User reviews

So little is heard of this film these days, that it has almost slipped into obscurity. And that's a shame. It has a fascinating story at the core--but the drawback seems to be a series of flashbacks that could have been edited to omit too much emphasis on the love interest between the assassin (HORST BUCHHOLZ) and VALERIE GEARON.

The flashbacks explaining the youth of the future assassin are interesting enough and there's a lot of local color in the splendid Indian backgrounds to give the story an authentic feel. But the romance takes up too much time that cuts into the suspenseful angle of a tale that lacks the taut excitement generated by that other famous assassination attempt depicted in THE DAY OF THE JACKAL.

Jose Ferrer and Robert Morley are the only other notables in the cast, with the exception of DIANE BAKER (whom I almost didn't recognize as the dark-skinned Indian girl that shares an intense scene with Buchholz in which she gets slapped around pretty badly).

Two hours of running time is a bit of a stretch for this tale, which is still absorbing enough to watch under Mark Robson's forceful direction. HORST BUCHHOLZ carries the film with a very intense performance that gives the film almost all of its edge.

For an even more exemplary example of this type of film, I highly recommend THE DAY OF THE JACKAL for tighter suspense.

This is a somewhat fictional account of the assassination of Mahatma Gandhi. The film starts off really well, and has a good climax (unless, of course, you're Gandhi), but it drags a bit in the middle as we learn about the assassin and his motivation. Horst Buchholz plays the killer; oddly, he seems less repulsive than usual, so that's a plus. Jose Ferrer is the policeman trying to track him down. A few British actors show up in small roles. The big revelation to me was the British actress Valerie Gearon, as the upper-class Indian whom Buchholz loves. I hadn't seen her in anything before; she is quite striking. Diane Baker has a small part as an Indian, and is semi-believable. Gandhi is played by J. S. Casshyap, and he certainly looks the part.

It would be great if this existed on DVD with commentary since there are holes in the plot that require explanation. It's probably worth a look, if you can tolerate the flashback sequences.

Narayan: "What would happen to us in the next life if Gandhi calls out to Rama, and we have killed him? We will be vile things in the next life." Nathu: "He will not call out to Rama, I swear! He will not." With a look of doubt on his face.

He was Gandhi's admirer in his early years but then under the influence of VD Savarkar he came to disapprove of Gandhiji's 'non-violence' ideology and became a devotee of hindutva.(which is currently in vogue, gradually preponderating). He had an affair with a married woman who was Gandhiji's follower and one of the what-if conjecture is that if she had agreed to run away with him just before he was to reach Birla house, Gandhiji would have lived 135 years !!!!

This movie is based on a book by Stanley Wolpert's that was published in 1962 but soon after was banned in India. The Nehruvian india also banned the movie. The possible reasons could be because Gandhi appears only in few pages of the book and the movie shows some alcohol and sex-driven account of Godse. But the government's failure could also be one of the reasons as they did have an intel of a possible assassin but still they failed to enforce additional security measures. Why were the fence around the Birla House and the compound not secured and monitored ????

The movie was made in 1963... Horst Bucholtz's (The Magnificent Seven fame) performance is well-fitting. However, the most cast including protagonist and principal characters are being played by white people with faces painted brown!!!! Why??? No English speaking actor was available back then? How about Sanjeev Kumar??? Tongue-in-cheek ... J S Kashyap is a perfect choice for the Gandhi role.. and he shines even his screen presence is limited to only few brief moments .. Many prominent Gandhians including my grandfather who was very close to Sardar Patel requested clemency for the Godse. As Gandhiji too was in favor of abolishing the death penalty. However, since death penalty still existed at the time, it was just fair to sentence him as justice must prevail!

Do you know that Nathuram Godse's niece was married to Veer Savarkar's nephew?

"It is because I have failed that you both (police superintendent and killer (Godse ) carry a gun. The weakest possess the most strength! Humility is power and non-violence will conquer over the violence though it will take thousand years. Woukd you like me to linger around fir another thousand years? " - Gandhiji Watch Nine Hours to Rama, available on YouTube.

I watched this film completely at random from my library of "old VHS" I thought it to be a very good production, but probably of marginal interest to today's public.

After I realized what the movie really portrayed, I was fascinated to pursue some of the other comments, a piece of history that has been "missed." Really some of this is very relevant to what is happening today. I very much appreciate the sentiments pro or con in the above reviews.

Good movie overall, I'll not comment on the production, but would make the following observations: Bucholz - great performance, but where did he go from here? (I did see the obit); Ferrer - very impressed with his handling of his role; Morley - miscast and not in character

Lastly. this was an AngloHollywood production of an IndoPakistani historic event. A Bollywood reproduction might prove interesting!

