Given the popularity of their gothic horrors, it’s easy to forget that Hammer Films actually made a wide variety of movies, particularly during the 1960s, when, alongside the famed horrors and the black and white psycho thrillers, the studio churned out a wide variety of movies that could generally be seen as ‘ripping yarns’ – tales of pirates, lost civilisations, dinosaurs, Vikings, and general boys-own adventure. 1965 production The Brigand of Kandahar is a pretty solid example of their no-nonsense, thoroughly entertaining approach.

Set in British India (aka Afghanistan) in 1880, the film tells the story of mixed-race British army officer Robert Case (Ronald Lewis), who is the subject of racism from his fellow officers, and eventually convicted of cowardice after leaving a colleague – who just happens to be the husband of Case’s lover Elsa (Katherine Woodville) – to the mercy of tribal warlord Eli Khan (Oliver Reed). Sentenced to ten years, Case is freed by Khan’s men and taken to his desert hideout, where he agrees to join the rebellion against the British, provided that civilians are allowed to go free and prisoners treated humanely. Khan agrees, and the pair quickly forge a successful fighting team, using Case’s knowledge of British tactics to lead his army to several victories. But Khan’s sister Ratina (Yvonne Romain) has designs on power, and soon Case is caught up in her schemes.

Handsomely produced, The Brigand of Kandahar rarely stops for breath, it’s terse plot moving from incident to incident without pause. The racial politics are interesting – once you get past the fact that the leads are all blacked-up Caucasians, the film is far from the imperialist effort you might expect. Case is a questionable hero (we never really know if he deliberately left his love-rival to the mercies of Khan or not), but you can’t help but sympathise with his switching sides, given the racist treatment he received from the British, who are shown as deeply unpleasant, xenophobic, brutal and potentially murderous (interrogating prisoners at gun point). Meanwhile, Khan (a stellar performance from Reed) is cruel, violent but seemingly honourable in his own way. Much of the story is seen through they eyes of visiting journalist Marriott (Glyn Houston), who sees through both Case’s hypocrisy and the cruelty of Colonel Drewe (Duncan Lamont), the man who condemned him in an unfair trial.

Let’s not get too caught up in the politics of the film though – for the most part, this is simply an entertaining costume romp. The battle scenes are remarkably impressive, though Hammer and director John Gilling can’t exactly take the credit, as they were lifted from 1956 movie Zarak. But, some dodgy blue-screen moments aside, they blend well with the rest of the movie, which is put together with the usual Hammer quality, from the cast to the costumes to the sets.

As a lively slice of action-packed costume adventure, this really can’t be argued with. It’ll never be as loved as Hammer’s more famous movies, but it’s more than capable of standing alongside the other action movies the studio made at the time, and if you haven’t seen it, this new edition is well worth a look.

DAVID FLINT

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