Nine Hours to Rama

A film which builds up to a climax is spoilt by some unconvincing performances, especially Harry Andrews' Indian Officer and Robert Morley. Despite this, the direction is reasonable and the film worth seeing as there seem so few films about this subject.

So little is heard of this film these days, that it has almost slipped into obscurity. And that's a shame. It has a fascinating story at the core--but the drawback seems to be a series of flashbacks that could have been edited to omit too much emphasis on the love interest between the assassin (HORST BUCHHOLZ) and VALERIE GEARON.

The flashbacks explaining the youth of the future assassin are interesting enough and there's a lot of local color in the splendid Indian backgrounds to give the story an authentic feel. But the romance takes up too much time that cuts into the suspenseful angle of a tale that lacks the taut excitement generated by that other famous assassination attempt depicted in THE DAY OF THE JACKAL.

Jose Ferrer and Robert Morley are the only other notables in the cast, with the exception of DIANE BAKER (whom I almost didn't recognize as the dark-skinned Indian girl that shares an intense scene with Buchholz in which she gets slapped around pretty badly).

Two hours of running time is a bit of a stretch for this tale, which is still absorbing enough to watch under Mark Robson's forceful direction. HORST BUCHHOLZ carries the film with a very intense performance that gives the film almost all of its edge.

For an even more exemplary example of this type of film, I highly recommend THE DAY OF THE JACKAL for tighter suspense.

Though the work behind this film may have been admirable at the time and may have had good intentions, the result now is at best unspectacular and at worst insulting. Some intriguing titles by Saul Bass give way to a pretty pedestrian film. The story is torturously told...featuring the dreaded flashback approach and a gallery of clichéd characters and situations. The cast is a befuddling mixture of British, German, Puerto Rican, American and who knows what all else all shuffling around in dark contact lenses and "brownface" as they attempt to portray Indian people. They all adapt that hokey sing-song method of speaking which is an exaggerated and stereotypical version of how Indians relay the English language. It's worst sin is it's DULLNESS! From the man who would direct "Valley of the Dolls" and "Earthquake", one might have expected a touch more pizazz! The climactic assassination attempt is pretty tense and well handled, but getting there is no picnic.

NINE HOURS TO RAMA distinguishes itself in the category of "historical fiction." While remaining faithful to Stanley Wolpert's novel, it perfectly captures the political tension of post-independence India which led to the murder of Mahatma Gandhi on 30 January 1948.

Nelson Gidding's screenplay eliminates some of the clutter of the novel, limits the flashbacks to the background of the assassin, Nathuram Godse, and maintains a good pace through the painful climax. Director Mark Robson (THE HARDER THEY FALL, VON RYAN'S EXPRESS), with the help of cinematographer Arthur Ibbetson, makes good use of the diverse landscape and people of India. Robson's international leads portray Indians with intelligence and sensitivity, blending expertly with many Indian supporting actors.

In making the transition from an exuberant 18-year old to an embittered fanatic of 30-plus, Horst Buchholz delivers an intense, focused performance as Godse, the real-life killer. Don Borisenko is his partner Apte, plagued by doubt and fear, and straining to reconcile his fateful mission with the tenets of his Hindu faith. The biggest liberty taken with history is the addition of a sophisticated, married woman with whom Godse falls in love, played by the lovely, elegant Valerie Gearon.

Jose Ferrer is superb as the Delhi police inspector desperately trying to prevent the inevitable, but hamstrung by the target himself. His frustration is shared by Harry Andrews, unrecognizable as a Sikh general. Robert Morley is fabulous as the parliamentarian whose hard-headed politics clashes with Gandhi's idealism. The gorgeous Diane Baker plays a prostitute who provides Godse with some much-needed refuge.

By far, the most inspired piece of casting is that of a former teacher, J. S. Casshyap, as Mahatma Gandhi. (Yes, HE is Indian!) His scenes, however brief, are the most startling. His resemblance to the great leader -- face, body, and voice -- is nothing short of remarkable, even more so than Ben Kingsley in the second half of GANDHI. It is one of the many injustices of the film world, that Casshyap was never even nominated for an Oscar for "Best Supporting Actor."

Robson and his crew deserve high praise for their fidelity to the subject matter and the professionalism of its execution, from Saul Bass's chilling opening credits (showing the inner workings of a stopwatch) and Malcolm Arnold's magnificent score, through the costume and production design, all the way to the brilliantly staged and edited assassination sequence. The result is one of the most underrated films of the 1960's.

I am furious that this is not available on VHS or DVD; in fact it should be in the widescreen format! One can only hope that 20th Century Fox will someday rectify the situation.

Narayan: "What would happen to us in the next life if Gandhi calls out to Rama, and we have killed him? We will be vile things in the next life." Nathu: "He will not call out to Rama, I swear! He will not." With a look of doubt on his face.

He was Gandhi's admirer in his early years but then under the influence of VD Savarkar he came to disapprove of Gandhiji's 'non-violence' ideology and became a devotee of hindutva.(which is currently in vogue, gradually preponderating). He had an affair with a married woman who was Gandhiji's follower and one of the what-if conjecture is that if she had agreed to run away with him just before he was to reach Birla house, Gandhiji would have lived 135 years !!!!

This movie is based on a book by Stanley Wolpert's that was published in 1962 but soon after was banned in India. The Nehruvian india also banned the movie. The possible reasons could be because Gandhi appears only in few pages of the book and the movie shows some alcohol and sex-driven account of Godse. But the government's failure could also be one of the reasons as they did have an intel of a possible assassin but still they failed to enforce additional security measures. Why were the fence around the Birla House and the compound not secured and monitored ????

The movie was made in 1963... Horst Bucholtz's (The Magnificent Seven fame) performance is well-fitting. However, the most cast including protagonist and principal characters are being played by white people with faces painted brown!!!! Why??? No English speaking actor was available back then? How about Sanjeev Kumar??? Tongue-in-cheek ... J S Kashyap is a perfect choice for the Gandhi role.. and he shines even his screen presence is limited to only few brief moments .. Many prominent Gandhians including my grandfather who was very close to Sardar Patel requested clemency for the Godse. As Gandhiji too was in favor of abolishing the death penalty. However, since death penalty still existed at the time, it was just fair to sentence him as justice must prevail!

Do you know that Nathuram Godse's niece was married to Veer Savarkar's nephew?

"It is because I have failed that you both (police superintendent and killer (Godse ) carry a gun. The weakest possess the most strength! Humility is power and non-violence will conquer over the violence though it will take thousand years. Woukd you like me to linger around fir another thousand years? " - Gandhiji Watch Nine Hours to Rama, available on YouTube.