Backdrop fallback

The Big Gamble

The Big Gamble

Share

The Big Gamble

"Across 30,000 miles to the fabled Ivory Coast!"

1961

1h 40m

6.0(7 votes)

Adventure

Action

Comedy

Drama

Overview

Irish seaman Vic Brennan persuades his Dublin family to finance a truck-hauling business in the remote African town of Jebanda. The only stipulation is that his cousin Samuel, a timid bank clerk, accompany Vic and his Corsican bride, Marie, to Africa and protect the family fortune.

Links & Resources

Social & External

Production Companies

20th Century Fox

The people behind it

Cast & crew

9 featured cast members

Starring

Stephen Boyd

Stephen Boyd

Vic Brennan

Juliette Gréco

Juliette Gréco

Marie

David Wayne

David Wayne

Samuel Brennan

Gregory Ratoff

Gregory Ratoff

Kaltenberg

Sybil Thorndike

Sybil Thorndike

Aunt Cathleen

Fernand Ledoux

Fernand Ledoux

Customs Official

Marie Kean

Marie Kean

Cynthia

Harold Goldblatt

Harold Goldblatt

The Priest

Maureen O'Dea

Margaret Brennan

Creative team

Directed by: Elmo Williams
Richard Fleischer
Written by: Irwin Shaw
Produced by: Darryl F. Zanuck

Similar Movies

A Season in Hell

A Season in Hell

The tumultuous life of Arthur Rimbaud, the cursed poet, who completed his masterwork at the age of twenty, became an arms dealer and died at thirty-seven; and his passionate relationship with Paul Verlaine, full of wanderings, storms and falling out.

The Big Red One

The Big Red One

A veteran sergeant of World War I leads a squad in World War II, always in the company of the survivor Pvt. Griff, the writer Pvt. Zab, the Sicilian Pvt. Vinci and Pvt. Johnson, in Vichy French Africa, Sicily, D-Day at Omaha Beach, Belgium and France, and ending in a concentration camp in Czechoslovakia where they face the true horror of war.

Sometimes in April

Sometimes in April

Two brothers are divided by marriage and fate during the 100 horrifying days of the 1994 Rwandan genocide.

Lara Croft: Tomb Raider

Lara Croft: Tomb Raider

Orphaned heiress, English aristocrat and intrepid archaeologist, Lara Croft, embarks on a dangerous quest to retrieve the two halves of an ancient artifact which controls time before it falls into the wrong hands. As an extremely rare planetary alignment is about to occur for the first time in 5,000 years, the fearless tomb raider will have to team up with rival adventurers and sworn enemies to collect the pieces, while time is running out. But, in the end, who can harness the archaic talisman's unlimited power?

Lara Croft: Tomb Raider - The Cradle of Life

Lara Croft: Tomb Raider - The Cradle of Life

Off the coast of the volcanic island of Santorini, the intrepid archaeologist Lara Croft makes the unexpected discovery of a pulsating golden orb able to guide its holder to the mythical Pandora's Box. As the legendary artifact contains ancient mysteries of unfathomable power - said to contain one of the deadliest plagues on Earth, Lara is tasked by MI6 to make sure it doesn't fall into the wrong hands. With the aid of former Marine turned mercenary Terry Sheridan, she travels the world in pursuit of the precious item in a race against time; she must beat the unscrupulous Nobel Prize-winning scientist turned bioterrorist, Jonathan Reiss, to it.

The Long Run

The Long Run

A failed track coach finally finds someone who he believes has what it takes to win. The Comrades Marathon is a 90-k race in South Africa. An aging running coach, Barry, wants to field a winner; he's working with four men from a factory, but when he's fired to make way for a smooth, corporate type, he's at loose ends. Then he sees Christine, a Namibian immigrant who runs to forget her troubles. He offers to coach her and soon she's living at his house, following his diet and training regimen. But his single-mindedness gets to her: she wants a job and a place of her own. Plus, the man who replaced Barry likes her and wants her away from Barry. Can runner and coach (woman and man, African and European) sort out their complex relationship before the race? Written by

Sounds of Sand

Sounds of Sand

On the one hand, there’s the desert eating away at the land. The endless dry season, the lack of water. On the other there’s the threat of war. The village well has run dry. The livestock is dying. Trusting their instinct, most of the villagers leave and head south. Rahne, the only literate one, decides to head east with his three children and Mouna, his wife. A few sheep, some goats, and Chamelle, a dromedary, are their only riches. A tale of exodus, quest, hope and fatality.

The Village Next to Paradise

The Village Next to Paradise

In a windy Somali village, a newly assembled family must navigate between their different aspirations and the complex world surrounding them. Love, trust and resilience will power them through their life paths.

