The Four Feathers (1977 film)
Encyclopedia
The Four Feathers is a 1977
British television film adaptation of the classic novel
The Four Feathers
by novelist A.E.W. Mason. Directed
by Don Sharp
, this version starred Beau Bridges
, Robert Powell
, Simon Ward
and Jane Seymour
, and was nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award
. It follows the novel almost exactly, and response to the film was very positive.
is being deployed to the Sudan
where they would see combat. He promptly resigns his officer's commission, stating that he did not wish to leave his fiancé, Ethne (Seymour). In reality, he was questioning the cause, and was fearful of seeing combat. Following his resignation, his fiancé and three friends present him with white feathers, representing cowardice, and turn their backs on him. Following his regiments deployment, Faversham realizes he has made a grave mistake, and that he will never be able to live any quality of life unless his honour is restored.
Disguising himself as an Arab
, Faversham makes his way to Sudan determined to find his unit. He learns of an impending attack on the regiment, and tries to make it in time to save them. During the battle, his closest friend Captain Jack Durrance (Powell) becomes engaged in close combat, during which he is blinded when a black powder rifle goes off next to his face. Faversham attacks the Arabs who surround Durrance, and rescues him as he staggers blindly. In the end, Faversham is able to help his regiment, and redeem his honour.
1977 in film
The year 1977 in film involved some significant events.-Events:*In the Academy Awards, Peter Finch, Faye Dunaway and Beatrice Straight win Best Actor and Actress and Supporting Actress awards for Network....
British television film adaptation of the classic novel
Novel
A novel is a book of long narrative in literary prose. The genre has historical roots both in the fields of the medieval and early modern romance and in the tradition of the novella. The latter supplied the present generic term in the late 18th century....
The Four Feathers
The Four Feathers
The Four Feathers is a 1902 adventure novel by British writer A.E.W. Mason that has inspired many films of the same title.-Plot summary:...
by novelist A.E.W. Mason. Directed
Film director
A film director is a person who directs the actors and film crew in filmmaking. They control a film's artistic and dramatic nathan roach, while guiding the technical crew and actors.-Responsibilities:...
by Don Sharp
Don Sharp
Donald Sharp is a British film director.His most famous films were made for Hammer Studios in the sixties, and included The Kiss of the Vampire and Rasputin, the Mad Monk . Also in 1965 he directed The Face of Fu Manchu, based on the character created by Sax Rohmer, here played by Christopher Lee...
, this version starred Beau Bridges
Beau Bridges
Lloyd Vernet "Beau" Bridges III is an American actor and director.- Early life :Bridges was born in Los Angeles, the son of actor Lloyd Bridges and his college sweetheart, Dorothy Bridges . He was nicknamed "Beau" by his mother and father after Ashley Wilkes's son in Gone with the Wind, the book...
, Robert Powell
Robert Powell
Robert Powell is an English television and film actor, probably most famous for his title role in Jesus of Nazareth and as the fictional secret agent Richard Hannay...
, Simon Ward
Simon Ward
Simon Ward is an English stage and film actor.-Early life:Simon Ward was born in Beckenham, Kent, near London, the son of a car dealer. From an early age he wanted to be an actor. He was educated at Alleyn's School, London, the home of the National Youth Theatre, which he joined at age 13 and...
and Jane Seymour
Jane Seymour (actress)
Jane Seymour, OBE is an English actress best known for her performances in the James Bond film Live and Let Die , East of Eden , Onassis: The Richest Man in the World , and the American television series Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman...
, and was nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award
Primetime Emmy Award
The Primetime Emmy Awards are awards presented by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences in recognition of excellence in American primetime television programming...
. It follows the novel almost exactly, and response to the film was very positive.
Plot
Lieutenant Harry Faversham (Beau Bridges) realises his regimentRegiment
A regiment is a major tactical military unit, composed of variable numbers of batteries, squadrons or battalions, commanded by a colonel or lieutenant colonel...
is being deployed to the Sudan
Sudan
Sudan , officially the Republic of the Sudan , is a country in North Africa, sometimes considered part of the Middle East politically. It is bordered by Egypt to the north, the Red Sea to the northeast, Eritrea and Ethiopia to the east, South Sudan to the south, the Central African Republic to the...
where they would see combat. He promptly resigns his officer's commission, stating that he did not wish to leave his fiancé, Ethne (Seymour). In reality, he was questioning the cause, and was fearful of seeing combat. Following his resignation, his fiancé and three friends present him with white feathers, representing cowardice, and turn their backs on him. Following his regiments deployment, Faversham realizes he has made a grave mistake, and that he will never be able to live any quality of life unless his honour is restored.
