The Four Feathers (1939 film)
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''The Four Feathers'' is a 1939 British
Technicolor Technicolor is a series of Color motion picture film, color motion picture processes, the first version dating back to 1916, and followed by improved versions over several decades. Definitive Technicolor movies using three black and white films ...
adventure film An adventure film is a form of adventure fiction, and is a genre of film. Subgenres of adventure films include swashbuckler films, pirate films, and survival films. Adventure films may also be combined with other film genres such as action, an ...
directed by
Zoltan Korda Zoltan Korda (June 3, 1895 – October 13, 1961) was a Hungarian-born motion picture screenwriter, director and producer. He made his first film in Hungary in 1918, and worked with his brother Alexander Korda on film-making there and in London. ...
, starring John Clements,
Ralph Richardson Sir Ralph David Richardson (19 December 1902 – 10 October 1983) was an English actor who, with John Gielgud and Laurence Olivier, was one of the trinity of male actors who dominated the British stage for much of the 20th century. He wo ...
,
June Duprez June Ada Rose Duprez (14 May 1918 – 30 October 1984) was an English film actress. Early life The daughter of American comedian Fred Duprez and Australian Florence Isabelle Matthews, she was born in Teddington, Middlesex, England, during ...
, and
C. Aubrey Smith Sir Charles Aubrey Smith (21 July 1863 – 20 December 1948) was an English Test cricketer who became a stage and film actor, acquiring a niche as the officer-and-gentleman type, as in the first sound version of ''The Prisoner of Zenda'' (1937) ...
. Set during the reign of
Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 21 ...
, it tells the story of a man accused of cowardice. It is widely regarded as the best of the numerous film adaptations of the 1902 novel of the same name by
A.E.W. Mason Alfred Edward Woodley Mason (7 May 1865 – 22 November 1948) was an English author and politician. He is best remembered for his 1902 novel of courage and cowardice in wartime, ''The Four Feathers'' and is also known as the creator of Inspecto ...
.


