Where No Vultures Fly DVD, 1951

Breathlessly advertised as a "Terrifying Adventure! Actually Filmed in the Heart of Darkest Africa...The World's Most Dangerous and Unknown Land!" this African adventure about a well-intentioned white game-warden protecting East African animals from poachers actually gave Ealing one of its biggest box-office successes.

Stunning cinematography, which broke new ground long before other wildlife films. 'Where No Vultures Fly' is a landmark piece of cinema. Incredibly, through the twist... more >

Stunning cinematography, which broke new ground long before other wildlife films. 'Where No Vultures Fly' is a landmark piece of cinema. Incredibly, through the twists and turns of fate, the film has been quietly forgotten, in favour of the likes of 'Born Free' (1965) and more recently 'She Walks With Lions' (2000). Where No Vultures Fly was a major investment of film studio time and resources being shot entirely on location for 6 months or more in Africa. Anthony Steel, at the time the UKs leading actor in box office terms - along with Dirk Bogarde - was cast along with Dinah Sheridan as the couple who worked in the landscapes of East Africa. The plot is straightforward, focusing on the establishment of the game reserves, but the real impact lies in the scale of the imagery, the honesty of the portayals of the leads and, in retrospect, the resonance this film has with the 21st century's interest in environmental issues.

Steel is fine as the hero of the piece, but Sheridan is superb: seeing this reminds us of how she was one of the most underrated film actresses of the era. Gently paced compared to todays films, this is nevertheless a significant part of 1950s British cinema. Selected as the Royal film performance of its year the films impact was considerable. It spawned many imitations, including a direct sequel ('West of Zanzibar', 1954, sadly minus Dinah Sheridan, but in truth less successful than the original).

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