LouHomey From my favorite movies..

Listonixio Fresh and Exciting

Janae Milner Easily the biggest piece of Right wing non sense propaganda I ever saw.

Nayan Gough A great movie, one of the best of this year. There was a bit of confusion at one point in the plot, but nothing serious.

mark.waltz Consider the facts: Young Indian prince must go into hiding when his nefarious uncle murders his father to take over the throne. Protecting the English (replacing the silly wart-hog and meerkat), the prince tries to reclaim his destiny and bring liberation to the people while warning the British of the danger to themselves. Lavishly produced and crowd-pleasing, "Drums features" superb performances by Raymond Massey as the villainous uncle and Sabu as the charming boy meant to be king. Sabu's non-acting is completely winning, and his friendship with British drummer Desmond Tester endearing as a vision of peace between different cultures. A fine British cast supports Sabu, with Valarie Hobson and Roger Livesay likable heroes out to protect the young prince.Certainly made as a valentine to the British rule of India and to show the reign of the English in a favorable light, this might not serve to tell all of the truth about the British infiltration on the people of India. As entertainment, it certainly strives to present a favorable view of one side of the story, if not exactly presenting an opposite point of view. Historically, it may ring a few falsehoods to those who have studied the history of this time in Indian history. The viewer will have to take it upon themselves to make up their own mind of what is close to fact and what is more fantasy, or at least, propaganda.

TheLittleSongbird The Drum is perhaps a little too short, and the story is slow-moving to start with. However, the story is a great one, and does have some memorable scenes especially the banquet scene which is very tense and the ending which is really quite stirring.The Drum is also ravishingly photographed, the cinematography is gorgeous and does justice to the splendid costumes and sets. John Greenwood's music is also a nice touch, while the script is good and Zoltan Korda does a fine job directing. The acting is also good enough, Sabu is very beguiling and Roger Livesey is likable and benevolent. For me, Raymond Massey stole the show, he is truly wonderful as the irredeemably swinish villain.All in all, well recommended, also the political incorrectness actually didn't bother me, but I'd say The Four Feathers is better. 8/10 Bethany Cox

alexander_caughey Great morale booster for the British people, with another World War looming. Shows the bonding between British and Indians that contributed to the long sojourn of the British in India. Definitely a boy's film with all the majesty that the Empire films of the thirties could muster for audiences suffering from economic depression and worries over the rise of fascism and its onward march. Roger Livesey's character brings to life the type of relationship that so many British civilians and civil servants enjoyed with Indians, so sadly ignored/forgotten in the interest of history revision and political correctness.

sirdar Unabashedly pro-Raj, the story of a young Indian Prince and his friendship with some British army types. The release of this film was reported to have sparked anti-British riots in India. Sabu outdoes himself as the spunky and, ultimately, obsequious Prince who lines up with his friend/occupiers to battle the deliciously evil Raymond Massey. Very politically incorrect by today's standards the film is a good adventure yarn as well as a Korda tribute to the the rapidly vanishing British Empire. The plot borrows elements from the real life killing of Sir Louis Cavagnari and his party years earlier in Afghanistan. In reality British and colonial forces were actively engaged in military operations in Waziristan at the time of the making of the film.