55 Days at Peking

2025-10-26T03:40:24Z

2601:602:57E:F450:19CA:2424:C882:8553: Added reference to the fact this was the final film screened by President Kennedy at the White House Family Theater on 11/10/1963.

{{Short description|1963 historical war film directed by Nicholas Ray}}
{{For|the battle this film was based on|Siege of the International Legations}}
{{Use American English|date=January 2025}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=December 2017}}

{{Infobox film
| name = 55 Days at Peking
| image = 55-Days-Peking.jpg
| caption = [[Theatrical release poster]]<br />by [[Howard Terpning]]
| director = [[Nicholas Ray]]
| producer = [[Samuel Bronston]]
| writer = {{Plainlist|
* [[Philip Yordan]]
* [[Bernard Gordon (writer)|Bernard Gordon]]
}}
| starring = {{Plainlist|
* [[Charlton Heston]]
* [[Ava Gardner]]
* [[David Niven]]
* [[Flora Robson]]
* [[John Ireland]]
* [[Leo Genn]]
* [[Robert Helpmann]]
* [[Kurt Kasznar]]
* [[Philippe Leroy]]
* [[Paul Lukas]]
* [[Elizabeth Sellars]]
* [[Massimo Serato]]
* [[Jacques Sernas]]
* [[Jerome Thor]]
}}
| music = [[Dimitri Tiomkin]]
| cinematography = [[Jack Hildyard]]
| editing = [[Robert Lawrence (film editor)|Robert Lawrence]]
| studio = Samuel Bronston Productions
| distributor = [[Allied Artists Pictures Corporation|Allied Artists]]
| released = {{Film date|1963|05|29}}
| runtime = 153 minutes
| country = United States
| language = English
| budget = $10 million<ref name="budget">{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/381580979/|title=Bronston Film Two Years in Making|date=May 23, 1963|work=[[Los Angeles Times]]|at=Part IV, p. 10|via=[[Newspapers.com]]|url-access=subscription}}</ref>
| gross = $10 million<ref name="numbers">{{cite web |url=http://www.the-numbers.com/movies/1963/055DY.php |title=Box Office Information for ''55 Days at Peking''|website=The Numbers|date=September 5, 2013}}</ref>
}}

'''''55 Days at Peking''''' is a 1963 American [[Epic film|epic]] [[historical drama|historical]] [[war film]] dramatizing the [[Siege of the International Legations|siege of the foreign legations' compounds in Beijing]] (then still Peking, in English) during the [[Boxer Uprising]], which took place in China in the summer of 1900. It was produced by [[Samuel Bronston]] for [[Allied Artists Picture Corporation|Allied Artists]], with a screenplay by [[Philip Yordan]] and [[Bernard Gordon (writer)|Bernard Gordon]], and with uncredited contributions from [[Robert Hamer]], Julian Halevy, and [[Ben Barzman]]. [[Noel Gerson]] wrote a screenplay [[novelization]] in 1963 under the pseudonym "Samuel Edwards".

The film was directed primarily by [[Nicholas Ray]], although [[Guy Green (filmmaker)|Guy Green]] and [[Andrew Marton]] assumed leadership in the latter stages of filming after Ray had fallen ill. Both men were uncredited. It stars [[Charlton Heston]], [[Ava Gardner]], and [[David Niven]], with supporting roles by [[Flora Robson]], [[John Ireland]], [[Leo Genn]], [[Robert Helpmann]], [[Harry Andrews]], and [[Kurt Kasznar]]. It also contains the first known screen appearance of future [[martial arts film]] star [[Yuen Siu Tien]]. Japanese film director [[Juzo Itami]], credited in the film as "''Ichizo Itami''{{-"}}, appears as [[Shiba Goro|Col. Goro Shiba]].

''55 Days at Peking'' was released by Allied Artists on May 29, 1963. The film received mixed reviews, mainly for its historical inaccuracies and lack of character development. However, it was praised for its acting, direction, music, action sequences, and production design. In addition to its mixed critical reviews, the film grossed only $10 million at the box office against a budget of $10 million. Despite this, the film was nominated for two [[Academy Awards]]. It was director Ray's last film until ''[[Lightning Over Water]]'' (1980).

==Plot==
Starvation, widespread in China, is affecting more than 100 million peasants by the summer of 1900. Approximately a thousand foreigners from various western industrialized countries are surrounded and trapped in Beijing's legations. The [[Yìhéquán|Boxers]] oppose the westerners and the Christian religion and are planning to drive them out.

The turmoil in China worsens as the Boxer secret societies gain tacit approval from the [[Empress Dowager Cixi]]. With 13 of China's 18 provinces forced into [[Concessions in China|territorial concessions by those colonial powers]], frustration over foreign encroachment boils over when the Empress encourages the Boxers to attack all foreigners in Beijing and the rest of China. When the Empress condones the assassination of the German ambassador and "suggests" that the foreigners leave, a violent siege of Beijing's foreign [[Beijing Legation Quarter|legations district]] erupts. Beijing's foreign embassies are gripped by terror, as the Boxers, supported by [[Military of the Qing dynasty|Imperial]] troops, set about killing Christians in an [[Anti-Western sentiment|anti-western]] nationalistic fever.

