To enjoy this film, you have to put behind you the modern viewpoint of the imperialistic British Empire. This was film was made at at time when imperialism was still looked at as being a great power "helping" a backwards nation. Things have changed, and no doubt a bio pic of Clive would be much different if made today. Incidentally, for those who don't know, Clive died from suicide...something that is not touched on in the film.
But we're here to review this film, not world history. And I must begin with the 20th Century Fox DVD release in 2013 -- a CD-R version. Unfortunately, the archives of Fox were apparently not kept as well as those of Warner Brothers. This print is acceptable, but that means that it is below the standard of many titles from the 1930s. It's not painful to watch, but the deterioration of the negative will be on your mind.
Since we have taken away the glow of history and the beauty of a film print, what is the main reason for watching this film? Ronald Colman. He's always a treat to watch on the silver screen, although here you will have to enjoy him without his famous mustache (as we also did in "A Tale Of Two Cities"). And, in the first two-thirds of the movie I found him overacting -- sometimes almost shouting -- something I'm not used to with the great Colman. Later in the film, that famous voice returns.
Colman's romantic interest here is the lovely Loretta Young -- an actress whose fame we don't fully recognize today. She was only 22 here, but a well-established veteran in Hollywood by this time...and so beautiful. Her role here is decent, although clearly secondary to that of Colman.
Colin Clive, who ironically was related to the title character, proves once again that he was a lousy actor. Within two years after the filming of this movie he was dead of complications related to alcoholism. Perhaps his drinking was urged on when he would watch his own performances on the silver screen.
The only other actor specifically worth mentioning is Cesar Romero, who plays an Indian leader. Although he doesn't have a lot of screen time, it's interesting to see him at the age of 28.
In terms of the script -- as much as I adore Ronald Colman, I found this film to be a bit of a potboiler...at least until the last third of the movie. It jerks around from one time to another with little apparent continuity early on. Films were evolving very quickly at this period of time...but this one seemed far more dated than I would have expected, particularly since Colman made "A Tale Of Two Cities" the same year and the monumental "Lost Horizons" just 2 years later. I'd have to blame it on director Richard Boleslawski, who never seemed to completely get past his background in silent films. Surprisingly, it paints Clive as having few scruples. At least I learned that I was completely wrong in terms of what I thought the Black Hole Of Calcutta was! In terms of battle scenes, it appears that the producers put all their money into one -- when the "monsoon breaks" -- which includes a rather dramatic sequence with armored war elephants. That is the one sequence in the movie which is truly impressive. For the rest of the film, things improve and it becomes very watchable.
For quite a while as I watched I kept thinking the unthinkable -- that this DVD of a Colman film might end up at a garage sale. But, the latter third of the film redeemed itself quite a bit, so it will stay. However, I can't say that I particularly recommend this film, except for Colman fans.
But we're here to review this film, not world history. And I must begin with the 20th Century Fox DVD release in 2013 -- a CD-R version. Unfortunately, the archives of Fox were apparently not kept as well as those of Warner Brothers. This print is acceptable, but that means that it is below the standard of many titles from the 1930s. It's not painful to watch, but the deterioration of the negative will be on your mind.
Since we have taken away the glow of history and the beauty of a film print, what is the main reason for watching this film? Ronald Colman. He's always a treat to watch on the silver screen, although here you will have to enjoy him without his famous mustache (as we also did in "A Tale Of Two Cities"). And, in the first two-thirds of the movie I found him overacting -- sometimes almost shouting -- something I'm not used to with the great Colman. Later in the film, that famous voice returns.
Colman's romantic interest here is the lovely Loretta Young -- an actress whose fame we don't fully recognize today. She was only 22 here, but a well-established veteran in Hollywood by this time...and so beautiful. Her role here is decent, although clearly secondary to that of Colman.
Colin Clive, who ironically was related to the title character, proves once again that he was a lousy actor. Within two years after the filming of this movie he was dead of complications related to alcoholism. Perhaps his drinking was urged on when he would watch his own performances on the silver screen.
The only other actor specifically worth mentioning is Cesar Romero, who plays an Indian leader. Although he doesn't have a lot of screen time, it's interesting to see him at the age of 28.
In terms of the script -- as much as I adore Ronald Colman, I found this film to be a bit of a potboiler...at least until the last third of the movie. It jerks around from one time to another with little apparent continuity early on. Films were evolving very quickly at this period of time...but this one seemed far more dated than I would have expected, particularly since Colman made "A Tale Of Two Cities" the same year and the monumental "Lost Horizons" just 2 years later. I'd have to blame it on director Richard Boleslawski, who never seemed to completely get past his background in silent films. Surprisingly, it paints Clive as having few scruples. At least I learned that I was completely wrong in terms of what I thought the Black Hole Of Calcutta was! In terms of battle scenes, it appears that the producers put all their money into one -- when the "monsoon breaks" -- which includes a rather dramatic sequence with armored war elephants. That is the one sequence in the movie which is truly impressive. For the rest of the film, things improve and it becomes very watchable.
For quite a while as I watched I kept thinking the unthinkable -- that this DVD of a Colman film might end up at a garage sale. But, the latter third of the film redeemed itself quite a bit, so it will stay. However, I can't say that I particularly recommend this film, except for Colman fans.