The Drum (1938)

There's a bit of Rudyard Kipling to this quite colourful story from Zoltan Korda telling of the ruthless "Ghul" (Raymond Massey) who usurps his brother after he makes a treaty with the British. Luckily, the heir "Azim" (Sabu) manages to escape the coup and make his way to "Capt. Carruthers" (Roger Livesey) who is to return to "Tokot" as an emissary but who might well be walking into a deadly trap designed to show the other mountain kingdoms that the Raj was not so invincible as they all thought. Can the young Prince get a warning to his friend in time to thwart disaster? Sabu holds this together quite enthusiastically, with Massey also effective as the menacing baddie who would steal his kingdom. Livesey is just a little too stiff as is Valerie Hobson as his altogether too prim wife and the writing is a little staccato but there's plenty of adventure and intrigue as the story races along entertainingly, if predictably. The production is almost lavish at times and there's some gorgeous location photography and even a game of polo to add a bit of richness to a lively tale of derring-do. It's not an history and like so many tales of the British "benevolence" in princely India takes a slightly rose-tinted view of the history, but it's still an enjoyable watch.