Khartoum

That British Empire, it got around in its heyday. You couldn't go far without stepping on some territory that Great Britain had an interest in. So with so big an empire, things didn't always go well, and in steps film and movies. Today's entry is 1966's Khartoum, an epic story about a little-known part of history (to me at least) with some impressive scale.

In 1883, an English general marches into the Sudan with 10,000 Egyptian troops looking to capture or put down a rebellion of Muslim zealots being led by the Mahdi (Laurence Olivier), believing himself to be the one appointed by Muhammad as a savior. The army is massacred to a man, leaving the British government in a spot.  The Prime Minister, William Gladstone (Ralph Richardson), doesn't want to commit a British army to the Sudan to resolve the situation, but what other measure can be taken? A solution is found in the form of a British military hero, General Charles "Chinese" Gordon (Charlton Heston), the man who helped rid the Sudan of slavery. The plan seems doomed to failure -- the British admitting to him they will only offer military assistance as a last ditch effort -- but Gordon takes the job just the same. What is his reasoning? Can he accomplish a mission with little hope of success? What does the Mahdi have in store? It's all going to be played out on an international stage.

I love a good epic from The Alamo to Spartacus, Ben-Hur to Lawrence of Arabia. This 1966 epic from director Basil Dearden doesn't quite have the huge scale of those other movies, but it is most definitely a gem. It clocks in at a modest 134 minutes (not quite the 3-hour behemoths) but accomplishes a lot in its running time. 'Khartoum' is based on a true story about Britain's quasi-involvement in the Sudan during the 1880s, filming on location in Egypt to give it some authenticity. Most importantly, it has the feel of an epic from the look to the far-reaching story to the music (composer Frank Cordell's score is solid) to the action. It doesn't have quite the reputation or following of so many other historical epics from the 1950s and 1960s, but it is well worth seeking out.

Who better to lead the way in this epic than Mr. Epic himself, Charlton Heston? Here's a case of some excellent casting. This is an underrated performance in a career that featured plenty of memorable roles, his Gordon interesting because there's so much mystery. A military hero, he's religious, loyal, intelligent, stubborn, and so much more. Does he take on this mission because he believes he can accomplish the impossible? Or is it ego, his vanity? Is it more than that? Is it something else? Whatever the answer, this is a layered, deep character who possibly only has one for sure intention...to do good. Gordon himself -- read about him HERE -- was a fascinating person, and Heston more than does him justice. We see all the sides of Gordon, a capable leader, a strong military strategist, and a man brimming with personality. It's easy to see why people believed in him, why people followed him and turned to Gordon when times were tough. An excellent performance from Heston.

The depth of the cast isn't the cast of thousands we've come to expect from an epic, but what's there is excellent. Olivier's part isn't huge -- kinda an extended cameo -- but once you get past the point that the very British actor is playing a very Muslim Arab, it's a good part. His scenes with Heston's Gordon are a high point, two Hollywood legends going toe-to-toe in quiet, underplayed scenes dripping with tension. Richard Johnson is excellent too as Colonel J.D.H. Stewart, the one officer granted to Gordon, working as his aide who sees the writing on the wall with their desperate mission. Richardson leads the government contingent as the wishy-washy prime minister, Michael Hordern, Hugh Williams and Ralph Michael as his government tools. In the military department, Nigel Green plays General Wolseley, the army commander tasked with "rescuing" Gordon, while Peter Arne plays Major Kitchener, the signal corps officer sent somewhat close to Khartoum to aid the defense. Also look for Johnny Sekka as Khaleel, Gordon's house servant, and Alexander Knox as a British official working with Gordon in Khartoum.

Enough with all this acting stuff, let's talk about some epic scale! I liked the story and the characters, feeling like I really learned something from this historic story. What resonated most though in 'Khartoum' was the impressive scale from three extended battle sequences. The opening massacre really sets the tone, the Mahdi's army swarming down hillsides at an exhausted army. Seemingly thousands of extras fill the screen in an amazingly tone-setting sequence. The middle action sequence has Gordon's forces holding off a nighttime ambush of the Mahdi's forces while the final assault on Khartoum packs the screen with Gordon's small forces in the city and the Mahdi's army charging the city in endless waves. Cinematographer Edward Scaife and second unit director Yakima Canutt (a former stunt man, a hugely underrated name in Hollywood stunt/action history) film right there in the dirt and sand with the action. They put the cameras on trucks and speed right into the battle like cavalry charging into its own battle. Great, adrenaline-pumping sequences that belong in the conversation of memorable battle scenes.

