The Stranglers of Bombay

I saw this for the first time recently cos Thugs of Hindustan aroused my interest in the Thugee cult. While Thugs of Hindustan is more of an action, adventure n comedy film, Stranglers of Bombay is a horror film.

Captain Lewis of the British East India Company, is investigating why a large number of natives are missing. Lewis believes an organized cult group is robbing n killing people. The cult is headed by a godman (George Pastel). The film has lots of strangulation scenes, a nasty eye piercing scene (fans of Fulci rejoice), a snake n a mongoose fight, a glimpse of a tiger n most of all a very horrifying truth. The Britishers eradicated the worst horror, Sati n gave us Indians education but our recent politicians r taking us n our country back to the medieval era with the kinda lynching prevailing in India.

The Stranglers of Bombay was made by Hammer in 1960 and I found this quite good. It is rather violent for its time.

A series of rather gruesome murders in India turn out to be the work of a religious cult, known as the Stranglers. These people kill just for fun and they enjoy it. A British soldier based over there investigates these killings and nearly becomes a victim himself, but a mongoose appears and killing one of these animals is one of the Stranglers' tabu's. The leader of the Stranglers is killed at the end, along with most of the other members.

The cast includes Guy Rolfe (Mr Sardonicus), Jan Holden, Andrew Cruickshank, George Pastell, Allan Cuthbertson and Roger Delgado (First Man Into Space). Good parts from all.

The Stranglers of Bombay is worth checking out, especially if you are a fan of Hammer.

Rating: 3 stars out of 5.

Great directing enhance this tense film about a religious cult who go around murdering and stealing just for the sheer pleasure of it. Even for our times it is still an interesting and gripping horror film. Guy Rolfe (as tall as ever) did a remarkable job of the dedicated soldier who no one will listen too. Lots of fun.

The Stranglers of Bombay is out of Hammer Film Productions. It's directed by Terence Fisher and written by David Zelag Goodman. It stars Guy Rolfe, Jan Holden, Andrew Cruickshank, George Pastell, Marne Maitland and Paul Stassino. Music is by James Bernard and cinematography by Arthur Grant.

For hundreds of years there existed in India a perverted religious sect, dedicated to the wanton destruction of human life....

So secret was this savage cult that even the British East Indian Company, rulers of the country at the time, was unaware of their existence....

So it begins, a compact and often violent retelling of the Thuggee Cult in India in the 1820s. It was considered strong stuff back on release and had the head suits at the BBFC shifting uneasily in their office chairs. It's a film that has also fallen unfairly into the realm where political correctness dwells, where some folk are seemingly obsessed with decrying old movies for their outdated political portrayals. This deserves better, for it's a very good script, where although the history is difficult to pin down as being correct, it does at least show a care and attention to detail where the Thugee Cult is concerned.

It's also a good old adventure yarn, full of intrigue, peril and detective work. Fisher directs at a clip, never allowing the plot to stagnate, and the low budget afforded the project is barely evident amongst some very effective sets. Cast are mostly good value for money, with lead players Rolfe perfectly restrained as an officer desperately trying to be heard and Pastell owning the film as the High Priest of Kali; in fact he is revelling in the bad guy role. Bernard provides an ear banging effective musical accompaniment.

Torture, maiming, heroics and a clever mongoose, something for everyone here! 7/10

There's no getting around the Imperialist/Colonialist undertones in this one, only made worse by the various video guides which claim it is based on "actual events." It isn't quite as bad as Fu Manchu to the Chinese, but I suspect many Indians would find this pretty inaccurate and offensive. Still, looked at as a horror movie, it is pretty fun, and it seems to include more explicit depictions of violence even than other Hammer films of the time – perhaps the claim of historical authenticity made it easier to get away with gore in England at this time. I particularly enjoyed George Pastell's performance, similar in many ways to the one he gave in the previous year's adaptation of "the Mummy." The various tensions among the British colonial officers also add a nice touch, and the direction and cinematography are top-notch, as awkward as the material sometimes gets.