Story of movie The Wilby Conspiracy :
The Wilby Conspiracy is a 1975 DeLuxe Color thriller film directed by Ralph Nelson and filmed in Kenya. It was written by Rodney Amateau, based on the 1972 novel by Peter Driscoll. It had a limited release in the US. This is the third film teaming Sidney Poitier with director Ralph Nelson. The first time they worked together was in 1963 on Lilies of the Field, the film for which Poitier received an Academy Award. Nelson also directed Poitier in Duel at Diablo in 1966.
| The Wilby Conspiracy | |
|---|---|
Original film poster | |
| Directed by | Ralph Nelson |
| Produced by | Martin Baum Paul M. Heller Helmut Dantine |
| Written by | Rodney Amateau Harold Nebenzal |
| Based on | The Wilby Conspiracy 1972 novel by Peter Driscoll |
| Starring | Michael Caine Sidney Poitier Nicol Williamson |
| Music by | Stanley Myers |
| Cinematography | John Coquillon |
| Edited by | Ernest Walter |
Production company | Baum/Dantine Productions Optimus Productions Ltd. |
| Distributed by | United Artists |
Release date |
|
Running time | 102 minutes |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English Afrikaans |
Screenplay
In apartheid-era South Africa, Shack Twala (played by Sidney Poitier), a black revolutionary who had served time on Robben Island, is freed by Rina van Niekerk (Prunella Gee), his Afrikaner defence attorney, because he would be a victim of retroactive legislation. Rina, estranged from her husband Blane (Rutger Hauer), is having a relationship with an English mining engineer, Jim Keogh (Michael Caine), who has attended Shack's trial. Surprised by the verdict, Rina, Jim and Shack go off to celebrate at her house. They are stopped by the South African Police who are conducting identity document checks and arresting everyone who does not have their papers on them. As Shack has only just been released from prison he will not receive his papers until the next day. The police Constable and Shack antagonise each other leading to Shack being handcuffed and arrested. When Rina attempts to pull the Constable off Shack, the policeman hits her, knocking her to the ground. Jim assaults and knocks out the Constable making all three fugitives.
At Police Headquarters, an SAP Brigadier (Patrick Allen) is criticised by Major Horn (Nicol Williamson) of the South African Bureau of State Security (BOSS) for not only arresting Shack but continuing with their random identity checks and arrests that have infuriated world opinion.
The three fugitives are followed and monitored by BOSS to lead them to discover their escape route to Botswana and its facilitators, two Indian dentists; a stash of stolen uncut diamonds being used to fund the "Black Congress" (African National Congress) and the leader of the "Black Congress", a man named Wilby (Joe De Graft).
- Sidney Poitier as Shack Twala
- Michael Caine as Jim Keogh
- Nicol Williamson as Major Horn, S.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 Graft as Wilby Xaba
- Archie Duncan as Gordon
- Helmut Dantine as Prosecuting counsel
After this motion picture, Poitier moved into both directing and acting. In addition, the film introduced Dutch actor Rutger Hauer to English-speaking audiences. Hauer went on to act in several of director Paul Verhoeven's early movies. The Wilby Conspiracy was also the western film debut of Indian actress Persis Khambatta, who would appear in Star Trek: The Motion Picture and with Rutger Hauer in Nighthawks
- The region 1 DVD was released 20 January 2004.
- In 2010 it was digitized in High Definition (1080i) and broadcast on MGM HD.
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