I liked a lot about this 1966 epic. It's able to cover a lot of ground, the siege of Khartoum lasting almost a full year. Things never feel rushed as we get to know Gordon, his motivations (sort of), the international situation, the British "solution" to the plan, and the slow-burn Gladstone and Parliament use to hopefully resolve it all. While it's an up and close and personal story, the script from Robert Ardrey does a good job keeping it in an international perspective. All the while, the doom builds right up until the conclusion. I liked it a lot, the expansive look from the opening prologue narrated by Leo Genn to the desert scenes and everything in between. Highly recommended.

Khartoum (1966): ***/****

The Ship That Died of Shame

The first and most lasting impression I have of British actor/director Richard Attenborough was his part in 1963's The Great Escape. He played a driven, almost obsessed P.O.W. leading a mass escape from a prison camp deep in Germany. A flawed character, but a heroic one nonetheless. As I discover more of Attenborough's parts though, I'm seeing he played far more sinister, much more flawed, and much darker characters, like in 1955's The Ship That Died of Shame.

Having lost his wife during WWII to a bombing raid and struggling to adjust to a post-war life, Bill Randall (George Baker) is waffling along through his day-to-day life. One day at a reunion of former sailors, Bill meets George Hoskins (Attenborough), a former member of his crew on a motorized and heavily armored patrol boat. Hoskins seems to be very well off, and Bill quickly finds out why. He's involved in smuggling actives through the English Channel, and Hoskins is offering him a job. He's even managed to track down their patrol boat -- the 1087 -- so they can use that in their activities. Smuggling some generally innocent items, Bill agrees, but the items start to change, and the boat starts to malfunction. What exactly is going on?

Another case of stumbling across a movie on Netflix, I wasn't sure what to expect of this 1955 British war film from director Basil Dearden. The plot synopsis sounded like a zany story of a boat with a heart who starts to act up against its owners and their actions. As a Disney fan, my first thought was that I stumbled into a prequel of sorts to The Love Bug. How could Herbie the VW Bug in a post-WWII story not be good?!? Well, I either misread it, misinterpreted it, or it was just a crappily written synopsis. It's straight drama, the boat's "objections" to the smuggling kept generally low-key (i.e.; the engine dying, the wheel refusing to turn) while avoiding too much in the way of heavy-handed symbolism or message.

On the whole, 'Ship' is surprisingly good because it manages to stay low-key. The World War II backdrop is a good jumping off point -- including an opening daring raid that introduces the crew of the 1087 -- but the focus is more on how the sailors and soldiers respond after the war and the fighting is done. We see through Bill's eyes that he's floundering along, unsure what to do with himself. Reunited with his old ship and part of its crew, Bill is rejuvenated, given a new lease on life. Hoskins is just the opposite, reveling in the black market business of smuggling. A third crew member, Bertie (Bill Owen), also jumps at the chance to get back to work in any way possible, only starting to question what they're actually doing when the cargo on-board gets far more sinister.

Playing George Hoskins, Attenborough does a great job in one of two starring parts. He isn't an out and out bad guy -- always the shades of gray -- but at the same time, you can't call him a hero either. His intentions are money as he undertakes the smuggling business. The cargo changes, and George, Bill and Bertie all begin to question what exactly all this trouble is worth. Attenborough does a great job portraying him down the middle. We're not always sure of his intentions, and the ride getting there is more fun because of it. Randall  is okay as Bill, a one-note downer performance, while Owen as Bertie is similarly solid if not so memorable as Bertie. The dynamic among the three is more important than the individual here. Bernard Lee is a scene-stealer as a customs officer who cuts across the path of the refurbished 1087 a few times with Roland Culver playing the villainous Major Fordyce, Hoskins' source for jobs. Virginia McKenna has a small part as Helen, Bill's wife.  

There isn't anything particularly new or innovative about 'Ship,' but there's something different I can't quite put my finger on. It is very British in its tension -- underplayed, low key and incredibly subtle whenever possible -- but that not so abrasive, not in your face style works for the better. I wasn't always sure where this one was going, but I ended up liking it after some early struggles. Worth a watch.

