The Drum (1938 film)
Encyclopedia
The Drum is a 1938 British Technicolor
film from the book by A. E. W. Mason. The film was directed by Zoltan Korda
and produced by Alexander Korda
. It starred Sabu Dastagir
, Raymond Massey
, Roger Livesey
, and Valerie Hobson
.
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). They are often known as the Empire trilogy, though they were not conceived as such. Even when they were released, their Victorian
views of the empire and its peoples were already somewhat old-fashioned.
, Captain Curruthers (Roger Livesey
) works undercover to track smuggled shipments of arms on the restless Northwest Frontier of "India" (the modern day Pakistan
-Afghanistan
border). He fears a full-scale rebellion is brewing. To forestall this, the British governor (Francis L. Sullivan
) 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
. (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 (Sabu
), befriends Carruthers and a British drummer boy, Bill Holder (Desmond Tester
), who teaches him how to play the instrument.
However, the king's brother, Prince Ghul (Raymond Massey
), 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 (Valerie Hobson
). Though 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.
An interesting 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 Gallipoli, 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.)
Technicolor
Technicolor is a color motion picture process invented in 1916 and improved over several decades.It was the second major process, after Britain's Kinemacolor, and the most widely used color process in Hollywood from 1922 to 1952...
film from the book by A. E. W. Mason. The film was directed by Zoltan Korda
Zoltán Korda
Zoltan Korda was a Hungarian-born motion picture screenwriter, director and producer.Born Zoltán Kellner, Kellner Zoltán in Hungarian name order, of Jewish heritage in Pusztatúrpásztó, Túrkeve in Hungary , he was the middle brother of filmmakers Alexander and Vincent Korda.Zoltan Korda went to...
and produced by Alexander Korda
Alexander Korda
Sir Alexander Korda was a Hungarian-born British producer and film director. He was a leading figure in the British film industry, the founder of London Films and the owner of British Lion Films, a film distributing company.-Life and career:The elder brother of filmmakers Zoltán Korda and Vincent...
. It starred Sabu Dastagir
Sabu Dastagir
Sabu Dastagir was a film actor of Indian origin—although he later took American citizenship. He was normally credited only by his first name, Sabu, and is primarily known for his work in film during the 1930s-40s in Britain and America.-Early life:Born in 1924 in Karapur, Mysore, Kingdom of...
, Raymond Massey
Raymond Massey
Raymond Hart Massey was a Canadian/American actor.-Early life:Massey was born in Toronto, Ontario, the son of Anna , who was born in Illinois, and Chester Daniel Massey, the wealthy owner of the Massey-Ferguson Tractor Company. Massey's family could trace their ancestry back to the American...
, Roger Livesey
Roger Livesey
Roger Livesey was a British stage and film actor. He is most often remembered for the three Powell & Pressburger films in which he starred: The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp, I Know Where I'm Going! and A Matter of Life and Death...
, and Valerie Hobson
Valerie Hobson
Valerie Hobson was a British actress who appeared in a number of British films during the 1940s and 1950s...
.
Korda’s company London Films made three films in the 1930s about the British Empire
British Empire
The British Empire comprised the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom. It originated with the overseas colonies and trading posts established by England in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. At its height, it was the...
: Sanders of the River
Sanders of the River
Sanders of the River is a 1935 film directed by Zoltán Korda, based on the stories of Edgar Wallace. It was later spoofed in the 1938 Will Hay film Old Bones of the River, which also featured the characters of Commissioner Sanders, Captain Hamilton and Bosambo seen in this film, but played by...
(1936), The Drum and The Four Feathers
The Four Feathers (1939 film)
The Four Feathers is a 1939 adventure film directed by Zoltan Korda, starring John Clements, Ralph Richardson, June Duprez, C. Aubrey Smith. Set in the 1890s during the reign of Queen Victoria, it tells the story of a man accused of cowardice. It is one of a number of adaptations of the 1902 novel...
