L'homme du Bengale

The fact that I watch so many movies and of such diverse genres means that titles are sometimes bound to fall through the cracks, as it were: this third Umberto Lenzi screen adaptation of an Emilio Salgari literary original is certainly one of them; although I knew it was available from 'ulterior sources', somehow I never acquired it…but, luckily, managed to do so now swiftly enough – following my recent viewing of SANDOKAN: PIRATE OF MALAYSIA (1964) – in time for its inclusion in my ongoing Easter Epic marathon. Having said that, my abstention from DVD purchasing in the last few years has also led to my not keeping abreast of what rare catalogue titles were getting issued on this format; consequently, I was very surprised to find out that this had in fact been given a R1 DVD release via "Euro-Cult" specialist label Mya Communication back in 2010 under the irrelevant and misleading moniker of SANDOK (a deliberate nod to the Sandokan films, to be sure, but a superfluous one under the circumstances - as it could not be further removed from the truth)!

Anyway, this is a very colourful and enjoyable romp that seamlessly melds together two popular genres – exotic adventures and caper thrillers – which, I guess, would find its perfect representation in Steven Spielberg's 1981 blockbuster RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK; like in that movie (not to mention every other MUMMY flick!), the illegal appropriation of a precious article – in this case a rare stone ensconced in the front of a huge statue of an Indian goddess – is said to spell disaster for its eventual owner…only here the film-makers, with tongue firmly in cheek, genially opt for an out-of-left field end for it: the British crown jewels (via real footage of Queen Elizabeth II's coronation)!! American adventurer Alan Foster (Richard Harrison) has the misfortune of running up a huge gambling debt with a 'friendly' Indian Rajah (Daniele Vargas) who demands that it be repaid in full on the very next morning; the latter will only relent if Foster – who boasts of having been the one to rob the Bank of New York – acquires for him "The Mountain Of Light" (the film's original Italian title), the aforementioned jewel in a temple heavily guarded by religious fanatics.

Apart from the genuine fun to be had as the tale itself unfolds, the most remarkable thing about this film – especially for one coming from this stable and from this timeframe – is the fact that, while all stock characters and situations associated with the genre(s) are present and accounted for, they often take an unexpected form: every self-respecting hero has to have a damsel-in-distress (love interest) to rescue, a dastardly opponent (villain) to defeat and a charismatic sidekick (comic relief) to abet him. However, the woman only comes into the picture in its last third(!); likewise, the obligatory dance number that is always one of the ingredients in exotic adventure fare comes very early on here and serves a definite plot point rather than just adding local colour. Indeed, it is the unheralded whipping of the girl (Luciana Gilli) after she accidentally bumps into the Rajah that reveals the latter's true colours for the first time, just as Foster's defence of the girl here will lead to her helping him eventually; by the end of the film, however, even the Rajah has seemingly converted and concedes that the rightful place for "The Mountain Of Light" to be is inside the statue's forehead.

Similarly, the hero's volatile association with an impoverished, smelly fakir (Wilbert Bramley) runs the whole gamut from amicable banter to professional partnership (his participation in the ingenious TOPKAPI- style robbery sequence inside the rat-infested temple is essential to the success of the enterprise) to homicidal pursuit; it is from his clutches that he is running when he bursts into the dancer's quarters! As it turns out, the fakir had been the Rajah's henchman all along and is not averse to whipping the girl himself as she is strapped to a stone in a cavern. Apart from the aforementioned cheekily irreverent epilogue (with Harrison suddenly addressing the audience straight-to-camera), another comic highlight is watching our hero, painted black and donning a turban, parading as a mute outside the temple because he has stuffed the stolen jewel into his mouth for temporary safekeeping! In conclusion, I think that this handsomely-mounted production, lensed by cinematographer Angelo Lotti and set to a pleasantly atmospheric score by Francesco De Masi, should be much better known than it is and, as far as I know, has bafflingly never even been shown on terrestrial Italian TV! I guess I also ought to mention here in passing that an earlier India-set Umberto Lenzi/Richard Harrison collaboration, THREE SERGEANTS OF BENGAL (1964), remains an elusive entity...since the sole available full-length copy (only a half-hour's worth, dubbed in English, is accessible via "You Tube"!) was ripped off Italian Cable TV but, then, bafflingly had the original Italian audio replaced with the English track!! Similarly, one other Lenzi-helmed epic set against this colourful backdrop i.e. TEMPLE OF THE WHITE ELEPHANT (1964) is only accessible via either a French or German-dubbed version...the original title of which, incidentally, would literally translate to SANDOK, THE MACISTE OF THE JUNGLE!!

