Plot
Captain Scott is given the men, but not the funds, to go on a second expedition to the Antarctic. As his wife works on a bust of him, she tells him that she's "not the least jealous" that he's going to the Antarctic again. The wife of a scientist whom Scott hopes to recruit has a very different opinion from Scott's wife, but the scientist agrees to go. Scott also visits Fridtjof Nansen, who insists that a polar expedition must use dogs. Scott goes on a fundraising campaign, and despite popular scepticism, manages to raise enough money to fund the expedition.
After a stop in New Zealand, the ship sets sail for Antarctica. Once there, a camp is set up at the coast, and a small contingent of men, horses and dogs begins the trek towards the pole. About halfway, the horses are shot and some of the men are sent back with the dogs. At the three quarter mark, Scott selects the five-man team to make the push to the pole. They reach the pole only to find the Norwegian flag already planted there and a letter from Roald Amundsen asking Scott to deliver it to the King of Norway.
Hugely disappointed, Scott's team begins the long journey back. Scott is very concerned about the health of two of his men: Evans, who has a serious cut on his hand, and Oates, whose foot is appallingly frostbitten. Evans eventually dies and is buried under the snow. Realizing that his condition is slowing the team down, Oates sacrificed himself by walking out of the tent into a blizzard to his death after saying "I'm just going outside and I may be some time." Finally, just 11 miles short of a supply depot, the rest of the team dies in their tent after being trapped by a blizzard, with Scott writing the famous "I do not regret this journey…" entry in his diary.
Months later, a search party discovered the tent and the bodies. Scott's diary was also recovered, allowing the members to learn of the polar party's fate. The film ends with the sight of a large wooden cross with the five names of the dead inscripted on it as well as the quote : "To strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield."
The film was lampooned in the Monty Python Series 2 episode 'Scott of the Antarctic'.
Read more about this topic: Scott Of The Antarctic (film)
Famous quotes containing the word plot:
“The plot was most interesting. It belonged to no particular age, people, or country, and was perhaps the more delightful on that account, as nobody’s previous information could afford the remotest glimmering of what would ever come of it.”
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