Christopher Columbus

Christopher Columbus (1949)

The greatest adventure man ever lived!

Christopher Columbus overcomes intrigue at the Spanish court and convinces Queen Isabella that his plan to reach the East by sailing west is practical.

Date of release
1949-10-12
TMDB
5.8 / 10 (15)
Runtime
1h 39m
Genres
Action, Adventure, Drama, History
Director
David MacDonald

Casting

Interesting facts

  • Based on: Columbus

Christopher Columbus is a 1949 British biographical film starring Fredric March as Christopher Columbus and Florence Eldridge as Queen Isabella. It is loosely based on the 1941 novel Columbus by Rafael Sabatini, with much of the screenplay rewritten by Sydney and Muriel Box.

Development

The film was a passion project for producer Sydney Box, who in 1945 had a huge success with The Seventh Veil. In September 1946, Box announced he would make the film from Sabatini's novel for the United Kingdom Moving Picture Company. Finance would come from the Rank Organisation.

Before we smacked Henry V and Caesar and Cleopatra into the American Markets, we were getting a poor showing in the United States. Although the most optimistic figures have been put out in London about the achievements of Henry and Caesar, in fact they have had to fight hard to make their way. The important thing to remember is this— that these big films enabled us to break through the highly controlled theatre circuits in America.

For a time it seemed there would be a rival movie on the same subject produced by Edward Small from a biography by David Lawrence. The other film was not made.

When Box became head of Gainsborough Pictures, he immediately put the project in development at that studio. In January 1947, Sabatini was reportedly working on the script.

In October 1946, Box said he wanted a young, virile actor to play the lead. Stewart Granger was originally mentioned. In January 1947, Arturo de Córdova was announced as star.

Read on Wikipedia · Text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. Data from Wikidata.

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