King of the Khyber Rifles (1953)

King of the Khyber Rifles (1953) (DVD) (*)

$26.99

Screened, competed or awarded at:
Other Film Festival Awards

Language Selections:
English ( Dolby Digital 2.0 )
Italian ( Dolby Digital 2.0 )

Product Origin/Format:
Italy ( PAL/Region 0 )

Running Time:
96 min

Aspect Ratio:
Widescreen (2.35:1)

Special Features:
Interactive Menu
Photo Gallery
Posters
Scene Access
Booklet

Movie filmed in 1953 and produced in:
United States ( USA, Canada )

Directed By:
Henry King

Written By:
Ivan Goff
Ben Roberts

Actors:
Tyrone Power ..... Capt. Alan King
Terry Moore ..... Susan Maitland
Michael Rennie ..... Brig. Gen. J. R. Maitland
John Justin ..... Lt. Geoffrey Heath
Guy Rolfe ..... Karram Khan
Richard Wyler ..... Lt. Ben Baird
Murray Matheson ..... Maj. Ian MacAllister
Frank DeKova ..... Ali Nur
Argentina Brunetti ..... Lali
Sujata ..... Native Dancer

Synopsis:

Freshly arrived Sandhurst-trained Captain Alan King, better versed in Pashtun then any of the veterans and born locally as army brat, survives an attack on his escort to his Northwest Frontier province garrison near the Khyber pass because of Ahmed, a native Afridi deserter from the Muslim fanatic rebel Karram Khan's forces. As soon as his fellow officers learn his mother was a native Muslim which got his parents disowned even by their own families, he falls prey to stubborn prejudiced discrimination, Lieutenant Geoffrey Heath even moves out of their quarters, except from half-Irish Lt. Ben Baird. Brigadier general J. R. Maitland, whose policy is full equality among whites, learns King knew Kurrum Khan as a boy and charges him with training and commanding native cavalry, which comes along fine. The general's egalitarian daughter Susan Maitland takes a fancy to King, even falls in love but the general decides to send her safely home to England after a kidnapped attempt when King saved her. King volunteers to take out Khurram Khan, the only man who can bring the normally dived local tribes together in revolt, pretending to have deserted...

This remake of John Ford's The Black Watch (29) stars Tyrone Power as British army captain stationed in India in 1857. Shunned by his fellow officers because he is a half caste, Power defies the social structure of the era by falling in love with the daughter (Terry Moore) of his superior officer. Power proves his loyalty to the Crown by quelling an uprising, led by his Indian boyhood friend (Guy Rolfe). The actors do their best, but the storyline is trite and stilted when dwelling on matters of honor and romance. King of the Khyber Rifles works best as an action picture--and in this respect it is immensely superior to the earlier John Ford film, which almost plays like a comedy when seen today.

A half-Indian, half-British soldier is given command of a native fighting unit by the ruling British to squelch the uprisings of a rebellious guerilla group.

This product was added to our catalog on Saturday 19 May, 2018.