If you can overlook the blatant racism of the time, it was a great film. By the way, they may have called them dervishes but this was like calling a Texan a yankee. It should be noted that Gordon was destroyed by the forces of the Madhi, the self-proclaimed promised one who like many others around the world at the time, was swept up in the spirit of the age; the spirit which fueled the industrial revolution and the massive segmentation of many of the world's religions into sects, each inspired to follow its own path. This was the same spirit which, in the hands of baser individuals, fuelled colonialism and the subjugation of millions. It is ironic that the heroes of this film were colonialists while the enemy, who were no longer in support of a false prophet, were fighting against colonialism.
Nevertheless, it was a great film. The lead, John Clements, was in many films afterwards, but went largely unrecognized. He may be remembered as the Advocate General in Gandhi. It was his last film and, as it was an 8 x Oscar winning film, this made for a fine curtain call for a great actor, despite his minor role.

This is up in my top 10 favorite classic movies. Brilliant story, brilliant characters, brilliant actors. It's worth it just for the walnuts. "Guns! Guns! Guns!."For those wondering what the movie is about, the description is pretty accurate, although I would add that the main character is given four white feathers (a symbol of cowardice) from his three friends in the regiment and his fiancee(a general's daughter). He disguises himself as an arab and travels to egypt in order to perform acts of bravery so he can earn the right to give the feathers back.

This remake of this film, (there were three before this one) is the best version of the book. The recent remake doesn't hold a candle to this one.