Les quatre plumes blanches

The 1939 version of Four Feathers deserves to be better known. It's one of those action classics like The Scarlet Pimpernel or Mutiny on the Bounty whose conflicts are as relevant to one era as another. In this case they revolve around different forms of courage and honor. A man from a prominent military family is snubbed as a coward by his fellow officers and even his fiancée when he refuses to participate in Britain's Sudanese campaign of the 1890s which he believes is imperial folly. He gradually regrets his decision and decides to make amends by secretly traveling to the Sudan to help his regiment as a spy behind enemy lines. To get away with this ruse he takes drastic steps to disguise himself as a local tribesman.

The Technicolor photography is eye-poppingly rich, at the same level as three other 1939 color classics—namely, Gone with the Wind, The Wizard of Oz and Drums Along the Mohawk. Particularly effective are the transitions from the browns and yellows of North African military outposts, with their punctuations by the red, white and blue of the Union Jack, to the deep greens of rural England. To top it off, much of the film was actually shot in the Sudan with what seems like thousands of native extras. By looks alone, sometimes it's hard to believe that this production predates the Second World War. It might have been a huge hit if it had had a Cary Grant or a Clark Cable or an Errol Flynn in the lead. As things go, John Clements is as good as can be, if not exactly bursting with charisma. Ralph Richardson gives a bravura performance as Clement's fellow officer, though he is saddled with a sequence that strains credulity beyond the breaking point. Let's just say that it takes a physically fit man longer than 30 seconds of direct exposure to the desert sun before he suffers total disorientation and unconsciousness. And if the sun can do that much damage so swiftly, then surely the flesh of the unconscious man's face, exposed for hours, would be cooked to a cinder.

C. Aubrey Smith plays his usual crusty old Brit, this time as a bombastic Crimean War veteran who complains that men are no longer men and war is no longer war. His repetitious boasting wears thin after a while. June Duprez barely registers as the female love interest.

It's ridiculous that movies like THE FULL MONTY and 28 DAYS LATER that have a British producer , director and screenwriter that were filmed entirely in Britain with an entirely British cast are not classed " British " simply because they were made by American studios . Somewhat ironic then that one of greatest British - And I mean truly British -films owes so much to the Korda brothers who came to this country from Hungary while the man responsible for the breath taking colour cinematography was from France

But I'm not going to be internationalist about THE FOUR FEATHERS because this is a movie that makes you proud to be British , something that is sadly no longer allowed to happen these days . Perhaps the most stirring thing I can say about this movie is the way it wipes the floor with the contemporary competition that was coming out of Hollywood at the time . While the American studio were making similar monochrome movies with Errol Flynn and David Niven as the leads Ralph Richardson's performance alone is a reason to watch this movie and even if it wasn't there's still the story itself featuring themes like courage , honour , romance and redemption . You want battle scenes ? There's several in this movie as well choreographed as any thing seen in cinema at this time but perhaps the most what sets this British movie apart from other movies that were being produced across the pond is that it's a bit more gritty and sadistic than what Hollywood was producing . In one scene a British officer is flogged like a dog and he screams in pain as the camera pans on to the Mufti's face , a face lit up in sadistic glee , then the scene cross fades into a crowded dungeon where the prisoners are kept , a dark hell hole where the audience can actually taste the pain , fear and misery from the unfortunate prisoners . Even in those days Hollywood would pull their punches while a film like THE FOUR FEATHERSwould not

Sadly THE FOUR FEATHERS was released in 1939 which meant it qualified for the legendary Oscar ceremony the following year when GONE WITH THE WIND swept the board . A great pity because this very British movie deserved a hat full of awards . Sadly too Britain no longer has a film industry of its own and is reliant upon American finance , but perhaps the saddest thing is even if we did have a film industry no one in the business would want to film such an exciting historical epic in case they were labeled reactionary or racist

This is one of the best from the now happily recovered & preserved great Korda collection(for some years blocked by much litigation)when the huge Denham Studios were on a roll,having arisen from the embers of an earlier fire. Under the sheer dedication of the hungarian Kordas, they simply couldn't fail until in the middle of what must be their most popular hit, The Thief of Baghdad,they were forced to move to the US by the outbreak of WW2. Each brother has left much to posterity. Alex, the entrepreneur was subsequently knighted for his contribution to British films. In a fascinating but poignant BBC documentary of the 70s,on the great studio's rise & fall, Elizabeth Bergner {another European import) referred to him as "a prankster". This vividly technicolored remake is splendid adventure, its Sudan locations compare well with those of Lawrence of Arabia and as in "Thief" the object of my attention had to be the beautiful, husky young June Duprez.

As in Stanley Baker's "ZULU" these giant black warriors are fearsomely portrayed with the scenes inside the primitive prison where the "dumb" spy Harry Faversham eventually finds himself are quite grim. And as another reviewer has commented, crusty Sir Aubrey as ever is the perfect & amusing retired tactician at the start & finish. A glare from under those bushy eyebrows was always enough! Great entertainment.

A young English army officer resigns his commission just as war in Africa breaks out. His 3 best friends, officers all, and his fiancée each give him a white feather - the sign of the coward. Shunned & ostracized, he undertakes a mission to clear his honour & prove his courage.

This is a wonderful British adventure film, equally on a par with anything Hollywood was to produce in that golden year of 1939. Shot in color, with spare-no-expense filming in the Sudan, THE FOUR FEATHERS is a paean to the glory days of Victoria's Empire & the men who fought to build it.

Sir John Clements is excellent as the young hero. Although virtually unknown to American audiences his entire career, Sir John was a very fine actor with a warmly distinctive voice which he uses here to advantage. Sir Ralph Richardson appears, terrific as always, as one of the friends; so does John Laurie, very good as the troublesome Khalifa. Sir C. Aubrey Smith, magnificent as a curmudgeonly old general, provides the final hurdle Sir John must jump to regain his reputation.

I have seen both the 1936 and 2005 versions of this film. Of the 2, the 1939 version is far preferable as it is a film about bravery, cowardice, duty, and devotion rather that a psycho-politico voyage about retribution, consequences, and punishment. The 1939 film is nonapologetic and does not need to be, as it is an exploration of one man's duty to friends and not a political statement.

I believe that the main reason this film is not given more credit is that it happened to be made in the watershed year of 1939, a year of legendary films, filmmakers, and stars. (Think "Gone with the Wind" and "The Wizard of Oz", among others.) The action scenes are as good as you can get. The technical direction is well done and the cinematography excellent. While the camaraderie is, at times, a little forced, it is probably fairly accurate.

The travails of the protagonist are straightforward and unimpeded by the burdens of political overtones or ethereal punishments for current retrospections on political transgressions and apologetic political correctness. I'll forego the 5.1 surround sound for the far better entertainment factor of the real "Four Featers" made in 1939