23: White Man's Graveyard

SUDDENLY: a Frank Sinatra podcast

The Mau Mau Rebellion of 1952 saw the Kenyan Land and Freedom Army (KLFA) take up arms against the British Empire's occupation of their land. The struggle for decolonisation was bloody and protracted, with many of the KLFA ending up tortured by British soldiers in cruel labor camps. A film crew from Pathé arrived from London to film staged propaganda newsreels on Kenyan streets, depicting the Mau Mau as terrorists and white civillians as the real victims. Enter Ava Gardner and Frank Sinatra. In the midst of this uprising, they land in Nairobi with an entourage of 600 and under heavy armed guard. They are issued a weapon each. Ava is there to make a film, Mogambo. MGM's publicity for the film refers to the African continent as "the white man's graveyard." Sinatra, at a low point in his career, is just tagging along for the ride. He spends most of the trip distracted, anxiously reading his copy of James Jones' novel, From Here to Eternity, over and over. FROM HERE TO ETERNITY (1953) - a boring film based on a bad novel. Why was it such a hit? Does it deserve to be thought of as the turning point of Sinatra's life? And what really happened in Kenya?

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