Battle of omdurman movie

Harry Faversham finds himself branded a coward by his friends and family when he resigns his commission before the war campaign against the Sudan uprising. Reviewers concentrated on its thrilling imperial spectacle and Technicolor cinematography. Beyond these obvious box-office qualities, however, it battle of omdurman movie another quality. It tells a thumping good personal story.

Sign In. The Four Feathers Hide Spoilers. TheLittleSongbird 12 January One of my all-time favourite films of the 30s, perhaps even ever.

Battle of omdurman movie

British-Egyptian reconquest — The battle took place on 2 September , at Kerreri , 11 kilometres 6. Following the establishment of the Mahdist State in Sudan, and the subsequent threat to the regional status quo and to British-occupied Egypt, the British government decided to send an expeditionary force with the task of overthrowing the Khalifa. The commander of the force, Sir Herbert Kitchener, was also seeking revenge for the death of General Gordon , who had been killed when a Mahdist army captured Khartoum thirteen years earlier. Among those present was year-old soldier and reporter Winston Churchill as well as a young Captain Douglas Haig. The victory of the British—Egyptian force was a demonstration of the superiority of a highly disciplined army equipped with modern rifles , machine guns , and artillery over a force twice its size armed with older weapons, and marked the success of British efforts to reconquer Sudan. Following the Battle of Umm Diwaykarat a year later, the remaining Mahdist forces were defeated and Anglo-Egyptian Sudan was established. Another force, this time sent by the British government, and led by Major General Charles Gordon proceeded to Khartoum where it was besieged by the Mahdists. On 26 January , the Dervishes overcame Gordon's troops and massacred the entire garrison. The Mahdist state, the Mahdia, built on slavery and holy war, enforced a strict Islamic code imposing a reign of terror over the regions of Sudan.

Army Museum.

Aubrey Smith. Set during the reign of Queen Victoria , it tells the story of a man accused of cowardice and his efforts to redeem his name. It is widely regarded as the best of the numerous film adaptations of the novel of the same name by A. Forced into an army career by family tradition and fearful he might prove a coward in battle, Lieutenant Harry Faversham resigns his commission on the eve of its departure. As a result, his three friends and fellow officers, Captain John Durrance and Lieutenants Burroughs and Willoughby, show their contempt by each sending him a white feather attached to a calling card. She refuses, but he plucks one from her fan.

Weapons and Warfare. The battle also illustrated the technological advantage of European military establishments over their brave but primitively armed opponents in the wars of imperialism that preceded World War I. Although the khedive was still nominal ruler, the real power in the country rested with the British consul-general and high commissioner, and British imperialists soon considered the Nile Valley part of the British Empire. From Egypt, the British were soon drawn into difficulties in the vast, poor, and hostile Sudan. Egypt had long sought to establish its control over the Upper Nile region but aroused strong opposition through actions against the slave trade and heavy taxes. Soon he had thousands of warrior followers, known as Dervishes. The Egyptian government decided to intervene to put down the uprising. The Egyptians then sought assistance from the British government. To accomplish this, he sent out Major General Charles Gordon.

Battle of omdurman movie

In August , British General H. Kitchener reached Omdurman. The stage was set for the last cavalry charge in British military history. This article appears in: June It was the morning of September 1, , the day before the Battle of Omdurman. An Anglo-Egyptian army under Maj. Sir Herbert Kitchener was a few miles behind the cavalry screen. The British horsemen cautiously advanced over the sun-baked plain, the eye-numbing sandy desolation relieved by a few thorn bushes, scrub, and patches of grass. Churchill and the lancers ascended a low ridge to scan the horizon. Officers raised their field glasses and were rewarded with a sweeping panorama.

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Both the and contained much empty melodrama and were more narrowly-focused action-adventure films than nuanced dramas. At dinner with Ethne, her father, and Dr. The real reason is that he is tired of this militaristic crap he's fed all his life. Read Edit View history. Was this review helpful? Archived from the original on 27 August On 1 September Kitchener, supported by a powerful flotilla of gunboats, arrived to face the main Mahdist army at Omdurman, near Khartoum. Release dates. Harry wins the argument with the general then turns and hands the last white feather to Ethne. The fourth? James L. His masquerade as the mute tribesman delays the revelation of his true identity until a white feather is found on each of the men he has saved.

Tags: Action Soldiers War. It was here, in the Mahdist-stronghold of Omdurman, that Churchill took part in one of the last major cavalry charges in the history of the British army, when the 21 st Lancers attacked a small group of enemy soldiers.

No political correctness here! He had crossed the threshold and regained his honour and self respect. Great film. But, although the scope is not as great, I couldn't help but compare this to the fine film-making splendor of GWTW. For Ethne, it is heartbreak all over again. The Mahdist infantry attacked in two prongs. Each brother has left much to posterity. This is aided by great attention to detail in the military aspects. And the third actor of note here was C. BFI Publishing. Churchill witnessed and, in one of his most famous literary pieces, fittingly described as a "victory snatched from the jaws of peril! He goes back to Egypt, and gets himself dressed up as a native, who can't speak a tribe was punished by having their tongues cut off, and their cheek branded - so they don't speak Arabic at all, and Harry might be able to get away with passing himself off as a native.