The Drum (1938 film)

The Drum released in the U.S. as Drums is a 1938 British Technicolor film from the book The Drum by A. E. W. Mason. The film is directed by Zoltan Korda and produced by Alexander Korda. It stars Sabu Dastagir, Raymond Massey, Roger Livesey, and Valerie Hobson.

During the British Raj, Captain Carruthers Roger Livesey works under cover to track smuggled shipments of arms on the restless Northwest Frontier of India the modern day PakistanAfghanistan border. He fears a fullscale rebellion is brewing. To forestall this, the British governor Francis L. Sullivan signs a treaty with the friendly, peaceloving ruler of Tokot, a key kingdom in the region, which is described as four days march northward from Peshawar. The British held a fort at Abazai near this location, not far from the famous Takht Bhai ruins Meanwhile, the kings son, Prince Azim Sabu, befriends Carruthers and a British drummer boy, Bill Holder Desmond Tester, who teaches him how to play the instrument.However, the kings brother, Prince Ghul Raymond Massey, has the king assassinated and usurps the throne Azim escapes a similar fate thanks to two loyal retainers. They hide out in Peshawar, where the British are based. When one of Ghuls men finds and tries to kill the prince, Azim is rescued by Carruthers wife Valerie Hobson. Though he is offered sanctuary, Azim declines, believing it to be safer to remain hidden among his own people. ........

Source: Wikipedia