The Stranglers of Bombay

Plot synopsis:
Captain Harry Lewis (Guy Rolfe), of the British East India Company, is investigating why over 2000 natives are missing, but encounters a deaf ear from his superior, Colonel Henderson, who is more concerned with the local English merchants' caravans which are disappearing without a trace. To appease them, Henderson agrees to appoint a man to investigate, and Lewis believes it will be him. However, he is sorely disappointed when Henderson gives the job to the newly arrived, oblivious Captain Connaught-Smith, the son of an old friend of Henderson's.
Lewis believes a gang is murdering both the men and animals of the caravans and then burying the bodies, and suspects that the culprits have secret informants among the merchants of the city. He presents Connaught-Smith with his evidence and his theories, but is dismissed. He is also later caught by the Thugees and sentenced to die by the bite of a cobra, but is rescued by a pet mongoose, forcing the cult's high priest to release him. However, Connaught-Smith remains antagonistic and derisive towards Lewis, who eventually resigns his commission in frustration to investigate on his own.
Meanwhile, the merchants decide to band together and create a super-caravan whose size, as they believe, will discourage the bandits. Ram Das, Lewis' houseboy, believes he has seen his brother, Gopali, who disappeared some years ago, and receives permission to search for him. Lewis later learns that Ram Das has been captured by the Thugs when his severed hand is tossed through the window of his bungalow; soon after, the Thugs compel Gopali Das, a new initiate of the cult, to kill his brother. The hidebound Captain Connaught-Smith leads the caravan and foolishly allows the stranglers (in the guise of travellers) to join them. That night, the Thugs strike with their usual success; Connaught-Smith survives only until the Thugs start burying the bodies, whereupon he is killed too.
Lewis and Lt. Silver, a cult member, investigate the caravan's disappearance. Lewis sees the scar that marks Silver as a Thuggee follower of Kali and shoots him in self-defence. Lewis then discovers the buried bodies and goes to the cult's outdoor temple where he is caught and set to die on a burning pyre. Gopali Das, however, now haunted by his brother's death at his own hands, frees Lewis, who casts the high priest onto the pyre instead, and the two men escape in the ensuing tumult. Lewis and Gopali race to meet Patel Shari, the merchants' local representative, who is dining with Henderson. Gopali identifies Patel's chief servant as a Thug; Patil kills his follower to hold his tongue, thereby exposing himself. Following this, Lewis' resignation is revoked, and he receives a promotion from Henderson for his help in exposing the Thuggee cult. The film ends with a narrative display detailing that the Thugee cult was subsequently wiped out by the British, and a quotation by Major General William Sleeman: "If we have done nothing else for India, we have done this one good thing."

Tags: cult, murder

Review:
Watching this, I was reminded all over again just how invigorating the output from Hammer Films was during its heyday; even so, this isn't a horror film as such  and, in fact, has recently been released on DVD through Sony as part of a double-disc 4-movie collection entitled "Icons Of Adventure" (none of which I'd previously watched).The film has a good reputation quality-wise, but it's even better-known as one of the company's grisliest efforts  not that there's excessive bloodshed on display, but director Fisher was certainly able to milk the inherent savagery of British-ruled India for all it was worth (there's plenty of implied physical violence throughout, to be sure, which seems all the more obscene for being triggered by religious fanaticism!).
Tying up with this fact, the BBFC (British Board of Film Classification) came down on THE STRANGLERS OF BOMBAY with particular alacrity.
Unfortunately, many of the cuts they enforced back then (notably a female hanger-on's ecstatic reaction shots to the violence perpetrated by the titular cult have been all but eliminated, thus rendering her character virtually pointless!) have been retained for the R1 editionthough a scene involving a fight between a mongoose (the hero's pet which saves its master  having fallen prisoner to the vicious stranglers  from certain death at the eleventh hour) and a cobra, reportedly also trimmed by seven seconds, seems intact here!
I'm ambivalent about the picture being in black-and-white: admittedly, this allows it a gritty realism unusual for the company  however, at the same time, the lack of color tends to dilute the film's potential for exotic flavorespecially since this would have alleviated its unremitting bleakness somewhat!
Incidentally, while the come-uppance of the cult itself feels a bit rushed, this is eventually redeemed by a satisfactory aftermath  wherein a former spiritual leader, now reduced to mere negotiator between his people and Britain's East India Company, gives himself away as an associate of the so-called "thuggees"; similarly devious had been a half-caste officer, whom the hero dealt with personally during a scouting mission for a 'lost patrol'.
