Khartoum (1966)

Laurence Olivier: The Mahdi

Photos 

Quotes 

• The Mahdi : I should prefer, Gordon Pasha, that you leave Khartoum now. You are not my enemy. Why should your blood sweeten the Nile?

• The Mahdi : It is sometimes wise, Gordon Pasha, to provide the man with a few sunny hours of fraudulent hope so that when night comes he will have a more perfect inward vision of the truth of his hopelessness.

• The Mahdi : [removes a head from a large pot]  Is it the Englishman whose name was Frank Power?

  [removes another head from a second pot] 

  The Mahdi : Is it the Frenchman whose name was Herbin?

  [places a severed arm and hand in Gordon's hands] 

  The Mahdi : Is it not your own ring?

  Gen. Charles 'Chinese' Gordon : [stares horrified] 

• The Mahdi : [in horror: seeing Gordon's decapitated head on the end of a pole]  Take it away! Where is Abdullah? I forbade it, I forbade it!