Col. Allen Faulkner (Richard Burton) wants £100,000 (about $200,000 then or $660,000 now). Capt. Rafer Janders (Richard Harris) will get £50,000. There will be £30,000 for Lt. Shawn Fynn (Roger Moore) and the same for Lt. Pieter Coetzee (Hardy Kruger). The four NCOs (Non-Commissioned Officers) - including Jess, Jock, and Tosh - will get £20,000, as will the drill sergeant RSM Sandy Young (Jack Watson) and the medic Arthur Witty (Kenneth Griffith). The remaining forty recruits will get £10,000 each (£5,000 in Daniel Carney's novel).
Total cost will be approximately $1.5 million plus expenses. The mercenaries will get $500,000 in advance, before they go to Africa, then $1 million if they return with Limbani, or $250,000 if they return without him.
Total cost will be approximately $1.5 million plus expenses. The mercenaries will get $500,000 in advance, before they go to Africa, then $1 million if they return with Limbani, or $250,000 if they return without him.
Faulkner believes his contract is to rescue Limbani so he can replace General Ndofa as Zembalese president. Limbani will then sign a deal with Matherson over copper rights (in fact, this is how it is in the book).
Actually, Matherson planned all along to do a deal with Ndofa's people. When he gets word that Limbani has been rescued, he blackmails Ndofa's representatives into doing a deal with him over copper - a deal that is probably more favorable to Matherson than the one he would have signed with Limbani. However, the deal means Limbani must die and the easiest way to do that would be to leave the mercenaries in the bush for the Simbas to finish off.
As a bonus, Matherson saves himself the $1 million he still owes Faulkner and his men.
Actually, Matherson planned all along to do a deal with Ndofa's people. When he gets word that Limbani has been rescued, he blackmails Ndofa's representatives into doing a deal with him over copper - a deal that is probably more favorable to Matherson than the one he would have signed with Limbani. However, the deal means Limbani must die and the easiest way to do that would be to leave the mercenaries in the bush for the Simbas to finish off.
As a bonus, Matherson saves himself the $1 million he still owes Faulkner and his men.
In the 1960/70/80s mercenaries were employed to fight in African conflicts in the Congo, Angola, Mozambique, the breakaway Nigerian province of Biafra and elsewhere. As late as the 2010s South African mercenaries were employed to spearhead the Nigerian Army's campaigns against the Islamic fundamentalist rebels of Boko Haram in Nigeria. 'Mad' Mike Hoare who served as technical advisor for this film led mercenaries in the Congo in the 1960s and boasted that with 100 of the right men he could take any country on the continent except South Africa.
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- How long is The Wild Geese?2 hours and 14 minutes
- When was The Wild Geese released?November 11, 1978
- What is the IMDb rating of The Wild Geese?6.8 out of 10
- Who stars in The Wild Geese?
- Who wrote The Wild Geese?
- Who directed The Wild Geese?
- Who was the composer for The Wild Geese?
- Who was the producer of The Wild Geese?
- Who was the cinematographer for The Wild Geese?
- Who was the editor of The Wild Geese?
- Who are the characters in The Wild Geese?Col. Allen Faulkner, Lt. Shawn Fynn, Capt. Rafer Janders, and Fr. Geoghagen
- What is the plot of The Wild Geese?A British banker hires a group of British mercenaries to rescue a deposed African President from the hands of a corrupt African dictator.
- What was the budget for The Wild Geese?$10 million
- How much did The Wild Geese earn at the US box office?$1.42 million
- What is The Wild Geese rated?R
- What genre is The Wild Geese?Action, Adventure, Drama, Thriller, and War
- How many awards has The Wild Geese won?1 award
- How many awards has The Wild Geese been nominated for?2 nominations
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