The Four Feathers (1939 film)

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The Four Feathers
original 1939 movie poster
Directed by	Zoltan Korda
Produced by	Alexander Korda
Written by	R.C. Sherriff Lajos Biro Arthur Wimperis based on the novel by A.E.W. Mason
Starring	John Clements June Duprez Ralph Richardson
Music by	Miklos Rozsa
Cinematography	Georges Perinal
Distributed by	United Artists
Release date(s)	April 20, 1939 August 3, 1939
Running time	130 min.
Country	UK / USA
Language	English
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The Four Feathers is a 1939 adventure film directed by Zoltan Korda, starring John Clements, Ralph Richardson and June Duprez. Set in the 1880s during the reign of Queen Victoria, it tells the story of a man accused of cowardice.

It was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Cinematography.

[edit] Plot

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

A military expedition is prepared by the British Empire to belatedly avenge the death of General Charles "Chinese" Gordon by Sudanese rebels led by the Khalifa (John Laurie). On the eve of its departure, British officer Harry Faversham (John Clements) resigns his commission. As a result, his three friends and fellow officers, Captain John Durrance (Ralph Richardson) and Lieutenants Burroughs (Donald Grey) and Willoughby (Jack Allen), signify their contempt of his supposed cowardice by each sending him a white feather attached to a calling card. When his fiancée, Ethne Burroughs (June Duprez), says nothing in his defence, he bitterly demands one more, from her. She refuses, but he plucks one from her fan and leaves. While the officers go off to war, he disappears as well.

In the Mahdist War, Durrance's unit is overrun and wiped out. He is left for dead on the battlefield, and Burroughs and Willoughby are captured. Durrance is blinded by sunstroke and delirious, but a mute native Sangali manages, through superhuman effort, to take him safely to the vicinity of a British fort. The man then puts something in a letter from Ethne that Durrance kept with him. Some soldiers witness this and mistakenly assume he is a robber. He is beaten and placed in a convict gang, but escapes.

Sightless, Durrance is discharged from the army and returned to England. Out of pity, Ethne becomes engaged to him. One day, when he is telling the tale of his miraculous rescue, he takes out the letter. A white feather attached to a calling card drops out of it. The message is clear: his rescuer was Faversham. Nobody has the heart to tell Durrance.

Burroughs and Willoughby are thrown into a prison in Khartoum with numerous other inmates. Soon afterwards, the disguised Faversham passes them a file, but arouses the suspicions of the guards. He is flogged and imprisoned as well. He organizes an escape, timed to coincide with the Battle of Omdurman. Faversham leads the escapees in capturing and holding the Khalifa's arsenal, playing a major part in the British victory. When Durrance learns of Faversham's deeds, he concocts a story, dictating a letter to Ethne, telling her that a prolonged course of treatment in Germany will restore his eyesight...and sending his congratulations to Faversham.

The hero returns to England in triumph. When Ethne playfully asks what act of bravery will make her take back her white feather, he interrupts her father, General Burroughs (C. Aubrey Smith), is the middle of his favorite war story and corrects his embellishments.