Nine Hours to Rama ** (1963, Horst Buchholz, José Ferrer, Diane Baker, Robert Morley, Harry Andrews, Valerie Gearon) – Classic Movie Review 6401

A heavyweight story – the assassination of Mahatma Gandhi (played by J S Casshyap) – gets a rather lightweight treatment from Nelson Gidding’s not always convincing screenplay and from some uneasy performances from awkwardly cast actors, with too few Indians in the ensemble.

German star Horst Buchholz works hard to be credible but is on the slightly shaky side as Nathuram Godse, the hard-drinking man assigned to kill Gandhi. Buchholz is suitably nervy and intense, but the character’s romances slow the early part of the movie and account for flab in the overlong running time of 125 minutes. Despite their awkward casting, Ferrer and Robert Morley as the parliamentarian P K Mussadi give strong performances.

Arthur Ibbetson was nominated for a Bafta for Best British Cinematography (Colour).

Also in the cast are Diane Baker, Valerie Gearon, Harry Andrews, Wolfe Morris, Don Borisenko, Marne Maitland, P Jairaj, Harold Goldblatt, Francis Matthews, Jack Hedley, Nagendra Nath, Allan Cuthbertson, Peter Illing and Harold Kasket.

It is shot by Arthur Ibbetson and Ted Moore, produced by Mark Robson, scored by Malcolm Arnold, and designed by Elliot Scott and Ram Yedekar.

Buchholz also stars in Robson’s final film, Avalanche Express (1979).

© Derek Winnert 2017 Classic Movie Review 6401

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