The Ship That Died of Shame (1955): ***/****

The Assassination Bureau

I can't think of a movie that surprised me more recently than 1969's The Assassination Bureau. The Netflix description of an international company that performs murders/assassinations for hire sounded like a drama, maybe an action movie. Or as I figured out, maybe that's just my head jumping to conclusions. I assumed it was a drama or action flick. So imagine my surprise when I found out it instead was a period piece mixed in with a screwball comedy. Oddly enough? It works.

In the early 1910s in London, an aspiring journalist, Sonya Winter (Diana Rigg), approaches a newspaper headed by Lord Bostwick (Telly Savalas) with a story idea. She has evidence of a murder-for-hire company that could date back centuries and has managed to arrange a meeting with its leader, Ivan Dragomiloff (Oliver Reed). Her catch? She intends to put a contract on Ivan himself. Seeing a chance to do some housecleaning among his own company, Ivan oddly enough agrees, challenging the other members of Assassination Bureau, Limited to a proposal. Can he kill all of them before they kill him? Secrets and twists await, more than Sonya originally counted on.

Can you see now why I was more than a little confused? From director Basil Dearden, the story certainly doesn't scream out screwball comedy. But using the jumping off point of a murder-for-hire company and its inherent very dark comedy, 'Assassination' somehow and some way works. I was expecting a late 1960s thriller set in modern times and got the complete opposite, a period piece set in 1910s Europe. The story bounces from London, Paris, Vienna, Venice and Zurich with a colorful lavish look. The sets are impressive, the costuming period accurate, and the screwball aspect not overdone thankfully. 'Dark' and 'screwball' don't always work in terms of comedy, but Dearden's film manages to put the two together.

It is a unique plot device of having a "company" like the Assassination Bureau at work, keeping tabs on the world. Reed's Ivan leads a committee of international representatives from around Europe and Asia including Germany, England, France, Austria, Russia, Switzerland and several more. Their only policy is simple...there must be a moral reason for killing. Ivan lives up to that standard, but his committee doesn't live and die by its principles. Semi-twist coming....Savalas is his vice commissioner. Come on, did you think Telly Savalas was around to play a newspaper editor? His Lord Bostwick is interested in cash, control and power, not Ivan's ideological beliefs. Some of the Bureau's members include General von Pinck (Curd Jurdgens), the militaristic German, Lucoville (Philippe Noiret), the woman-chasing Frenchman, Weiss (Warren Mitchell), the efficient Swiss, Spado (Clive Revill), the life-loving Italian, and Muntzof (Vernon Dobtcheff), the moping Russian among a few others. Comedy, drama or action, 'Assassination' gets points for originality.

The murder-for-hire story was one thing. I can buy that as a dark comedy. But as that surprise washed over me, I think the biggest reason for my thinking was the casting of Oliver Reed. A notorious partier/drinker/carouser, Reed does not strike me as someone to star in a dark comedy with romantic comedy undertones. He was typically the definition of intense so it was a welcome surprise to see him play a lighter role, and he doesn't disappoint. He's genuinely funny, can woo Rigg's Sonya, and is a master of disguise as he unleashes his attacks on his committee members turned opponents. Rigg as Sonya is the aspiring journalist who doesn't seem to figure out that both sides are playing her...to a point. She makes a good pair with Reed too as they jump from country to country in Europe. Also look for Italian beauty Annabella Incontrera as Senora Spado, the wife of one of the Bureau members who's got her own plans.

With obviously a much darker edge, 'Assassination' reminded me in many ways of 1965's The Great Race. The highlights are the impressively scaled set pieces. The intro to the Bureau has shades of a comedic James Bond movie while a madcap chase through Lucoville's high class house of ill repute gets the screwball aspect of the chase going at full speed. The comedy is often off-screen, allowing Reed, Rigg and Savalas to sell the humor with their reactions. Resorting to some action genre conventions, the finale is full of action as Reed stumbles onto Savalas' plan to take over Europe, a nice tie-in for history fans with the start of WWI and a zeppelin playing a key role. So what can I say? Sometimes the movies that surprise you are the best ones. An underrated, funny flick with a great cast.

