Customer Reviews

North West Frontier [VHS]

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

Northwest Frontier stars Kenneth More as a British Army Captain in the early 1900's India. A child prince must be smuggled out of a palace that is surrounded by rebels intent on killing the prince. Lauren Bacall is the boy's governess. A train is put together by the Captain to ram the barricades put up by the rebels. Herbert Lom is a newspaper man who tags along. Also on the train is Wilfred Hyde White and several others. The train makes a successful escape and is quickly pursued by the rebels. All sorts of adventures await the train passengers as they try to reach the British fort. I.S Johar steals the show as the trains engineer. Above average action adventure movie. Worth seeing.

Well, another great British film brought to life on DVD. My dog-eared
VHS tape of "Flame Over India", which is, I think, the original title,
which I converted to DVD - not a great transfer, mind you - can now be
retired.

Some say this was a variation on the incarnations of the movie
"Stagecoach", but that doesn't do this excellent adventure film
justice, with its stellar cast, illumined by Ms. Bacall, who is more
beautiful here, as the intrepid governess, than in any of her other
films.

The outstanding performances by an ensemble of familiar and unfamiliar
faces is also graced by I.S. Johar's Gupta, the dedicated engineer,
who provides a perfect, comic counterpoint to what is also a serious
film about British imperialism and of India, a land of ancient
animosities and great beauty.

Rebellion is breaking out in India and all that stands in the way of religious and political chaos, not to mention British control, is a six-year-old Hindu prince and the unflagging confidence of Captain Scott (Kenneth More). Charged with bringing the boy safely from a small, fortified hill station to the British base at Kalapur 300 miles away, Captain Scott will need every bit of his resourcefulness, energy, ingenuity and pluck.

The year is 1905 and Muslim tribes in India's north west territories are rising up against the Hindu princes and their British masters. Young prince Kishan is seen as a symbol of order and justice. If the rebels can kill him, there will be uprisings against the British which they may not be able to control. But how to get the prince to Kalapur? The last refugee trains have left and attempting the journey by horseback through enemy territory would be madness. But then Captain Scott remembers there was an old, derelict steam locomotive, The Empress of India, in the train sheds. Could it be put back into service? He calls upon his friend, Gupta (I. S. Johar), who assures him in broken English that his locomotive will not fail Captain Scott and that Gupta, himself, will run it. In a trice Gupta brings needed maintenance to The Empress and Scott finds himself loading an assorted group of passengers onto the only passenger car. There is Lady Wyndham (Ursula Jeans), the governor's wife; Peters (Eugene Deckers), an arms dealer whose weapons now most likely arm the rebels; Mr. Bridie (Wilfred Hyde-White), a diplomat and old India hand; and Van Layden (Herbert Lom), a reporter who has no love for the British. Most importantly, there is the prince and his American governess, Catherine Wyatt (Lauren Bacall). On this desperate journey, Captain Scott and his group of passengers will encounter massacres, the old steam engine's urgent need for water, the hard work of replacing rails, the tense clamber over a blown bridge with only the rails remaining, then the careful driving of the engine across those shifting, sagging rails, and the mass attacks of Muslims on horseback racing to capture the train and the prince. More troubling, Scott discovers that his group harbors a traitor, someone determined to either kill the prince or see that the boy is killed. Only the best traditions of British military leadership, exemplified by the publicly confident but privately worried Captain Scott, plus the vital assistance he receives from a number of the passengers, enable North West Frontier to have a happy ending. For Captain Scott, the ending is even happier. Not only has he fulfilled his mission, it appears that he and Catherine Wyatt will have a future together.

This film is a throwback to the classic movies about the British Empire and the quality of the brave men who made the Empire possible. It's all fiction, of course, but it's greatly entertaining. Films like Drums and The Four Feathers reassured many that the British Empire would always be around and that the men who made it work were...well, gentlemen; that is, dedicated to bringing order, opportunity and justice to the natives as only British gentlemen could, and who always dressed for dinner. While this movie arrived in the theaters as the underside of empire was becoming known, it still tells a cracking good yarn. There is a bit too much exposition, in my opinion, offering justification for and against the Empire's rule in India (and the pro side wins the argument most of the time). It also seemed to me that the villain of the movie is far too easily identified. Still, the movie offers some grand adventures, great scenery, a journey on a steam train, brave derring-do, a typically forceful and optimistic performance by Kenneth More, and a nice reminder of why adventure stories are so much fun.

Lauren Bacall plays an American doctor's widow who is responsible for a young Hindu prince in India. Along with British army captain Kenneth More and others, they board an old train to escape to safety, because rivals want the young prince dead. Of course, the train trip is anything but smooth and uneventful. The film works really well, with enough quiet moments mixed with action scenes to keep the viewer entertained. There is also a very credible attraction that develops between the Bacall and More characters. Bacall's character is quite outspoken (the kind of character she did a lot when she got older), while More is amused by her and attracted to her. There's a lot of action and suspense built up, and since this film is not well known these days, it's a nice surprise to view.

