The Kingfisher Caper
1975 South African film
- June 30, 1975 (1975-06-30) (South Africa)
- July 1976 (1976-07) (USA)
Running time
The Kingfisher Caper (released as Diamond Hunters in South Africa and as Diamond Lust on video) is a 1975 South African film directed by Dirk DeVilliers for Kavalier Films Ltd. It stars Hayley Mills (as Tracey van der Byl), David McCallum (Benedict van der Byl), Jon Cypher (Johnny Lance), Volente Bertotti (Ruby Lance), Barry Trengove (Cappy) and Bill McNaught (Hendrich van der Byl).
Cast
Main cast
- Hayley Mills as Tracey Van Der Byl
- David McCallum as Benedict Van Der Byl
- Jon Cypher as Johnny Lance
- Barry Trengove as Cappy
- Volenté Bertotti as Ruby Lance
- Bill McNaught as Hendrich Van Der Byl
- Don Furnival as Mac
- Gordon van Rooyen as Kramer
- Stanley Leeshaw as Osaki
- Pieter Geldenhuys as Attorney
- Ray Novak as Joe
- Ian Botha as Sampson
Supporting cast
- Dirk de Villiers as Les (uncredited)
Production
Film rights were bought by Philip Vrasne, who wanted to make it in South Africa.[1]
Kingfisher Caper writer Roy Boulting was married to star Hayley Mills at the time of the filming. This was his final writing credit.[2]
Filmink magazine called it "typical of several South African movies from the 1970s that attempted to crack the international market (The Shangani Patrol, Funeral for an Assassin, Killer Force, Target of an Assassin, Golden Rendezvous, Game for Vultures): a half-baked action piece with B-list stars (Hayley Mills, David McCallum), iffy handling and one or two decent moments. Roy Boulting, married to Mills at the time, gets a script credit, his last; the film helped kill her career as a movie star."[3]
Remake
It was remade as the 2001 miniseries The Diamond Hunters with Alyssa Milano, Roy Scheider, Sean Patrick Flanery and Michael Easton in the Mills, McNaught, Cypher and McCallum roles respectively; Jolene Blalock, Armin Rohde and Hannes Jaenicke also featured.
References
- ^ With TV On Horizon & Filmgoing Off, Capetown's Noted 'Theatre Land' Dies Hanson, A. Variety; Los Angeles Vol. 268, Iss. 11, (Oct 25, 1972): 31.
- ^ Vagg, Stephen (19 March 2022). "Movie Star Cold Streaks: Hayley Mills". Filmink.
- ^ Vagg, Stephen (27 January 2022). "The Cinema of Wilbur Smith". Filmink.
External links
- The Kingfisher Caper at the Internet Movie Database
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Works by Wilbur Smith
- When the Lion Feeds (1964)
- The Dark of the Sun (1965)
- The Sound of Thunder (1966)
- Shout at the Devil (1968)
- Gold Mine (1970)
- The Diamond Hunters (1971)
- The Sunbird (1972)
- Eagle in the Sky (1974)
- The Eye of the Tiger (1975)
- Cry Wolf (1976)
- A Sparrow Falls (1977)
- Hungry as the Sea (1978)
- Wild Justice (1979)
- A Falcon Flies (1980)
- Men of Men (1981)
- The Angels Weep (1982)
- The Leopard Hunts in Darkness (1984)
- The Burning Shore (1985)
- Power of the Sword (1986)
- Rage (1987)
- A Time to Die (1989)
- Golden Fox (1990)
- Elephant Song (1991)
- River God (1993)
- The Seventh Scroll (1995)
- Birds of Prey (1997)
- Monsoon (1999)
- Warlock (2001)
- Blue Horizon (2003)
- The Triumph of the Sun (2005)
- The Quest (2007)
- Assegai (2009)
- Those in Peril (2011)
- Vicious Circle (2013)
- Desert God (2014)
- Pharaoh (2016)
- On Leopard Rock (2018)
- Golden Lion (2015)
- Predator (2016)
- The Tiger's Prey (2017)
- War Cry (2017)
- Courtney's War (2018)
- King of Kings (2019)
- Ghost Fire (2019)
- Cloudburst (2020)
- Call of the Raven (2020)
- Thunderbolt (2021)
- Legacy of War (2021)
- The New Kingdom (2021)
- Shockwave (2022)
- Storm Tide (2022)
- Titans of War (2022)
- Prey Zone (2022)
- Dark of the Sun (1968)
- The Last Lion (1972)
- Gold (1974)
- The Kingfisher Caper (1975)
- Shout at the Devil (1976)
- Mountain of Diamonds (1991 TV movie)
- Wild Justice (1994 TV movie)
- The Seventh Scroll (1999 mini-series)
- The Diamond Hunters (2001 mini-series)
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