Here is an interesting variation of the popular heist flick genre. Richard Harrison stars as Alan Foster, a notorious bank robber from NYC hiding out in India. He get the bright idea to steal the "Mountain of Light," a large diamond encased in the forehead of a 20 foot religious Buddha (which is currently stuck on the crown of the Queen of England in real life). This is an adequate adventure that is notable for Harrison's extremely harsh words he throws at his Indian helper and the scenes where Harrison dons make up to blend it flawlessly with the Indians. Seriously, he passes by without a second glance from anyone even though he is standing out like Anna Nicole Smith at a Mensa function. The film was directed without much style by Umberto Lenzi but does feature some stunning sets and locations (it was shot in Malaysia).

Richard Harrison stars as a master thief who attempts to steal a priceless jewel from the head of a sacred statue. Wall-to-wall action and intrigue make this film an unforgettable experience. I enjoyed this film because of its exotic locales, great costumes, and superb plot. A real treat, if you can find it.

Who knows why the producers release this title as Sandok, quite sure looking to capitalize on the latest successful SANDOKAN LA TIGRE DI MOMPRACEM and I PIRATI DELLA MALESIA both starring by Steve Reeves, practice very commonly in Italian cinema at its time, however our hero in this version is called by Alan Foster (Richard Harrison) a crook adventurer raised in New York, he plays something alike the famous character ALLAN QUATERMAIN a British hunter on Africa played by Stewart Granger KING'S SALOMON'S MINE IN 1952 mixing with Indiana Jones that later had an adventure in same spot in INDIANA JONES AND THE TEMPLE OF DOOM, all them using outfits alike.

Now the gambler-adventurer Alan Foster goes to India targeting making fortune, meanwhile playing poker with a powerful Rajah Sindar (Daniele Vargas) the crafty gambler is caught cheating, to pay his debts the scheming Rajah offers to him a fair agreement in exchange he must gets "La Montagna di Luce" a huge diamond which array the front face of Goddess in a temple of worship, instead he sneaks out aiming for steal it for yourself, on nearby village he randomly meets a pony fakir Sitama (Wibert Bradley) that thru his expertise is able to aid him on the robbery, it done on the running Alan gets helping of the gorgeous-exotic dancer girl Lilamani (Luciana Gilli) who early had saved his life at Rajah's palace, in return she hides him at dressing room, together they trying escaping thru their captors, although the faltering girl awaits so much that Alan get back the sacred jewel to Goddess temple whereof it belongs to, nevertheless an unexpected twist comes along.

Enjoyable adventure at quaint India, directed by the craftsman Umberto Lenzi, with strongly humor oriented, huge and lavish sets, also the external made on location at Malaysia, many snakes, tiger, ancient village and temples fit a perfect backdrop to this jungle adventure, I'd watched it on far off 1985 and never saw ever since, thru a browse at Youtube I've find a rare taped version from RAI TV, sadly no English subtitled at all just in Italian language.

Thanks for reading.

Resume:

First watch: 1984 / How many: 3 / Source: TV-Youtube / Rating: 7.

I saw portions of this on TV as a child and could not forgot it. By luck I was able to see the whole movie as a video recently. It is episodic, but not badly paced for 1964. The sets are exotic (although surely not India where it is supposed to take place). Richard Harrison is pretty good for an unknown. The story is intricate and there are hardly any holes (for a cheap movie) in the plot. The best part is when the movie is woven into a genuine historic event. A fun time.