*Spoiler/plot- King of the Khyber Rifles (1953). Takes place during the British Royal Raj era in India. Where a Half-cast born native Indian man becomes a British army officer and attempts to do his job in the ranks. He has many problems in and out of the British army.*Special Stars- Tyone Power, Terry Moore, Michael Rennie, Guy Rolfe, Frank Dekova.*Theme- The strict class system in 19th century Britian and also in it's armed forces makes challenges on everyone.*Trivia/location/goofs- External filming location: The 'Alabama Hills', outside Lone Pine Ca, off Hwy 395 below Mount Whitney area. Watch for the great character actor Frank DeKova playing another darkened ethnic par. He would later be seen in more films playing an American Indian.*Emotion- I recently saw this on my TV in a letter-boxed wide screen form. While I normally enjoy seeing the director's full frame and composition, this film suffered for me. I found the pace and plot to not served this film well with the lack of different closer angles and lenses to see the action and plot. I thought it ruined the film's story to a great measure. I know CimemaScope movies are supposed to show large scope and geographical beauty, but this bogged down the plot. And this seemed to pander to the CimemaScope gimmick too much to ruin the watchablility of the whole story. This period and historical film missed it for me. Thumbs DOWN.*Based On-British rule in Indian during Victorian times.-

The idea for a story about boyhood friends who find themselves on opposite sides of the Indian Mutiny is a promising one; make one of them a half-caste officer on whom the commandant's wilful daughter has set her sudden fancy, much to the agonies of her father's would-be liberal conscience, and you ought to have a powerful picture.Sadly, "King of the Khyber Rifles" isn't that film.The potentially interesting theme of the conflicts of loyalty between the warlord Karram Khan, his father who has turned to pacifism, and his foster-brother Charles King is barely touched upon, and then only in a cursory manner as a plot mechanism. When, returning to camp, Captain King is arrested under suspicion of being in league with the rebels, an accusation circumstances have conspired to render all too probable... the whole careful set-up is disregarded the moment said rebels actually attack. In fact, King is instantly released and entrusted with leading an undercover attack against these same rebels! The film is much more interested in its racially-conscious romantic subplot than in any conflicts of loyalty, but the romance unfortunately falls pretty flat for me. As mentioned by other reviewers, Terry Moore -- so charming opposite an SFX gorilla in "Mighty Joe Young" -- here plays the role of Susan as a Valley Girl airhead with anachronistic attitudes, while I found it hard to see why she instantly hurls herself at the head of Tyrone Power, who appears to participate in the entire film with polite but wooden reluctance. There is so little screen chemistry on view between them that when she comes bursting into King's bedroom at night to confess her passion -- an act, for a lady of 1857, that would have compromised her honour as effectively as actually sleeping with him -- I rather expected the embarrassed Captain to repulse her gently on the grounds that he simply did not return her feelings.Nor do the racial politics seem particularly well thought-out. British India, even the Northwest Frontier, was not the American Deep South, where the higher the admixture of white blood the better; the 'chi-chi' was looked down upon by the Indian as by the Englishman, a fact correctly acknowledged in the film by King's mother's ostracism, but not in the plot assumption that his own half-blood status gives him an edge with "them". And the argument he uses on his rebellious men, that if he can honourably bite the cartridges so can they, makes little sense unless he also shares their religion and hence the taboo -- which, to all appearances, he does not.But all this could be ignored; my real problem with this film was that it failed to engage or excite me, save for that one justly famous moment when the captured soldiers are dispatched one by one, transfixed by the horsemen's spears. Watching approaching death, Tyrone Power's face conveys emotion at last -- but the moment passes, and film and star alike go through the motions until the end.Given its material, this could have been a great picture. As it turns out, it's just another genre entry, and a somewhat cursory one at that. The star's heart doesn't seem to be in it, and neither script nor action hold any great sparkle to compensate.

