Clive of India (1935)

In the mid-1700's the East India Company has power over commerce on the sub-continent, with the blessings of the British government. A clerk in the company, Robert Clive, is frustrated by ... See full summary »

Director:

Richard Boleslawski

Writers:

W.P. Lipscomb (screenplay), R.J. Minney (screenplay),

Stars:

Ronald Colman, Loretta Young, Colin Clive

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Ronald Colman	...	Robert Clive
Loretta Young	...	Margaret Maskelyne Clive
Colin Clive	...	Capt. Johnstone
Francis Lister	...	Edmund Maskelyne
C. Aubrey Smith	...	Prime Minister
Cesar Romero	...	Mir Jaffar
Montagu Love	...	Governor Pigot (as Montague Love)
Lumsden Hare	...	Sergeant Clark
Ferdinand Munier	...	Admiral Watson
Gilbert Emery	...	Mr. Sullivan
Leo G. Carroll	...	Mr. Manning
Etienne Girardot	...	Mr. Warburton
Robert Greig	...	Mr. Pemberton
Mischa Auer	...	Suraj Ud Dowlah
Ferdinand Gottschalk	...	Old Member

Storyline

In the mid-1700's the East India Company has power over commerce on the sub-continent, with the blessings of the British government. A clerk in the company, Robert Clive, is frustrated by his lack of advancement, and transfers to the military arm of the company, where he excels. Clive's leadership and gift for manipulation strengthen England's hold over India and lead to personal wealth, which is often threatened by the enemies he makes along the way.

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Plot Keywords:

india | gift | england | clerk | military | 

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Taglines:

Six words from a woman changed the map of Asia!

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Genres:

Action | Adventure | Biography | Drama | History | War

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

25 January 1935 (USA)

Also Known As:

Kampf um Indien

Company Credits

Production Co:

20th Century Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

94 min 94 min (FMC Library Print) (copyright length)

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Sound System)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Co-star Colin Clive was in fact a real-life descendent of Clive of India.

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Connections

Referenced in The Purple Rose of Cairo (1985)

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Soundtracks

"God Save the King!"
(1744) (uncredited)
Music attributed to Henry Carey
Played often in the score

User Reviews

A dry old costumer...if you like that sort of thing...and I don't.

I love the period from the 1920s-1940s in film, however, there are a couple genres within this that I am less than fond of and try to avoid--such as musicals and costume dramas. Of course there are exceptions to the rule, but in general these are among my least favorite old films. With musicals, often the story seems unimportant and the songs dominate and with costumers, too often the tales look great and have nice sets and clothes but seem emotionally sterile.

"Clive of India", clearly, is a very sterile and dry film. Despite starring the wonderful Ronald Colman (one of my favorites), the picture comes off as episodic and amazingly dull. This is a shame, as the real life Sir Clive was an amazing man and as an American I am glad he fought in India and not North America--otherwise, we might still be a British colony! He was talented and yet also very screwed up (his suicide comes to mind) and how all this managed to be so dull is beyond me. I think it's because so much energy is spent on the sets and making it all look good that little attention was given to the script--the characters just seemed wooden and lifeless.

Overall, you can watch it if you like, but I suggest you'd get more out of Wikipedia on this one!