FILM · 1965 · UK
The Hill
25 archived facts 4 topics 1 source Last reviewed Oct 2026
All facts (25)
- #001
Filming took place over five weeks in September 1964 in the sandy wasteland of Cabo de Gata in Almería, Spain. An old Spanish fortress in Malaga was used for the prison. Many people on the production considered the shoot enjoyable despite the harsh conditions. Temperatures rarely dropped below 115 degrees Fahrenheit (46 degrees Celsius), and despite 2,000 gallons of pure water sent for the crew, nearly everyone succumbed to dysentery during filming.
- #002
Filming began on 14 September 1964 in Almería, Spain. As a result, Sir Sean Connery was unable to attend the premiere of Goldfinger (1964), which he had just finished working on.
- #003
Cinematographer Oswald Morris, BSC, used three wide-angle lenses: 24 mm, 21 mm and 18 mm, because Sidney Lumet deliberately wanted distortion on faces, even in close-ups.
- #004
Although the film was not a commercial success, Sean Connery regarded it as a personal triumph, since it would lead to more challenging acting roles in the future.
- #005
For the Almería set in the sandy wasteland of Cabo de Gata, the punishment hill was built using ten thousand feet of imported steel piping and more than sixty tons of stone and timber.
- #006
The film is entirely devoid of music, even in its opening and closing titles.
- #007
Between the premiere of Goldfinger (1964) and the production of Thunderball (1965), Sir Sean Connery, the screen's first James Bond, decided to take a break from playing the suave secret agent, avoid typecasting and take on a more challenging role. As a result, Connery seized the opportunity to appear in The Hill (1965), director Sidney Lumet's stark, realistic wartime drama, which could not have been further removed from the 007 series' glamorous jet-set settings and fantastical situations. The film brought him the best reviews of his career, but audiences did not respond to it. It did, however, bring him some intriguing film offers, which led to unusual roles such as the bohemian poet in A Fine Madness (1966) and the miner who founds The Molly Maguires (1970) and becomes a political activist.
- #008
This was the first of five films Sidney Lumet and Sean Connery made together. The others are The Anderson Tapes (1971), The Offence (1973), Murder on the Orient Express (1974) and Family Business (1989).
- #009
Michael Caine turned down the role of Staff Sergeant Williams in order to star in Alfie (1966).
- #010
At the foot of the hill there is a blackboard slate. On it is written: Reasons for Fighting A. Survival B. A New World C. Freedom.
- #011
Five prisoners are members of the following regiments (all can be identified by their cap badges). McGrath: Lancashire Infantry. King: Royal Pioneer Corps. Bartlett: Royal Fusiliers (KC). Stevens: Royal West Kent Regiment. Roberts: Royal Tank Regiment.
- #012
The two prisoners shown at the beginning of the film are members of the Royal Tank Regiment, as can be seen from their cap badges.
- #013
Ian Hendry received praise for his role as Sergeant Williams.
- #014
Director Sidney Lumet admitted that he suffered greatly along with the whole crew while making this film, and that he cried like a baby after seeing a newspaper advertisement featuring a picture of Sir Sean Connery shouting something completely stupid that had nothing to do with the film.
- #015
The Regimental Sergeant Major and his two Sergeants, Wilson (Harry Andrews), Williams (Ian Hendry) and Harris (Ian Bannen), are members of these three regiments respectively: the Scots Guards, the East Surrey Regiment and the Royal East Kent Regiment (also known as "the Buffs").
- #016
The Hill (1965) performed poorly in cinemas despite receiving positive reviews and winning at the 1965 Cannes Film Festival, where Ray Rigby shared the screenplay award with Pierre Schoendoerffer's The 317th Platoon (1965). The film has a 71% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. It won the BAFTA Award for Best British Cinematography (Oswald Morris), and received numerous BAFTA nominations for Best Film (Kenneth Hyman), Best British Film (Kenneth Hyman), Best British Actor (Harry Andrews), Best British Screenplay (Ray Rigby) and Best British Art Direction (Herbert Smith). It was honoured with the Best Supporting Actor Award (Harry Andrews) by the National Board of Review and the Best British Dramatic Screenplay Award (Ray Rigby) by the Writers' Guild of Great Britain.
- #017
Many West Indian actors working in Britain protested the casting of the American Ossie Davis in a West Indian role.
- #018
Ray Rigby published a novelisation of the story in 1965.
- #019
This film is one of Angelina Jolie's favourites, and Sidney Lumet is one of Jolie's favourite directors.
- #020
With the death of Tony Caunter on 13 October 2025, all of the film's lead actors have now died.
- #021
Sean Connery stated that this was the most physically demanding role of his career.
- #022
In his autobiography, Sidney Lumet says that Margaret Booth, the longtime MGM chief editor, came to England to supervise the editing of the film. The screening they watched ran two hours and two minutes, and she initially insisted the film should not run longer than two hours. Lumet then told her that cutting the two minutes would damage the picture. He did his best to obey Margaret's orders, but he absolutely could not spare the two minutes she wanted. The next morning the chief editor returned and, although the two minutes had still not been removed — only a few seconds had been — she told Lumet it was a good film and that he could keep it as it was. But the next morning she suddenly reversed her decision because she thought Lumet and his assistant had laughed at her. She then nearly wept as she spoke about the new MGM executives, who had nothing to do with the old guard, those from the old thirties and forties. Lumet said that this great chief editor, who had worked very closely with Irving Thalberg, was finished with the system. At the time, Margaret Booth was already 64 years old.
- #023
Alexander Mackendrick was initially attached to direct.
- #024
No female characters appear in this film.
- #025
This was the first collaboration between cinematographer Oswald Morris, BSC, and Sean Connery. They would work together again in 1974 on Murder on the Orient Express, and the following year Morris would photograph Connery in The Man Who Would Be King.
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