Fear not, The Empire Trilogy has nothing to do with Star Wars but it is about three films. They were made in the 1930s, directed by Zoltán Korda and produced by his older brother, Alexander.
Rather impressively a third brother, Vincent Korda, was also a successful film director, winning an Academy Award. But back to the Empire, the British Empire; there was one in the 1930s. The films are; Sanders of the River (1936), The Drum (1938) and The Four Feathers (1939). The Fox Hall Film Soc. had a screening of The Drum when I was there earlier this week. Much of it was shot on location in Chitral and the North-West Frontier. We didn’t notice but some of it was shot in North Wales (Rhinog Fawr Mountain and Harlech). I like the poster “Proclaiming” and its candour, “the greatest potential box-office hit in years”.
The regiment used in the film is a battalion of the Gordon Highlanders who, authentically, had been active on the North-West Frontier during the Raj. It is a spiffing tale of derring-do – most enjoyable. There is (at least) one solecism. The script puts Cockney words into the Scottish drummer boy’s mouth which he delivers loud and clear in a cut glass English accent. I don’t suppose the Hungarian Kordas had much ear for dialogue.
The female lead is played by Valerie Hobson who used to visit her son in my house at Eton. By the 1960s her husband was the famous one (Jack Profumo) and I knew nothing of her fame as an actress. My mother, however, was mightily impressed when they passed on the stairs. Indian actor, Sabu, from Mysore sounds like a good egg too.
After becoming an American citizen in 1944, Sabu joined the United States Army Air Forces and served as a tail gunner and ball turret gunner on B-24 Liberators. He flew several dozen missions with the 370th Bomb Squadron of the 307th Bomb Group in the Pacific, and was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross for his valor and bravery. (Wikipedia)
The Drum is undeniably dated but that is part of its charm. I now want to see the other two Empire films. If you’d like to see the whole film, it is on YouTube. If you’d like a taste – open wide.