Tribe

Set for 20 centuries BC., in the land of Far West , in eastern Sahara Africa; there lived King Bunzo of the great Tribe Nation, seeming little in size but mighty in times of war. The Empire of Tribe has authority over every other empire. King Bunzo chooses to sell his male subjects to slave traders who worked for the bloody tasty King of Northern Kingdom known as Emperor Tobitotaya. Emperor Tobitotaya is a dreadful Leader that wants Kings of other Nations to bow before him. Any King who refuses to do so, he would give a handshake of War. From greed, to betrayal, to bravery, to love, Tribe is a film that has a good dosage of such emotions in a manner that will have cinema lovers glued to their seats.

Raiders of the Lost Ark

Raiders of the Lost Ark

When Dr. Indiana Jones – the tweed-suited professor who just happens to be a celebrated archaeologist – is hired by the government to locate the legendary Ark of the Covenant, he finds himself up against the entire Nazi regime.

Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom

Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom

After arriving in India, Indiana Jones is asked by a desperate village to find a mystical stone. He agrees – and stumbles upon a secret cult plotting a terrible plan in the catacombs of an ancient palace.

Measures of Men

Measures of Men

Berlin at the end of the 19th Century. Alexander Hoffmann is an ambitious PhD student of Ethnology. When a delegation of the Herero and Nama tribes travels to Berlin during a ‘Colonial Exhibition’, he takes a special interest in their young female translator Kezia Kambazembi as subject for his studies.

Run

Run

Run escapes... He just killed the Prime Minister of his country. In order to do so, he had to act as if he was a crazy man, wandering through the city. His life comes back by flashes; his childhood with Tourou when his dream was to become a rain miracle-worker, his adventures with Gladys the eater, and his past as a young member of militia, in the heart of the politic and military conflict in Ivory Coast. All those lives, Run didn't choose them. Every time, he felt in by running from another life. That's the reason why his name's Run.

The Scout

No-one expected an ordinary scout camp would turn into an extraordinary adventure that the children would never forget. The camp is situated near an ancient castle in a forest which the teachers consider as a peaceful and harmless place. But as the night falls, things go from bad to worse when the children encounter a giant ferocious serpent, flying frogs, and many more such horrifying creatures.

Goblin Slayer: Goblin's Crown

Goblin Slayer: Goblin's Crown

Goblin Slayer and his party head up to the snowy mountains in the north after receiving that request from the Sword Maiden to find any information on the Noble Fencer that disappeared after leaving to slay some goblins. A small village gets attacked, they encounter a mysterious chapel, and something about how these goblins are acting bothers the Goblin slayer. In order to save the captured Noble Fencer, the Goblin Slayer and his party head to an ancient fortress covered in snow to face off with a powerful foe and a horde of goblins!

What Are You Doing Tonight?

What Are You Doing Tonight?

A three-part anthology film. 1) AMSTERDAM: Jovke and his two friends try to make some quick cash before going off to army. At the same time, he tries to establish communication both with his catatonic father and the girl he likes. 2) TIE REQUIRED: While drudging at the docks with two inseparable friends of his, Neša is waiting for a waiter's job at the bar where his mother works. After not being allowed to a birthday party, the trio decides to look for fun somewhere else. 3) ABSOLUTE PITCH: An unemployed paleonthologist spends his nights sewing dresses for his beloved one. When she sets off to countryside for work and doesn't call back, he becomes suspicious and decides to solve this sudden departure on his own. The movie was nominated for a Student Academy Award in 1991.

The Tube

The Tube

This is the opportunity of a lifetime: Sabine Fink, a young, ambitious public prosecutor, is entrusted by Chief Public Prosecutor Grabowski with the spectacular case of a tunnel disaster. A catastrophe that cost the lives of entire families. The question of guilt is as good as clear: the truck driver Roman Sikorski drove into a queue of cars while overtired and at far too high a speed. But Fink notices irregularities the first time he looks through the files.

Leroy

Leroy

A gently humorous look at otherness and xenophobia in modern day German with this tale of a black Berlin teen named Leroy who rediscovers his roots after falling for a pretty white girl and meeting her racist family.

Cutthroat Island

Cutthroat Island

Morgan Adams and her slave, William Shaw, are on a quest to recover the three portions of a treasure map. Unfortunately, the final portion is held by her murderous uncle, Dawg. Her crew is skeptical of her leadership abilities, so she must complete her quest before they mutiny against her. This is made yet more difficult by the efforts of the British crown to end her pirate raids.

The Last King of Scotland

The Last King of Scotland

Young Scottish doctor, Nicholas Garrigan decides it's time for an adventure after he finishes his formal education, so he decides to try his luck in Uganda, and arrives during the downfall of President Obote. General Idi Amin comes to power and asks Garrigan to become his personal doctor.

Recommended Movies

Slumberland

Slumberland

A young girl discovers a secret map to the dreamworld of Slumberland, and with the help of an eccentric outlaw, she traverses dreams and flees nightmares, with the hope that she will be able to see her late father again.

Hatari!

Hatari!

A female wildlife photographer arrives on an East African reservation where a group of men trap wild animals for zoos and circuses.