The head of the US military garrison is [[US Marine]] Major Matt Lewis, loosely based on the real Major [[John Twiggs Myers]], an experienced [[China hand]] who knows local conditions well. A love interest blossoms between him and Baroness Natasha Ivanova, a [[Russian aristocracy|Russian aristocrat]] who, it is revealed, had an affair with a Chinese General, causing her Russian husband to commit suicide. The Russian Imperial Minister, who is Natasha's brother-in-law, has revoked her visa in an attempt to recover a valuable necklace. Although the Baroness tries leaving Beijing as the siege begins, she is forced by events to return to Major Lewis and volunteers in the hospital, which is battered by the siege and is running out of supplies. To help the defenders, the Baroness exchanges her very valuable jeweled necklace for medical supplies and food, but she is wounded in the process and later dies.

Lewis leads the small contingent of 400 multinational soldiers and US Marines defending the compound. As the siege worsens, Maj. Lewis forms an alliance with the senior officer at the British Embassy, Sir Arthur Robertson, pending the arrival of a [[Seymour Expedition|British-led relief force]]. After hearing that the force has been repulsed by Chinese forces, Maj. Lewis and Sir Arthur succeed in their mission to blow up a sizable Chinese arsenal.

As the foreign defenders conserve food and water, while trying to save hungry children, the Empress continues plotting with the Boxers by supplying aid from her Chinese troops. Eventually, a foreign relief force from the [[Eight-Nation Alliance]] arrives and defeats the Boxers. The troops reach Beijing on the 55th day and, following the [[Battle of Peking (1900)|Battle of Peking]] (Beijing), lift the siege of the foreign legations. Foreshadowing the demise of the [[Qing dynasty]], rulers of China for the previous two and a half centuries, the Dowager Empress Cixi, alone in her throne room, having gambled her empire and lost, declares repeatedly to herself, "The dynasty is finished".

When the soldiers of the Eight-Nation Alliance have taken control of the city, after routing the Boxers and the remnants of the Imperial Army, Maj. Lewis assembles his men, having received new orders from his superiors to leave Beijing. He stops and circles back to retrieve Teresa, the young, half-Chinese daughter of one of his Marine comrades who was killed during the 55-day siege. Aboard his horse, she and Maj. Lewis leave the city behind, followed by his column of marching Marines.

==Cast==
{{div col|colwidth=45em}}
* [[Charlton Heston]] as Maj. Matt Lewis (based upon [[John Twiggs Myers]])
* [[Ava Gardner]] as Baroness Natalie Ivanoff (Natalia Ivanova; sister-in-law of Sergei and Sophie Ivanoff/Ivanova)
* [[David Niven]] as Sir Arthur Robertson (based upon Sir [[Claude MacDonald]])
* [[Flora Robson]] as [[Empress Dowager Cixi]]
* [[John Ireland]] as Sgt. Harry
* [[Leo Genn]] as Gen. [[Jung-Lu]]
* [[Harry Andrews]] as Father de Bearn
* [[Robert Helpmann]] as [[Prince Tuan]]
* [[Juzo Itami]] as [[Shiba Goro|Col. Goro Shiba]]
* [[Kurt Kasznar]] as Baron Sergei Ivanoff (based upon [[Mikhail Nikolayevich von Giers]])
* [[Philippe Leroy]] as Julliard
* [[Paul Lukas]] as Dr. Steinfeldt
* [[Lynne Sue Moon]] as Teresa
* [[Elizabeth Sellars]] as Lady Sarah Robertson
* [[Massimo Serato]] as Menotti Garibaldi
* [[Jacques Sernas]] as Maj. Bobrinski
* [[Jerome Thor]] as Capt. Andy Marshall
* [[Geoffrey Bayldon]] as Smythe
* [[Joseph Furst]] as Capt. Hanselman
* [[Walter Gotell]] as Capt. Hoffman
* [[Alfredo Mayo]] as Spanish Minister (dubbed by [[Robert Rietti]], based upon {{ill|Bernardo Cólogan|es|Bernardo Cólogan y Cólogan}})
* [[Martin Miller (actor)|Martin Miller]] as Hugo Bergmann
* [[José Nieto (actor)|José Nieto]] as Italian Minister (based upon [[Giuseppe Salvago Raggi]])
* [[Eric Pohlmann]] as Baron von Meck (based upon [[Clemens von Ketteler]])
* [[Aram Stephan]] as Gaumaire The French minister (based upon [[Stephen Pichon]])
* [[Robert Urquhart (actor)|Robert Urquhart]] as Capt. Hanley
* [[Burt Kwouk]] as Old Man (voice)
{{div col end}}

=== Uncredited roles ===
{{div col|colwidth=45em}}
* [[Fernando Sancho]] as Belgian Minister (based upon [[Maurice Joostens]])
* [[Nicholas Ray]] as U.S. Minister (based upon [[Edwin H. Conger]])
* [[Félix Dafauce]] as Dutch Minister (based upon [[Fridolin Marinus Knobel]])
* [[Carlos Casaravilla]] as Japanese Minister (based upon [[Nishi Tokujirō]])
* [[Ronald Brittain|R.S.M. Ronald Brittain]] as Sgt. Britten
* [[Alfred Lynch]] as Gerald
* [[Michael Chow (restaurateur)|Michael Chow]] as Chiang
* [[George Wang (actor)|George Wang]] as Kaige, Boxer Chief
* [[Lucille Soong]] as Concubine
* [[Yuen Siu Tien]] as Court Boxer
* [[John Moulder-Brown]] as Tommy
* [[Milton Reid]] as Boxer
* {{ill|Andrea Esterhazy|de}} as Austrian minister (based upon {{ill|Moritz Freiherr Czikann von Wahlborn|hu|Czikann Móric}})
{{div col end}}

