Les quatre plumes blanches

The son of a general, much is expected of Harry Feversham. However, on the eve of his regiment going to the war in the Sudan, he resigns his commission. Three of his fellow officers and his fiancée each present him with a white feather, a symbol of cowardice. Distraught at this turn of events, Feversham sets off to the Sudan to restore his honour.

Not great: plot is so-so, filled with empty melodrama and a stuffiness that makes some stretches quite tedious. Beau Bridges is miscast as Feversham: he lacks the necessary dash for the role and his non-Englishness shows. Where no English actors deemed suitable for the role? (Yet all the main supporting parts are played by English actors).

However, it is fairly entertaining. The battle scenes are great and there are some good adventures along the way.

Overall, okay, but nothing more.

This remake is set turn of the XIX century and concerns on Harry Faversham ( Beau Bridges ) , a British officer who resigns from army and is branded as coward and given four feathers as symbols of cowardice by his engaged fiancée Ethe ( Jane Seymour ) and his three friends ( Robert Powell , Simon Ward ) and the shame his father ( Harry Andrews ). Determined to save honor and disguised himself as an Arab native he heads to Sudan against the Derviches ,where his friends live during the Kitchener campaign , expedition for defeating the ¨Madhi¨ who had vanquished General Gordon ( events developed in ¨Khartoum ¨ film with Charlton Heston and Laurence Olivier ). His objective will be save the four friends from certain death and take back them and retrieve lost honours , being determined to prove his courage .

This fifth version is plenty of action, adventures, a love story , heroism and is pretty entertaining . It's a TV adaptation but exhibited at movie theater with spectacular action and interior-exterior scenes are very well done . Beau Bridges as hero is nice but Robert Powell as Jack the best friend and fellow officer is convincing , he steals the show, especially when is blinded and lost in the heat of desert. Jane Seymour as the gorgeous heroine is charming and attractive. Colorful and breathtaking cinematography by John Coquillon . The film is rightly directed by Don Sharp . Other versions of A.E.W.Mason novel are the classic(1939) by Zoltan Korda with John Clemens, Jane Duprez and Ralph Richardson, ¨ Storm over the sand ¨ (1955) by Terence Young with Anthony Steel and recent remake(2000) by S.Kapoor with Heath Ledger and Kate Hudson.

Although it pales next to the 1939 classic version, as a made-for-television feature this film is well worth watching. It tells the story of a young Englishman driven to extreme lengths to prove to himself & his friends that he is not a coward.

Surrounded by a fine British cast, Beau Bridges might seem wrongly cast in the main role, but he does a stalwart job throughout. Good action scenes set in Muslim Africa. Co-stars include Jane Seymour, Harry Andrews (great as Bridges' fierce old father), Robert Powell, Richard Johnson, Simon Ward, David Robb & Robin Bailey.

It is easy to spot the stock shots from the 1939 epic of Empire. This film having been shot in Technicolor Monaco whereas the original was shot in Frisco and gives a completely different quality.

Everything about this remake is inferior to the original. The worst problem is the casting of Beau Bridges in the lead.

They have truncated and abridged the story taking out the tension and most exciting elements of the original.

The climactic fight looks as if shot on a beach in Spain. You almost expect Terry Jones to stagger on and say"and now for something completely different". At least that would add entertainment to this poor and pointless remake.

Absolutely my favorite version of the 3 versions I have seen. I think the actors are part of it as I've always enjoyed Beau Bridges and Jane Seymour in this movie was breathtaking. You could identify with the characters, a guy torn between love and duty pressured by an overbearing father where it's his way or no way. A woman who is expected to support her man without question no matter how dangerous his 'duty' may be. Friends who expect their buddy to stick with them because that's what a man in the late 19th century does. A likable hero, gorgeous love interest, plenty of action and a happy ending.......What more could you ask for??