The Four Feathers

A British officer (John Clements) is called up to serve in Kitchener's army that will set out to avenge the defeat of General Gordon in the Sudan. He is deeply in love with his fiancée (June Duprez), however, and so decides to prioritise his family over his career. Bad move, that - his girlfriend and three of his closest compatriots (Ralph Richardson, Jack Allen & Donald Gray) consider him a coward and present him with the token of a yellow-belly - a white feather - and his engagement to the daughter of a retired general (C. Aubrey Smith) is ended. He determines to follow, incognito, his colleagues into the desert and shadows each of them as they face - and he shares - the perils and hazards of their mission. Once again, the Korda's present us with an ensemble of strong performances and a wonderfully colourful and well-paced adventure story of determination and betrayal that is tinged with quite a bit of sadness, too. I'd say this is every bit as good as Merian C. Cooper's 1929 version. (PS: keep an eye out for John Laurie as "The Khalifa"!!!)