In any case, THE STRANGLERS OF BOMBAY features one of Hammer's strongest (and most sympathetic) male leads from this era in middle-aged Guy Rolfe  though he's matched by an intense display of villainy from George Pastell as the High Priest of the strangling cult; on the other hand, Allan Cuthbertson's overbearing snob of an upper-class officer fails to rise above mere cliché!
By the way, it's always a pleasure to see the names of all the Hammer stalwarts among the credits  with cinematographer Arthur Grant and composer James Bernard chief among them, they deliver exemplary work on this picture as well; having said that, THE STRANGLERS OF BOMBAY was uniquely scripted by an American  David Zelag Goodman  whose best work (Sam Peckinpah's STRAW DOGS [1971]), coincidentally, would also be filmed in England and prove a censorship milestone!.
THE STRANGLERS OF BOMBAY is included on a DVD of another Hammer film, THE TERROR OF THE TONGS.
This is because the film did a great job of making the sets look like India and using actors that might be Indian--whereas in TERROR, English actors almost exclusively played Chinese parts (making the film look really cheesy).Amazingly, THE STRANGLERS OF BOMBAY is based on a true story, though I am pretty sure the names and a few details were fictionalized.
In the nineteenth century, a bizarre cult dedicated to Kali (the goddess of death and destruction) was ultimately destroyed by the British in India.
This cult not only adored Kali, but was dedicated to murder and robbery--and it was apparently a pretty serious threat.The film gets very high marks for its script and direction.
Despite having little of the cache of many other Hammer films (no Christopher Lee or Peter Cushing) and being in black and white, it's as solid and exciting a drama as you can find from this studio..
The Stranglers of Bombay was made by Hammer in 1960 and I found this quite good.
It is rather violent for its time.A series of rather gruesome murders in India turn out to be the work of a religious cult, known as the Stranglers.
The leader of the Stranglers is killed at the end, along with most of the other members.The cast includes Guy Rolfe (Mr Sardonicus), Jan Holden, Andrew Cruickshank, George Pastell, Allan Cuthbertson and Roger Delgado (First Man Into Space).
Good parts from all.The Stranglers of Bombay is worth checking out, especially if you are a fan of Hammer.Rating: 3 stars out of 5..
The closing title card of this lesser-known title from Hammer's back catalogue reads "if we have done nothing else for India, we have done this one good thing." Referring to the British East India Company's governance over India for over a hundred years, The Stranglers of Bombay depicts the disappearance of thousands of India's population at the hands of the 'Thugees', an organised gang of murderers and thieves who operated relatively undetected for more than 600 years, and how their operations were eventually brought to an end.
It is a subject that would no doubt be handled more delicately if tackled today, and I'm sure that those sensitive to modern PC standards may be somewhat offended by the film, but Stranglers is well-balanced and ultimately apologetic for the Company's occupation, finding a positive note in what was a barbaric time.Captain Harry Lewis (Guy Rolfe) of the East India Company is the only person interested in the reports of over a thousand disappearances, attempting to bring the mystery to the attention of his superiors.
Frustrated at Connaught-Smith's bungling and the general disdain he has for the Indian people, Lewis quits the Company to carry out his own inquiry, and uncovers a murderous cult who make sacrifices in the name of their god, Kali.
Led by the High Priest of Kali (George Pastell), the gang's influence goes all the way to the very top, which is how they have managed to remain in the shadows for centuries.The Stranglers of Bombay is low on horror but higher on adventure.
It's no surprise then to learn that frequent Hammer collaborator Terence Fisher is behind the camera, who would always shoot efficiently and make his films appear more expensive than they actually were.
The absence of Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing is almost always felt when watching a Hammer horror, but leading man Guy Rolfe proves to be a perfectly watchable leading man, earning our sympathy as the one decent white man in a company of incompetent and uncaring fellow officers.
While more attention could have been given to the suffering of the Indian people, the film's heart is certainly in the right place, making it one of Hammer's most interesting, while not their most thrilling, entries into the genre..
The Stranglers of Bombay is out of Hammer Film Productions.
It stars Guy Rolfe, Jan Holden, Andrew Cruickshank, George Pastell, Marne Maitland and Paul Stassino.
Music is by James Bernard and cinematography by Arthur Grant.For hundreds of years there existed in India a perverted religious sect, dedicated to the wanton destruction of human life....So secret was this savage cult that even the British East Indian Company, rulers of the country at the time, was unaware of their existence....So it begins, a compact and often violent retelling of the Thuggee Cult in India in the 1820s.
