The Drum

The Drum (1938)

MEN BATTLE FOR THEIR LIVES... WOMEN FIGHT FOR THEIR LOVE... IN A MIGHTY SAGA OF CONQUEST ON INDIA'S FRONTIER

Set in the India of the British Raj, the evil and untrustworthy Prince Guhl (Raymond Massey) plans to wipe out the British troops as they enjoy the hospitality of Guhl's spacious palace. It's up to the loyal young Prince Azim (Sabu) to warn the troops of Guhl's treachery by tapping out a message on his drum.

Date of release
1938-04-07
TMDB
6.1 / 10 (26)
Runtime
1h 44m
Genres
Adventure, War
Director
Zoltan Korda

Casting

Interesting facts

  • Based on: The Drum

The Drum is a 1938 British Technicolor film based on the 1937 novel The Drum by A. E. W. Mason. The film was directed by Zoltan Korda and produced by Alexander Korda. It stars Sabu, Raymond Massey, Valerie Hobson, Roger Livesey and David Tree.

Production

The Scottish regiment featured in this film is a battalion of the Gordon Highlanders, as evident from the cap badge, kilt and headdress. This is true to life, as the Gordon Highlanders were very active on the North-West Frontier during the British Raj, and were, for a time, garrisoned at Fort Jamrud at the mouth of the Khyber Pass.

One sequence shows an Indian Army gun crew unlimbering a mountain battery, a small field piece that was disassembled and transported on the backs of pack animals. Such guns were used frequently on the North-West Frontier, and a mountain battery from the Indian Army also was deployed with the ANZACs at the Gallipoli campaign (1915–1916). Similarly, a muleback radio set is used in the opening skirmish scene.

Read on Wikipedia · Text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. Data from Wikidata.

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