| The Promise | |
| Director: | Michael Hayes |
| Producer: | Anthony B. Unger Henry T. Weinstein |
| Based On: | a play by Aleksei Arbuzov |
| Starring: | John Castle Ian McKellen |
| Music: | Iwan Williams |
| Editing: | John Trumper |
| Studio: | Howard & Wyndham Films and Television |
| Runtime: | 92 minutes |
| Country: | United Kingdom |
| Language: | English |
| Budget: | less than £200,000 |
The Promise is a 1969 British drama film based on a play by Russian playwright Aleksei Arbuzov. Set in the Soviet Union during the Second World War, it is the story of a love triangle involving three young people caught up in the Siege of Leningrad. The film follows the main protagonists in the post-war years in an attempt to show the lasting effects of that relationship. It featured Ian McKellen's film debut.
The film was on the British Film Institute's BFI 75 Most Wanted list of lost films until a mislabelled copy was found in the British Film Institute's archive after an audit.[1] [2] [3]