon surrounded by an odd assortment of characters: Cy Sedgewick (Orson Welles), an American TV commentator who becomes impressed and rallies world-wide support; a U.S. photographer,Abe Fields (Eddie Albert), who is sent to do a picture story on Morel and stays on to follow his ideals; Saint Denis (Paul Lukas), a government aide ordered to stop Morel; Orsini (Herbert Lom), a professional ivory hunter whose vested interests aren’t the same as Morel’s; and Waitari (Edric Connor), leader of a Pan-African movement who follows Morel only for the personal good it will do his own campaign.

Director: John Huston

USA, 1958, Drama

starring
Errol Flynn, Juliette Gréco, Trevor Howard, Eddie Albert, Orson Welles, Paul Lukas, Herbert Lom, Habib Benglia, Bachir Touré



CAST
Errol Flynn: Forsythe
Juliette Gréco : Minna
Trevor Howard: Morel
Eddie Albert: Abe Fields
Orson Welles: Cy Sedgewick
Paul Lukas: Saint Denis
Herbert Lom: Orsini
Gregoire Aslan: Habib
André Luguet: Governor
Friedrich Ledebur: Peer Quist
Edric Connor: Waitari
Olivier Hussenot: Baron
Pierre Dudan: Major Schölschler
Marc Doelnitz: De Vries
Francis de Wolff: Father Fargue
Dan Jackson: Madjumba
Maurice Cannon: Haas
Jacques Marin: Cerisot
Habib Benglia: Korotoro
Bachir Touré: Yussef
Alain Saury: A.D.C.
Roscoe Stallworth: N’Dolo
Assane Fall: Inguele

CREW
Oswald Morris: Director of Photography
Henri Persin: 2nd Unit Photography
Skeets Kelly: 2nd Unit Photography
Gilles Bonneau: 2nd Unit Photography
Romain Gary: Screenwriter
Patrick Leigh-Fermor: Screenwriter
Darryl F. Zanuck: Producer
Robert Jacks: Associate Producer
Russell Lloyd: Editing
Malcolm Arnold: Music Composition and Conducting
Henri Patterson: Composer
Stephen Grimes: Art Director
Raymond Gabutti: Assoc art dir
Carlo Lastricati: Assistant Director
L. B. Abbott: Special Photography Effects
Fred Eycreverry: Special Effects
George Frost: Makeup
Rosine Delamare: Costume Design
Bruno Avesani: Set Decoration
Basil Fenton Smith: Sound
Don Isaacs: Sound Editing
Ralph Hickey: Sound Editing
Ray Bomba: Sound Editing
Guy Luongo: Production Manager
Claude Hettier de Boislambert: Technical Advisor
Angela Allen: Script girl


Premiere Info: New York opening: 15 Oct 1958
Release Date: 1958
Production Date: [CinemaScope]
EBX; AFI*
Color/B&W: Color (DeLuxe)

Distributions Co: Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corp.
Sound: Mono (Westrex Recording System)
Production Co: Darryl F. Zanuck Productions, Inc.
Duration(mins): 130-131
Country: United States

Source:
www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/88637/The-Roots-of-Heaven/