The Bandit of Zhobe

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The Bandit of Zhobe
"The Bandit of Zhobe" (1959).jpg
Original British lobby card
Directed by John Gilling
Screenplay byJohn Gilling
Richard Maibaum
Produced by Irving Allen
Albert R. Broccoli
Starring Victor Mature
Anne Aubrey
Anthony Newley
Cinematography Ted Moore
Edited byBert Rule
Music by Kenneth V. Jones
Production
company
Distributed by Columbia Pictures
Release date
  • 22 April 1959 (1959-04-22)(USA)
[1]
Running time
80 minutes
CountryUnited Kingdom
LanguageEnglish

The Bandit of Zhobe is a 1959 British CinemaScope adventure film directed by John Gilling and starring Victor Mature, Anne Aubrey and Anthony Newley. [2] It was written by Gilling and Richard Maibaum. In British India a bandit goes on a rampage in the mistaken belief that the British have killed his family, which later proves to not be the case. It was produced by Albert Broccoli for Warwick Films and features extensive use of footage from Gilling's previous Zarak (1956).

Contents

Plot

A bandit with a price on his head is blind for revenge. He thinks that the British have massacred his people, his family, his wife and child. But he is wrong. Only the little romantic daughter of his enemy, overflowing with pity for him, can open his eyes to the truth.

Cast

Production

The film was known as The Bandit. Filming started 11 August 1958. [3]

Critical reception

The Monthly Film Bulletin wrote: "Not for a moment to be taken seriously, this Robin Hood epic of the Indian North-West frontier has nevertheless been filmed, set and cast on a more lavish scale than the usual second feature. Most of the film depicts fighting, pillage, burning, capture, rescue, escape, and the action (much of it highly improbable) never flags. Anthony Newley as Stokes, Zena's soldier escort, provides welcome comic relief, going so far in places as to ridicule the main event and give the heartening impression that the direction is laughing at its own preposterous story. The tougher children should enjoy it." [4]

Variety said "it cannot be taken seriously." [5]

TV Guide wrote, "it's all chase and melodrama with little care for characterizations." [6]

The Radio Times called it a "very silly Northwest Frontier romp, with Victor Mature in dark make-up as Kasim Khan ... romantic interest from forgotten starlet Anne Aubrey and some wince-inducing comic mugging from Anthony Newley. Quite a lot of money was thrown at it, but this remains a B-movie at heart." [7]

Sky Movies called the film "a fiery 19th century adventure yarn that makes little sense but bulges with action that keeps coming at you." [8]

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References

  1. "'Bandit' Will Screen". Los Angeles Times. 22 April 1959. p. A10.
  2. "The Bandit of Zhobe". British Film Institute Collections Search. Retrieved 1 February 2024.
  3. "Hollywood Production Pulse". Variety. 6 August 1958. p. 20.
  4. "The Bandit of Zhobe" . The Monthly Film Bulletin . 26 (300): 58. 1 January 1959 via ProQuest.
  5. "The Battle of Zhobe". Variety . 11 March 1959.
  6. "The Bandit Of Zhobe Review". TV Guide. Archived from the original on 6 March 2016. Retrieved 23 April 2014.
  7. "The Bandit of Zhobe | Film review and movie reviews". Radio Times. 4 February 2014. Retrieved 23 April 2014.
  8. "The Bandit Of Zhobe". Sky Movies HD. 3 May 2003. Retrieved 23 April 2014.