==Production==
===Development===
On September 8, 1959, producer [[Jerry Wald]] announced he would be producing a film on the Boxer Rebellion tentatively titled ''The Hell Raisers'' for [[20th Century Pictures|20th Century Fox]]. He had hoped to star David Niven as a British officer and [[Stephen Boyd]] as a United States Marine commander while [[Hope Lange]] and [[France Nuyen]] were sought for supporting female roles.<ref>{{cite news|last=Scott |first=John L.|url=https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/381222702/|title=Wald Rushes Plans for 'Hell Raisers'|date=September 8, 1959|work=Los Angeles Times|at=Part IV, p. 9|via=[[Newspapers.com]]|url-access=subscription}}</ref> A few weeks later, on September 24, it was reported that Wald had signed Niven, Boyd, and Nuyen for their respective roles.<ref>{{cite news|last=Hopper|first=Hedda|url=https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/380883199/|title=Wald Gets Niven for 'Hell Raisers'|date=September 24, 1959|work=Los Angeles Times|at=Part III, p. 6|via=Newspapers.com|url-access=subscription}}</ref>

Meanwhile, producer [[Samuel Bronston]] had enjoyed commercial success from making historical spectacles in Spain, particularly ''[[King of Kings (1961 film)|King of Kings]]'' (1961), directed by [[Nicholas Ray]], and ''[[El Cid (film)|El Cid]]'' (1961), directed by [[Anthony Mann]] starring [[Charlton Heston]]. In [[Paris]], screenwriters [[Philip Yordan]] and [[Bernard Gordon (writer)|Bernard Gordon]] were brainstorming ideas for potential historical epics. During one story conference, Gordon suggested the Boxer Rebellion, having recalled reading a theatrical play while working in the Story Department for [[Paramount Pictures]] during the 1940s. Yordan dismissed the idea, but after he had returned from a cruise in London, his wife located a book with a chapter titled "Fifty-five Days at Peking" inside a bookstore and showed it to him. Fascinated with the title alone, Yordan pitched the idea to Gordon, who noted that he had earlier pitched the Boxer Rebellion.{{sfn|Gordon|1999|pp=145–6}}{{sfn|Martin|2007|pp=94–95}} In an interview with the ''[[Los Angeles Times]]'', Bronston stated he was attracted to the Boxer Rebellion because it showed "the unity of peoples, no matter what their beliefs, in the face of danger. This incident is what the [[UN]] symbolizes but has not yet achieved."<ref name="los">{{cite news|last=Scheuer|first=Philip K.|url=https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/381371065/|title=History Own Best Dramatist to Him: Bronston Making Parallels With Past Pay Off Today|date=February 23, 1962|work=Los Angeles Times|at=Part IV, p. 17|via=Newspapers.com|url-access=subscription}}</ref>

In September 1961, Bronston announced he was planning a trilogy of historical epics in Spain, among them was ''55 Days at Peking'' and ''[[The Fall of the Roman Empire (film)|The Fall of the Roman Empire]]'' (1964). For ''55 Days at Peking'', [[Alec Guinness]] was being sought for a lead role while a British director was to be selected. Filming was slated to begin in spring 1962.<ref>{{cite news|last=Archer|first=Eugene|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1961/09/12/archives/bronston-plans-3-film-spectacles-boxer-rebellion-romes-fall-french.html|title=Bronston Plans 3 Film Spectacles: Boxer Rebellion, Rome's Fall, French Revolt on Agenda|work=The New York Times|url-access=subscription|date=September 12, 1961|page=36}}</ref> That same month, Wald told ''[[The New York Times]]'' that he was unhappy with Bronston's plans as his project had long been in development, with a final script draft being written by [[Barre Lyndon]]; Wald had also wanted Guinness to star in his project. Furthermore, he stated that he had filed an infringement complaint with the [[Motion Picture Association of America]] because he had approached Yordan to write a script in 1956.<ref>{{cite news|last=Archer|first=Eugene|title=Producer Decries Movie Practices: Wald Says Two Plan Films on the Boxer Rebellion|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1961/09/15/archives/producers-decries-movie-practices-wald-says-two-plan-films-on-the.html|url-access=subscription|work=The New York Times|date=September 15, 1961|page=30}}</ref> In April 1962, Wald instead sold the project to [[NBC]] as a television film,<ref>{{cite news|last=Connolly|first=Mike|author-link=Mike Connolly (columnist)|url=https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/519696183/|title=Boxer Rebellion Is Theme of TV Show|url-access=subscription|newspaper=[[The Capital Times]]|page=21|date=April 21, 1962|access-date=April 23, 2020|via=Newspapers.com}}</ref> but his death three months later prevented its continuation.<ref>{{cite news|last=Graham|first=Sheilah|author-link=Sheilah Graham|url=https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/535681292/|title=Hollywood|url-access=subscription|work=[[The Scranton Times-Tribune]]|page=9|date=August 4, 1962|access-date=April 23, 2020|via=Newspapers.com}}</ref>

