Clive de la India

Ronald Colman isn't really anywhere near his best in this rather dry biopic of the founder of the British Raj in the 18th Century. He is embarrassingly spared the worst consequences of a duel in Britain and arrives in shame, as a lowly clerk, in a country still a collection of Princely states. It's when he becomes besieged, and his betters haven't a clue how to defeat their advancing enemy, that he emerges as a bit of a soldier and, soon married to "Margaret" (Loretta Young) he climbs the ranks of the East India Company adding wealth and prosperity to all he meets. It's his last visit that facilitates huge expansion of British rule but earns him the enmity of the petty back in London who wish to impeach him and rob him of his honour and his considerable wealth. His return home to face Parliament is the final insult to a man who had put his commitment to India ahead of just about everything else. Like most biopics, it's not especially critical of the man - and in ninety minutes there isn't really time, either. What it does offer us is a rather potted history of his life that might stimulate further reading, but in itself delivers little. He and Young must have commanded most of the budget for there are perilously few action scenes as the detail of his military successes are largely left to the inter-titles. It's nice to see Montague Love given a slightly bigger speaking part and if you're eagle eyed you might spot Cesar Romero in the turbaned guise of King Mir Jaffar, bit for the main part this is just a vehicle for Colman to go through the motions of an hero with some stilted dialogue supported by the sparing appearances of an unremarkable Young.