(1939). They are often known as the Empire trilogy, though they were not conceived as such. Even when they were released, their Victorian
Victorianism
Victorianism is the name given to the attitudes, art, and culture of the later two-thirds of the 19th century. This usage is strong within social history and the study of literature, less so in philosophy. Many disciplines do not use the term, but instead prefer Victorian Era, or simply "Late 19th...
views of the empire and its peoples were already somewhat old-fashioned.
Plot
During the British RajBritish Raj
British Raj was the British rule in the Indian subcontinent between 1858 and 1947; The term can also refer to the period of dominion...
, Captain Curruthers (Roger Livesey
Roger Livesey
Roger Livesey was a British stage and film actor. He is most often remembered for the three Powell & Pressburger films in which he starred: The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp, I Know Where I'm Going! and A Matter of Life and Death...
) works undercover to track smuggled shipments of arms on the restless Northwest Frontier of "India" (the modern day Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
-Afghanistan
Afghanistan
Afghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...
border). He fears a full-scale rebellion is brewing. To forestall this, the British governor (Francis L. Sullivan
Francis L. Sullivan
Francis Loftus Sullivan was an English film and stage actor. He attended Stonyhurst, the Jesuit public school in Lancashire, England whose alumni include Charles Laughton and Arthur Conan Doyle.A heavily built man with a striking double-chin and a deep voice, Sullivan made his acting debut at the...
) 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
Peshawar
Peshawar is the capital of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and the administrative center and central economic hub for the Federally Administered Tribal Areas of Pakistan....
. (The British held a fort at Abazai
Abazai
Abazai is a town and union council in Charsadda District of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan. It is part of Tangi Tehsil and is located at 34°19'7N 71°35'35E and has an altitude of 320 metres lying to the north-west of the district capital Charsadda and 24 miles north of the provincial...
near this location, not far from the famous Takht Bhai
Takht Bhai
Takht Bhai is a Buddhist monastic complex dating to the 1st century BCE. The complex is regarded by archaeologists as being particularly representative of the architecture of Buddhist monastic centers from its era. It was listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1980.The word Takht Bhai may...
ruins) Meanwhile, the king's son, Prince Azim (Sabu
Sabu Dastagir
Sabu Dastagir was a film actor of Indian origin—although he later took American citizenship. He was normally credited only by his first name, Sabu, and is primarily known for his work in film during the 1930s-40s in Britain and America.-Early life:Born in 1924 in Karapur, Mysore, Kingdom of...
), befriends Carruthers and a British drummer boy, Bill Holder (Desmond Tester
Desmond Tester
Desmond Tester was an English and Australian film actor and television actor, host and executive. He was born in London, England. Among his most notable roles was that of the ill-fated boy Stevie in the Alfred Hitchcock film Sabotage .Tester made his first stage appearance at the age of 12,...
), who teaches him how to play the instrument.
However, the king's brother, Prince Ghul (Raymond Massey
Raymond Massey
Raymond Hart Massey was a Canadian/American actor.-Early life:Massey was born in Toronto, Ontario, the son of Anna , who was born in Illinois, and Chester Daniel Massey, the wealthy owner of the Massey-Ferguson Tractor Company. Massey's family could trace their ancestry back to the American...
), has the king assassinated and usurps the throne; Azim escapes a similar fate thanks to two loyal retainers. They hide out in Peshawar
Peshawar
Peshawar is the capital of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and the administrative center and central economic hub for the Federally Administered Tribal Areas of Pakistan....
, where the British are based. When one of Ghul's men finds and tries to kill the prince, Azim is rescued by Carruthers' wife (Valerie Hobson
Valerie Hobson
Valerie Hobson was a British actress who appeared in a number of British films during the 1940s and 1950s...
). Though 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.
