The Four Feathers

5/6/2014

I have been a coward – and I wasn’t happy. The best cinematic treatment of A.E.W. Mason’s novel is here, a rousing and moving tale of a military man who is branded as a coward by those closest to him. Receiving four feathers as a sign of cowardice, Howard Faversham is inspired to go redeem himself in the eyes of his peers during the Mahdist War 1895. Zoltan Korda throws everything but the “Kitchener” sink at the production. 1939 was a stellar year for cinema, arguably the greatest ever. Action/Adventure film fans were treated royally this year, with the likes of "Beau Geste", "Gunga Din" and "The Four Feathers" to whet the appetites. The latter is a top line production, a Technicolor spectacle of derring-do and manly codes such as bravery and honour. Some these days may balk at th

11/22/2022

**A little forgotten gem that, perhaps, deserved to be revisited by the public.** This film is one of several adaptations of a novel set during the Anglo-Egyptian conquest of Sudan. It's quite good and must have been a "super production" for the time it was made. Very well directed by Zoltan Korda, in a luxurious and meticulous production that spared no effort or expense, it is, perhaps, one of the best film adaptations of the title novel. And yet, it is unjustly forgotten! For those who don't know or don't remember, the interior of the African continent was only colonized after the Berlin Conference, in 1885. Fourteen countries participated in it, including the USA and European countries without any colonies, such as Sweden. Among the several issues addressed (the end of slave trade

6/4/2024

A British officer (John Clements) is called up to serve in Kitchener's army that will set out to avenge the defeat of General Gordon in the Sudan. He is deeply in love with his fiancée (June Duprez), however, and so decides to prioritise his family over his career. Bad move, that - his girlfriend and three of his closest compatriots (Ralph Richardson, Jack Allen & Donald Gray) consider him a coward and present him with the token of a yellow-belly - a white feather - and his engagement to the daughter of a retired general (C. Aubrey Smith) is ended. He determines to follow, incognito, his colleagues into the desert and shadows each of them as they face - and he shares - the perils and hazards of their mission. Once again, the Korda's present us with an ensemble of strong performances and a