THE BRIGAND OF KANDAHAR

"Fort Kandahar. A British outpost on the North East frontier of India, 1850".

Elsa (Katherine Woodville) has her bath time interrupted by a visit from Captain Boyd (Inigo Jackson). He’s found out that she’s cheating on her husband Captain Connelly with fellow soldier Case (Ronald Lewis) and threatens to expose their affair unless Case resigns from his post. The problem? Case is "half-caste".

Once Case returns to camp, fresh from surveying the land in search of sworn enemies the Gilzhai, Elsa has no qualms about telling him their affair is over and that she wants to make a go of her marriage. There’s just one hitch: Case was accompanied by Connelly on his travels, when they were ambushed by Indian rebels. Connelly, he tells Elsa, was killed.

It doesn’t take long for Boyd to act upon this news, arresting Case on grounds of cowardice. Colonel Drew (Duncan Lamont) strips Case of his Lieutenant rank and sentences him to ten years’ imprisonment. And all the while Boyd and Drewe ignore Case’s warnings that the Gilzhai have become organised under the tutelage of their new leader, Ali Khan (Oliver Reed). He’s not to be messed with, advises Case, as Khan is "slightly mad but as wily as a fox".

Happily, Case is sprung from his cell on his first night of doing porridge. His saviour, servant Rattu (Sean Lynch), takes Case into the desert where his true purpose is revealed: he works for Khan.

Khan, it transpires, has requested a meeting with Case. Khan has a proposition for the jilted soldier, even going so far as to suggest his lovely maid Rattina (Yvonne Romain) may come as part of Case’s reward, should he become the rebel leader’s accomplice …

Although this 1965 film is quite short – 78 minutes, suggesting it was crafted as the first half of a then-popular double-bill matinee show – it still manages to falter in terms of pacing.

It starts off briskly enough, with sprightly military music reminiscent of the "Dad’s Army" theme tune and some enjoyably melodramatic exchanges. But once Case meets Khan, things slow down and settle into second gear for too long.

Elsewhere, director John Gilling lacks the flair he demonstrated in THE REPTILE or THE PLAGUE OF THE ZOMBIES, failing to disguise this film’s meagre budget and making it quite obvious that this wasn’t shot on location in India (it as actually filmed at Elstree studios).

The screenplay is pure ‘boy’s own’ fluff, revelling in its heroes, foreign villains and sultry females on the side. The cast proffer appropriately garish performances, then, while Gilling keeps their dialogue sensationally direct. This definitely plays like a fast-moving (and quickly lensed) serial of old. A caper, if you will.

What’s more bizarre, in these times, is the film’s rather open and naïve racism. Not only in Boyd’s language and the British attitude of superiority when facing their Indian foes, but also in the manner in which Reed and Lewis’ faces are polished for an Indian sheen. No matter that neither of them can be arsed to adopt the accent.

A curiosity from Hammer Films, Gilling’s movie has little to distinguish it – a couple of comely lasses and a frankly weird performance from Reed aside – but is sporadically entertaining nevertheless.

The best thing about the entire film though, without a doubt, is the way Lamont can’t pronounce the word "Connelly". Clearly no-one on the production thought to help him by changing the character’s name. Brilliant.

Studio Canal’s DVD offers the film in its original aspect ratio of 2.35:1. The 16x9 picture is good for its age, boasting relatively clean images and decent colour reproduction. Noise is minimal, while the odd speck here and there helps the transfer retain a filmic feel.

English 2.0 mono audio is clean and clear throughout. Optional English subtitles are well-written and easy to read, although I found it amusing how they kept referring to Ali as "Eli".

THE BRIGAND OF KANDAHAR is not a great film. It’s not even a particularly good film. But it harks to a day when the British Empire spent its days kissing its own backside, and everyone else was treated with an almost comical level of disdain. It is therefore an oddly engaging, though rarely thrilling, cheapie. It’s also a film that I imagine Reed enthusiasts will be eager to see.

Review by Stuart Willis