Cast
- Sabu DastagirSabu DastagirSabu Dastagir was a film actor of Indian origin—although he later took American citizenship. He was normally credited only by his first name, Sabu, and is primarily known for his work in film during the 1930s-40s in Britain and America.-Early life:Born in 1924 in Karapur, Mysore, Kingdom of...
as Prince Azim - Raymond MasseyRaymond MasseyRaymond Hart Massey was a Canadian/American actor.-Early life:Massey was born in Toronto, Ontario, the son of Anna , who was born in Illinois, and Chester Daniel Massey, the wealthy owner of the Massey-Ferguson Tractor Company. Massey's family could trace their ancestry back to the American...
as Prince Ghul - Roger LiveseyRoger LiveseyRoger Livesey was a British stage and film actor. He is most often remembered for the three Powell & Pressburger films in which he starred: The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp, I Know Where I'm Going! and A Matter of Life and Death...
as Captain Carruthers - Valerie HobsonValerie HobsonValerie Hobson was a British actress who appeared in a number of British films during the 1940s and 1950s...
as Mrs. Carruthers - David TreeDavid TreeDavid Tree was an English stage and screen actor from a distinguished theatrical family whose career in the 1930s included roles in numerous stage presentations as well as in thirteen films produced between 1937 and 1941, among which were 1939's Goodbye Mr...
as Lieutenant Escott - Desmond TesterDesmond TesterDesmond Tester was an English and Australian film actor and television actor, host and executive. He was born in London, England. Among his most notable roles was that of the ill-fated boy Stevie in the Alfred Hitchcock film Sabotage .Tester made his first stage appearance at the age of 12,...
as Bill Holder - Francis L. SullivanFrancis L. SullivanFrancis Loftus Sullivan was an English film and stage actor. He attended Stonyhurst, the Jesuit public school in Lancashire, England whose alumni include Charles Laughton and Arthur Conan Doyle.A heavily built man with a striking double-chin and a deep voice, Sullivan made his acting debut at the...
as Governor - Archibald Batty as Major Bond
- Frederick CulleyFrederick Culley-Selected filmography:* Madame Guillotine * The Private Life of Henry VIII * Once a Thief * Talk of the Devil * Knight Without Armour * The Rebel Son * The Drum...
as Dr. Murphy - Amid Taftazani as Mohammed Khan, a loyal leader tortured by Ghul
- Lawrence Baskcomb as Zarullah
- Roy EmertonRoy EmertonRoy Emerton was a British film actor.He was a sailor, cowboy, stoker, stevedore, railroader, miner, etc and served in World War I. He played in a great number of popular London stage shows, including Shakespeare as well as film work....
as Wafadar - Michael Martin HarveyMichael Martin HarveyMichael Martin Harvey was a British actor. He was the son of John Martin-Harvey.-Selected filmography:* The Drum * Bedelia * The Monkey's Paw * The Case of Charles Peace * Torment...
as Mullah - Martin Walker as Herrick
- Ronald AdamRonald Adam (actor)Ronald Adam OBE , born Ronald George Hinings Adams, was a British RAF officer, an actor on stage and screen and a successful theatre manager.-Early life:...
as Major Gregoff - Charles OliverCharles Oliver (actor)Charles Oliver was a British film actor. He appeared in the Will Hay film Ask a Policeman as the local squire who oversees a smuggling empire.-Selected filmography:* Wings Over Africa * Midnight at Madame Tussaud's...
as Rajab - Julien Mitchell as Sergeant (as Julian Mitchell)
- Miriam Pieris as Indian dancer
Production
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 appear to have been filmed in the North-West Frontier, and there are scenes very reminiscent of the Khyber Pass. However, some mountain scenes were also filmed in North Wales.An interesting sequence shows an Indian Army gun crew unlimbering a mountain battery
Mountain gun
Mountain guns are artillery pieces designed for use in mountain warfare and areas where usual wheeled transport is not possible. They are similar to infantry support guns, and are generally capable of being broken down into smaller loads .Due to their ability to be broken down into smaller...
, 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 Gallipoli, 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.)