The Thuggee cult was a religious sect of professional assassins in India who were responsible for hundreds of thousands of murders (if not millions), the members carrying out the killings in the name of the Hindu goddess Kali; the killers would strangle their victims and bury the bodies to hide the evidence. The cult was eventually wiped out during the British occupation of India in the 19th Century.
The Stranglers of Bombay stars Guy Rolfe as Captain Harry Lewis, who is dedicated to finding out who is responsible for attacks on caravans carrying goods for the British East India Company, and the disappearance of countless travellers. Captain Christopher Connaught-Smith (Allan Cuthbertson) is officially put in charge of the investigation, but he is an arrogant fool, so Lewis conducts his own enquiries, putting his own life in danger by doing so.
Made by Hammer, the film is essentially a historical thriller/adventure, but the cruel nature of the Thuggees and their violent acts mean that it should definitely appeal to horror fans as well: two men who fail the Thuggee cult have their eyes put out with a hook, a severed hand is thrown through a window, and a man is forced to strangle his brother (and then cut open his stomach). This being a Hammer film, there is also a buxom Indian babe (Marie Devereux) whose sole purpose is clearly to serve as window dressing (I suspect she was prominent in promotional material).
Director Terence Fisher keep things moving at a decent lick, but unfortunately lets things descend into lunacy at times, with a daft scene in which the hero is rescued by a mongoose, and an equally silly finalé in which one of the Thuggees has a change of heart, enabling Lewis to escape death in the nick of time and dispose of the cult leader by throwing him onto a funeral pyre.
6/10. Not essential Hammer, but still worth seeing for fans of the studio.
The Stranglers of Bombay stars Guy Rolfe as Captain Harry Lewis, who is dedicated to finding out who is responsible for attacks on caravans carrying goods for the British East India Company, and the disappearance of countless travellers. Captain Christopher Connaught-Smith (Allan Cuthbertson) is officially put in charge of the investigation, but he is an arrogant fool, so Lewis conducts his own enquiries, putting his own life in danger by doing so.
Made by Hammer, the film is essentially a historical thriller/adventure, but the cruel nature of the Thuggees and their violent acts mean that it should definitely appeal to horror fans as well: two men who fail the Thuggee cult have their eyes put out with a hook, a severed hand is thrown through a window, and a man is forced to strangle his brother (and then cut open his stomach). This being a Hammer film, there is also a buxom Indian babe (Marie Devereux) whose sole purpose is clearly to serve as window dressing (I suspect she was prominent in promotional material).
Director Terence Fisher keep things moving at a decent lick, but unfortunately lets things descend into lunacy at times, with a daft scene in which the hero is rescued by a mongoose, and an equally silly finalé in which one of the Thuggees has a change of heart, enabling Lewis to escape death in the nick of time and dispose of the cult leader by throwing him onto a funeral pyre.
6/10. Not essential Hammer, but still worth seeing for fans of the studio.