The Wilby Conspiracy
| The Wilby Conspiracy | |
|---|---|
Rodney Amateau Harold Nebenzal | |
| Based on | The Wilby Conspiracy 1972 novel by Peter Driscoll |
| Produced by | Martin Baum Paul M. Heller Helmut Dantine |
| Starring | Sidney Poitier Michael Caine Nicol Williamson Prunella Gee |
| Cinematography | John Coquillon |
| Edited by | Ernest Walter |
| Music by | Stanley Myers |
| Color process | Color by DeLuxe |
Production companies | Baum/Dantine Productions Optimus Productions Ltd. |
| Distributed by | United Artists |
Release dates |
|
Running time | 105 minutes |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
The Wilby Conspiracy is a 1975 British
Plot
In
At a police station, a police brigadier (
The three fugitives are followed and monitored by BOSS to lead them to discover their escape route to
Shack learns that the diamonds are hidden at the bottom of a sinkhole. With Shack and Mukarjee's help, Jim retrieves the diamonds from the 230-foot deep hole, but Ray, wanting to use the diamonds to emigrate from South Africa, kills Mukarjee and attempts to rob them of the diamonds. Shack fights Ray to protect the diamonds, and in the commotion, he throws her into the sinkhole where she plummets to her death. Diamonds in hand, they have arranged for Blane, a private pilot, to fly them out of the country, which he does after Rina blackmails him by threatening to make public his drug usage and relationships with black women, illegal in South Africa.
The three arrive at the South Africa–Botswana border, where the police, who were there waiting for them, give chase in jeeps. After evading them, they board Blane's aeroplane and are chased by South African Air Force aeroplanes over the border into Botswana. They manage to escape the pursuing aeroplanes and land on a makeshift runway and disembark, with Blane departing in his aeroplane. They make their way to one of the Black Congress Party's camps where they meet many villagers, Wilby Xaba, and armed guards. Suddenly, BOSS agents arrive in a commandeered lorry, kill the guards, and take Wilby prisoner, revealing that he was their real target all along and that the diamonds retrieved from the sinkhole were forgeries. As the BOSS agents attempt to escape with Wilby via helicopter, Shack and the villagers bring down and destroy the helicopter, kill the pilot and all the BOSS agents with the exception of Major Horn, and free Wilby. Horn is disarmed of his pistol and taken prisoner, where he gloats that he will be rescued by the South African Government and that he will continue to pursue them. Jim responds by killing Horn, shooting him with his own pistol.
Cast
- Sidney Poitier as Shack Twala
- Michael Caine as Jim Keogh
- Nicol Williamson as Major Horn, South African Bureau of State Security
- Prunella Gee as Rina van Niekerk
- Saeed Jaffrey as Dr. Anil Mukarjee, Indian Dentist
- Persis Khambatta as Dr. Persis Ray, Dentist
- Rijk de Gooyer as Van Heerden, Bureau of State Security
- Rutger Hauer as Blane van Niekerk
- Patrick Allen as The Brigadier
- Joe De Graftas Wilby Xaba
- Archie Duncan as Gordon
- Helmut Dantine as Prosecuting Counsel
DVD & HD
- The region 1 DVD was released 20 January 2004.
- In 2010 it was digitized in High Definition (1080i) and broadcast on MGM HD.
References
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