A band of mercenaries led by Captain Curry travel through war-torn Congo across deadly terrain, battling rival armies, to steal $50 million in uncut diamonds. But infighting, sadistic rebels and a time lock jeopardize everything.
British commando, Captain Curry (Rod Taylor), is hired by President Ubi (Calvin Lockhart) of war-torn Congo, to steal $50 million in uncut diamonds from a time-locked vault before the separatist Simba army that's fighting Ubi's forces and the UN peacekeepers overruns the remote town where the bank that holds the vault is located. Curry teams up with his friend Ruffo (Jim Brown), Doctor Wreid (Kenneth Moore), who's an alcoholic, and Henlein (Calvin Lockhart), a sadistic Nazi who left Germany after WWII to work as a mercenary. The mercenaries reach the town by Ubi's train after surviving an attack from the UN peacekeepers, only to find a number of terrified Westerners who were driven out from their homes by force, including torture, rape and murder, by the Simba rebels. They agree to help them leave town and befriend one of them, a pretty widow called Claire (Yvette Mimieux) whose husband was murdered by the rebels. As their mission nears completion everything suddenly goes horribly wrong and the story culminates in an orgy of sadistic graphic violence as Henlein betrays the group and the rebels arrive to brutalize and slaughter the whites. However, Curry still plans to complete his mission no matter what.
This taut, very very exciting adventure, takes place in the Congo, where buddy mercenaries Curry (Rod Taylor) and Ruffo (James Brown) are hired by a shaky government president (Peter Carsten), to go deep into the jungle and retrieve uncut diamonds from a diamond mine that the president needs, to sustain his government!
Selection of a crack troop of soldiers, and reluctantly -- a pro-Nazi officer to lead them under Curry's command, heighten the adventure by train into the jungles, threatened and under siege by Simbas...
The exciting train ride into forbidden territory under scrutiny by NATO, eventually finds them at the mining site, to find the diamonds safely in a timed vault - not set to open for several hours yet - with the Simbas due at the perimeter - at about the same time!!!
Tensions rise as they wait out the hours for the vault to time out. As the Simbas begin their attack, the vault clicks open, and all scamper to the waiting train with the diamonds.
As they leave the site, a mortar explodes, hits the train, and separates a train car full of mine employees. The train car glides back into the hands of the Simbas... with the diamonds!!! Another mortar hits the tracks and the train engine capsizes...
Now it's up to Curry and Ruffo to infiltrate the Simba encampment, and retrieve the diamonds! They do so successfully and begin their journey back to civilization, in vehicles with a short supply of gasoline. But the mean, vengeful Henlein--has other ideas. He wants the diamonds for himself!!!
From the jacket for the film:
The year: 1964. The place: the blood-soaked Congo during the struggle for its independence from Belgium. The job: take a train 300 miles through dangerous Simba rebel territory to rescue 62 refugees and retrieve $50 million in uncut diamonds. Time allowed: 3 days. Chances for survival: slim...
To soldier of fortune Bruce Curry, the assignment means a chance for a handsome $50,000 payday! To his partner, Ruffo, it means returning to his homeland to help his people. But no matter what the motive, the result is one heck of a tough, raw action-adventure spectacle!
With nary a moment free from ambushes, air attacks, and torture scenes -- there's even a chain saw duel -- director Jack Cardiff "keeps the action ablaze by setting off the most gawd-awful explosions of violence in many a moon" (Playboy).
Brimming with cataclysmic intensity and well-orchestrated mayhem, Dark Of The Sun - like kindred film The Dirty Dozen -- achieves its particular potency by revealing depths of character and touches of humanity -- even nobility -- which enhance the spectacularly photographed roughneck action!--------
A rare film if you can get it -- was photographed in CinemaScope -- but only available in full screen on VHS...
If you know where I can get in in Cinemascope, contact me at [email protected]
