John Ford’s first full-length Talkie is a case of the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly. The Good its physical production & smooth technical finish; regular lenser Joseph August giving a master-class in rich chiaroscuro on faces, uniforms, formal military ceremony and atmospheric sets. (Admittedly, too much of some of this, but all Good!) The Bad comes with a half-baked storyline of theme & variations on THE FOUR FEATHERS. (British officer labeled a coward when he avoids joining his regiment in WWI France to take on a secret appointment in India.*) And the Ugly? Actually not by Ford at all, but ordered up by FOX producer Winfield Sheehan who brought in British actor Lumsden Hare to expand the love scenes between Victor McLaglen’s British-agent-in-India and Myrna Loy’s Princess Provocateur out to start up a religious war between local sects. They even gave her a crystal ball so McLaglen can ‘see’ the war going on without him in France. Here’s Ford on the love scenes and folderol: ‘they were really horrible – long, talky things. Had nothing to do with the story – and completely screwed it up. I wanted to vomit when I saw them.’ Those with hardier stomachs will want to watch anyway.
ATTENTION MUST BE PAID: *Talbot Mundy’s novel (remade in 1953 under original title KING OF THE KHYBER RIFLES - not seen here) has a good rep among the Rah, Rah, Raj cadre. But FOX was probably more interested in beating Paramount’s new version of THE FOUR FEATHERS (Hollywood’s last mainstream silent release - not seen here) to the screen. And they did; if only by a month.
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