This deserves better, for it's a very good script, where although the history is difficult to pin down as being correct, it does at least show a care and attention to detail where the Thugee Cult is concerned.It's also a good old adventure yarn, full of intrigue, peril and detective work.
Cast are mostly good value for money, with lead players Rolfe perfectly restrained as an officer desperately trying to be heard and Pastell owning the film as the High Priest of Kali; in fact he is revelling in the bad guy role.
Great directing enhance this tense film about a religious cult who go around murdering and stealing just for the sheer pleasure of it.
If the British did accomplish one good thing in India it was getting rid of the strangling cult Thugee.
But if India had been another planet and the British were operating under the Prime Directive it would have made for some interesting history.As it was this particular film, The Stranglers Of Bombay takes place in the early part of the 18th century when India was ruled not by the crown directly, but through the British East India Company.
The soldiers you see report to them in London and the idea of course is take care of whatever is slowing down company profits.Guy Rolfe who has played some really nasty villains in such films as Ivanhoe, Taras Bulba, and King Of The Khyber Rifles is a time serving captain in their army who has spent twenty years in India and is rather steeped in their culture.
He's the right man for finding out what's at the bottom of a lot of mysterious disappearances, but Colonel Andrew Cruickshank selects the arrogant and fatuous Allan Cuthbertson, newly arrived in India for the job.
Kind of dumb, but if he had given Rolfe a free hand we wouldn't have had much of a film.Classic movie fans recall Eduardo Ciannelli as the Guru of the Thugs in Gunga Din who had some really ambitious goals for followers.
The head of the cult here is far more local and a man not quite of Ciannelli's vision of eradicating the British and sweeping the world for Kali.There were some plot holes in the script or otherwise I would have given The Stranglers Of Bombay a higher rating.
Terence Fisher directed this historically based adventure that stars Guy Rolfe as a captain in 1830's India trying to fight a dangerous cult of murderers and thieves known as the thuggee.
Still, looked at as a horror movie, it is pretty fun, and it seems to include more explicit depictions of violence even than other Hammer films of the time – perhaps the claim of historical authenticity made it easier to get away with gore in England at this time.
I particularly enjoyed George Pastell's performance, similar in many ways to the one he gave in the previous year's adaptation of "the Mummy." The various tensions among the British colonial officers also add a nice touch, and the direction and cinematography are top-notch, as awkward as the material sometimes gets..
THE STRANGLERS OF BOMBAY is one of Hammer's last black-and-white movies but, being set in the exotic locales of 19th-century India, it really needs some colour to liven it up.
Hammer would later do the whole pulp adventure type format much better with the likes of the truly gripping TERROR OF THE TONGS.The story sees the British East India Company finding themselves menaced by sinister members of a thuggee cult with a predilection for strangulation.
Said cult members are headed by the memorably zany George Pastell, whose role seems to have provided inspiration for Spielberg in INDIANA JONES AND THE TEMPLE OF DOOM.
Watch out for an uncredited Roger Delgado (DR WHO's Master) as an evil henchman and Marie Devereux as a mute but arresting thuggee follower.All this is fair enough, but the film really lets itself down when it comes to the lifeless characters.
Guy Rolfe's heroic leading man is adequate, but way too much screen time is given over to the stuffy character Allan Cuthbertson plays.
STRANGLERS OF BOMBAY has promise at times, but with the pedigree behind it (such as Terence Fisher's direction) it should have been a lot better than it actually is..
A notorious death cult known as the Thuggees terrorizes India.
Gutsy and aggressive Captain Harry Lewis (a fine and commanding performance by Guy Rolfe) stirs things up by investigating a series of disappearances attributed to the Thuggees.
Director Terence Fisher, working from a taut and absorbing script by David Zelag Goodman, relates the compelling story at a steady pace, delivers a rich and flavorsome evocation of the period setting, and doesn't pull any punches with the film's potent moments of shocking violence and brutality (one of the single most unnerving scenes occurs when a Thuggee cult member kills his own older brother!).
This movie further benefits from sound acting from a sturdy cast: Rolfe makes for a dashing and engaging hero, Marne Maitland as the suave and cunning Patel Shari and George Pastell as the bald and charismatic High Priest of Kali register strongly as the main villains of the piece, plus are are solid contributions from the fetching Jan Holden as Lewis' loyal wife Mary, Andrew Cruickshank as the ineffectual Colonel Henderson, Paul Stassino as the corrupt Lieutenant Silver, and Allan Cuthbertson as the arrogant and condescending Captain Christopher Connaught-Smith.
