Storm Over Bengal is a 1938

adventure film An adventure film is a form of adventure fiction, and is a genre of film. Subgenres of adventure films include swashbuckler films, pirate films, and survival films. Adventure films may also be combined with other film genres such as action, ani ...

that was nominated at the 11th Academy Awards for Best Score, the nomination was for

Cy Feuer Cy Feuer (January 15, 1911 – May 17, 2006) was an American theatre producer, director, composer, musician, and half of the celebrated producing duo Feuer and Martin. He won three competitive Antoinette Perry Awards for Excellence in Th ...

. Set during the

British Raj The British Raj (; from Hindi ''rāj'': kingdom, realm, state, or empire) was the rule of the British Crown on the Indian subcontinent; * * it is also called Crown rule in India, * * * * or Direct rule in India, * Quote: "Mill, who was him ...

, the film's

working title A working title, which may be abbreviated and styled in trade publications after a putative title as (wt), also called a production title or a tentative title, is the temporary title of a product or project used during its development, usually ...

was ''Bengal Lancer Patrol''.p. 15 ''San Antonio Ligh'' September 06, 1938 The film was shot in Owens Valley, California. The film stars Patric Knowles in his first film after leaving Warner Bros. as well as

Richard Cromwell Richard Cromwell (4 October 162612 July 1712) was an English statesman who was the second and last Lord Protector of the Commonwealth of England, Scotland and Ireland and son of the first Lord Protector, Oliver Cromwell. On his father's deat ...

and

Douglass Dumbrille Douglass Rupert Dumbrille (October 13, 1889 – April 2, 1974) was a Canadian actor who appeared regularly in films from the early 1930s. Life and career Douglass Dumbrille ( ) was born in Hamilton, Ontario. As a young man, he was employed ...

who played similar roles in '' Lives of a Bengal Lancer''. In the film, the throne of the

princely state A princely state (also called native state or Indian state) was a nominally sovereign entity of the British Indian Empire that was not directly governed by the British, but rather by an Indian ruler under a form of indirect rule, subject to ...

of Lhanapur is usurped by an Indian

revolutionary A revolutionary is a person who either participates in, or advocates a revolution. The term ''revolutionary'' can also be used as an adjective, to refer to something that has a major, sudden impact on society or on some aspect of human endeavor. ...

. He tries to gain support for his planned revolt through

radio Radio is the technology of signaling and communicating using radio waves. Radio waves are electromagnetic waves of frequency between 30 hertz (Hz) and 300 gigahertz (GHz). They are generated by an electronic device called a tr ...

broadcasts, while officers of the

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) an ...

try to undermine his plans.

Plot

Two

officers,

Flt Lt Flight lieutenant is a junior commissioned rank in air forces that use the Royal Air Force (RAF) system of ranks, especially in Commonwealth countries. It has a NATO rank code of OF-2. Flight lieutenant is abbreviated as Flt Lt in the India ...

Hallett and F/O Neil Allison visit a British outpost in India. Neil is the younger brother of Army Intelligence Officer Captain Jeffrey Allison who is away on an undercover mission in the unaligned and independent

of Lhanapur. The British are worried about radio broadcasts from Ramin Khan inciting the Indian people to revolt. Upon the death of the elderly Maharajah of Lhanapur, Ramin Khan schemes to usurp the throne as a base for his revolt. Disguised as an Indian holy man, Jeffrey gathers intelligence on Ramin Khan's insurgents whilst the British send a diplomatic mission to Lhanapur who are ambushed and killed. The young Neil is himself in love with Jeffrey's fiancee Joan Lattimore and is jealous of his brother. Upon his return from Lhanapur, Jeffrey postpones his wedding so Joan can flee to safety. With the death of the diplomatic party, Jeffrey is flown to Lhanapur by Hallett in his aircraft to meet with the Maharajah. Ramin Khan captures Jeffrey and mortally wounds Hallett who flies back to inform the British of Ramin Khan's activity. Ramin Khan is delighted as he plans to ambush the British

field force A field force in British and Indian Army military parlance is a combined arms land force operating under actual or assumed combat circumstances, usually for the length of a specific military campaign. It is used by other nations, but can have a d ...

in a ravine near the caves of

Kali Kali (; sa, काली, ), also referred to as Mahakali, Bhadrakali, and Kalika ( sa, कालिका), is a Hindu goddess who is considered to be the goddess of ultimate power, time, destruction and change in Shaktism. In this tra ...

Cast

* Patric Knowles as Capt. Jeffrey Allison *

as Flying Officer Neil Allison * Rochelle Hudson as Joan Lattimore *

as Ramin Khan * Colin Tapley as Flight Lieutenant Hallett * Gilbert Emery as Colonel Torrance * Douglas Walton as Terry *

Halliwell Hobbes Herbert Halliwell Hobbes (16 November 187720 February 1962) was an English actor. Early years The future actor was the son of William Albert Hobbes (1841-1909), a Warwickshire solicitor, and his wife, Marion Hobbes, née Dennis, (1838-1925). ...

as Sir John Galt *John Burton as Captain Carter * Clyde Cook as Alf *

Claud Allister Claud Allister (born William Claud Michael Palmer, 3 October 1888 – 26 July 1970) was an English actor with an extensive film career in both Britain and Hollywood, where he appeared in more than 70 films between 1929 and 1955. Life and ...

as Redding * Pedro de Cordoba as Abdul Mir *

Edward Van Sloan Edward Van Sloan (born Edward Paul Van Sloun; November 1, 1882 – March 6, 1964) was an American character actor best remembered for his roles in the Universal Studios horror films such as ''Dracula'' (1931), ''Frankenstein'' (1931), and '' T ...

as Maharajah of Lhanapur

References

External links

* * * 1930s war adventure films 1938 films British Empire war films Films set in the British Raj Films shot in California American black-and-white films 1930s English-language films Films directed by Sidney Salkow Republic Pictures films American war adventure films Films with screenplays by Garrett Fort Films about revolutions Films about the Royal Air Force Films about radio 1930s American films {{Adventure-film-stub