===Casting===
In September 1961, Heston was initially slated to star in ''The Fall of the Roman Empire'', but he expressed reluctance after reading the screenplay.{{sfn|Heston|1979|p=[https://archive.org/details/actorslifejourna00hest/page/164 164]}} In November 1961, Heston was presented with a treatment for ''55 Days at Peking'', and by this stage, Ray was chosen to direct the film. "It might be an interesting period for a film," wrote Heston. "I'd like to work for Nick, too."{{sfn|Heston|1979|p=[https://archive.org/details/actorslifejourna00hest/page/168/ 168–169]}} However, Heston was still reluctant. In December 1961, following the Madrid premiere of ''El Cid'', during a flight back to [[Los Angeles]], Yordan and Ray again pitched the idea to Heston, and this time he agreed to star in the film. Heston wrote in his journal, "I feel uneasy, but I'm now convinced I must go basically on what confidence I have in a director's talent."{{sfn|Heston|1979|p=[https://archive.org/details/actorslifejourna00hest/page/172/ 172]}} Subsequently, ''The Fall of the Roman Empire'' was placed on hold as its already completed sets were later demolished and replaced with the [[Forbidden City]] sets for ''55 Days at Peking''.{{sfn|Heston|1995|pp=272–273}}{{sfn|Martin|2007|p=134}}

In March 1962, Bronston told columnist [[Hedda Hopper]] that he had hoped [[Katharine Hepburn]] would portray Empress Dowager Tzu Hsi.<ref>{{cite news|last=Hopper|first=Hedda|url=https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/374644967|title=Looking at Hollywood: Jerry Lewis Lands on Moon in 'Astronuts'|date=March 12, 1962|work=Chicago Tribune|at=Part 3, p. 10|via=Newspapers.com|url-access=subscription}}</ref> Also, Bronston wanted [[Ava Gardner]] for the female lead, although Heston did not want to work with Gardner and instead pushed for [[Jeanne Moreau]].{{sfn|Heston|1995|pp=279–280}} Meanwhile, the role had been offered to [[Melina Mercouri]] who refused it because she wanted more rewrites of the screenplay.{{sfn|Heston|1979|p=[https://archive.org/details/actorslifejourna00hest/page/186/ 186]}} On June 11, it was reported that Gardner and Hepburn had joined the cast.<ref>{{cite news|last=Hopper|first=Hedda|url=https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/381385797/|title=Ava Gardner to Do Film for Bronston|date=June 11, 1962|work=Los Angeles Times|at=Part IV, p. 14|via=Newspapers.com|url-access=subscription}}</ref>

In the lobby of the Grand Hotel in [[Rome]], Bronston offered David Niven a role in the film for a salary of $300,000, to which he accepted without reading the script.{{sfn|Gordon|1999|p=149}} On June 12, Niven's casting was announced.<ref>{{cite news|last=Scheuer|first=Philip K.|url=https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/381388361/|title=Niven Will Contest Heston in 'Peking'|date=June 12, 1962|work=Los Angeles Times|at=Part IV, p. 11|via=Newspapers.com|url-access=subscription}}</ref> By late June 1962, Hepburn had dropped out of the cast, and Bronston announced that [[Flora Robson]] had replaced her to portray the Chinese empress, while [[Robert Helpmann]] would play Prince Tuan.<ref>{{cite news|last=Scheuer|first=Philip K.|url=https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/381493131/|title=Flora Robson Joins Bronston in 'Peking'|date=June 22, 1962|work=Los Angeles Times|at=Part IV, p. 13|via= Newspapers.com|url-access=subscription}}</ref>

===Writing===
In 1977, Ray recalled, "The pressure was tremendous. On a $6 million production, I had no production manager, and a 21-year-old assistant director. No script. I had two artists in my office, one Chinese and one Spanish. I'd describe the scene to them, they'd draw it and then I'd give it to the so-called writers and say, "Write a scene around this?"<ref name="take">{{cite magazine|last=Cocks|first=Jay|url=https://archive.org/details/take_one_magazine_1977_01|title=Director in Aspic|magazine=Take One|date=January 1977|pages=[https://archive.org/details/take_one_magazine_1977_01/page/n16 17]–21|via=[[Internet Archive]]}}</ref>

Prior to filming, Gordon and Ray had worked on a draft in which the former struggled writing as he contracted "colds and the flu and constantly ran a low-grade fever." After four weeks of work, they presented pages of their draft to Yordan, who ordered them to "go back to square one and write the kind of clumsy, impersonal, fat historical opus" that the international distributors wanted."{{sfn|Gordon|1999|pp=147–149}} With filming nearly approaching, Yordan suggested hiring [[Arnaud d'Usseau]] to assist Gordon with writing some scenes, particularly those with Gardner. Gordon later recalled that d'Usseau worked meticulously slowly and "simply couldn't find his way into our script." After a few weeks, d'Usseau left the project with none of his work being used. Shortly after this, blacklisted screenwriter Julian Halevy accepted Gordon's offer to rewrite some scenes, among of which were new scenes for the Empress Dowager.{{sfn|Gordon|1999|pp=148–149}}

