The Four Feathers (1978 Film)
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''The Four Feathers'' is a 1978 British
television film A television film, alternatively known as a television movie, made-for-TV film/movie, telefilm, telemovie or TV film/movie, is a film with a running time similar to a feature film that is produced and originally distributed by or to a Terrestr ...
adaptation of the classic 1902 novel ''
The Four Feathers ''The Four Feathers'' is a 1902 adventure novel by British writer A. E. W. Mason that has inspired many films of the same title. In December 1901, ''Cornhill Magazine'' announced the title as one of two new serial stories to be published in t ...
'' by novelist
A. E. W. Mason Alfred Edward Woodley Mason (7 May 1865 – 22 November 1948) was an English author and Liberal Party Member of Parliament. He is best remembered for his 1902 novel of courage and cowardice in wartime, ''The Four Feathers'', and is also known a ...
.
Directed Direct may refer to: Mathematics * Directed set, in order theory * Direct limit of (pre), sheaves * Direct sum of modules, a construction in abstract algebra which combines several vector spaces Computing * Direct access (disambiguation), a ...
by
Don Sharp Donald Herman Sharp (19 April 192114 December 2011) was an Australian film director. His best known films were made for Hammer Film Productions, Hammer in the 1960s, and included ''Kiss of the Vampire (film), Kiss of the Vampire'' (1963) and ' ...
, this version starred
Beau Bridges Lloyd Vernet "Beau" Bridges III (born December 9, 1941) is an American actor. He is a three-time Emmy Award, Emmy, two-time Golden Globe Award, Golden Globe and one-time Grammy Award winner, as well as a two-time Screen Actors Guild Award nomine ...
,
Robert Powell Robert Thomas Powell ( ; born 1 June 1944) is an English actor who is known for the title roles in '' Mahler'' (1974) and '' Jesus of Nazareth'' (1977), and for his portrayal of secret agent Richard Hannay in '' The Thirty Nine Steps'' (1978) ...
,
Simon Ward Simon Anthony Fox Ward (16 October 194120 July 2012) was a British stage and film actor from Beckenham, England. He was known chiefly for his performance as Winston Churchill in the 1972 film '' Young Winston''. He played many other screen roles ...
and
Jane Seymour Jane Seymour (; 24 October 1537) was Queen of England as the third wife of King Henry VIII from their marriage on 30 May 1536 until her death the next year. She became queen following the execution of Henry's second wife, Anne Boleyn, who was ...
, and was nominated for a
Primetime Emmy Award The Primetime Emmy Awards, or Primetime Emmys, are part of the extensive range of Emmy Awards for artistic and technical merit for the American television industry. Owned and operated by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (ATAS), the P ...
. It follows the novel almost exactly, and response to the film was very positive.


Plot

Lieutenant Harry Faversham (Beau Bridges) is the latest scion of a prominent military family. A deeply sensitive boy, he is much traumatised by the early death of his kind-hearted mother. Though he never wants to be a soldier, he feels obliged to join the Army. Though no coward (as he will later show), he has no interest in an army career. Having met and become engaged to Ethne, he decides to resign his commission. The fact that war in the Sudan is coming is irrelevant to this decision. During their engagement ball on the final day of his Army career, Faversham receives telegrams summoning him and three of his brother officers (Durrance, Willoughby and Trench) back to the regiment prior to being sent to the Sudan. As determined as ever to leave the Army, Faversham burns the telegrams so that he can pretend not to have been summoned back to the regiment before his commission expires. Willoughby sees him burning papers and notices that he is embarrassed to have been taken by surprise in doing so. On later realising that Faversham was burning the telegrams from the Army, Willoughby assumes that Faversham has done so because he is afraid of going to the Sudan. Durrance, Willoughby and Trench then send Faversham three
white feather The white feather is a widely recognised propaganda symbol. The white feather was most prominently used in the 'White Feather Movement, white feather movement' in Britain during the First World War, in which women gave white feathers to non-en ...
s, betokening
cowardice Cowardice is a characteristic wherein excessive fear prevents an individual from taking a risk or facing danger. It is the opposite of courage. As a label, "cowardice" indicates a failure of character in the face of a challenge. One who succumb ...
, and turn their backs on him. When Faversham tries to explain to Ethne what has happened, she also reaches the same mistaken conclusion and gives him a fourth white feather. Following his regiment's deployment, Faversham realises he has made a grave mistake and, having toyed with suicide, finally resolves to redeem his honour. Disguising himself as an
Arab Arabs (,  , ; , , ) are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in West Asia and North Africa. A significant Arab diaspora is present in various parts of the world. Arabs have been in the Fertile Crescent for thousands of years ...
, Faversham makes his way to the Sudan determined to perform three acts of courage that will persuade each of his former comrades to take back their white feathers. He learns of an impending attack on the regiment, and tries to make it in time to save them. During the battle, his closest friend Captain Jack Durrance (Powell) becomes engaged in close combat, during which he is blinded when a
black-powder Gunpowder, also commonly known as black powder to distinguish it from modern smokeless powder, is the earliest known chemical explosive. It consists of a mixture of sulfur, charcoal (which is mostly carbon), and potassium nitrate (saltpeter). ...
rifle goes off next to his face. Faversham attacks the Arabs who surround Durrance, and rescues him as he staggers blindly. In the end, Faversham is able to help his regiment, and redeem his honour.


