King of the Khyber Rifles (1953) Reviews

• A Good Eastern!

  jpdoherty2009-11-26

  Fox's KING OF THE KHYBER RIFLES (1953) is quite a reasonably good colourful adventure set in India in 1857. A remake of John Ford's "The Black Watch" (1929) it was based on the novel by Talbot Mundy from which derived a fairly decent screenplay by Ivan Goff and Ben Roberts. Tyrone Power was the star and once again he was reunited with his favourite director and friend Henry King in Frank Rosenberg's elaborate production. This was the studio's fourth picture filmed in the then new stunning process of Cinemascope and Stereophonic sound! The new format lending itself beautifully to the Lone Pine Californian locations which doubled perfectly for India's Northwest Frontier. And veteran expert Cinematographer Leon Shamroy seemed right at home with his creative use of the widescreen camera. Tyrone Power was Fox's top leading man in the forties but by the time the studio embarked on their wonderful Cinemascope productions in 1953 his star was beginning to wane. The actor was also tired of the usual adventure fare he was frequently thrust into by studio head Darryl Zanuck and longed to do other things in film for other companies. He wanted to break his contract (he amusingly referred to the studio as Penitentiary Fox) and turned down the lead in Fox's ambitious first scope movie "The Robe" resulting in Zanuck suspending him. But not for long! His friend and mentor Henry King came into the fray when he wanted Power to star in his first stab at Cinemascope - KING OF THE KHYBER RIFLES and would settle for no one else. So Power and Zanuck kissed and made up and the star took up the assignment. "India - 1857 - the one hundredth year of British rule" reads the post credits caption on the screen at the opening of the picture. Captain Alan King and his troop are escorting some supply wagons to the Peshawar district garrison not far from the infamous Khyber Pass where rebel Kerram Khan and his army of insurgents are holed up and are preparing for "The night of the long knives" the time when India will rise up against British rule. This is the film's basic premise and depicts one man's efforts to thwart an inevitable uprising. But along the way he will fall in love with the Colonel's daughter (the totally resistible Terry Moore) and be pilloried for being the half-caste boyhood friend of the rebel leader (Guy Rolfe) who he must confront and endeavour to kill. KING OF THE KHYBER RIFLES is a good adventure yarn and looks great on the wide canvas of the Cinemascope screen (a desert rescue sequence is particularly effective). Performances are generally good too. Power, though somewhat subdued, is fine as the troubled Captain King and Michael Rennie gives his usual smooth turn as the authoritative commanding officer. Charismatic British actor Guy Rolfe is superb as Karram Khan. Rolfe an actor with loads of screen presence never followed this up with anything worthwhile and became just another working actor mostly on television. He died back in England in 2003 at the age of 91. Now, the part of the leading lady is the picture's major fault! Terry Moore is completely miscast! To begin with she simply doesn't suit Tyrone Power at all! She's too young for him! Plus she's supposed to be an English girl raised and schooled in England but instead she just looks and sounds like an American High School student who discovers she has a crush on her history professor. Her casting here is almost identical to that of four years earlier when the equally resistible Wanda Hendricks was Power's leading lady in "Prince Of Foxes". What on earth was wrong with Ty? He seemed to have problems selecting an appropriate leading lady! HUH! However a huge plus for the movie is the remarkable music by Bernard Herrmann! A rollicking eastern tinged Main Title with bravura brass fanfares and augmented timpani opens the score. There is some eerie music for the Hammer Of God scene and a ravishing love theme for the picture's softer moments which the composer fashions into a beautiful waltz for the Queen's Birthday Ball sequence. Alongside "Beneath The 12 Mile Reef" (1953) KING OF THE KHYBER RIFLES is Herrmann's best adventure score! If you can overlook the presence of Terry Moore (think Susan Hayward or Jean Peters) KING OF THE KHYBER RIFLES is an engaging 100 minutes of entertainment. But why is this movie not on DVD? As far as I know it isn't even on Video tape! What is wrong with Fox Home Entertainment? They seem to have forgotten Ty Power in "Untamed" (1955) as well! In fact they seem to have totally forgotten what remains in their back catalogue! Where's "Seven Cities of Gold" (1955 / with a riveting performance from Michael Rennie), "Violent Saturday" (1955) and "Rio Conchos" (1964)? Who knows?? Anyone??

