As everyone knows, I am a fan of Hammer Films, the British studio that specialized in horror films in the late 1950s and 1960s. The studio was smart enough to know it couldn't depend on terrorizing audiences and tried to expand their filmography with science fiction, pirate movies, and other types of adventures. Stranglers of Bombay certainly falls into this category, despite a promotional campaign that really plays up the more horrific aspects of the story. What Stranglers of Bombay really wants to be is the next Gunga Din.
Gunga Din it is not. I suppose it isn't fair to compare the film to that 1939 classic, but even taken on its own merits, Stranglers of Bombay just falls short. There are just too many ridiculous things. There are elements of a neat film here, though, and these moments prevent the film from being a complete wash. Even its basic storyline is pretty interesting. Loosely based on true events when India was part of the British Empire, Stranglers of Bombay recounts the rise of the brutal Thuggee cult, vicious followers of Kali who preferred to strangle their victims. If this all sounds vaguely familiar, it is because the Thuggees are also the villains in Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom.
After an alarming number of missing and/or murdered person cases crop up, dashing British Captain Harry Lewis starts to investigate. He knows something dark is happening, something that could threaten not only his life, but the lives of the whole British garrison and the innocent Indian population. He has to get to the bottom of the mystery, despite the obstinate objections of his superior officers. And that plot point is one of the first major problems with the film. Despite a vast amount of evidence to the contrary, the British generals just refuse to listen to Lewis. I know there is supposed to be suspension of disbelief with movies, but they push it a bit too far. I was also bothered by the way Indians were treated in the film. I guess the film was made in the 1950s and I shouldn't judge the film by today's standards, but all the Indians are either craven villains or defenseless and helpless innocents who need the British to save them. It was hard to get past that, too.
And this is also the type of film that features characters doing stupid things after stupid things. Here's an example (with a SPOILER ALERT!). At one point, Lewis sneaks into the jungle and finds the Thuggee camp. Instead of going back for reinforcements, he sneaks even closer and of course he gets caught because a small shrubbery is not a very good hiding place. He is dragged into the temple and chained to the floor before the altar, a sacrificial victim of the Thuggee's poisonous pet snake. Lucky for Lewis, he has his servant's pet mongoose with him and the mongoose kills the snake. A superstitious lot, the Thuggees let him go home. First of all, this is kind of silly. Lewis found their secret headquarters and they are just going to let him go??? And when Lewis gets home, does he go to his superiors and report that he found the Thuggees so they can go back and deliver justice? Nope. Instead, guess what he does! He sneaks back to the Thugee camp again - alone! And hides behind another small shrubbery and of course gets caught again!!! Really, the characters just make some jaw droppingly dumb decisions.
And it's a shame because there is some cool stuff going on in here. Guy Rolfe is an entertaining lead, and I wish they gave him better stuff to do. And the villains are actually pretty neat, each with an interesting backstory and character motivation. There is a neat scene where the Thuggee leader excuses himself after ordering someone's execution. In the background, we hear the struggle and the strangulation, but we don't see it. Instead we are watching the leader's sweaty and anxious face, growing increasingly agitated as the sounds of the struggle grow louder. It's an interesting decision. Is he squeamish about death? Or is he growing horrified about what he is becoming? It's an intriguing question, and I wish there had been more moments like that in the film.
Anyway, that's Stranglers of Bombay. If these were the types of non-horror films Hammer was making, then I can see why they doubled down and focused on their horror output as the 1960s wore on. Skip it!
MVP:
I know I am about to sound like a hypocrite, but I am going to give the MVP to Guy Rolfe. Despite the fact that the character does so many stupid things, Rolfe valiantly strives to save the character. That Lewis is likeable at all has more to do with Rolfe than anything the character does. It's not an easy MVP win, but I think he earned it.
TRIVIA:
The word "thug" comes from "Thuggee." The meaning of the word has of course changed over the last century, but it is still a cool bit of trivia!
BEST LINE:
This exchange wins more because of a terrific site gag...now whether it was intentional or not, who knows?!
Lewis: This is a hanging, isn't it?
Guard: I beg your pardon?
Lewis: You ever see such happy people?
Guard: I think we all enjoy it a bit, sir. That's why we're here.
Lewis: What about the prisoner? Does he normally enjoy it a bit, too? Look at him!
Cut to the prisoner, with the biggest, goofiest grin on his face. I'm sorry, but it made me laugh!
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