John Chard

I have been a coward – and I wasn’t happy. The best cinematic treatment of A.E.W. Mason’s novel is here, a rousing and moving tale of a military man who is branded as a coward by those closest to him. Receiving four feathers as a sign of cowardice, Howard Faversham is inspired to go redeem himself in the eyes of his peers during the Mahdist War 1895. Zoltan Korda throws everything but the “Kitchener” sink at the production. 1939 was a stellar year for cinema, arguably the greatest ever. Action/Adventure film fans were treated royally this year, with the likes of Beau Geste, Gunga Din and The Four Feathers to whet the appetites. The latter is a top line production, a Technicolor spectacle of derring-do and manly codes such as bravery and honour. Some these days may balk at the imperialist fervour that hums along the way, and some characterisations are very much of the time, but with such film making expertise on show, from direction, acting, costuming, photography and musical score, this is classical cinema in its purist form. 9/10