A classic and sorely underrated Hammer film in which the British East India Company officer Captain Harry Lewis - played very well by the engaging Guy Rolfe whom I recognise from something else but can't remember what - fights the cult of Kali which is responsible for the kidnapping and murder of thousands of Indians.
The film has a very strong and effectively creepy and violent storyline and is directed to perfection, as ever, by Terence Fisher.Unlike most Hammer films, it is based on real events though I don't know how closely as it's well outside my historical area of interest.
One historical aspect of the film that I appreciated was Lewis' criticism of the East India Company, which he points out to his superior Colonel Henderson (a wonderful Andrew Cruickshank) is not investigating the disappearances of several thousand Indians out of any sense of morality or responsibility but because it is related to the disappearance of several English merchants' caravans.
Another very effective piece of social commentary is Henderson giving the job of investigating the disappearances not to Lewis, the logical and seemingly obvious choice given that he has spent two years doing so on his own initiative, but to the supercilious and not very bright Captain Connaught-Smith (played, again very well, by Allan Cuthbertson) whose father went to school with Henderson.
It does not exercise his dull mind." The treatment of the Indians in the film is far less condescending and insulting than the treatment of the Chinese in the similar Hammer film "The Terror of the Tongs" but, as was standard at the time, very few of the actors with speaking roles are actually Indian.
The only actor of Indian descent to play a major role was Hammer regular Marne Maitland as Shari Patel.
The other two major Indian characters are played by George Pastell and an uncredited Roger Delgado, both of whom were also frequently seen playing foreigners in the studio's films.
David Spenser and Warren Mitchell are really the only non-Indian actors playing Indian characters who stick out like sore thumbs, in stark contrast to the fake Chinese people in the aforementioned film including, funnily enough, Maitland and Delgado..
Filmed in 'Strangloscope!' no less 'The Stranglers of Bombay' is a Hammer film directed by their usual director Terence Fisher about the historical Thugee cult in India.
People and goods have been going missing from caravan trails and the officers of the East India company are worried.
That is Colonel Henderson and the merchants are worried about the goods but Captain Harry Lewis is more worried about the missing people, overwhelmingly Indian.
It is an entertaining film that gallops along to a good (but rushed ending) taking in murder, gore, suspense and excitement.
Guy Rolfe is solid as Captain Lewis and George Pastell scarily convincing as the High Priest of Kali.
They are supported well by Allan Cuthbertson, Andrew Cruickshank, Jan Holden and Marne Maitland (who actually was born in India.) Splendid support is also given to the frontally blessed Marie Devereux, thankfully.
In 19th Century India, a vicious cult dubbed the Thuggees is terrorizing their own countrymen, robbing and killing with impunity.
Harry Lewis (Guy Rolfe), a captain with the East India Company, knows that there's a problem.
Harry gets personally involved when his faithful servant, Ram Das (Tutte Lemkow), goes missing while in search of his brother.Hammer stalwart Terence Fisher directs with his customary efficiency.
Many of the popular Hammer talents strut their stuff, including the cinematographer, Arthur Grant, who shoots "The Stranglers of Bombay" in beautiful widescreen black & white.
Rolfe is a highly engaging hero, and among the other Hammer repertory players here, George Pastell shines.
Marne Maitland, Paul Stassino, Roger Delgado, John Harvey, Warren Mitchell, Michael Nightingale, Ewen Solon, and David Spenser all do fine jobs in their respective roles.Some viewers may also be put off by the rather vivid violence, but this film still sizes up as an agreeable diversion for Hammer fans.Seven out of 10..
Guy Rolfe is a captain in the British Army in 1820s India.
He has a pretty blond wife and he's happy in the army, but he has trouble convincing his commanding officer, not to mention the executives at British East India, that something more than simple brigandry is afoot.The captain is a keen observer and he picks up clues that there is a cultish group insinuating their members into traveling caravans, then robbing them and murdering all the members of the caravan with sacred scarves, as part of the worship of Kali, whom the astute viewer will remember from "Gunga Din." The thugs even have a mole in the officer corps and Rolfe plays hell defeating them and their vile movement.It begins interestingly enough.
Rolfe is the only officer who bring up the fact that many thousands of travelers are disappearing with them.
Gradually, the emphasis of the story shifts from Rolfe and his conundrum to the cult of Thugees themselves, and it sort of slides a little downhill from there.It's impossible to avoid the depiction of violence entirely in a story about a movement whose chief aim was murder and theft, but the director, Terence Fisher, seems to linger over the gruesome details.