Primal: Tales of Savagery

Primal: Tales of Savagery

Genndy Tartakovsky's Primal: Tales of Savagery features a caveman and a dinosaur on the brink of extinction. Bonded by tragedy, this unlikely friendship becomes the only hope of survival.

Chickenhare and the Hamster of Darkness

Chickenhare and the Hamster of Darkness

A brave young animal explorer teams up with two trusty friends to find a powerful artifact before his greedy uncle can get his paws on it.

Renegade

Renegade

While on his travel across the Southwestern United States, with his Jeep CJ Renegade and his chestnut colt named Joe Brown, Luke meets Matt, son of a friend of his, Moose, who is in jail. Moose asks Luke to take care of Matt, and to help him to take possession of a piece of land. So starts their travel, full of adventures...

Two by Two: Overboard!

Two by Two: Overboard!

Two misfit castaways struggle to reunite an unorthodox family, out-run a volcano, and negotiate a peace deal on a creaking Ark.

The Willoughbys

The Willoughbys

When the four Willoughby children are abandoned by their selfish parents, they must learn how to adapt their Old-Fashioned values to the contemporary world in order to create something new: The Modern Family.

Hidden Strike

Hidden Strike

Two elite soldiers must escort civilians through a gauntlet of gunfire and explosions.

Dear Eleanor

Dear Eleanor

Two teenage girls travel across the U.S. in 1962, during the chaos of the Cuban missile crisis, in search of Eleanor Roosevelt.

Tarzan and His Mate

Tarzan and His Mate

Harry Holt returns to Africa with his friend Martin Arlington to head up a large ivory expedition.

Double Threat

Double Threat

With ruthless mobsters on her tail, a young woman with a split personality becomes entangled with a man on a pilgrimage across the country to scatter his brother's ashes.

Arctic Dogs

Arctic Dogs

Animals band together to save the day when the evil Otto Von Walrus hatches a sinister scheme to accelerate global warming and melt the Arctic Circle.

The Rundown

The Rundown

When Travis, the mouthy son of a criminal, disappears in the Amazon in search of a treasured artifact, his father sends in Beck, who becomes Travis's rival for the affections of Mariana, a mysterious Brazilian woman. With his steely disposition, Beck is a man of few words -- but it takes him all the discipline he can muster to work with Travis to nab a tyrant who's after the same treasure.

Black Gold

Black Gold

On the Arabian Peninsula in the 1930s, two warring leaders come face to face. The victorious Nesib, Emir of Hobeika, lays down his peace terms to rival Amar, Sultan of Salmaah. The two men agree that neither can lay claim to the area of no man’s land between them called The Yellow Belt. In return, Nesib adopts Amar’s two boys Saleeh and Auda as a guarantee against invasion. Twelve years later, Saleeh and Auda have grown into young men. Saleeh, the warrior, itches to escape his gilded cage and return to his father’s land. Auda cares only for books and the pursuit of knowledge. One day, their adopted father Nesib is visited by an American from Texas. He tells the Emir that his land is blessed with oil and promises him riches beyond his wildest imagination. Nesib imagines a realm of infinite possibility, a kingdom with roads, schools and hospitals all paid for by the black gold beneath the barren sand. There is only one problem. The precious oil is located in the Yellow Belt.

Silverton Siege

Silverton Siege

After a failed sabotage mission, a trio of anti-apartheid freedom fighters ends up in a tense bank hostage situation. Based on a true story.

Stewie Griffin: The Untold Story

Stewie Griffin: The Untold Story

The maniacal baby of the Griffin family, Stewie, meets his future self. In doing this he discovers that his future image is not what he has anticipated because of a near death experience.

Dora and the Search for Sol Dorado

Dora and the Search for Sol Dorado

Dora, Diego, and their new friends trek through the perilous dangers of the Amazonian jungle in search of the ancient and powerful treasure of Sol Dorado to keep it out of enemy hands.

Gold

Gold

In the not-too-distant future, two drifters traveling through the desert stumble across the biggest gold nugget ever found and the dream of immense wealth and greed takes hold. They hatch a plan to excavate their bounty, with one man leaving to secure the necessary tools while the other remains with the gold. The man who remains must endure harsh desert elements, ravenous wild dogs, and mysterious intruders, while battling the sinking suspicion that he has been abandoned to his fate.

Bookworm

Bookworm

Eleven-year-old Mildred’s life is turned upside down when her mother lands in hospital and estranged, American magician father, Strawn Wise, comes to look after her. Hoping to entertain the bookish tween, Strawn takes Mildred camping in the notoriously rugged New Zealand wilderness, and the pair embark on the ultimate test of family bonding – a quest to find the mythological beast known as the Canterbury Panther.

Rio 2

Rio 2

It's a jungle out there for Blu, Jewel and their three kids after they're hurtled from Rio de Janeiro to the wilds of the Amazon. As Blu tries to fit in, he goes beak-to-beak with the vengeful Nigel, and meets the most fearsome adversary of all: his father-in-law.