55 Days at Peking

55 Days at Peking is a 1963 historical epic film starring Charlton Heston, Ava Gardner and David Niven, made by Samuel Bronston Productions and released by Allied Artists. The movie was produced by Samuel Bronston and directed by Nicholas Ray, Andrew Marton credited as second unit director and Guy Green uncredited. The screenplay was written by Philip Yordan, Bernard Gordon, Ben Barzman and Robert Hamer, the music score was written by Dimitri Tiomkin and the song So Little Time was written by Tiomkin with lyrics by Paul Francis Webster. The cinematographer was Jack Hildyard.

55 Days in Peking is a dramatization of the siege of the foreign legations compounds in Peking now known as Beijing during the Boxer Rebellion which took place from 18981900 in China. It is based on the book by Noel Gerson.In the early years of the 20th century, Peking is an open city with the Chinese and several European countries vying for control. The Boxers, who oppose Christianity, are agitating against the foreigners and the western powers who still exercised complete sovereignty over their compounds and their citizens. The head of the US military garrison is Maj. Matt Lewis, USMC Charlton Heston, an experienced China hand who knows local conditions well. The political situation is tense with the Boxers having the tacit approval of the Dowager Empress Flora Robson. ........

Source: Wikipedia