North West Frontier

North West Frontier (1959) is one heckuva of a ride. Basically a Raj version of Stagecoach (co-written by John Ford's son Patrick), it wears its anachronisms on its sleeve and plays little heed to plot logic or character depth. All of its questionable elements are in service of a thrilling adventure film that never lets up the excitement.

In turn-of-the-century India, the six-year-old Hindu Prince of Hazerabad is menaced by bloodthirsty Muslim rebels. British Captain Scott (Kenneth More) is ordered to escort the Prince to safety on an ancient train, the Empress of India, run by the jolly Gupta (I.S. Johar). Joining Scott is the usual cross-section of passengers: a feisty American missionary (Lauren Bacall), an eccentric British official (Wilfrid Hyde-White), the bigoted Governor's wife (Ursula Jeans), a gun-runner (Eugene Deckers) and Van Layden (Herbert Lom), a shifty journalist. As our heroes make their way towards safety, dodging the rebels and other obstacles, it turns out one of their number can't be trusted.

One has to admire J. Lee Thompson's (The Guns of Navarone) sense of dramatic economy: after the faintest strand of exposition, North West Frontier immediately plunges into a massacre, a battle scene and a riot. The plot is a bit unlikely, with an uneven pace as our heroes periodically stop for one reason or another, but Thompson keeps things engrossing throughout. The action is well-staged, making fine use of Spanish locations, and Thompson utilizes ample suspense to complement the expected battles and fights. The scene where Scott repairs a broken rail while under fire from a hundred insurgents, a bit of bravura heroism that Indiana Jones would envy, is impossibly suspenseful and thrilling. It's a perfect thrill-ride from beginning to end, with nary a dull moment, with just the right tongue-in-cheek attitude.

North West Frontier is sure to raise the hackles of modern audiences. It's politically incorrect to the extreme, with its naked endorsement of imperialism, baldly positing India as needing British "order" to forestall religious massacres. The villainous Muslim fanatics have little motivation beyond slaughter, and yet seem too incompetent to pose a real threat to our protagonists. More hateful still is Van Layden, who embodies every imaginable conservative bogeyman: the cynical, seditious journalist who inflames the natives with his critiques of empire, the treacherous "half-breed" who's a closeted Muslim fanatic. Even by 1959 standards, the film is remarkably dated, but it's so much fun that this viewer, at least, finds it hard to fault.

Kenneth More (A Night to Remember) is dependably uptight and heroic. Lauren Bacall is wonderfully feisty but her banter falls flat with the stiff-necked More as its recipient. The real show stealer is Herbert Lom (The Ladykillers) who imbues his impossibly slimy bad guy with the perfect blend of evil. Wilfrid Hyde-White (My Fair Lady) gets a nice part, I.S. Johar (Lawrence of Arabia) plays a neo-Gunga Din and Anglophiles can spot Jack Gwillim (A Man for All Seasons), Allan Cuthbertson (Tunes of Glory) and Howard Marion-Crawford (The Charge of the Light Brigade) in peripheral roles.

North West Frontier is an excellent vintage adventure film. Some viewers may have problems with its backwards worldview, but I'm not the type to be offended by such elements. As a piece of lightweight, daffy fun, it's just about right.