By May 1962, Gordon delivered a 140-page [[shooting script]],{{sfn|Gordon|1999|p=150}} but most of the scenes were merely summarized or sketched in. That same month, Heston received the script, but disapprovingly jotted in his journal that "[t]he love story is very arbitrary, I think; the dialogue primitive."{{sfn|Heston|1979|p=[https://archive.org/details/actorslifejourna00hest/page/184 184]}} Filming would proceed without a finished script and on-set rewrites were frequent. It had been suggested that a native British screenwriter should revise the dialogue for Niven's character for which [[Robert Hamer]] had been hired for the task. Ultimately, his services were later turned away as Hamer had sunken into alcoholism. Yordan then recruited [[Jon Manchip White]] to help rework the script, but it did not pan out.{{sfn|Gordon|1999|pp=152–153}}

Four weeks later into production, Niven threatened to walk off set unless the script was rewritten. Yordan ordered Gordon to write "a ''[[Hamlet]]'' scene for him, and he'll shut up." Gordon then wrote four to five pages of monologue for Niven's character to self-reflect on his actions. The new scenes were sent to Niven, prompting him to return and finish filming.{{sfn|Gordon|1999|pp=154–155}}

===Filming===
[[Principal photography]] began on July 2, 1962.<ref>Scott, John L. (June 29, 1962). [https://www.newspapers.com/image/381394327/ "Lee Remick, Garner Named as Co-Stars: They'll Do 'Wheeler Dealers'; Ireland Joining 'Peking' Cast"]. ''Los Angeles Times''. Part IV, p. 11 – via Newspapers.com.</ref> The film was shot on location in [[Las Rozas de Madrid|Las Matas]].{{sfn|Gordon|1999|pp=150–151}} Three thousand extras were required, including 1,500 Chinese. There were estimated to be 300 adult [[Chinese people in Spain]] so the rest were imported from all over Europe, particularly London, Rome, Marseilles, and Lisbon.<ref name="Leralta">{{cite book|last=Leralta|first=Javier|title=Madrid: cuentos, leyendas y anécdotas, Volumen 2|year=2002|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=UBlqeXtejycC&q=55+d%C3%ADas+en+pek%C3%ADn+las+rozas&pg=PA50|page=50|publisher=Sílex Ediciones|isbn=8477371008}} {{in lang|es}}</ref><ref>Wilson, Earl (October 13, 1962). [https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/381377778/ "Baritone Lucky He Found Weede"]. ''Los Angeles Times''. Part I, p. 15 – via Newspapers.com.</ref><ref name="safe">{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1962/12/09/archives/oriental-war-on-plains-of-spain-boxer-revolt-filmed-by-bronston.html|title=Oriental War on Plains of Spain: Boxer Revolt Filmed By Bronston Crew For '55 Days' Safety First Scenic Setting|newspaper=The New York Times|url-access=subscription|date=December 9, 1962|page=59}}</ref>

As production continued, Gardner became difficult during the shoot, often turning up late, disliking the script, and drinking heavily. One day, she walked off set claiming an extra had taken a photograph of her.{{sfn|Server|2006|p=395}} Ultimately, the idea to write Gardner out of the film came from screenwriter [[Ben Barzman]], who had rewritten ''El Cid''.{{sfn|Martin|2007|p=125}} According to Heston, Yordan had written a death scene in which the Baroness dies of shrapnel wounds. By the time the scene was shot, Gardner struggled to remember her lines. Heston then suggested giving her lines to [[Paul Lukas]], who was playing a physician.{{sfn|Heston|1995|p=287}}

On September 11, 1962, Ray was hospitalized after suffering a heart attack.{{sfn|Martin|2007|p=90}} At this point, production had fallen six weeks behind schedule with Gardner's role being nearly complete, but significant scenes for Heston and Niven had yet to be shot. To replace him, Heston suggested [[Guy Green (filmmaker)|Guy Green]], who had previously directed him in ''[[Diamond Head (film)|Diamond Head]]'' (1963), to finish the remaining scenes between him and Gardner.{{sfn|Heston|1995|p=289}} Green subsequently left the production, and by October 1962, directorial duties were transferred to [[Andrew Marton]], who was directing the [[second unit]].<ref>{{cite news|last=Parsons|first=Louella|url=https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/179056770/|title=Best of Hollywood|work=[[The Philadelphia Inquirer]]|page=13|url-access=subscription|date=October 15, 1962|access-date=April 20, 2020|via=Newspapers.com}}</ref>

