This is a somewhat fictional account of the assassination of Mahatma Gandhi. The film starts off really well, and has a good climax (unless, of course, you're Gandhi), but it drags a bit in the middle as we learn about the assassin and his motivation. Horst Buchholz plays the killer; oddly, he seems less repulsive than usual, so that's a plus. Jose Ferrer is the policeman trying to track him down. A few British actors show up in small roles. The big revelation to me was the British actress Valerie Gearon, as the upper-class Indian whom Buchholz loves. I hadn't seen her in anything before; she is quite striking. Diane Baker has a small part as an Indian, and is semi-believable. Gandhi is played by J. S. Casshyap, and he certainly looks the part.It would be great if this existed on DVD with commentary since there are holes in the plot that require explanation. It's probably worth a look, if you can tolerate the flashback sequences.

So little is heard of this film these days, that it has almost slipped into obscurity. And that's a shame. It has a fascinating story at the core--but the drawback seems to be a series of flashbacks that could have been edited to omit too much emphasis on the love interest between the assassin (HORST BUCHHOLZ) and VALERIE GEARON.The flashbacks explaining the youth of the future assassin are interesting enough and there's a lot of local color in the splendid Indian backgrounds to give the story an authentic feel. But the romance takes up too much time that cuts into the suspenseful angle of a tale that lacks the taut excitement generated by that other famous assassination attempt depicted in THE DAY OF THE JACKAL.Jose Ferrer and Robert Morley are the only other notables in the cast, with the exception of DIANE BAKER (whom I almost didn't recognize as the dark-skinned Indian girl that shares an intense scene with Buchholz in which she gets slapped around pretty badly).Two hours of running time is a bit of a stretch for this tale, which is still absorbing enough to watch under Mark Robson's forceful direction. HORST BUCHHOLZ carries the film with a very intense performance that gives the film almost all of its edge.For an even more exemplary example of this type of film, I highly recommend THE DAY OF THE JACKAL for tighter suspense.

I remember seeing this movie broadcast on television as young boy and being fascinated by the beautiful and exotic photography. I didn't even know who Ghandi was at that young age but was intrigued enough to watch the entire movie without really planning to. At that age I was watching sports on television mostly. I don't know much about the assassin, his motives and what happened after Ghandi's death. I would like to see if the movie is as good as I seem to remember it being today. With the increasing violence between India and Pakistan and terrorism in general, I would like to revisit this movie if possible. I am rather surprised that this movie made United States television considering how provincial and narrow-minded Americans tend to be about the rest of the world etc...

Though the work behind this film may have been admirable at the time and may have had good intentions, the result now is at best unspectacular and at worst insulting. Some intriguing titles by Saul Bass give way to a pretty pedestrian film. The story is torturously told...featuring the dreaded flashback approach and a gallery of clichéd characters and situations. The cast is a befuddling mixture of British, German, Puerto Rican, American and who knows what all else all shuffling around in dark contact lenses and "brownface" as they attempt to portray Indian people. They all adapt that hokey sing-song method of speaking which is an exaggerated and stereotypical version of how Indians relay the English language. It's worst sin is it's DULLNESS! From the man who would direct "Valley of the Dolls" and "Earthquake", one might have expected a touch more pizazz! The climactic assassination attempt is pretty tense and well handled, but getting there is no picnic.