This film is one of those that somehow has slid under the radar but deserves better! Very good british empire themed film without ANY embarrasingly stupid 'hollywood moments' or sappy romance crap. Just a good story with an ever present suspensefull presense to it. The VHS print that is currently available is better in some parts than others. If viewing on a high quality/resolution tv you will need to crank back the sharpness etc a great deal or it will be quite fuzzy, otherwise it's perfectly watchable.

Kenneth Moore is a British army officer charged with taking a young Hindu prince to safety when his life is threatened by Moslem rebels. With him is Lauren Bacall as the prince's American governess. They are obliged to make use of an ancient, rusty steam engine to carry them on a perilous journey through hostile territory. Moore and Bacall are both excellent in their roles, and there are fine performances too from Wilfrid Hyde White as a dithery bachelor, Ursula Jeans as a courageous Memsahib, Eugene Deckers as a sauve arms dealer, and Herbert Lom as a Eurasian journalist with a chip on his shoulder. The best performance in the film though is by I.S. Johar as Gupta, the engine driver devoted to his old engine Victoria. Their journey is almost unbearably exciting, with one peril after another to overcome. The best line comes at the end, when I.S. Johar is being carried off wounded and says triumphanty to Moore "they said Victoria was finished, no good except but for shunting, let them speak now. She showed them!"

Northwest Frontier is a film not too many people are familar with. I had never seen the film myself before ordering it on DVD. As a fan of classic war & historical films, I can say that the film exceeded my expectations. The story is set in 1905. It involves an English captain (Kenneth More) who has to take a 5 year old Hindu prince to safety and away from the Muslim rebels who have killed the prince's father. More's only means of travel is a old locomotive through hostile territory. This movie is filled with great action sequences, capably helmed by director J. Lee Thompson (who also directed The Guns Of Navarone). What's great about films like this is that they were filmed on real locations, using actual props (such as a real train) and they have a texture and realism about them that modern films cannot match. There is no CGI, no dumb teenagers, and no smart-aleck one-liners in this film. This DVD is presented in anomorphic 2:35 widescreen and the print looks stunning for a fifty-year old film. Also stunning is Lauren Bacall, who plays the governess of the young prince.Her character was obviously added to the film to give it a romantic angle, but Bacall brings her typical independent attitude to the role to make it more than just a token female. Also deserving kudos is I. S Johar, who plays the Indian train engineer. Some veiwers may see the role as a stereotype, but Johar steals the film.
Anyone interested in old-fashioned adventure and in films "that they just don't make anymore", should check out this underrated and well-made picture.

This film has a wonderful train -chase scene, and some fabulous location photography to help Lauren Bacall get through the part she plays. She is never really good in anything after Bogart,and here she is not terribly good, always the same droning voice, and a remarkable loss of looks after the 40's. The action is the star here, and it is excellent. Kenneth Moore is best.

This used to be called Northwest Frontier and other things. I think Voyage to India as well. Twentieth Century Fox did not believe in this film at all, and it was the next to last of a three pic deal Bacall had with Fox. The others were The Gift Of Love and Shock Treatment. These latter you have to see, but Flame is best to buy, the other two, catch on cable. They are very camp.

Following the typical products of the time this film is, apparently, nothing more than another film settled in an exotic location. And basically it is true, but again a great cast can make that alittle film would be a great one.

We are in India, still the jewel of the British colonial empire. And as usual there is an uprising (surprise, surprise) In the middle of this revolt we see our hero Capt. Scott keeping safe the young Prince Kisha and his guardian Mrs Wyatt an American Widow. The problem is that the place is not longer safe and our hero must leave the fort with a strange group in an old train machine: The Empress of India. And with a traitor among them

The story is not really very original, but has moments that show the craftsman J. Lee Thompson was, like the constant threatening of the rebels who are following the train from the mountains, to the conflict that India was living under the British control.

Kenneth More is absolutely brilliant as our sensible captain Scott. He knows his duty and always try to do his best but he is alone in the group. Lauren Bacall is a bitter woman after a marriage who was not what she expected but as long as the journey goes she is going to be more human not so introvertive. But the great characters of this films are Wilfrid Hyde White ( the unforgetable Col. Pickering of My Fair Lady)who plays Birdie, the typical Civil servant who carries with him Britain. And Herbert Lom, playing a half Dutch journalist who is very critic with the British colonialism.

The film is really ejoyable, and although not a masterwork, it is better than many we must suffer today.

"Northwest Frontier" (aka "Flame Over India") is one of my all time favorite movies. After seeing a glorious streaming version of it over Netflix, I decided to purchase a DVD. Sadly, the Artiflix transfer is one of the worst I have ever seen. It looks like someone used a VHS to record it off the air, then made a copy of a copy of a copy before burning a DVD. The colors are smeared, the picture is dark. This copy is not really watchable. So go stream it off Netflix or try another source.