Marton reflected, "When I came onboard, I thought the picture was very shallow, just action, action, action and there was no meaning. I wrote a new beginning and a new ending and submitted them to management—who consisted of Bronston and [[Michał Waszyński|Michael Wasynski]] ... Anyway, they said 'NO!' with a capital N, capital O. And I was very unhappy."<ref>{{cite book|last=D'Antonio|first=Joanne|title=Andrew Marton|publisher=[[Scarecrow Press]]|year=1991|pages=419–421|isbn=978-0-81-082472-0}}</ref> Regardless, Marton invited director [[John Ford]] onto the set, who had advised him to shoot the sequences with no hesitation.<ref>{{cite news|last=Sherman|first=Eddie|url=https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/259860802/|title=Suntan Scoops|work=[[The Honolulu Advertiser]]|page=B3|url-access=subscription|date=November 8, 1962|access-date=April 20, 2020|via=Newspapers.com}}</ref> Heston finished his scenes on October 20, 1962, for which he wrote in his journal, "What I have learned from this, I hope permanently, is never start a film without a good finished script."{{sfn|Heston|1979|p=202}} Principal photography ended on November 15, 1962.{{sfn|Eisenschitz|1993|p=389}}

==Release==
Allied Artists, who had earlier distributed ''El Cid'', distributed ''55 Days in Peking'' in the United States and Canada.<ref>{{cite news|last=Scheuer|first=Philip K.|url=https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/381398331/|title=Albright in 'Fix' With Gene Barry|work=Los Angeles Times|at=Part IV, p. 13|date=May 14, 1962|via=Newspapers.com|url-access=subscription}}</ref><ref name="Globetrotting">{{cite magazine|title=Globetrotting Milt Goldstein Forsees 'El Cid' Racking $30-Mil Rentals|url=https://archive.org/details/variety-1963-08/page/n6/mode/1up|magazine=Variety|page=7|date=August 7, 1963|access-date=September 16, 2025|via=Internet Archive}}</ref> In October 1963, ''Variety'' reported Allied Artists had invested $2.9 million in the advertising and distributing costs.<ref>{{cite magazine|title=Allied Artists' 1963 Loss After '62 Throws Spot on First Quarter of 1964|url=https://archive.org/details/variety-1963-10/page/n156/mode/1up|magazine=Variety|page=5|date=October 16, 1963|access-date=September 16, 2025|via=Internet Archive}}</ref> On May 28, 1963, the film received a gala invitational premiere at the Beverly Theater in Los Angeles.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/381614551/|title='55 Days' on Screen|work=Los Angeles Times|at=Part V, p. 17|date=May 8, 1963|via=Newspapers.com}}</ref>

Bronston funded the film's production by pre-selling the film to international distributors based on the project's title, and the involvement of Heston and Ray.<ref>{{cite news|last=Scheuer|first=Philip K. |url=https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/381396815/|title=Bronston Plan Seen as Film Revolution: Madrid Operation Is Based on Pre-Selling Productions|work=Los Angeles Times|at=Part IV, p. 7|date=July 31, 1962|via=Newspapers.com|url-access=subscription}}</ref> In February 1962, [[Earl St. John]] announced that the [[Rank Organization]] would be putting up half the budget, which was then £2.5 million.<ref>{{cite news|newspaper=The Sunday People|date=18 February 1962|page=9|title=My table at the Savoy}}</ref> Overseas, the Rank Organization distributed the film in the United Kingdom, Germany, Italy, Scandinavia, and the Far East. [[Columbia Pictures]] distributed the film in Australia.<ref name="Globetrotting" />

===Home media===
Universal Studios Home Entertainment released the film on DVD February 28, 2001. A UK Blu-ray from [[Anchor Bay Entertainment]] was released in April 2014.

==Reception==
===Critical response===
[[Bosley Crowther]] of ''[[The New York Times]]'' described the film as: {{blockquote|[R]ousing, sometimes exciting, action fare that should keep the customers alert and entertained even if their intellects are confused. The fact of the matter is that the principals and the multitudinous extras involved have no more depth than Occidental and Oriental figures on a Chinese tapestry. And their actions—at least the reasons behind the actions of the principals — are rarely explored fully. Without authentic historic background, a viewer gets a foggy picture, if any, of the real causes of the Boxer Rebellion.<ref>{{cite news|last=Crowther|first=Bosley|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1963/05/30/archives/55-days-at-peking-is-drama-of-the-boxer-rebellion-in-china.html|title=55 Days at Peking' Is Drama of the Boxer Rebellion in China|work=The New York Times|page=20|date=May 30, 1963|access-date=April 20, 2020}}</ref> }} Gene Arneel of ''[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]'' praised the production design and Jack Hildeyard's cinematography, but also felt the script "plays interestingly but somehow lacks appropriate power. The characterizations don't have the intensity of the struggle."<ref>{{cite news|last=Arneel|first=Gene|url=https://variety.com/1962/film/reviews/55-days-at-peking-1200420459/|title=Film Reviews: 55 Days at Peking|work=Variety|page=6|date=May 1, 1963|access-date=April 20, 2020}}</ref> [[Philip K. Scheuer]] for the ''[[Los Angeles Times]]'' wrote that "For sheer color magnificence—photographed by Jack Hildeyard in Super Technirama 70—it is as breathtaking as ''El Cid''. Only this time, instead of medieval Spain, it is the China of 1900, complete with Forbidden City and surrounding legations. It should hold and fascinate spectators for its two-and-a-half hours of sheer, pell-mell movie making, even though characters are stereotypes whose melodramatics are as dated as the period itself."<ref>{{cite news|last=Scheuer|first=Philip K.|url=https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/381585394/|title='Peking'---Bronston's Great Leap Forward?|url-access=subscription|work=Los Angeles Times|page=2|date=May 12, 1963|access-date=April 20, 2020|via=Newspapers.com}}</ref>

