55 Days at Peking

“A handful of men and women held out against the frenzied hordes of bloodthirsty fanatics!”

In the summer of 1900, the foreign legations in Peking close ranks inside the International Compound while the Boxers gather outside the walls. Nicholas Ray puts diplomats and soldiers from a dozen nations behind one barricade, among them Sir Arthur Robertson (David Niven) and the Baroness Natalie Ivanoff (Ava Gardner). Major Matt Lewis (Charlton Heston) takes command of the defense, and relief is a long way off.