Disguising himself as an Arab
Arab
Arab people, also known as Arabs , are a panethnicity primarily living in the Arab world, which is located in Western Asia and North Africa. They are identified as such on one or more of genealogical, linguistic, or cultural grounds, with tribal affiliations, and intra-tribal relationships playing...
, Faversham makes his way to Sudan determined to find his unit. He learns of an impending attack on the regiment, and tries to make it in time to save them. During the battle, his closest friend Captain Jack Durrance (Powell) becomes engaged in close combat, during which he is blinded when a black powder rifle goes off next to his face. Faversham attacks the Arabs who surround Durrance, and rescues him as he staggers blindly. In the end, Faversham is able to help his regiment, and redeem his honour.
Cast
- Beau BridgesBeau BridgesLloyd Vernet "Beau" Bridges III is an American actor and director.- Early life :Bridges was born in Los Angeles, the son of actor Lloyd Bridges and his college sweetheart, Dorothy Bridges . He was nicknamed "Beau" by his mother and father after Ashley Wilkes's son in Gone with the Wind, the book...
... Harry Faversham - Robert PowellRobert PowellRobert Powell is an English television and film actor, probably most famous for his title role in Jesus of Nazareth and as the fictional secret agent Richard Hannay...
... Jack Durrance - Simon WardSimon WardSimon Ward is an English stage and film actor.-Early life:Simon Ward was born in Beckenham, Kent, near London, the son of a car dealer. From an early age he wanted to be an actor. He was educated at Alleyn's School, London, the home of the National Youth Theatre, which he joined at age 13 and...
... William Trench - Jane SeymourJane SeymourJane Seymour was Queen of England as the third wife of King Henry VIII. She succeeded Anne Boleyn as queen consort following the latter's execution for trumped up charges of high treason, incest and adultery in May 1536. She died of postnatal complications less than two weeks after the birth of...
... Ethne Eustace - Harry AndrewsHarry AndrewsHarry Fleetwood Andrews, CBE was an English film actor known for his frequent portrayals of tough military officers. His performance as Sergeant Major Wilson in The Hill alongside Sean Connery earned Andrews the 1965 National Board of Review Award for Best Supporting Actor and a nomination for the...
... Gen. Faversham - Richard JohnsonRichard Johnson (actor)Richard Johnson is an English actor, writer and producer, who starred in several British films of the 1960s and has also had a distinguished stage career. He most recently appeared in The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas.-Life and career:...
... Abou Fatma - David RobbDavid RobbDavid Robb is an English actor.Robb has starred in various British films and television shows, including films such as Swing Kids and Hellbound. He is well known for playing Germanicus in the famous 1976 BBC production of I, Claudius and as Robin Grant, one of the principal character in Thames...
... Thomas Willoughby - Richard BealeRichard BealeRichard Beale is a British actor. He has had a long career in television, stage and film, stemming back to the 1950s.Beale served as a lieutenant in the Royal Navy during the Second World War.Selected filmography:*Compact...
... Wembol (valet) - Robin BaileyRobin BaileyRobin Bailey was an English actor. He was born in Hucknall, Nottinghamshire.Although often chosen for upper class and tradition-bound roles such as Judge Graves in Thames Television's Rumpole Of The Bailey, Bailey is perhaps most fondly remembered for his portrayal of Uncle Mort in I Didn't Know...
... Col. Eustace - John HallamJohn HallamJohn William Francis Hallam was a Northern Irish character actor.- Career :He appeared in many film and television roles including Nicholas and Alexandra , Murphy's War , The Pallisers , The Mallens , Flash Gordon , Dragonslayer , the BBC television adaptations of Prince Caspian...
... Sergeant Major - Julian BarnesJulian BarnesJulian Patrick Barnes is a contemporary English writer, and winner of the 2011 Man Booker Prize, for his book The Sense of an Ending...
... Lt. Bradley - Mary MaudeMary MaudeMary Maude is a British film and television actress.-Selected filmography:* The Boarding School * Crucible of Terror * Man at the Top * Scorpio * The Four Feathers * Terror...
... Mrs. Faversham - Frank Gatliff ... Old major
- Robert FlemyngRobert FlemyngRobert Flemyng OBE, MC was a British film and stage actor.Flemyng was born in Liverpool, the son of a doctor, and was educated at Haileybury. He began his career as a medical student before abandoning medicine to become an actor. Flemyng made his stage debut in the early 1930s, and worked steadily...
... Old colonel - Robert JamesRobert James (actor)Robert James was a Scottish actor, who was best known for his television work.Born in Paisley, Scotland, Robert James trained to be a lawyer, before being spotted by a professional director while doing amateur dramatics....
... John (the butler)