While offering many racist undercurrents in portraying imperialism and eastern characters, adventure movies have long satisfied a desire for escape, becoming one of the principal avenues for presenting views of foreign cultures (however warped) and distant lands to curious and receptive audiences. The genre is sufficiently flexible to allow for only a lukewarm endorsement of colonialism or questioning of its political effects, a tradition going back at least to 1928 and the notable production of WHITE SHADOWS OVER THE SOUTH SEAS. However, this theme only became established after World War II, as films began to reflect the crumbling of western empires in Africa and Asia and recognition grew of the pernicious effects of imperialism and its attendant racism. The first major film signpost of these changes was KING OF THE KHYBER RIFLES (1953), set in the Sepoy Mutiny of 1857, a conflict that had rarely been treated in films up to that time. The story centers on a character of Eurasian ancestry, Captain Alan King (Tyrone Power), who falls in love with an English girl, Susan (Terry Moore), the daughter of the outpost's commander, General Maitland (Michael Rennie)--providing an opportunity for exploring racial attitudes in a colonial setting. Focusing on a relationship between a half-caste and a white girl was, in the early 1950s, an original cinematic theme, and KING OF THE KHYBER RIFLES was unique for presenting it in adventure.KING OF THE KHYBER RIFLES explores King's personal difficulties as he tries to find his own social position, living in uneasy suspension between the world of the native and the foreign sahibs, torn between them; only the adventurous experience can resolve his status. Prejudice against King emerges because of his parentage; fellow officers refuse to be billeted in the same quarters, and he is conspicuously not invited to the queen's birthday ball. The stress is not simply on his courage but more on the numerous challenges he must face in daily living. A social outcast at the fort, King is most secure in the home of his adopted father, Hamid Bahra, a Moslem holy man; the picture was originally to end with King returning to Bahra before joining Susan. KING OF THE KHYBER RIFLES has a lone hero and none of the emphasis on military camaraderie, or the careless, Boys' Own tone to be found in such films as GUNGA DIN. Authentic details of Indian atmosphere convey a sense of accuracy, such as the rumors that the cartridges for the new Enfield rifles are greased with pig's fat, simultaneously offending Moslem and Hindu alike. King must use his unique appeal as a fellow native to lead the Khyber Rifles in an attack on Khan's encampment. At the last moment, King's men resolve not to use the rifles but offer to follow him using their knives. The imperial conflict is between men who are sons of India, whether Kurram Khan and his followers or King and the Khyber Rifles. Yet KING OF THE KHYBER RIFLES ultimately evades the question of the desire for Indian independence, through depicting Kurram Khan's leadership as far more ruthless and dictatorial than British rule. King is in a unique position; his half-caste status, negotiating between British and Indian with a knowledge of both, enables a British victory, establishing not just his equality within the fort but also his eligibility to marry Susan. The British outpost offers the hero the only world where his merits can win recognition, partaking of both sides of his ancestry by following in his father's military footsteps. King's birthplace and home are India, not England, and though he may serve the British, he does so for the distinction such duty may bring through association with a respected unit like the Khyber Rifles. King secures greater respect than is accorded to white officers like Maitland. While utilizing many of the incidents and motifs of THE LIVES OF A BENGAL LANCER, THE CHARGE OF THE LIGHT BRIGADE, GUNGA DIN, and other such movies, KING OF THE KHYBER RIFLES also sums them up, providing both a commentary and a decisive new turn. KING OF THE KHYBER RIFLES brings Indians to the forefront, honoring the native traditions while still treating heroes and villains according to standardized genre patterns. While clearly an adventure of colonial India in the classical mode, KING OF THE KHYBER RIFLES represents a fundamental shift to an awareness of its own conventions, allowing the film to be watched today more easily than many other adventures of a similar vintage. KING OF THE KHYBER RIFLES was the fourth picture shot in Twentieth Century-Fox's new widescreen process, CinemaScope, and it was widely acclaimed as the the first picture whose action fully justified use of the anamorphic lens. Fox's directing "King" was assigned to it: Henry King, a sixty-seven year old veteran whose career stretched back to the teens, and was a personal favorite of Zanuck as well as a close friend of leading star Tyrone Power. Power, tired of playing action roles, disliked KING OF THE KHYBER RIFLES, and by then was more interested in unusual, challenging character roles. Unfortunately, Zanuck wanted to use Terry Moore, who was already under contract, as the leading lady, a role she sought assiduously despite being completely miscast in the part. Zanuck was enthusiastic about shooting KING OF THE KHYBER RIFLES in Lone Pine, and Henry King agreed that a location trip to India was unnecessary, and the California locale substituted so well that many reviewers believed that at least portions of the picture had been shot in India. Producer Frank Rosenberg selected Bernard Herrmann to write the score, hoping for and receiving something more exotic and less intrusive than the type of martial music Alfred Newman had written for previous Henry King-Tyrone Power adventure films at Fox. KING OF THE KHYBER RIFLES was widely touted as Fox's Christmas release, becoming a box-office hit, and it is still popular on television.

I agree with a few other reviewers here - why the hell does this never show up on TV, cable or even old video warehouses? I have seen it but once, in London the week of its initial release almost 50 years ago. I was 7. Thing is, I remember it perfectly, way better than SHOWTIME and I only saw THAT yesterday!Top desert caper that was all audiences wanted to see in the 50's. No-one swashbuckled better than Tyrone Power during this period and KING OF THE KHYBER RIFLES was a handsome production, especially on the gigantic CINEMASCOPE screen. Directed by action-specialist Henry King, who worked with Power in almost a dozen movies, the story was that of half-caste British soldier Alan King (Power) who had to battle not only Army etiquette but a rampaging uprising around the Khyber Pass! The well remembered image from this flick was the spearing of the helpless British soldiers at the stake. Power of course, gaining a last minute reprieve so he could complete the movie, take down the villains and win the girl.Good supporting cast, Michael Rennie in particular cutting an impressive figure as Brigadier Maitland whose stiff upper lip was stiffer than most!Good companion piece to this was ZARAK (Also reviewed somewhere!)