North West Frontier is a 1959 British adventure film directed by J. Lee Thompson. The film stars Kenneth More, Lauren Bacall, and Herbert Lom.
Director: J. Lee Thompson
Production Company: The Rank Organization
Distributor: Rank Film Distributors (UK), 20th Century Fox (US)
Cast: Kenneth More, Lauren Bacall, Herbert Lom, Wilfrid Hyde-White, I.S. Johar, Ursula Jeans, Eugene Deckers, Ian Hunter
US Film Box Office: Unknown
Film Format: Eastmancolor (shot in CinemaScope)
Genre: Adventure, Drama
Release Date: October 6, 1959 (London premiere); October 25, 1959 (UK general release); April 29, 1960 (US premiere)
Plot Summary: In 1905 British India, Captain William Scott (Kenneth More) is assigned to protect young Hindu Prince Kishan (Govind Raja Ross) and his American governess Catherine Wyatt (Lauren Bacall) from a Muslim uprising, and transport the two from the under-siege city of Haserabad to safety in Delhi. Scott manages to get Kishan, Catherine, and seven others, including Dutch journalist Peter van Leyden (Herbert Lom) and British official Mr. Bridie (Wilfrid Hyde-White) out of the city on an old train called Empress of India. The trip to Delhi is fraught with danger as Muslim raiders ambush the train and one of the passengers secretly plots to assassinate Kishan.
Production: In the late 1950s, Romanina-British film producer Marcell Hellman began working on an adventure film set in British colonial India for the British film company The Rank Organization. The film was originally planned to be an adaptation of John Masters’ novel Nightrunners of Bengal (1951) set during the Sepoy Mutiny of 1857, however Hellman and Rank later abandoned this idea. The new proposal, titled North West Frontier, instead featured an original story and was set during a fictional Muslim uprising in 1905. The screenplay for North West Frontier was written by Robin Estridge and Frank S. Nugent (an American writer who frequently wrote scripts for John Ford’s films) and was based on a story conceived by Patrick Ford (the son of John Ford) and Will Price. Hellman hired English director J. Lee Thompson to direct the film. Thompson was primarily known for drama and comedy films, but had recently directed the war action film Ice Cold in Alex (1958).
Captain William Scott, the film’s main protagonist, was played by British actor Kenneth More who was under contract with Rank at the time. In 1957 More was cast to play the lead role in Hellman’s proposed adaptation of Nightrunners of Bengal, a project which eventually died off and was replaced with North West Frontier. More recently starred in the drama films Reach for the Sky (1956) and A Night to Remember (1958). Olivia de Havilland was originally considered for the part of American governess Catherine Wyatt, but she was replaced by Lauren Bacall in January of 1959. North West Frontier was Bacall’s first non-American film. Bacall sold her home in Hollywood and enrolled her children in school in London for the duration of the shoot.
J. Lee Thompson shot North West Frontier in Eastmancolor and in the widescreen CinemaScope format. Filming on North West Frontier began in April 1959 in the Indian state Rajasthan. The Jal Mahal, a palace in the city of Jaipur, was used to represent the Maharajah’s palace at the start of the film. The Jal Mahal is normally surrounded by a lake, but the water levels were so low during the 1950s, that horses could be filmed riding up to the palace’s entrance. The scene where Captain Scott discovers the fate of the refugee train was shot at the metre-gauge railway in Jaipur. Amber Fort in Amber, Rajasthan was used to represent the British fortress. The shoot in India was physically difficult, many cast and crew members fell ill with dysentery and other illnesses.
In May of 1959, the production moved to the Spanish province Granada to shoot the railway scenes. Granada’s dry and arid climate was similar to that of Northern India. The railway used in North West Frontier, which has since been abandoned, traversed the northern part of the Sierra Nevada mountain range between Guadix and Baza. The bomb-damaged bridge was represented by the Anchuron bridge near Belerda, Granada. The railway station at the end of the film was portrayed by the Iznalloz station in Granada. Many of the interior scenes were shot on set at Pinewood Studios in Buckinghamshire, England.
Fun Facts and Trivia: J. Lee Thompson had previously directed Kenneth More in The Yellow Balloon (1953). More also appeared in crime film For Them That Trespass (1949), which Thompson wrote. Thompson directed Herbert Lom in five films: No Trees in the Street (1959), North West Frontier, I Aim at the Stars (1960), Return from the Ashes (1965), and King Solomon’s Mines (1985). I.S. Johar (Gupta) was a big star in India and was known for his roles in comedy films. Johar had supporting roles in several other British films including Lawrence of Arabia (1962) and Death on the Nile (1978). The book that Peter van Leyden reads in North West Frontier is The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire by Edward Gibbon (originally published in six volumes from 1776 to 1789). This foreshadows the character’s negative view of the British Empire that is established later on in the film.
Reception: North West Frontier premiered in London on October 6, 1959 and went into general release on October 25. The film was a success in the United Kingdom, where it became one of the top six highest grossing films of the fiscal year. North West Frontier was nominated for three awards at the 13th British Academy Film Awards: Best British Film (J. Lee Thompson), Best British Screenplay (Robin Estridge and Frank S. Nugent), and Best Film from any Source (J. Lee Thompson).
In January 1960 20th Century Fox purchased the rights to distribute seven of The Rank Organization’s films in the United States, including North West Frontier. North West Frontier had its American premiere on April 29, 1960, where it was retitled Flame Over India. Despite its success in the UK, Flame Over India performed poorly in the US. Lauren Bacall was proud of her work on North West Frontier and blamed its box office failure on its “stupid title” in the US (Flame Over India).
Despite is poor box office results, North West Frontier helped to jump-start J. Lee Thompson’s career in America. Director Alexander Mackendrick had recently been fired from The Guns of Navarone (1961) by producer Carl Foreman. Actor Gregory Peck saw North West Frontier, and recommended Thompson to Foreman. Foreman hired Thompson as a last-minute replacement for Mackendrick. The Guns of Navarone became a massive box office success and made Thompson an in-demand director for adventure and thriller films.
North West Frontier received positive reviews from critics when it was first released. Isabel Quigley of the British magazine The Spectator praised North West Frontier for its cinematography, humor, and excitement. The film critics at The Hollywood Reporter described North West Frontier as “A first-rate adventure story.” The New York Times also praised the film for its plot and color cinematography. In modern times, John J. Puccio of Movie Metropolis praised North West Frontier for its excitement and for its good acting. Leonard Maltin also gave the film a positive review.
Why You Should See It: North West Frontier is a strong classic adventure film. J. Lee Thompson did a good job directing the film. The film is exciting and features a few very suspenseful moments. The battle scenes, both the attack on the fortress at the start of the film and the raiders’ attacks on the train are well choreographed. North West Frontier features plenty of good performances. I liked Kenneth More’s character Captain Scott, who is a very noble and patriotic protagonist. Wilfrid Hyde-White and I.S. Johar are likeable in their supporting roles.