The Brigand of Kandahar

1965
Approved
1h 21m

IMDb RATING

5.4/10

667

YOUR RATING

Play trailer2:39

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15 Photos

Adventure History

The British army fights off rampaging locals in 1850s India.The British army fights off rampaging locals in 1850s India.The British army fights off rampaging locals in 1850s India.

See production info at IMDbPro

IMDb RATING

5.4/10

667

YOUR RATING

See production info at IMDbPro

Storyline

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Trivia
Glyn Houston says in his memoirs, whilst shooting a fight scene, he was injured by a stuntman who hit him over the head with a rifle.

Goofs
During a skirmish at the 40-min mark, a brigand signals a British soldier to jump back before attacking him.

Quotes
Captain Boyd: Nearly a week ago, I presented you with an ultimatum. I'm still waiting for your answer.
Elsa: I've thought about your ultimatum, Captain Boyd. I intend to convey it to Robert Case on his return.
Captain Boyd: That should be at any moment. You've made a wise decision.
Elsa: You leave me with no alternative, of course. Why are you so vindictive?
Elsa: I don't like wives who cheat. Especially with half-castes. And I don't like half-castes who masquerade as officers.
Elsa: I suggest you complain to the War Office who appoint them.
Captain Boyd: Your behaviour has made that quite unnecessary - in this instance, at any rate.
Captain Boyd: It's ironical that your husband should volunteer for special mission with your lover, don't you think?

Crazy credits
Opening credits prologue: FORT KANDAHAR A British outpost on the North West frontier of India 1850.

Connections
Features Zarak (1956)

While Hammer Studios produced some fairly able historical adventures in the early 1960s - titles such as the serviceable FURY AT SMUGGLER'S BAY and THE DEVIL-SHIP PIRATES - they also made their fair share of stinkers, of which THE BRIGAND OF KANDAHAR is probably the worst. This is an entirely stodgy costume adventure, made on a low budget and with a script which feels like it was rushed out in a hurry.

The story is cheap and carries some distinctly colonial racial overtones, not least in the presence of anti-hero Ronald Lewis, blacked-up as a half-caste for his role. Lewis must be the singular most obnoxious heroic character in a Hammer film, a guy who I actually despised throughout much of the running time; were we really supposed to feel sorry for him after he swapped allegiances like that?

Elsewhere, it's sub-ZULU antics throughout, enlivened by a handful of larger-scale battle sequences which employ some dodgy back projection which saps them of realism. Once again Hammer has an eye for a distinguished supporting cast, but most of them are wasted here; the only ones who come out of it well are Duncan Lamont and Katherine Woodville. Oliver Reed is cast as the bad guy but I feel he would have made a much more compelling protagonist. In any case, this is as dull as dishwater and one of Hammer's weakest efforts.