Four Feathers (1939)

Four Feathers is based on A.E.W. Mason's 1902 novel. It is the fourth (and considered by most to be the best) of seven films inspired by the book; the most recent version, which starred Heath Ledger and Kate Hudson, was released in 2002.

In 1895 Sudan, the British Army's North Surrey Regiment joins Sir Henry Kitchener in his Mahdist War campaign. Their adversary is Abdallahi ibn Muhammad, aka The Khalifa (John Laurie).

Quite unexpectedly, Lt. Harry Faversham (John Clements) resigns his commission just as his unit is about to enter the fray in The Sudan. Extremely dismayed by his decision, his fellow-officer friends – Capt. John Durrance (Ralph Richardson), Lt. Peter Burroughs (Donald Gray) and Lt. Thomas Willoughby (Jack Allen) – consider him a coward.

His "reward"? White feathers. One each from his friends. Three white feathers presented to Faversham, branding him a craven coward. This distresses him, as he comes from an old British family rich in heroic military tradition.

After getting no support from his fiancee, Ethne Burroughs (June Duprez), Harry demands she give him a feather as well. When she refuses, he takes one from her fan. Ethne's father, the retired Gen. Burroughs (C. Aubrey Smith), is disgusted and refuses to even talk to him.

The need for soldiers in The Sudan grows, and wanting to atone for his cowardly action, Harry confides in Dr. Sutton (Frederick Culley), an old friend of his father, that he's going to Egypt, and with the help of Dr. Harraz (Henry Oscar), poses as a mute Sangali native (forehead brand and all) to provide clandestine help to his old regiment.

Capt. Durrance is blinded by sunstroke after spotting Dervishes and tries to lead his advance troops away from an attack. Harry, meanwhile, has infiltrated the enemy camp and is traveling with them, the better to provide help if it is needed. When the contingent is overrun and decimated, Lts. Burroughs and Willoughby are taken prisoner.

Harry is able to rescue his friends, suffering hardship and indignities in the process, while keeping his true identity secret, eventually repaying each debt of his earlier cowardice.

The climax of the film, a massive confrontation between the armies of Kitchener and The Khalifa and the uprising of the Fabersham-led convicts, is depicted on a grand and epic scale. The British win an overwhelming victory, and stories of their conquest reach Capt. Durrance, who finally figures out who his savior was.

When the movie ended, all I could think was, "Wow, what a wonderful story!"

Four Feathers received an Oscar nomination for the Best Cinematography, Color. And rightly so. The film's color is brilliant, not only for its time, but the early Technicolor process stands up well to some of today's films, vastly superior to colorized versions of old black and white films.

Grade: A-