Cast

*
Beau Bridges Lloyd Vernet "Beau" Bridges III (born December 9, 1941) is an American actor. He is a three-time Emmy Award, Emmy, two-time Golden Globe Award, Golden Globe and one-time Grammy Award winner, as well as a two-time Screen Actors Guild Award nomine ...
as Harry Faversham *
Robert Powell Robert Thomas Powell ( ; born 1 June 1944) is an English actor who is known for the title roles in '' Mahler'' (1974) and '' Jesus of Nazareth'' (1977), and for his portrayal of secret agent Richard Hannay in '' The Thirty Nine Steps'' (1978) ...
as Jack Durrance *
Simon Ward Simon Anthony Fox Ward (16 October 194120 July 2012) was a British stage and film actor from Beckenham, England. He was known chiefly for his performance as Winston Churchill in the 1972 film '' Young Winston''. He played many other screen roles ...
as William Trench *
Jane Seymour Jane Seymour (; 24 October 1537) was Queen of England as the third wife of King Henry VIII from their marriage on 30 May 1536 until her death the next year. She became queen following the execution of Henry's second wife, Anne Boleyn, who was ...
as Ethne Eustace *
Harry Andrews Henry Stewart Fleetwood Andrews, CBE (10 November 1911 – 6 March 1989) was a British actor often known for his film portrayals of tough military officers. His performance as Regimental Sergeant Major Wilson in '' The Hill'' (1965) earned And ...
as General Faversham *
Richard Johnson Richard or Dick Johnson may refer to: Academics * Dick Johnson (academic) (1929–2019), Australian academic * Richard C. Johnson (1930–2003), professor of electrical engineering * Richard A. Johnson, artist and professor at the University of ...
as Abou Fatma *
David Robb David Robb (born 23 August 1947) is a Scottish actor. Early life Robb was born in Wandsworth, London, the son of David Robb and Elsie Tilley. He grew up in Edinburgh and was educated there at the Royal High School, where he played Henry II i ...
as Thomas Willoughby *
Richard Beale Richard Beale may refer to: * Richard Beale Blaize (1845–1904), Nigerian-Sierra Leonean businessman * Richard Beale Davis (1907–1981), American academic *Richard Beale (actor) Richard Henry Beale (13 May 1920 – 27 March 2017) was a B ...
as Wembol (valet) *
Robin Bailey William Henry Mettam "Robin" Bailey (5 October 1919 – 14 January 1999) was an English actor. He was born in Hucknall, Nottinghamshire. Often cast in upper class and tradition-bound roles such as Mr Justice Graves in Thames Television Th ...
as Colonel Eustace *
John Hallam John William Francis Hallam (28 October 1941 – 14 November 2006) was a character actor from Northern Ireland, who frequently played hard men or military types. Early life John Hallam was born, the son of a superintendent at the Port o ...
as Sergeant Major * Julian Barnes as Lieutenant Bradley *
Mary Maude Mary Maude is a British film and television actress. Selected filmography * '' The House That Screamed'' (1970) - Irene * ''Granny Gets the Point'' (1971) - Sandra * '' Crucible of Terror'' (1971) - Millie * '' Man at the Top'' (1971) - Robin ...
as Mrs Faversham *
Frank Gatliff Frank Ernest Gatliff (31 December 1927 – 23 June 1990) was an Australian actor based in Great Britain. He appeared in several films (notably as Bluejay in '' The Ipcress File'') but mostly on TV, in such series as ''Gideon's Way'', '' The Baron ...
as Old Major *
Robert Flemyng Benjamin Arthur Flemyng (3 January 1912 – 22 May 1995), known professionally as Robert Flemyng, was a British actor. The son of a doctor, and originally intended for a medical career, Flemyng learned his stagecraft in provincial repertory the ...
as Old Colonel * Robert James as John (the butler)


