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The High Command Series: Thorold Dickinson’s World of Cinema Director: Thorold Dickinson, Country: United Kingdom, Release: 1936, Runtime: 84 “Well, of course, it was a silly story,” said Dickinson, “a whodunit novel they’d bought very cheaply.” Nevertheless, this tale of a murder and the buried past of an army major in colonial Africa (Lionel Atwill) was Dickinson’s first shot at directing, and he made the most of it. The film has an intensity of feeling and–– altogether unexpectedly––a strong sense of place. Small wonder: Dickinson insisted on shooting location footage on the Gold Coast. “The subtlety of Dickinson’s approach toward colonialism gives the stoicism and the good manners an extra edge,” said Martin Scorsese, and the approach yields some extraordinary moments, such as the scene in which the military brass stands still for “God Save the King” as a storm blows around them and their colonial servants rush to secure every object in the house. There’s a quietly romantic performance in The High Command by a young actor whose name would quickly become familiar: James Mason.

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