Plot

In 1895, the Royal North Surrey Regiment is called to active service to join the army of Sir
Herbert Kitchener Horatio Herbert Kitchener, 1st Earl Kitchener, (; 24 June 1850 – 5 June 1916) was a senior British Army officer and colonial administrator. Kitchener came to prominence for his imperial campaigns, his scorched earth policy against the Boers, h ...
in the
Mahdist War The Mahdist War ( ar, الثورة المهدية, ath-Thawra al-Mahdiyya; 1881–1899) was a war between the Mahdist Sudanese of the religious leader Muhammad Ahmad bin Abd Allah, who had proclaimed himself the "Mahdi" of Islam (the "Guided On ...
against the forces of the Khalifa (
John Laurie John Paton Laurie (25 March 1897 – 23 June 1980) was a Scottish actor. In the course of his career, Laurie performed on the stage and in films as well as television. He is perhaps best remembered for his role in the sitcom ''Dad's Army'' (196 ...
). Forced into an army career by family tradition and fearful he might prove a coward in battle, Lieutenant Harry Faversham ( John Clements) resigns his commission on the eve of its departure. As a result, his three friends and fellow officers, Captain John Durrance (
Ralph Richardson Sir Ralph David Richardson (19 December 1902 – 10 October 1983) was an English actor who, with John Gielgud and Laurence Olivier, was one of the trinity of male actors who dominated the British stage for much of the 20th century. He wo ...
) and Lieutenants Burroughs (
Donald Gray Donald Gray (born Eldred Owermann Tidbury, 3 March 1914 – 7 April 1978) was a South African actor, well known for his starring role in the British TV series '' Mark Saber'', for providing the voices of Colonel White, Captain Black and the M ...
) and Willoughby ( Jack Allen), show their contempt for his action by each sending him a
white feather The white feather is a widely recognised propaganda symbol. It has, among other things, represented cowardice or conscientious pacifism; as in A. E. W. Mason's 1902 book, ''The Four Feathers''. In Britain during the First World War it was ofte ...
attached to a calling card. When his fiancée, Ethne Burroughs (
June Duprez June Ada Rose Duprez (14 May 1918 – 30 October 1984) was an English film actress. Early life The daughter of American comedian Fred Duprez and Australian Florence Isabelle Matthews, she was born in Teddington, Middlesex, England, during ...
), says nothing in his defence, he bitterly demands a fourth from her. She refuses, but he plucks one from her fan. Harry confides in an old mentor and former surgeon in his father's regiment, Dr. Sutton (
Frederick Culley Frederick Culley (8 March 1879 – 3 November 1942) was a British film actor. He is best remembered as the kindly Dr. Sutton in ''The Four Feathers'' (1939). His Father, Richard Palethorpe Culley, was an entrepreneur and philanthropist and his ...
), that he now realises he did act out of cowardice and must attempt to redeem himself. He departs for Egypt. There, he disguises himself as a despised mute Sangali native, with the help of Dr. Harraz (
Henry Oscar Henry Wale (14 July 1891 – 28 December 1969), known professionally as Henry Oscar, was an English stage and film actor. He changed his name and began acting in 1911, having studied under Elsie Fogerty at the Central School of Speech and Drama ...
), to hide his lack of knowledge of the local languages. During the army's advance, Durrance is ordered to take his company into the desert to lure the Khalifa's army away from the
Nile The Nile, , Bohairic , lg, Kiira , Nobiin language, Nobiin: Áman Dawū is a major north-flowing river in northeastern Africa. It flows into the Mediterranean Sea. The Nile is the longest river in Africa and has historically been considered ...
so that Kitchener's army can sail past. Durrance is blinded by
sunstroke Heat stroke or heatstroke, also known as sun stroke, is a severe heat illness that results in a body temperature greater than , along with red skin, headache, dizziness, and confusion. Sweating is generally present in exertional heatstroke, b ...
, and the company is overrun. He is left for dead on the battlefield, while Burroughs and Willoughby are captured. However, the disguised Faversham takes the delirious Durrance across the desert and down the Nile to the vicinity of a British fort. As he is putting something into Durrance's wallet, Faversham is spotted and mistaken for a robber. He is placed in a convict gang, but escapes. Six months later, the blind Durrance has returned to England. Out of pity, Ethne agrees to marry him. At dinner with Ethne, her father, and Dr. Sutton, as Durrance is relating the tale of his miraculous rescue, he pulls out a keepsake letter from Ethne, the only thing he had in his wallet during the "robbery". A white feather and his card drop out, revealing to the others that his rescuer was Harry Faversham. Nobody has the heart to tell him. Burroughs and Willoughby are thrown into a dungeon in
Omdurman Omdurman (standard ar, أم درمان ''Umm Durmān'') is a city in Sudan. It is the most populated city in the country, and thus also in the State of Khartoum. Omdurman lies on the west bank of the River Nile, opposite and northwest of the ...
with other enemies of the Khalifa. Still playing the addled Sangali, Faversham surreptitiously gives them hope of escape and passes them a file, but arouses the suspicions of the guards. He is flogged and imprisoned with the others. He reveals his identity to his friends and organizes an escape during Kitchener's attack. Faversham leads the other prisoners in overpowering their guards and seizing the Khalifa's arsenal, where they hold until the arrival of Kitchener's forces. Durrance learns of Faversham's deeds from a newspaper account and realises it was Harry who saved him. He dictates a letter to Ethne, releasing her from their engagement on the false pretext of going to Germany for a prolonged course of treatment to restore his eyesight. Some time later, Harry attends a dinner with his friends and Ethne, where General Burroughs (
C. Aubrey Smith Sir Charles Aubrey Smith (21 July 1863 – 20 December 1948) was an English Test cricketer who became a stage and film actor, acquiring a niche as the officer-and-gentleman type, as in the first sound version of ''The Prisoner of Zenda'' (1937) ...
), Ethne's father, acknowledges that Harry has forced all of them to take back their feathers—all except Ethne. Faversham playfully makes her take back ''her'' white feather by the courageous act of interrupting the General in the midst of his favourite war story about the
Battle of Balaclava The Battle of Balaclava, fought on 25 October 1854 during the Crimean War, was part of the Siege of Sevastopol (1854–55), an Allied attempt to capture the port and fortress of Sevastopol, Russian Empire, Russia's principal naval base on the Bl ...
to correct his embellishments; the irritated Burroughs complains that he will never be able to tell that story again.


Cast


Production

It was mostly filmed on location in the
Sudan Sudan ( or ; ar, السودان, as-Sūdān, officially the Republic of the Sudan ( ar, جمهورية السودان, link=no, Jumhūriyyat as-Sūdān), is a country in Northeast Africa. It shares borders with the Central African Republic t ...
in
Technicolor Technicolor is a series of Color motion picture film, color motion picture processes, the first version dating back to 1916, and followed by improved versions over several decades. Definitive Technicolor movies using three black and white films ...
. Forty soldiers of the 1st Battalion the
East Surrey Regiment The East Surrey Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army in existence from 1881 until 1959. The regiment was formed in 1881 under the Childers Reforms by the amalgamation of the 31st (Huntingdonshire) Regiment of Foot, the 70th ...
were used in period uniforms for scenes in which they withstood the
Dervish Dervish, Darvesh, or Darwīsh (from fa, درویش, ''Darvīsh'') in Islam can refer broadly to members of a Sufi fraternity A fraternity (from Latin language, Latin ''wiktionary:frater, frater'': "brother (Christian), brother"; whence, ...
advance en masse.


