The Drum (1938)

During the British Raj, Captain Carruthers works under cover to track smuggled shipments of arms on the restless Northwest Frontier of India. He fears a full-scale rebellion is brewing. To ... See full summary »

Director:

Zoltan Korda

Writers:

A.E.W. Mason (by), Lajos Biró (adaptation) (as Lajos Biro)

Stars:

Sabu, Raymond Massey, Roger Livesey

1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Sabu	...	Prince Azim
Raymond Massey	...	Prince Ghul
Roger Livesey	...	Capt. Carruthers
Valerie Hobson	...	Mrs. Carruthers
David Tree	...	Lieut. Escott
Desmond Tester	...	Bill Holder
Francis L. Sullivan	...	Governor (as Francis L.Sullivan)
Archibald Batty	...	Major Bond
Frederick Culley	...	Dr.Murphy
Amid Taftazani	...	Mohammed Khan
Laurence Baskcomb	...	Zarullah (as Lawrence Baskcomb)
Roy Emerton	...	Wafadar
Michael Martin Harvey	...	Mullah
Martin Walker	...	Herrick
Ronald Adam	...	Major Gregoff

Storyline

During the British Raj, Captain Carruthers works under cover to track smuggled shipments of arms on the restless Northwest Frontier of India. 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. Meanwhile, the king's son, Prince Azim, befriends Carruthers and a British drummer boy, Bill Holder, who teaches him how to play the instrument.

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Plot Keywords:

bare chested male | revolt | prince | message | india | 

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Taglines:

Flaming Frontier! Savage Hordes!

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Genres:

Adventure | War

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Did You Know?

Trivia

The film caused protests when shown in Bombay and Madras, as it was considered by many to be British propaganda.

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Connections

Featured in Sabu: The Elephant Boy (1993)

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Soundtracks

Penny For Your Thoughts
(uncredited)
Written by Lee Sims

User Reviews

Humour, heroics and Sabu

From 'Kim' to 'Carry On up the Khyber', from the famous to the infamous (stand up, Harry Flashman!), the North-West Frontier has proved a fertile source of conflict both fictional and historical... and deposed rulers and fiery mullahs have figured largely from that day to this. The plot of 'The Drum' cribs heavily (and at one point openly, with an impudently-inserted piece of dialogue listing the historical parallels that had been niggling at me!) from real-life events, especially in Afghanistan, and as other stories before and since have been based on the same material, this can result in a certain 'seen-it-all-before' sensation. But the winning element in this film is the touch of humanity and humour which helps the characters to become more than cardboard templates, from the drummer-boy and his misfortunes to the wry jests of the newly-appointed British representative walking open-eyed into a trap. Not to mention that, after a spate of films with seemingly pointless titles, I found it obscurely satisfying to encounter one where the eponymous instrument is actually significant both to the plot and its climax!

The always-excellent Sabu steals the film, as ever, in his role first as a self-possessed princeling and then as a fugitive in exile from his throne; the romantic leads, while well-performed, are less memorable. The tension in the banquet scene is tangible, and Raymond Massey as the usurper brings brains as well as menace to his role. The one element that rather shocked me -- with the exception of the inadvertent glimpse of buttock that reveals exactly what Scotsmen do or don't wear under their kilts! -- was the scene in which the said usurper is shot down by our wounded hero in cold blood, having thrown down his weapon. It's not customary for such an act to be depicted in an apparently approving manner; and certainly not in a film of this period...

I must admit that the question of the period itself had me slightly puzzled, although the mention of syncopation in the drum part for the dance should have given me a clue. I had automatically assumed the story to be set in nineteenth-century India in the heyday of the Raj rather than the contemporary world, and with few European civilian fashions on display, there was nothing to disabuse me of this until the heroine made an appearance in jodhpurs, which came as something of a shock! (And the subconscious resonance with the valleys of 'Carry On up the Khyber' turns out to be based in fact: locations from both were shot in Wales...)

But 'The Drum' is a rousing adventure as they used to make 'em, in the tradition of 'Charge of the Light Brigade' or 'Northwest Frontier'; if you like the genre, this one is a cracker.

Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

29 September 1938 (USA)

Also Known As:

Drums

Filming Locations:

Rhinog Fawr Mountain, Gwynedd, Wales, UK

Company Credits

Production Co:

London Film Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

104 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Mirrophonic Noiseless Wide Range Recording)

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1