• In the Desert no-one can hear you scream!

  uds32002-04-04

  I agree with a few other reviewers here - why the hell does this never show up on TV, cable or even old video warehouses? I have seen it but once, in London the week of its initial release almost 50 years ago. I was 7. Thing is, I remember it perfectly, way better than SHOWTIME and I only saw THAT yesterday! Top desert caper that was all audiences wanted to see in the 50's. No-one swashbuckled better than Tyrone Power during this period and KING OF THE KHYBER RIFLES was a handsome production, especially on the gigantic CINEMASCOPE screen. Directed by action-specialist Henry King, who worked with Power in almost a dozen movies, the story was that of half-caste British soldier Alan King (Power) who had to battle not only Army etiquette but a rampaging uprising around the Khyber Pass! The well remembered image from this flick was the spearing of the helpless British soldiers at the stake. Power of course, gaining a last minute reprieve so he could complete the movie, take down the villains and win the girl. Good supporting cast, Michael Rennie in particular cutting an impressive figure as Brigadier Maitland whose stiff upper lip was stiffer than most! Good companion piece to this was ZARAK (Also reviewed somewhere!)

• Re-Make of The Black Watch

  bkoganbing2006-12-10

  King of the Khyber Rifles is getting its second film adaption in this 1953 remake of Black Watch. Our version stars 20th Century Fox mainstay Tyrone Power who was coming to an end of his long term studio contract. This was also the ninth of eleven films Power did with director Henry King and they rate right up there with John Wayne-John Ford and Martin Scorsese-Robert DeNiro as a successful director/actor team. King directed Power's breakthrough film role in Lloyds of London and his collaborations with Power is some of the best work for either men. I wouldn't rate King of the Khyber Rifles as one of the best for either man. Yet it's entertaining enough and full of enough action to satisfy those who crave it in their films. Power plays a British Army captain of mixed racial parentage and religious background as his mother was Moslem. He encounters a lot of hostility from both sides, similar to what Ava Gardner faced in Bhowani Junction. It turns out that the leader of the local rebels is his former childhood play mate and son of the Moslem cleric who took young Power in when he was orphaned. Guy Rolfe is the rebel chief and he's a cunning and vicious foe of the British occupation. Rolfe also did a superb job in Ivanhoe as King John and these two roles are probably his career parts. Rolfe's the best one in the film. It might have been a bit better had someone other than Terry Moore played the daughter of the English colonel. Another reviewer says she comes off like a débutante and she really does. Michael Rennie as her father is a stalwart defender of the Empire. King of the Khyber Rifles is decent enough entertainment, but it wasn't in any contention for any awards in 1953.

• sweeping epic

  blanche-22005-12-18

  Director Henry King and star Tyrone Power teamed up for their ninth film, almost 20 years after King helped Power shoot to stardom when he chose him as Jonathan in "Lloyds of London." Why do I think Power was somewhat less ebullient this time around. By 1953, he was surely in a mad rush to finish his contract with Fox, as he had already formed his own production company. "King of the Khyber Rifles" gets the full major picture treatment, in CinemaScope, and it is a film filled with battles, adventure, panaromas, and a little romance thrown in. You can't have Tyrone Power in a movie without some of that! He plays a half-caste who is put in charge of the Khyber Rifles. Eventually, he is given the assignment of putting down a rebellion led by a childhood friend, Karram Khan, menacingly played by Guy Rolfe. Terry Moore plays the British daughter of the brigadier general (Michael Rennie) who falls in love with Power, and that's a forbidden love. In real life, when she first saw the actor, she was so staggered that she developed a facial tic. Power asked King if they could sit quietly and run lines before shooting the scene, which allowed her to calm down. She's fairly vapid in the role. The last part of the movie is very exciting and beautifully photographed. The film definitely hold's one's interest. Power looks great - handsome and tanned, as Lieutenant King, but it's really not much of a role. The romantic scenes are marvelous, and he does display a lot of physical prowess. He was unfortunately one of the huge stars of the golden era who did not do a lot of great pictures. Ironically, some of his films not highly thought of at the time have found appreciative audiences today, 47 years after his death. Too bad he's not here to see it.

• An excellent adventure film

  cjenkins1998-11-13

  This film is an excellent adventure film. Tyrone Power was a good actor - always entertaining and full of charm. Sadly this film is NEVER shown on TV and is not available on video - this is nothing short of being a scandal!!! Although this is not Power at his best, it is worth seeing, and certainly worthy of a place in my video collection. Smarten up 20th Century Fox and find this film before it decays to dust - or has this happened already?