North West Frontier [1959] [DVD]

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I again include some pictures of the film, which are necessary to illustrate my research. These are taken with my camera pointed at my computer screen and, so, the quality is awful!

Fraser admired the film and More's performance saying "he had a cheery truculence that was much closer to the real Imperial type than the conventional stiff upper lip." He added "The one flaw [of the film] was the title; I remarked to the technical adviser, a senior ex-Indian Army officer, that it seemed odd, having a Hindu prince up yonder, and he replied that he had no idea where the film was meant to be taking place, but wherever it was, it was not the Frontier." [23] Meanwhile, the garrison at Thal, which guarded the Kurram Pass, was soon cut off and besieged by a large Afghan force under the command of General Nadir Khan. The garrison, consisting of four under-strength battalions of Sikhs and Gurkhas and a squadron of cavalry, held out for a week until relieved by a column from Peshawar under Brigadier-General Reginald Dyer. Donald F. Featherstone (1973). Colonial small wars, 1837-1901. David & Charles. p.9. ISBN 0715357115 . Retrieved 5 April 2011.

New frontier policy

The hero is more credible like the heroes and leaders you see in real-life - not huge and invincible like Arnold. Puts his own life at risk to save a young Hindu prince's life from Muslim rebels all the while knowing that the kid will be coerced to fight against him should the British not cease the occupation of India. Nevertheless, his actions are based on his duty as a soldier and as a compassionate human being. J. Lee Thompson's enjoyably imperialist if dated adventure appeared, from a creative point of view, at the most successful period of his variable 40-year career. Between 1957 and 1962 he directed such striking films as Woman In A Dressing Gown, Ice Cold In Alex and Tiger Bay, before concluding a continuous good run with The Guns Of Navarone and Cape Fear. Squeezed between Alex and Navarone, North West Frontier (aka: Flame Over India) shows many of the same characteristics of bravery and derring-do - the present film only differing in that it wears its old fashioned politics most conspicuously on its sleeve, and sets its adventure amidst the conflicts of an earlier generation, that of 1905 in India. Obviously in 1959 there was one British film star who would be man enough for that task, no, not John Mills but Kenneth More, beloved by audiences in his home nation for his good humour, unswerving sense of decency, and ability to keep his head while under pressure. Playing Captain Scott, he was ideal as the officer in whose hands the mission is safe, but the plot was not as straightforward as it might have appeared on the surface, as there were hidden depths as well as perils to be taken into account, not to mention a capable ensemble cast who were rather marvelous under the circumstances. Although often called the British Stagecoach, that was not to denigrate the quality here.

Effective portrayal of opposing views - the gullible British lady, Mrs. Wyndham commenting that peoples not under the British Empire were uncivilized and the extremely polarized view of the cynical Indian journalist who opposes killing in theory. The movie brings out the sentiments from both sides. Also well done was the scene of a train massacre in showing the courage of Ms Wyatt to walk among the slain and save a young child that was still alive. By 1819 only Sindh and the Sikh Empire remained outside the company's control. Napoleon was vanquished, but the Empire of the Tsars had begun to expand south and east. Russian influence grew likewise, and by the early 1830s Qajar Irān was within the Tsar's sphere. Attempts by Irān to recover Herat in 1834, and again in 1837, raised the spectre of Russian armies on the road to Kandahar, whence direct access to India through the Khojak and Bolan passes. [11] Donald Sydney Richards (1990). The savage frontier: a history of the Anglo-Afghan wars. Macmillan. p.182. ISBN 0333525574 . Retrieved 5 April 2011. India in 1905 was a country in transition and turmoil, the Moslems and Hindus were warring on each other and on other minority groups and everybody wanted the British out. The Congress Party was a going concern at that point and was still a vehicle for both Moslem and Hindu to work within.

Customer reviews

My HaT Indians are WW1 period figures rather than the "colonial" set mentioned by you and in Paul Lunn's article. BTW, I wonder which set would best suit 1905? Anyway, like you, I have swapped heads so that, in my case, I have a Sikh regiment of WW1 Indian infantry. Unlike my 1914 French and Germans, these are unpainted, but that won't matter for size comparison shots. Yes, Edwardian, the German-built and equipped Ottoman railways would be a great subject, as too would be the light military railways laid by the British in the Eastern Theatre in WW1.