Reception

This version is widely considered the best of all the numerous film adaptations of the novel. Critic
Michael Sragow Michael Sragow (born June 26, 1952 in New York) is a film critic and columnist who has written for the ''Orange County Register'', ''The Baltimore Sun'', ''Film Comment'', ''The San Francisco Examiner'', ''The New Times'', ''The New Yorker'' (whe ...
praises the "film's gritty magic", calling it "next to ''
Lawrence of Arabia Thomas Edward Lawrence (16 August 1888 – 19 May 1935) was a British archaeologist, army officer, diplomat, and writer who became renowned for his role in the Arab Revolt (1916–1918) and the Sinai and Palestine Campaign (1915–1918 ...
'' (1962), the most harrowingly beautiful of all desert spectaculars." "They he film crewand the cast all do their jobs so well that the action becomes poetic." The ''
Time Out Time-out, Time Out, or timeout may refer to: Time * Time-out (sport), in various sports, a break in play, called by a team * Television timeout, a break in sporting action so that a commercial break may be taken * Timeout (computing), an enginee ...
'' review cites its "superb Technicolor camerawork ... and solid performances all round." It has a 100% approval rating on
Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...
, based on 10 reviews, and with an average rating of 7.9/10. It was one of the most popular films of the year in Britain.


Nominations

The film was nominated for the
Palme d'Or The Palme d'Or (; en, Golden Palm) is the highest prize awarded at the Cannes Film Festival. It was introduced in 1955 by the festival's organizing committee. Previously, from 1939 to 1954, the festival's highest prize was the Grand Prix du Fe ...
at the
Cannes Film Festival The Cannes Festival (; french: link=no, Festival de Cannes), until 2003 called the International Film Festival (') and known in English as the Cannes Film Festival, is an annual film festival held in Cannes, France, which previews new films o ...
and the
Mussolini Cup The Venice Film Festival or Venice International Film Festival ( it, Mostra Internazionale d'Arte Cinematografica della Biennale di Venezia, "International Exhibition of Cinematographic Art of the Venice Biennale") is an annual film festival he ...
at the
Venice Film Festival The Venice Film Festival or Venice International Film Festival ( it, Mostra Internazionale d'Arte Cinematografica della Biennale di Venezia, "International Exhibition of Cinematographic Art of the Venice Biennale") is an annual film festival he ...
.


Home media

It is available on DVD and Blu-ray from the
Criterion Collection The Criterion Collection, Inc. (or simply Criterion) is an American home-video distribution company that focuses on licensing, restoring and distributing "important classic and contemporary films." Criterion serves film and media scholars, cinep ...
. It’s also available on HBO Max.


See also

* ''
Khartoum Khartoum or Khartum ( ; ar, الخرطوم, Al-Khurṭūm, din, Kaartuɔ̈m) is the capital of Sudan. With a population of 5,274,321, its metropolitan area is the largest in Sudan. It is located at the confluence of the White Nile, flowing n ...
'', a 1966 film dealing with the events leading up to General Gordon's death.


References


External links

* * * *
Extended movie review
at
BFI The British Film Institute (BFI) is a film and television charitable organisation which promotes and preserves film-making and television in the United Kingdom. The BFI uses funds provided by the National Lottery to encourage film production, ...
Screenonline Screenonline is a website about the history of British film, television and social history as documented by film and television. The project has been developed by the British Film Institute and funded by a £1.2 million grant from the National Lot ...

''The Four Feathers: Breaking the British Square''
an essay by
Michael Sragow Michael Sragow (born June 26, 1952 in New York) is a film critic and columnist who has written for the ''Orange County Register'', ''The Baltimore Sun'', ''Film Comment'', ''The San Francisco Examiner'', ''The New Times'', ''The New Yorker'' (whe ...
at the
Criterion Collection The Criterion Collection, Inc. (or simply Criterion) is an American home-video distribution company that focuses on licensing, restoring and distributing "important classic and contemporary films." Criterion serves film and media scholars, cinep ...
{{DEFAULTSORT:Four Feathers (1939 film), The Films based on The Four Feathers 1930s war adventure films 1939 films 1930s color films British war adventure films British epic films Films shot at Denham Film Studios Films scored by Miklós Rózsa Films directed by Zoltán Korda Films produced by Alexander Korda Films set in 1895 Films set in 1898 London Films films 1939 war films 1930s English-language films 1930s British films Films about the British Army