East of Sudan

A grand old slice of stiff-upper-lipped adventure, set during the glory days of the British Empire. The first thing noticeable about EAST OF SUDAN is the cheapness of its production – this is one of those films that relies heavily on stock footage and footage borrowed from other films, most notably the 1939 version of THE FOUR FEATHERS. The 'new' scenes, building a framework of narrative around these borrowed set-pieces, are clearly shot on a studio backlot at Shepperton and never have more than a few actors on screen at the same time.

As for the story – don't go looking for one, and you won't be disappointed. Burly soldier Baker (Anthony Quayle, today forgotten but then riding high on a number of successes) escapes from a city besieged by the Mahdi's forces and finds himself travelling the Nile with a disparate group of survivors. There's the lovely Sylvia Sims, playing one of those dated parts - a feisty, independent woman who nonetheless ends up a damsel in distress during key sequences and keeps having to be rescued and carried away by the men. Derek Fowlds, better known for his television work in YES, PRIME MINISTER and HEARTBEAT in later years, is fairly bland as a nondescript soldier but a youthful Jenny Agutter, swathed within an ill-fitting black wig, shows glimpses of her star presence as an orphaned child.

All of the clichés of this era are present and correct – stock footage crocodiles, rhinos, elephants, and copious back projection. None of it is remotely convincing, and nor are the climactic siege sequences set in Khartoum, where footage from THE FOUR FEATHERS pretty much takes over the film. Such moments are, however, highly amusing. EAST OF SUDAN's one saving grace is the presence of director Nathan Juran, formerly of JACK THE GIANT KILLER. Juran is one of my favourite directors – his movies were inevitably colourful romps (even the black and white ones!) and this is no exception. There's something resolutely old-fashioned and thrilling about the tough characters and survival scenarios, and if you take the dated scenes involving angry natives with a pinch of salt you might just find yourself enjoying it.

Adventure set in Sudan in the 1880s where the British are fighting the Mahdi forces attempting to end the slave trade.

With Khartoum under siege, two British soldiers help a governess and her charge to safety. On their adventurous journey down the river Nile, they encounter wild animals, native tribes and even romance.

The stock footages and the fact it was shot in a studio is obvious, but it's not a boring film. It's an old-fashioned adventure film that invokes the child in us. Plus it's got the underrated Anthony Quayle who stars in a role that would've been tailor made for Stewart Granger. Nice action sequences rounds up this colourful romp that Nathan Juran knows how to make.

East of Sudan is a simple adventure movie from 1964, depicting the fall of Khartoum but without any actual falling that the viewer can discern. That's because we are only informed of it, that General Gordon is defeated and his head is displayed on a spike. Don't worry, we don't see any of that.

What footage of the battles are obviously lifted from other films as this entire production was shot in the studio. Clips of wild animals are used with back projection, allowing actors to stand in front of a screen and shoot at them or wave their arms about, amusingly I might add, it's so ineptly directed.

I thought about giving this one star but raised it to three because, strangely I enjoyed some of it. For a start there is the gorgeous Sylvia Syms at the height of her fame, that fine actor Anthony Quale who does his best with an atrocious script, Derek Fowlds who I know people remember fondly from Yes Minister on TV and little Jenny Agutter looking about ten years old but just as pretty as when she grew up, even though she's hopelessly miscast as an Indian princess with a black wig. Unfortunately her skin is white as Snow White.

It kept me watching in spite of it's flaws and making me wince from time to time as it zips along at fairly brisk pace. Children who wouldn't notice these bloopers might well enjoy it so I mustn't be too harsh although I did feel a bit sorry for Anthony Quale who deserved better material.

OK to watch with a young family on a Sunday afternoon.

Aside from the fact that much of this seems to have been cannibalised from "The Four Feathers" (1939), it makes for quite an entertaining action adventure with Anthony Quayle ("Baker") and Sylvia Sims ("Miss Woodville") trying to help smuggle the young daughter of the Emir of Barash "Asua" (Jenny Agutter) through the lines of the Mahdi's army that is challenging the British in the Sudan. It's a cheap and cheerful adventure, with a minimal budget and some rather static indoor sets that let it down rather - and Quayle was always a much better stage actor than he was on screen, but that said there's a little chemistry on screen between the two leads and just enough action to keep the thread from unravelling. Not a film you are likely to recall seeing, but it is still watchable in a boy's own adventure sort of way.

Judging this film forty eight years after release requires some care. In 1964 it pandered to the escapism that cinema goers still relished, echoed days of colonial glory which were rapidly fading and offered a glimpse of the exotic before foreign travel and mass television made it accessible. The core triumvirate of actors, Anthony Quayle, Sylvia Syms and Derek Fowlds are strong supported by child star Jenny Agutter.

Chaos in Sudan is not new to 21st century audiences as Quayle does battle with Dervish hordes from the 19th century. The plot is a formulaic one, Quayle as Private Baker escapes a native assault and helps the upmarket Simms to escape. This provides for chase sequences and encounters with various wild animals including snakes, rhinos and elephants – it's pretty much like walking though a zoo.

The problem is that not only is the plot formulaic and laborious, but the sets are studio ones, with excessive use of archive and stock footage (some from The Four Feathers)that require considerable suspension of disbelief. As a drama it fails. As entertainment at the time, it probably did the job. Quayle was a massive star at the time with HMS Defiant, The Guns of Navarone, and Lawrence of Arabia under his belt when he made the film, Sylvia Syms was an established love interest and has had a distinguished career which has lasted till this day, most recently as the Queen Mother in The Queen. Director Nathan Juran had a solid but unspectacular career having some success with sci-fi movies but also trying his hand at Western's and fantasy with Sinbad. There is nothing in his work on this film which is of note.