The Four Feathers (1939): A Must-See Classic Film

Some say the true mark of a classic is that you can always find something new to enjoy in it. However, in the case of a classic film, the joy is in finding new levels at which to appreciate it, with each viewing leaving you the richer for it.

Such is the case with the 1939 version of the adventure classic "The Four Feathers." Forget the many remakes, none of which can match the original for its depth, not to mention its sheer excitement, superb performances, and gorgeous pictorial quality.

The basic story is so compelling as to almost obscure its deeper meanings, as, in the very best tradition of storytelling, the film sweeps you along into the action without a wasted frame. Yet, the film works on many levels: as exciting entertainment, as a history lesson, and as the quintessential hero's quest, the journey to the interior of one's soul to slay one's emotional dragons and emerge in triumphant wholeness.

In the late 1890's, a young British army officer, Harry Faversham (John Clements) resigns his commission on the eve of his unit's deployment to the Sudan in Egypt to suppress a rebellion. His confession of cowardice stuns his fiancée and his three brother officers, all of whom give Harry a 'white feather', the time-honored symbol of cowardly dishonor.

Once his unit ships out, Harry searches his soul, and realizes that in order to regain all he has lost, including his own self-regard, he must act. To do so, he must leave behind his own limited identity, disguising himself as a native by dyeing his skin brown, and scarring his face by branding himself with the symbol of an outlaw tribe. Thus transformed, Harry can move freely throughout the ranks of the warring factions, and find a way to serve.

Harry finds a way when his unit is routed, two of his officer friends are taken captive, and the third, his romantic rival, Captain Durrance (Sir Ralph Richardson) is left blinded and helpless amongst the dead. Harry's quest is to return Durrance to the safety of the British fort upriver, and then free the captives from their fortress prison. All this he does, in spite of being captured himself, and the white feathers of shame are returned.

Having trumphed over both his internal and external challenges, Harry is then restored to his self-respect, his officer's commission, his friends, and his girl. Harry's scar is now like that of Harry Potter's: no longer a mark that outgroups him, but a proud symbol of his personal power.

There aren't enough adjectives to describe the quality of this production, from its masterful direction by Zoltan Korda, to its beautiful on-location photography in the original Technicolor process, to its flawless performances, especially those of the relatively-unknown Clements and the legendary Richardson, who displays an amazing facility for simulating blindness.

True, the film's only flaw, at least to modern audiences, is its stiff-upper-lip, pro-British Empire mindset, which can seem clichéd and stiff today. However, even this can be forgiven when one learns that this film was released exactly one month to the date of Britain's entry into World War Two, when such patriotism was sorely needed to combat the worldwide threat of fascism.

(The 1939 version of "The Four Feathers" is available for purchase on Amazon.com, E Bay, and on the Turner Classic Movies website.)