The Drum | |
---|---|
Directed by | Zoltan Korda |
Written by | Lajos Biro (adaptation) Arthur Wimperis, Patrick Kirwan Hugh Gray (scenario) |
Story by | A.E.W. Mason |
Produced by | Alexander Korda |
Starring | Sabu Raymond Massey Desmond Tester Roger Livesey Valerie Hobson and a cast of 3,000 |
Cinematography | Georges Perinal Osmond Borradaile (Indian location scenes) |
Edited by | Henry Cornelius |
Music by | John Greenwood |
Color process | Technicolor |
Production company | |
Distributed by | United Artists |
Release date |
|
Running time | 104 minutes |
Country | United Kingdom |
Language | English |
The Drum (released in the U.S. as Drums) is a 1938 British Technicolor film based on the 1937 novel The Drum by A. E. W. Mason. [1] The film was directed by Zoltan Korda and produced by Alexander Korda. It stars Sabu, Raymond Massey, Valerie Hobson, Roger Livesey and David Tree.
Korda’s company London Films made three films in the 1930s about the British Empire: Sanders of the River (1936), The Drum and The Four Feathers (1939).
During the British Raj, Captain Carruthers works under cover to track smuggled shipments of arms on the restless Northwest Frontier of India, the modern day Afghanistan-Pakistan border (the Durand Line). He fears a full-scale rebellion is brewing. To forestall this, the British governor signs a treaty with the friendly, peace-loving ruler of Tokot, a key kingdom in the region, which is described as four days' march northward from Peshawar. In real life the British held a fort at Abazai near this location, not far from the famous Takht Bhai ruins. Meanwhile, the king's son, Prince Azim, befriends Carruthers and a British drummer boy, Bill Holder, who teaches him how to play the instrument.
However, the king's brother, Prince Ghul, has the king assassinated and usurps the throne; Azim escapes a similar fate thanks to two loyal retainers. They hide out in Peshawar, where the British are based. When one of Ghul's men finds and tries to kill the prince, Azim is rescued by Carruthers' wife. Although he is offered sanctuary, Azim declines, believing it to be safer to remain hidden among his own people.
Carruthers is then sent to negotiate with Ghul, who pretends to want to honour the treaty. In reality, Ghul is the mastermind behind the rebellion. He plots to kill Carruthers and his detachment of men on the last day of a festival to signal the start of the revolt. Prince Azim learns of the ambush. When he is unable to convince the governor, he chooses to risk his own life to warn his friends. After Azim leaves for home, the governor receives confirmation of the plot and sends four battalions to the rescue.
Azim manages to warn Carruthers of the impending massacre by playing a danger signal on the "Sacred Drum of Tokot", saving many British lives. Ghul is killed in the ensuing battle and Azim is installed as his replacement.
The Scottish regiment featured in this film is a battalion of the Gordon Highlanders, as evident from the cap badge, kilt and headdress. This is true to life, as the Gordon Highlanders were very active on the North-West Frontier during the British Raj, and were, for a time, garrisoned at Fort Jamrud at the mouth of the Khyber Pass. Portions of the film shot in India were filmed in Chitral [2] and the North-West Frontier, and there are scenes very reminiscent of the Khyber Pass. However, some mountain scenes were also filmed in North Wales (Rhinog Fawr Mountain and Harlech). [3]
One sequence shows an Indian Army gun crew unlimbering a mountain battery, a small field piece that was disassembled and transported on the backs of pack animals. Such guns were used frequently on the North-West Frontier, and a mountain battery from the Indian Army also was deployed with the ANZACs at the Gallipoli campaign (1915–1916). Similarly, a muleback radio set is used in the opening skirmish scene. During an early scene with his courtiers, Prince Ghul says that he was an observer at Gallipoli, and that emulation of British training and tactics, not religious enthusiasm, will be the key to his own army's success.
The film was well received in Britain but caused protests when shown in Bombay and Madras, where it was considered by many to be British propaganda. [4] [5]
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, formerly known as North West Frontier Province (NWFP), is a province of Pakistan. Located in the northwestern region of the country, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa is the fourth largest province of Pakistan by land area and the third-largest province by population. It is bordered by Balochistan to the south; Punjab, Islamabad Capital Territory, and Azad Kashmir to the east; and Gilgit-Baltistan to the north and northeast. It shares an international border with Afghanistan to the west. Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has a varied geography of rugged mountain ranges, valleys, rolling foothills, and dense agricultural farms.
Babette Louisa Valerie Hobson was a British actress whose film career spanned the 1930s to the early 1950s. Her second husband was John Profumo, a British government minister who became the subject of the Profumo affair in 1963.
Sir Alexander Korda was a Hungarian–born British film director, producer, and screenwriter, who founded his own film production studios and film distribution company.
The Third Anglo-Afghan War was a short war which began on 3 May and ended on 8 August 1919. The new Amir of the Emirate of Afghanistan Amanullah Khan declared a Jihad against the British in the hope to proclaim full independence, as well as to strengthen his own legitimacy. Amanullah's forces invaded British India on three fronts taking advantage of the unrest in India, in an effort to seize the old Afghan provinces west of the River Indus.
The Afrīdī are a Pashtun tribe present mostly in tribal areas in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan.
