Another week and another Hammer film to watch along with the "House of Hammer" podcast. This one, despite its lurid title and questionable portrayals was, alas, mostly boring.
The British Forces, controlling India in the 1800's, are receiving complaints about attacks on trade caravans moving through the area and about people, possibly thousands of them, having disappeared. Captain Lewis (Guy Rolfe) hopes to lead an investigation and has already committed hours of his own time to it, but he is overlooked in favour of Captain Connaught-Smuth (Allan Cuthbertson) a new arrival with little interest in Lewis' work. Lewis is forced to resign his commission to continue his investigation.
We're again bumping into the idea here of looking at an old film with contemporary eyes. It is not particularly surprising that "The Stranglers of Bombay" doesn't have a particularly nuanced portrayal of Indians within. They are either mewling servants to the white saviours, or cold-blooded murderers. Only one actual Indian actor is in the film, Marne Maitland, the rest are the usual combination of "foreign" actors, or, in a couple of interesting appearances, Roger Delgado and Warren Mitchell.
The main problem though is that film isn't the transgressive horror thriller I hoped it might be, it's a rather boring time, way too focused on the politics of the consulate. Much of the violence is either implied or takes place just off screen. We're back in black and white, which doesn't particularly hurt the film this time, though watching so many Hammer films in quick succession I do recognise the set that has been redressed and shot from a different angle.
It's just not lurid enough to be any fun, nor deep enough to honour the "true" story it.
The British Forces, controlling India in the 1800's, are receiving complaints about attacks on trade caravans moving through the area and about people, possibly thousands of them, having disappeared. Captain Lewis (Guy Rolfe) hopes to lead an investigation and has already committed hours of his own time to it, but he is overlooked in favour of Captain Connaught-Smuth (Allan Cuthbertson) a new arrival with little interest in Lewis' work. Lewis is forced to resign his commission to continue his investigation.
We're again bumping into the idea here of looking at an old film with contemporary eyes. It is not particularly surprising that "The Stranglers of Bombay" doesn't have a particularly nuanced portrayal of Indians within. They are either mewling servants to the white saviours, or cold-blooded murderers. Only one actual Indian actor is in the film, Marne Maitland, the rest are the usual combination of "foreign" actors, or, in a couple of interesting appearances, Roger Delgado and Warren Mitchell.
The main problem though is that film isn't the transgressive horror thriller I hoped it might be, it's a rather boring time, way too focused on the politics of the consulate. Much of the violence is either implied or takes place just off screen. We're back in black and white, which doesn't particularly hurt the film this time, though watching so many Hammer films in quick succession I do recognise the set that has been redressed and shot from a different angle.
It's just not lurid enough to be any fun, nor deep enough to honour the "true" story it.