The Assassination Bureau <---Youtube clip (1969): ***/****

The League of Gentlemen

One of the many positives I can take away from my Netflix membership is a feature available to me right up there with the DVD queue.  There is an option to 'Save' DVDs, those that are not available currently, the disc has been lost, or Netflix hasn't acquired said DVD yet.  Spending far too many hours cruising through available movies, I've stumbled across my fair share of hidden gems (or so I hope), just waiting for them to become available.  The most recent to make the jump from Saved to Queue was 1960's The League of Gentlemen.

As a sucker for heist films, I fell hook, line and sinker for this British heist flick. Add in the element of a team of specialists working together to pull off an impossible job, and I was officially done for. 'League' was released this summer through the Criterion Collection as part of the Basil Dearden's London Underground Collection, featuring three other movies. The cover art grabbed my attention right away, and once I read who starred in the movie, I couldn't wait to see this one. One of the earlier heist films I've seen, it's an obvious influence on countless movies since, all the while maintaining its own unique British style.

After 25 years serving in the military, Colonel Norman Hyde (Jack Hawkins) is being forcibly retired.  He's devoted his life to the army, and being separated from his wife has little to occupy his time. With nothing but time to spare, he goes about preparing a heist, a bank robbery, an intricate job that will need to be planned down to the tiniest detail.  To help him pull off the robbery, Hyde assembles a group of seven fellow ex-soldiers, including right hand man and wheeler dealer Race (Nigel Patrick). As they plan for the robbery, Hyde insists his crew live by military standards and rules, instilling a mindset in them of efficiency and effectiveness.  With a huge payday almost in their laps, he reasons that nothing can stop an organized, brutally efficient group of highly trained soldiers. But with a job like this, there's always something you can't plan for.  

There is something that's hard to explain about the appeal of a movie like this. It is easy to see its influence on future heist movies from the characters to the set-up to the actual heist to the aftermath. Dearden is calm behind the camera, and it rubs off on the movie. It runs 116 minutes and is a patient -- some critics say boring -- story that slowly builds tension. It is filmed in black and white, reflecting a general darkness and cynicism in the story. There are some odd moments of attempted humor that fall short, but some lines work because they do come out of left field. When asked if his wife is dead, Hawkins' Hyde replies "No, I regret to say the bitch is still going strong." It's 1960. How great a line is that?  An easy-going confidence is an inherent part of the story, helping out the slower parts because you know it's heading in the right direction.

That general darkness and cynicism comes across best in the casting and the characters. Would it have been nice to get some more personal development, some background on these men? Yes, but the importance is the team aspect, all of them working together, not individually.  Hawkins and Patrick just work smoothly together, their scenes together flowing with an equal give and take. The catch with Hawkins' team is that they're all ex-soldiers cashiered out of the army for one thing or another. The group includes Richard Attenborough as Levy, the radio expert, Roger Livesey as Mycroft, a con man who works as a priest, Bryan Forbes as Porthill, a possible executioner of prisoners, Kieron Moore as Stevens, a Fascist, Terence Alexander as Rupert, a money launderer, and Norman Bird as Weaver, the former alcoholic and demolitions expert. With the exception of Hawkins, none of the characters are particularly likable, but I still found myself hoping they pull off the job. Go figure.

Like so many quality heist movies before and since, 'League' succeeds because other than a few vague details we don't know how the actual robbery is going to be pulled off.  Relative to some more modern heist flicks, this one is pretty simple, although it does depend on split second timing, and a lot of things going right.  The sequence is Rififi-esque, around 15 minutes in length where little is said, just the action and build-up and musical score moving things along.  You're waiting for something to go wrong, anything at all, especially after almost 90 minutes of that slow-burning adrenaline.

Where the movie fails somewhat is the end. It is still 1960, and the whole 'crime doesn't pay' angle is one that movies often played up. It's not how something will get messed up, but when it will get messed up. If you can call it one, the twist is somewhat disappointing, partially because it was hinted at earlier, and also because it wastes a ton of potential. It could have been a classic ending, one that would have been true to the movie's dark roots.  As is now, it is still far from a happy ending, but the movie ends on a bit of a whimper if you ask me.  That said, I still very much enjoyed the movie. Little known but worth seeking out.

Also, keep your eye out for Patrick Wymark as a sugar daddy, Nigel Green as angry man on a date, David Lodge in a quick but funny supporting part, and Oliver Reed as a gay actor. Three odd, but funny parts considering the caliber of actor and the stars they would become. 

The League of Gentlemen <---trailer (1960): ***/****