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boys clothing depictions in movies : Drums The Drum
Movie Review: Drums / The Drun - (England, 1938)
Figure 1.-- Desmond Tester plays a drummer boy in 'Drums', an early English color film (1938). Desmond is the drummer in a Scottish regiment stationed in India. This is interesting in that it is the last English film set in the India of the British Raj before World War II. The view of Empire was never the same after the war. All the Indian characters are depicted as untrustworthy even villanous. They are all plotting (often in underhanded ways) to overthrow the Raj. The lone loyal Indian is Prince Azim played by a young Sabu.
English child star Desmond Tester plays a drummer boy in 'Drums', an early English color film (1938). The Americaa title was 'The Drum'. Desmond is the drummer in a Scottish regiment stationed in India. This is interesting in that it is the last English film set in the India of the British Raj before World War II. The view of Empire was never the same after the war. All the Indian characters are seoicted as untrustworthy even villanous. They are all plotting (often in underhanded ways) to overthrow the Raj. The lone loyal Indian is Prince Azim played by a young Sabu. It was Sabu's second film. He warns his British friends of the plot to overthrow and massacre them. He beats out messages on the title Drum. This time Desmond's character survived to the end of the film having made friends with Prince Azim. 'Drum' was an Alexander Korda film made at Denham. He wore a red ceremonial kilt uniform. When on operations he wore a khaki uniform. Perhaps the most notable aspect of 'Drums" was that in 1938 with Germany arming to the hilt and Primeminister Chamberlain avoiding war only by caving into Hitler at Munich, the British film industry was focused on a rebellion in India. Vilinous NAZIs did not appear in British films until after Hitler finally launched the War. Chamberlain put pressure on the film industry not to anger the Germams. Almo by censoring themselkves, British studios could still have access to the kicrative German film market. Chamberlain also had cooperating newspapers like The Times which also tried hard not to anger the Germans. There is an interesting back story about this film. Hitler was an avid film buff and use to watch private screenings of films with Goebbels and other intimates. A British reader writes, "I was watching a BBC documentary about Adolf Hitler and it stated that the 'Drums' was one if his facorites. I smiled because it was made by London Films. Alexander Korder employees at his studio were mainly German Jewish refugees." Korda was Hungarian but got involvved in the German and British film industry bedore the NAZIs seized power. The name suggests he may habe been of Jewish origins. Apparently Hitler and Giebels did not know. It is undrstandanke that he liked the film. The film is about the British running their Empire and suppresing who at the time was considered racially inferior people--precisely what he intended to do. He admired the British for doing this.