''[[Time (magazine)|Time]]'' magazine felt "Pictorially, the film is magnificent, and some of the handsomest scenes—an orange sun rising over the peaks of the Forbidden City, midnight pyrotechnics as the Imperial arsenal blows up, the gates of the great [[Tartar Wall]] being stormed by Boxers in scarlet turbans—are almost as good as the evocative paintings by Water-colorist [[Dong Kingman]], which open and close the picture. It was doubtless ghastly to wait 55 days at Peking until international reinforcements arrived, and the moviegoer who experiences the whole siege in two hours and 30 minutes comes out feeling lucky."<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://content.time.com/time/subscriber/article/0,33009,896852,00.html|title=Cinema: Foreign Devils Go Home|magazine=Time|page=80|date=May 31, 1963|access-date=April 20, 2020}}</ref> Awarding the film four complete stars, Dorothy Masters of the ''[[New York Daily News]]'' wrote: "A powerful drama of global interest, the film has integrity, a component frequently lost in the razzle-dazzle dangled by so many multi-million-dollar colossals."<ref>{{cite news|last=Masters|first=Dorothy|title='55 Days at Peking' Is Smasher|url=https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/459889201/|url-access=subscription|work=New York Daily News|page=50|date=May 30, 1963|access-date=April 20, 2020}}</ref>

At the [[review aggregator]] website [[Rotten Tomatoes]], the film holds an approval rating of 58% based on 7 reviews, with an average rating of 5.43/10.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/fifty_five_days_at_peking|title=Fifty Five Days at Peking (1963)|work=[[Rotten Tomatoes]] |access-date=April 20, 2020}}</ref>

===Box office===
''55 Days at Peking'' premiered at the Beverly Theater, earning $22,000 within a week.<ref>{{cite magazine|title=New Product Lifts L.A.; 'List' Wow $46,000, 'Peking' Lofty 22G, 'Dr. No' Nifty 16G, 'Hud' Hotsy 20G in 2d|url=https://archive.org/details/variety-1963-06/page/n9/mode/1up?view=theater|magazine=Variety|page=10|date=June 5, 1963|access-date=September 18, 2025|via=Internet Archive}}</ref> It later opened nationwide in 21 theaters throughout 15 key cities, in which it earned $400,000 during its first two weeks.<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://archive.org/details/variety-1963-06/page/n89/mode/1up|title='Peking' Opens Big in 15 Markets|magazine=Variety|page=24|date=June 12, 1963|access-date=September 18, 2025|via=Internet Archive}}</ref> During the first weekend of June 1963, ''55 Days at Peking'' became the number-one box office film in the United States.<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://archive.org/details/sim_variety_1963-06-05_231_2/page/16|title=National Boxoffice Survey|magazine=Variety|date=June 5, 1963|page=16|access-date=September 18, 2025|via=Internet Archive}}</ref>

By August 1963, ''55 Days at Peking'' had reportedly earned $3.25 million generated from 400 theaters throughout the United States. [[Milton Goldstein (film executive)|Milton Goldstein]], the foreign sales manager for Bronston Productions, told ''Variety'' the film was doing "solid [business]" in several international countries, a few of which even outpaced ''El Cid''.<ref name="Globetrotting" /> By January 1964, the film's domestic gross was $10 million,<ref name="numbers"/> which generated an estimated $5 million in [[List of highest-grossing films#distributor rental|theatrical rentals]].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://archive.org/details/sim_variety_1964-01-08_233_7/page/69/mode/1up|title=All-Time Top Grossers|magazine=Variety|date=January 8, 1964|page=69|via=Internet Archive}}</ref>

By November 1963, the film was reportedly doing "brisk business" in roadshow engagements in [[Canada]] and had opened to "record [business]" in [[Tokyo]] and [[Osaka]], Japan.<ref>{{cite magazine|title=Allied Artists Shaking Things Up, Beginning with Elvis in Paradise|url=https://archive.org/details/variety-1963-11/page/n82/mode/1up|magazine=Variety|page=19|date=November 13, 1963|access-date=September 18, 2025|via=Internet Archive}}</ref> Later that same month, it was reported the film had earned $239,560 from seven theaters combined in Tokyo and Osaka during its first 17 days of release.<ref>{{cite magazine|title=Inside Stuff–Pictures|url=https://archive.org/details/variety-1963-11/page/n232/mode/1up|magazine=Variety|page=17|date=November 27, 1963|access-date=September 18, 2025|via=Internet Archive}}</ref>

===Academy Award nominations===
Music from this film was responsible for two nominations at the 1964 [[Academy Awards]]. [[Dimitri Tiomkin]] and [[Paul Francis Webster]] were nominated for [[Academy Award for Best Original Song|Best Original Song]] for "So Little Time", and Tiomkin was nominated for [[Academy Award for Best Original Score|Best Music Score – Substantially Original]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/1964 |title=The 36th Academy Awards (1964) Nominees and Winners |access-date=April 23, 2020|work=oscars.org|date=October 5, 2014 }}</ref>

