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:

MEN BATTLE FOR THEIR LIVES... WOMEN FIGHT FOR THEIR LOVE... IN A MIGHTY SAGA OF CONQUEST ON INDIA'S FRONTIER

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Genres:

Adventure | War

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Certificate:

Not Rated

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

Did You Know?

Trivia

This film was included in the first syndicated television presentation of a package of major studio feature films on USA television; it premiered in Baltimore Saturday 2 October 1948 on WMAR (Channel 2), followed by Philadelphia Friday 8 October 1948 on WFIL (Channel 6), by Chicago Monday 25 October 1948 on WGN (Channel 9), by Los Angeles Sunday 7 November 1948 on KTLA (Channel 5), by New York City Friday 12 November 1948 on WPIX (Channel 11), by Boston Sunday 28 November 1948 on WBZ (Channel 4), by Atlanta Wednesday 15 December 1948 on WSB (Channel 8), by Dayton Sunday 6 March 1949 on WHIO (Channel 13), and by Cincinnati Monday 23 May 1949 on WKRC (Channel 11). Although filmed in Technicolor, these telecasts were in B&W, since color broadcasting was still in its experimental stage. The package consisted of 24 Alexander Korda productions originally released theatrically between 1933 and 1942.

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Connections

Referenced in Boxcar Bertha (1972)

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Soundtracks

Penny For Your Thoughts
(uncredited)
Written by Lee Sims

User Reviews

Forget today's political correctness @ enjoy a spiffin yarn

Great morale booster for the British people, with another World War looming. Shows the bonding between British and Indians that contributed to the long sojourn of the British in India. Definitely a boy's film with all the majesty that the Empire films of the thirties could muster for audiences suffering from economic depression and worries over the rise of fascism and its onward march. Roger Livesey's character brings to life the type of relationship that so many British civilians and civil servants enjoyed with Indians, so sadly ignored/forgotten in the interest of history revision and political correctness.