A British soldier (John Clements) raised on intimidating tales of his ancestors' battlefield glories, horrors and hard fought victories, is faced with the choice between fighting in North Africa and staying home with his beautiful fiancé when war breaks out in the Sudan and his regiment must go. He rebels against family tradition, gives in to his fear and resigns from the Army. As a result he's branded a deserter, disgraced by his buddies' "gift" of white feathers symbolizing cowardice, and his fiancé no longer respects him.
Motivated by shame and guilt, Clements goes to prove to himself and to those he loves, that he can rise to and meet his duty and obligation. He manages to exceed those goals as he reenters the battle in disguise and redeems himself through a series of selfless and daring acts, rescuing those who doubted him and returning the feathers one by one.
The moral here is of duty to something greater than
yourself, sacrificing something, maybe everything, to serve that greater cause,
and in the end being made greater by serving out that duty; that there is a
reward to personal honor beyond even what a medal can bestow or signify, and
that the concept of empire has its advantages and benefits, worth defending and
fighting for. These things were an especially meaningful and relevant theme for
the British in 1939 as they were on the decline while also facing the Nazi
onslaught.
The Korda brothers who made the film, producer Alexander, director Zoltan and production designer Vincent, were twice subjects of empire (first Austro-Hungarian and then British), were enthusiastically patriotic about their adopted land in a way that seems unique to immigrants, and in this movie glorified flag waving imperialism, the necessity of battle and the promise of victory, in no small part to show their new home country the shame, danger and disaster that could come from betting so heavily on appeasement, inaction and moral disarmament.
On this side of the Atlantic 1939 had a happier significance, now almost unanimously called Hollywood’s greatest year in film, and The Four Feathers is equal to any movie in that year's top tier. A rock solid story, excellent acting, gorgeous scenes and great action, massive and decorous military ceremonies and marches, a climactic jailbreak, a formal ball, sprawling battles in the Egyptian desert and steamships on the Nile, all captured with rich color cinematography that deserved its Oscar nomination. A must see on TCM, late late Saturday (actually Sunday morning) at Midnight. (also available on Criterion Blu-ray)
The Korda brothers who made the film, producer Alexander, director Zoltan and production designer Vincent, were twice subjects of empire (first Austro-Hungarian and then British), were enthusiastically patriotic about their adopted land in a way that seems unique to immigrants, and in this movie glorified flag waving imperialism, the necessity of battle and the promise of victory, in no small part to show their new home country the shame, danger and disaster that could come from betting so heavily on appeasement, inaction and moral disarmament.
On this side of the Atlantic 1939 had a happier significance, now almost unanimously called Hollywood’s greatest year in film, and The Four Feathers is equal to any movie in that year's top tier. A rock solid story, excellent acting, gorgeous scenes and great action, massive and decorous military ceremonies and marches, a climactic jailbreak, a formal ball, sprawling battles in the Egyptian desert and steamships on the Nile, all captured with rich color cinematography that deserved its Oscar nomination. A must see on TCM, late late Saturday (actually Sunday morning) at Midnight. (also available on Criterion Blu-ray)
Find me at the Speakeasy for much more classic entertainment.
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