==Legacy==
''55 Days at Peking'' contains the first known occurrence of the phrase "Let China sleep. For when she wakes, the world will tremble", which is often mistakenly attributed to [[Napoleon Bonaparte]]. While appearing in the film in a script by [[Bernard Gordon (writer)|Bernard Gordon]], the phrase did not appear in the subsequent books versions by [[Noel Gerson]] (written under the pseudonym ''Samuel Edwards'').<ref>{{Cite web |title="Sleeping China" and Napoleon |url=https://www.napoleon.org/en/history-of-the-two-empires/articles/ava-gardner-china-and-napoleon/ |access-date=2022-04-18 |website=napoleon.org |language=en-US}}</ref>

''55 Days at Peking'' appears to be the last movie watched by President [[John F. Kennedy]] in the White House Family Theater on November 10, 1963. President Kennedy's screening of the film accompanied by his wife [[Jacqueline Kennedy|Jacquline Kennedy]] was noted in handwritten records kept by White House Projectionist Paul Fischer. <ref>{{Cite web |date=2023-03-27 |title=Every Movie JFK Watched at the White House |url=https://paleofuture.com/blog/2023/3/27/every-movie-jfk-watched-at-the-white-house |access-date=2025-10-26 |website=Paleofuture |language=en-US}}</ref>

==Comic book adaptation==
* [[Gold Key Comics|Gold Key]]: ''55 Days at Peking'' (September 1963)<ref>{{gcdb series|id=1593|title=Gold Key: ''55 Days at Peking''}}</ref><ref>{{comicbookdb|type=issue|id=152484|title=Gold Key: ''55 Days at Peking''}}</ref>
* René Bratonne also made a French newspaper comic adaptation of this film, assisted by Pierre Leguen and Claude Pascal; they who worked under the pseudonym "Jack de Brown".<ref>{{Cite web | url=https://www.lambiek.net/artists/b/brantonne_rene.htm |title = René Brantonne}}</ref>

==See also==
{{Portal|Film|United States|China|History|1960s}}
* [[List of American films of 1963]]
* [[List of historical drama films of Asia]]
* [[Examples of yellowface]]
{{clear}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Bibliography==
{{Refbegin|40em}}
* {{cite book|last=Eisenschitz|first=Bernard|title=Nicholas Ray: An American Journey|url=https://archive.org/details/nicholasrayameri0000eise|year=1993|publisher=[[Faber and Faber]]|isbn=978-0-571-17830-8|url-access=registration}}
* {{cite book|last=Gordon|first=Bernard|title=Hollywood Exile: or How I Learned to Love the Blacklist|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hRRIGy52GcgC|year=1999|publisher=University of Texas Press|isbn=978-0-292-72827-1}}
* {{cite book|last=Heston|first=Charlton|title=The Actor's Life: Journals, 1956–1976|url=https://archive.org/details/actorslifejourna00hest|url-access=registration|year=1979|publisher=Pocket Books|isbn=978-0-671-83016-8}}
* {{cite book|last=Heston|first=Charlton|title=In the Arena|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qVaSPwAACAAJ|publisher=Simon & Schuster|year=1995|isbn=0-684-80394-1}}
* {{cite book|last=Martin|first=Mel|title=The Magnificent Showman: The Epic Films of Samuel Bronston|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Swxp0AEACAAJ|year=2007|publisher=BearManor Media|isbn=978-1-593931-29-2}}
* {{cite book|last=Server|first=Lee|title=Ava Gardner: Love is Nothing|url=https://archive.org/details/avagardnerloveis00serv|url-access=registration|year=2006|publisher=[[St. Martin's Press]]|isbn=978-0-312-31209-1}}
{{Refend}}

==External links==
{{Commons}}
* {{IMDb title|0056800|55 Days at Peking}}
* {{TCMDb title|id=4565}}
* {{AFI film|id=19831|title=55 Days at Peking}}

{{Samuel Bronston}}
{{Nicholas Ray}}
{{Guy Green}}
{{Andrew Marton}}

[[Category:1960s adventure drama films]]
[[Category:1960s historical films]]
[[Category:1963 films]]
[[Category:Allied Artists films]]
[[Category:American adventure drama films]]
[[Category:American epic films]]
[[Category:American historical films]]
[[Category:Boxer Rebellion]]
[[Category:Cultural depictions of Empress Dowager Cixi]]
[[Category:1960s English-language films]]
[[Category:Films about the United States Marine Corps]]
[[Category:Films adapted into comics]]
[[Category:Films directed by Andrew Marton]]
[[Category:Films directed by Guy Green]]
[[Category:Films directed by Nicholas Ray]]
[[Category:Films scored by Dimitri Tiomkin]]
[[Category:Films set in 1900]]
[[Category:Films set in Beijing]]
[[Category:Films set in 20th-century Qing dynasty]]
[[Category:Films shot in Madrid]]
[[Category:Films shot in Spain]]
[[Category:Samuel Bronston Productions films]]
[[Category:Siege films]]
[[Category:1963 drama films]]
[[Category:1960s American films]]
[[Category:Films about imperialism]]
[[Category:British Empire war films]]
[[Category:English-language historical films]]
[[Category:English-language adventure drama films]]

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55 Days at Peking