Production

The film was produced by
Norman Rosemont Norman Rosemont (December 12, 1924 in Brooklyn, New York – April 22, 2018 in Scottsdale, Arizona) was an American producer of films, television, and theatre. He worked as a press agent before moving into theatre. He worked as a general manager ...
, who specialised in making adaptations of classic tales for television. He had recently made '' The Man in the Iron Mask'', ''
Captains Courageous ''Captains Courageous: A Story of the Grand Banks'' is an 1897 novel by Rudyard Kipling that follows the adventures of fifteen-year-old Harvey Cheyne Jr., the spoiled son of a railroad tycoon, after he is saved from drowning by a Portuguese f ...
'' and ''
The Count of Monte Cristo ''The Count of Monte Cristo'' () is an adventure novel by the French writer Alexandre Dumas. It was serialised from 1844 to 1846, and published in book form in 1846. It is one of his most popular works, along with ''The Three Musketeers'' (184 ...
''. The films would be made for over $1 million which was more than US networks would pay for them, but they could be released theatrically overseas. "The great classic authors wrote good stories with strong plots about people you could care for", said Rosemont. "And filming them at length – usually three hours – you can get most of the plot in." ''The Four Feathers'' was, like ''Captains Courageous'', a Bell special for the
ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Broadcasting * Aliw Broadcasting Corporation, Philippine broadcast company * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial American ...
(i.e. it was sponsored by Bell Systems). Norman Rosemont normally filmed works in the public domain but he had to pay London Films $150,000 for the rights to ''Four Feathers''. Part of the money was provided by Trident Films, an off-shot of
Trident Television Trident Television Limited was a British holding company with broadcasting interests. It was created to sell airtime for two ITV regions, Yorkshire Television and Tyne Tees Television, and later took over both companies. Trident acquired Halas ...
, a Leeds-based regional television group. Director
Don Sharp Donald Herman Sharp (19 April 192114 December 2011) was an Australian film director. His best known films were made for Hammer Film Productions, Hammer in the 1960s, and included ''Kiss of the Vampire (film), Kiss of the Vampire'' (1963) and ' ...
was known for his action films. He had been working on several feature films that failed to raise finance when he was offered the job of directing ''The Four Feathers''; Sharp was initially reluctant to do a remake but liked the script and had a very positive experience. The casting of Powell and Bridges was announced in July 1977. Bridges had a dialect coach, Robert Easton, to help him with the accent. Filming started in August 1977 and took place in England and Spain. The Duke of Wellington's estate was used for English scenes. The desert sequences were shot in Almería, Spain over three weeks. During the Spanish part of filming, Powell referred to occasions when the unit was affected by sandstorms, saying, "Everyone wore surgical masks and goggles and was covered from head to foot, except the bloody actors". Sharp enjoyed working with Beau Bridges and Robert Powell. He had a more difficult relationship with producer Norman Rosemont, who Sharp said would get paranoid and argumentative. Sharp did greatly respect Rosemont's story skills and showmanship.


Reception


Critical

The ''
Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' is an American Newspaper#Daily, daily newspaper that began publishing in Los Angeles, California, in 1881. Based in the Greater Los Angeles city of El Segundo, California, El Segundo since 2018, it is the List of new ...
'' praised it as "a large, sumptuous movie in the grand, romantic tradition... staged with fine sweep and power by Don Sharp from a meticulous adaptation". The ''Christian Science Monitor'' called it "rollicking entertainment." A ''New York Times'' reviewer wrote: "Mr. Bridges is quite effective as the bearded adventurer, and the action scenes are jolly good, if you will. 'Four Feathers' may possibly be the bloodiest pacifist lesson ever devised, but its grand posturing and silly sentiments work nicely." The ''Monthly Film Bulletin'' called it "a museum piece, brought up from the vaults, dusted down and carefully mounted."


Ratings

It was the 28th highest rated show of the week on American television.


References


External links

* *
The Four Feathers
at BFI {{DEFAULTSORT:Four Feathers (1977 film), The 1978 television films 1978 films British adventure films British television films Films based on The Four Feathers Films directed by Don Sharp Films set in the 1890s Films shot in Almería 1970s war films 1970s adventure films 1970s English-language films 1970s British films Films based on works by A. E. W. Mason English-language action drama films English-language war films English-language adventure films