The Flame Trees of Thika

Plot synopsis:
Robin Grant (David Robb), his wife Tilly (Hayley Mills) and daughter Elspeth (Holly Aird) move to British East Africa (now called Kenya) to set up a coffee plantation. They meet Piet Roos, a Boer big game hunter and Njombo, a native who goes to work for them. The Grants face many travails in getting established, but these improve after they hire Sammy as the headman of the plantation. Hereward (Nicholas Jones) and Lettice Palmer (Sharon Maughan) move to the area. There is a fight between Roos and Sammy. Then Njombo kills Kimon, who was the Palmer’s headman. As a result, his chief strips him of his property and Sammy marries the girl Njombo wanted. Elspeth has a very interesting New Year’s Eve party with Mrs. Nimmo and a newcomer to the area, Alec Wilson while her parents and the Palmers go to Nairobi. A big game hunter, Ian Crawford (Ben Cross) arrives in the area and becomes infatuated with Lettice Palmer, who gives a pony to Elspeth. We learn Lettice left her first husband to elope with Hereward, and Elspeth develops an intense dislike for Hereward Palmer after he shoots a baby antelope on a hunt. Sammy arranges for a curse to be put on Njombo, and it literally takes an “Act of God” to get it lifted. After the railroad reaches Thika, Lettice gets a piano, but during a party held to celebrate its arrival, a leopard kills one of her dogs. During the hunt to get it, Hereward kills the leopard, but is almost killed by its mate, but saved by Roos. The Palmers, Tilly, and Crawford go on a safari, during which Lettice and Crawford have an affair. Hereward and Crawford are about to have a brawl when Crawford’s servant stabs Hereward. As a result, Crawford leaves and Lettice stays with Hereward. Then on August 4, 1914 the Grants learn war has been declared on Germany. Robin joins the army, while Tilly becomes a nurse and Elspeth goes to school, where she is bullied for being a know-it-all. She runs away back to Thika. Ian Crawford is killed. Then Robin is transferred to France so all the Grants leave Africa and return to Europe for the duration.

Tags: flashback

Review:
A wondrous mini series.
When I saw this back in the eighties, I watched it religiously.
It was an interesting story that kept unfolding week after week.
This is a story about wanting.
The wanting to conquer the African wilderness and make a good life for yourself and your family OR the wanting to break away from a life that seems like a prison cell, so you can love and live free from what's expected from you.This had a top notch cast featuring Hayley Mills and handsome David Robb as the Grant's, a couple looking to make a life for themselves in the wilds that is Africa.
Then you have Nicholas Jones and (Nescafe's UK/Tasters Choice US)Sharon Maughan as the Palmer's, a couple who are trying to make a relationship work by getting away from England and going somewhere new.
The actors are all great in this series, but the ones who make this one work are Ms Maughan, Ben Cross as the suave handsome know-it-all newcomer Ian, and the Grant's cute and inquisitive daugther Elspeth played by Holly Aird.
Elspeth sort of ties everything together and makes things happen, sometimes for good and sometimes for bad.
The script is well written and at times very exciting.I guess the real star of the series must be the beautiful scenery.
Watch this and you wonder how man can destroy such a wondrous place.
If you get the chance, SEE THIS!!.
TOTALLY DELIGHTFUL.
Sometimes you watch a bit of something, and you just KNOW you're seeing something special.I first saw this series around 20 years ago as a weekly mini-series on PBS.
The wonderful story, great acting, beautiful scenery and haunting music has stayed with me.
When I saw the video at our local library I was happy to renew my acquainenance with Elspeth and her family in Kenya.
The story plays just as well 20 years later.Thanks to all who had a part in "The Flame Trees of Thika" for giving us such a gift..
Vivid portrait of English colonial life in Kenya...with a disclaimer.
This is an extremely well crafted mini series that depicts one colonial British family's experiences in Kenya.
The African wilderness scenery is absolutely breathtaking.
It is based on one of three autobiographical books by Elspeth Huxley.
I found the series to have a similar flavour to the film Out of Africa (starring Meryl Streep & Robert Redford), another Kenyan coffee plantation saga based on the tale of the Danish woman, Karen (Isak) Dinesen Blixen.The series chronicles the life experiences of the Grants, an unconventional English family consisting of the mother Tilly, father Robin, and daughter Elspeth.
It shows their struggles as they endeavor to establish a coffee plantation in Kenya, their interactions with both the African natives and the other British colonials...all mainly as seen from the perspective of the young Elspeth.
The life they establish in Kenya is interrupted by the onset of World War I.
I tuned in to the series mainly because I am quite a fan of Hayley Mills, who is very effective here in her role as Tilly Grant, the lovely mother coping with the challenges of life in an exotic country.
Holly Aird is particularly engaging as her inquisitive daughter, Elspeth, who makes friends both from among the British and the native Africans.
David Robb plays her handsome father, Robin Grant.
Sharon Maughan is the bored Lettice Palmer who has an affair with a safari guide, and Ben Cross the know it all newcomer, Ian Crawfurd.Personally, I am not much of an advocate of past British (or other European) colonialism which intruded their presumed superior culture onto the supposedly lesser ignorant & savage peoples of Africa, India, or wherever.
The efforts of the British to make a good life for themselves were sometimes to the detriment of the native people's.
While I am no expert on the historical accuracy of this particular depiction, the natives are portrayed as superstitious, with a possible air of the condescension typical of such colonial tales.
Enthusiasts of the series might not be pleased to read my criticisms of colonialism, but they are true, nevertheless.
Despite my general misgivings about such ethical issues, I am ranking this generally well made series quite highly because it does paint such an interesting portrait and is a captivating story of this family's experiences..
Brilliant!.
Fabulous min-series making you wanting more.
Magnificently shot capturing the wilds of Africa and the superstitions of its people.
A story seen through the young eyes of Elspeth displays why these types of British mini-series are so wonderful even after almost 25 years to watch again and again.
Great supporting performances by Haley Mills and Sharon Maughan lights up the storyline and it is a shame they did not continue the series onto the next Huxley autobiographical book.
It was a pleasant surprise to see that Roy Ward Baker was also the director for one my favorite Titanic movies, 'A Night to Remember'.
A bit of trivia that had escaped me all these years.
If you enjoyed 'Out of Africa' by Dinesen, you will surely enjoy this series.
The quality of the DVD and extras were less than stellar but it does nothing to diminish the beauty of the story, the acting, or the beautiful wilderness of Africa..
Pioneering in South Africa before the WW1 as seen through the eyes of a young girl.
This series that I first watched on PBS on television is so very excellent.
At the time, I didn't know that it was based on a true story.
It was exhilarating to see Hayley Mills as a Mother playing a realistic, gritty role and exciting to see the history of what life was like then.
All of the characters added to the telling of this remarkable story.
Elspeth, the young girl, was especially a standout for me as she adjusted to life in the rough and making friendships with the people from there and having experiences first hand.I would certainly recommend this series to anyone who is interested in the history of South America, customs trying to be kept alive in a different culture and anyone who is a fan of Hayley Mills.I would love to know what happened to the Family during and after the War!