The Wind and the Lion 1975

     This film is somewhat based on the true events of the Perdicaris incident of 1904 and the setting is Morocco in the early 1900’s.  Eden Pedecaris and her two children, William and Jennifer, are abducted by Mulai Ahmed er Rasisuli and his men.  He is the leader of a band of Berber insurrectionists opposed to Sultan Abdelaziz of Morocco and his uncle, the Bashaw (Pasha) of Tangier.  The reason for the abduction is to embarrass the Sultan and Raisuli demands an outrageous amount for money for ransom.  Theodore Roosevelt is the current President of the United States.  He uses diplomatic pressure and then military intervention to recover the Americans.  The Germans, British, French and Russians also became involved.

     I could not get interested in this movie?  It seemed like a showcase for Sean Connery?  I was surprised that Award Books published a novel based on this film in January 1975.  The film score by Jerry Goldsmith was nominated for AFI’s 200 years of Film Scores in 2005.  Teddy Roosevelt was interested in the kidnapping but he also needed an issue since he was campaigning for president.

 

119 min, Action directed by John Milius with Sean Connery, Candice Bergen, Brian Keith, John Huston, Geoffrey Lewis, Steve Kanaly, Vladek Sheybal, Nadim Sawalha, Roy Jenson, Deborah Baxter, Jack Cooley.

Note:  Imdb 7.0 out of 10, 75% critic 70% audience on Rotten Tomatoes, Amazon 4.6* out of 5* with 568 reviews.

Special Note:  The Pedicaris incident involved the kidnapping of a middle-aged man and his stepson.  They were not hurt during their adventure.  Fay Dunaway was the first choice for the role of Eden Pedecaris.