The North-West Frontier was a region of the British Indian Empire. It remains the western frontier of present-day Pakistan, extending from the Pamir Knot in the north to the Koh-i-Malik Siah in the west, and separating the modern Pakistani frontier regions of North-West Frontier Province, Federally Administered Tribal Areas and Balochistan from neighbouring Afghanistan in the west. The borderline between is officially known as the Durand Line and divides Pashtun inhabitants of these provinces from Pashtuns in eastern Afghanistan.
Carry On Up the Khyber is a 1968 British comedy film, the 16th in the series of 31 Carry On films (1958–1992). It stars Carry On regulars Sid James, Kenneth Williams, Charles Hawtrey, Joan Sims, Bernard Bresslaw and Peter Butterworth. It is the second of two Carry On film appearances by Wanda Ventham; and Roy Castle makes his only Carry On appearance, in the romantic male lead part usually played by Jim Dale.
Sabu Dastagir was an Indian actor who later gained United States citizenship. Throughout his career he was credited under the name Sabu and is primarily known for his work in films during the 1930s–1940s in Britain and the United States. He was inducted into the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1960.
Nowshera is the capital city of Nowshera District in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan. It is the 78th largest city in Pakistan and ninth largest city in the province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
Amb or the State of Amb was a princely state in the present day Khyber Pakhtunkhwa region of Pakistan. Together with Phulra, it was known as Feudal Tanawal ruled by Tanoli tribe. A Royal Tenure start from Timurid Empire and end on Last Nawab Muhammad Farid Khan Tanoli. Amb was only powerful state incorporated in Pakistan with armed civilized military of 12,000 men, 300 Howitzer with their own manufacturing arms factory, today part of the Pakistan Army. Amb had a influence control roots in Swat, Dir and Chitral. A gaining of powerful roots of Amb military start from Second Anglo-Sikh War when East India Company provide military equipment to Jehandad Khan Tanoli to fight against Sikh, and then next British Empire in Second anglo-Afghan War. At the end of December 1947, the Nawab of Amb state acceded to Pakistan while retaining internal self-government. Amb continued as a princely state of Pakistan until 1969, when it was incorporated into the North West Frontier Province.
Jungle Book is a 1942 independent Technicolor action-adventure film by the Korda brothers, loosely adapted from Rudyard Kipling's The Jungle Book (1894). The story centers on Mowgli, a feral young man who is kidnapped by villagers who are cruel to the jungle animals as they attempt to steal a dead king's cursed treasure. The film was directed by Zoltán Korda and produced by his brother Alexander, with the art direction by their younger brother Vincent. The screenplay was written by Laurence Stallings. The film stars Indian-born actor Sabu as Mowgli. Although the film is in the public domain, the master 35mm elements are with ITV Studios Global Entertainment. An official video release is currently available via The Criterion Collection.
The Thief of Bagdad is a 1940 British Technicolor historical fantasy film, produced by Alexander Korda and directed by Michael Powell, Ludwig Berger and Tim Whelan, with additional contributions by William Cameron Menzies and Korda brothers Vincent and Zoltán. The film stars Indian-born teen actor Sabu, Conrad Veidt, John Justin, and June Duprez. It was released in the US and the UK by United Artists.
The Qissa Khwani Bazaar is a bazaar in Peshawar, the capital of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan.
The Scarlet Pimpernel is a 1934 British adventure film directed by Harold Young and starring Leslie Howard, Merle Oberon, and Raymond Massey. Based on the 1905 play by Baroness Orczy and Montagu Barstow and the classic 1905 adventure novel by Orczy, the film is about an eighteenth-century English aristocrat (Howard) who leads a double life, passing himself off as an effete aristocrat while engaged in a secret effort to rescue French nobles from Robespierre's Reign of Terror. The film was produced by Alexander Korda. Howard's portrayal of the title character is often considered the definitive portrayal of the role. In 1941, he played a similar role in "'Pimpernel' Smith" but this time set in pre-WWII Germany.
The Khyber Pass is a mountain pass in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan, on the border with the Nangarhar Province of Afghanistan. It connects the town of Landi Kotal to the Valley of Peshawar at Jamrud by traversing part of the White Mountains. Since it was part of the ancient Silk Road, it has been a vital trade route between Central Asia and the Indian subcontinent and a strategic military choke point for various states that controlled it. The Khyber Pass is considered one of the most famous mountain passes in the world.
Khyber Patrol is a 1954 American adventure film directed by Seymour Friedman and starring Richard Egan, Dawn Addams and Raymond Burr. The plot focuses on British troops on the Afghanistan border. It was distributed by United Artists as a second feature. The film is similar in theme to King of the Khyber Rifles starring Tyrone Power and Bengal Brigade starring Rock Hudson.
The Drum is an adventure novel by the British writer A.E.W. Mason which was first published in 1937. The book's action takes place on the Northwest Frontier of British India.
Justice Khan Bahadur Muhammad Ibrahim Khan was the Chief Justice of the Peshawar High Court from 1945 to 1955 and the 4th Governor of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, then the North-West Frontier Province, from 14 January 1950 to 17 February 1950.
The Afridi Redshirt Rebellion was a military campaign conducted by British Indian Army against Afridi tribesmen Ajab Khan Afridi in the North West Frontier region of the Indian Empire, now in Pakistan in 1930–1931.
Savage Drums is a 1951 American adventure film directed by William Berke and starring Sabu, Lita Baron, H.B. Warner. The film was released by the independent producer Robert L. Lippert. Although Lippert had previously announced his films would be first features, this was one of a number of B Movies he produced during the period. The Indian-born actor Sabu had previously enjoyed fame as the star of several films produced by Alexander Korda.