What a waste of my time!!!

Am I Missing Something?

I cannot think of one single thing that I would change about this film. The acting is incomparable, the directing deft, and the writing poignantly brilliant.

This film is so real. It treats its characters with so much care and sensitivity.

"Sanders" is a remake, of sorts, of the 1935 film "Sanders of the River". However, the plot has been changed so much that it's difficult, at times, to see it's a remake. And, in some cases, entire characters have been written in or out of the remake.The film stars Richard Todd as the title character--a smarty-pants police inspector working in a British colony in West Africa in the waning days of the Empire. He's a determined man and is out to get to the heart of why one of his men was killed. Interestingly, the path takes him to not only a fake funeral but when he finds the guilty man, someone shoots him to keep some secret. But what? Why the two murders and how are they connected? "Sanders" is a rather handsome film. While it was filmed in South Africa (4000 miles away from West Africa), the color cinematography is very nice and I am happy they limited the use of stock footage (which usually is grainy and ill-fitting). As for the plot, it's not bad but the film doesn't use women well. One, Marianne Koch, plays a doctor and practically everyone ogles her and makes sexist remarks about their surprise about her being a 'pretty lady doctor'. The other, Vivi Bach, is a far from stellar actress whose only qualifications, it seems, are her looks. One reviewer went so far as to say she was the worst actress in history. While I wouldn't go that far, I would say she's well in the running--with an inability to deliver lines or show proper emotion (watch her when she bites her hand to show fear or stares off into space as if trying to remember her lines!). With Koch's role re-written a bit (without the sexist stuff) and ANYONE else to play Bach's part (even a talented chimp might do) would improve the film. Overall, not a bad movie--a minor time-passer but not much more.

Apparently the only production of "Big Ben Films","Death Drums along the river"is a typical 1950s bill - filler that was inexplicably released (or escaped) in 1963,a year that saw the first appearances of "Billy Liar","Tom Jones","The Servant","Nothing but the best" and "The Leather Boys".It was not the time for a Boys' Own Paper adventure in Africa featuring a resurrected character from the age when a third of the world was pink on the map. The original "Sanders of the river" -appalling though it was - was at least made with some gusto,"Death Drums" has absolutely nothing going for it at all.Mr R.Todd,splendid in his well - pressed uniform,is hardly a good advert for colonialism.Even though he knows that Independence is imminent he is still brusque and arrogant toward his black N.C.O.s and servants."I hope to stay on - if they'll have me",he tells Miss M.Koch.If I were him I'd be heading for the airport before the ink is dry on the Declaration. Mr J. Lloyd is even more of a buffoon.I could see his sort just about surviving at the height of The Raj in India,but in early 60s Africa? The chinless wonders in "Carry on up the Khyber" were more convincing. "Sandy" has been demoted from Administrator to senior police officer for the purposes of this movie. In search of a diamond smuggling ring he moves into the milieu of dodgy European adventurers,remittance men and rather odd doctors with immaculately attired nurses in a pristine laboratory somewhere "Up river". The whole thing has the air of a tired T.V. pilot that nobody has any confidence in and everybody wants to get done with it as quickly as possible and hope the cheques don't bounce.

Anyone witnessing the performance of Vivi Bach as Marlene the nurse will not be struck dumb with amazement at her beauty,or her flawless hair but at the sheer ineptitude of her attempts aas an actress in this film.there are also some other rather sonambulistic performances and a great deal of dead wood.the sound is rather poor and the colour is extremely variable.Richard Todd is his dependable self.So all in all this is a fairly entertaining film given the standout performance of Viv Bach and if you are a connoisseur of bad performances then you are in for a treatIt is also padded out by a lot of scenes of big game and wild animals.

Death Drums Along the River is roughly a remake of 1938's Sanders Of the River. It is available in the UK on video as part of the Korda Collection, of which I have a copy.A British policeman based in Africa, Mr Sanders, is sent to investigate a murder at a local hospital but discovers a diamond smuggling operation there as well. After several more murders, the main suspect gets eaten by a crocodile in the end. Through all this, he falls in love with a woman doctor he is working with, who is kidnapped by the suspect.Sanders is played well by British actor Richard Todd (The Story of Robin Hood, The Dam Busters). This movie has some nice African scenery and a good music score to keep it moving.An enjoyable movie.Rating: 3 and a half stars out of 5.