The Stranglers of Bombay
| The Stranglers of Bombay | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Directed by | Terence Fisher |
| Starring |
Guy Rolfe Jan Holden |
| Music by | James Bernard |
| Cinematography | Arthur Grant |
| Edited by | Alfred Cox |
| Distributed by | Columbia Pictures |
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Release date
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4 December 1959 (UK), May 1960 (US) |
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Running time
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80 min. |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
| Box office | 295,011 admissions (France) |
The Stranglers of Bombay is a 1959 adventure/horror film directed by Terence Fisher for Hammer Films dealing with the British East India Company's investigation of the cult of Thuggee stranglers in the 1830s. The movie stars Guy Rolfe and Jan Holden and, some believe, influenced Steven Spielberg's 1984 film, Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom. It may also have influenced The Deceivers, a 1988 film with Pierce Brosnan as the officer determined to put an end to the practice of Thuggee. This film featured a thug named Gopal, whose name is very similar to that of Gopali, a thug in the 1959 version.
Captain Harry Lewis (Guy Rolfe), of the British East India Company, is investigating why over 2000 natives are missing, but encounters a deaf ear from his superior, Colonel Henderson, who is more concerned with the local English merchants' caravans which are disappearing without a trace. To appease them, Henderson agrees to appoint a man to investigate, and Lewis believes it will be him. However, he is sorely disappointed when Henderson gives the job to the newly arrived, oblivious Captain Connaught-Smith, the son of an old friend of Henderson's.
Lewis believes a gang is murdering both the men and animals of the caravans and then burying the bodies, and suspects that the culprits have secret informants among the merchants of the city. He presents Connaught-Smith with his evidence and his theories, but is dismissed. He is also later caught by the Thugees and sentenced to die by the bite of a cobra, but is rescued by a pet mongoose, forcing the cult's high priest to release him. However, Connaught-Smith remains antagonistic and derisive towards Lewis, who eventually resigns his commission in frustration to investigate on his own.
Meanwhile, the merchants decide to band together and create a super-caravan whose size, as they believe, will discourage the bandits. Ram Das, Lewis' houseboy, believes he has seen his brother, Gopali, who disappeared some years ago, and receives permission to search for him. Lewis later learns that Ram Das has been captured by the Thugs when his severed hand is tossed through the window of his bungalow; soon after, the Thugs compel Gopali Das, a new initiate of the cult, to kill his brother. The hidebound Captain Connaught-Smith leads the caravan and foolishly allows the stranglers (in the guise of travellers) to join them. That night, the Thugs strike with their usual success; Connaught-Smith survives only until the Thugs start burying the bodies, whereupon he is killed too.
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