Nine Hours To Rama is the story of the Mahatma Gandhi's assassination in 1948. When I saw the film Gandhi with Ben Kingsley, I looked on the IMDb message board and someone asked if Gandhi was a fictional character. So in case you're not aware, he was the founder of the independence movement that led to the creation of India and Pakistan. He believed in nonviolent resistance, which got rid of the British, but the Muslims broke away and created Pakistan. War and conflict followed.

A Hindu, Nathuram Gotse, blamed Gandhi for conceding too much to the Muslim separatist leader, Mohammed Ali Jinnah. He wasn't alone.

The strongest performance in the film is that of J.S. Casshyap, who plays Gandhi - I actually felt like I was watching the great man himself. He did a fantastic job. Horst Buchholz, an incredibly handsome man who enjoyed a good career in America for a time, plays Gotse very well. As the police inspector, Jose Ferrer handled his role beautifully - he knows Gandhi is in danger, but Gandhi won't let him take any precautions or change his schedule.

This film was released less than a year after the Kennedy assassination. The film states it is a work of fiction, as it focuses on Gotse and his various involvements.

A film which builds up to a climax is spoilt by some unconvincing performances, especially Harry Andrews' Indian Officer and Robert Morley. Despite this, the direction is reasonable and the film worth seeing as there seem so few films about this subject.

Though the work behind this film may have been admirable at the time and may have had good intentions, the result now is at best unspectacular and at worst insulting. Some intriguing titles by Saul Bass give way to a pretty pedestrian film. The story is torturously told...featuring the dreaded flashback approach and a gallery of clichéd characters and situations. The cast is a befuddling mixture of British, German, Puerto Rican, American and who knows what all else all shuffling around in dark contact lenses and "brownface" as they attempt to portray Indian people. They all adapt that hokey sing-song method of speaking which is an exaggerated and stereotypical version of how Indians relay the English language. It's worst sin is it's DULLNESS! From the man who would direct "Valley of the Dolls" and "Earthquake", one might have expected a touch more pizazz! The climactic assassination attempt is pretty tense and well handled, but getting there is no picnic.

Somewhat fictional account of the assassination of Mahatma Gandhi. The film starts off really well, and has a good climax (unless, of course, you're Gandhi), but it drags a bit in the middle as we learn about the assassin and his motivation. Horst Buchholz plays the killer; oddly, he seems less repulsive than usual, so that's a plus. Jose Ferrer is the policeman trying to track him down. A few British actors show up in small roles. The big revelation to me was the British actress Valerie Gearon, as the upper-class Indian whom Buchholz loves. I hadn't seen her in anything before; she is quite striking. Diane Baker has a small part as an Indian, and is semi-believable. Gandhi is played by J. S. Casshyap, and he certainly looks the part.

NINE HOURS TO RAMA distinguishes itself in the category of "historical fiction." While remaining faithful to Stanley Wolpert's novel, it perfectly captures the political tension of post-independence India which led to the murder of Mahatma Gandhi on 30 January 1948.

Nelson Gidding's screenplay eliminates some of the clutter of the novel, limits the flashbacks to the background of the assassin, Nathuram Godse, and maintains a good pace through the painful climax. Director Mark Robson (THE HARDER THEY FALL, VON RYAN'S EXPRESS), with the help of cinematographer Arthur Ibbetson, makes good use of the diverse landscape and people of India. Robson's international leads portray Indians with intelligence and sensitivity, blending expertly with many Indian supporting actors.

In making the transition from an exuberant 18-year old to an embittered fanatic of 30-plus, Horst Buchholz delivers an intense, focused performance as Godse, the real-life killer. Don Borisenko is his partner Apte, plagued by doubt and fear, and straining to reconcile his fateful mission with the tenets of his Hindu faith. The biggest liberty taken with history is the addition of a sophisticated, married woman with whom Godse falls in love, played by the lovely, elegant Valerie Gearon.

Jose Ferrer is superb as the Delhi police inspector desperately trying to prevent the inevitable, but hamstrung by the target himself. His frustration is shared by Harry Andrews, unrecognizable as a Sikh general. Robert Morley is fabulous as the parliamentarian whose hard-headed politics clashes with Gandhi's idealism. The gorgeous Diane Baker plays a prostitute who provides Godse with some much-needed refuge.

By far, the most inspired piece of casting is that of a former teacher, J. S. Casshyap, as Mahatma Gandhi. (Yes, HE is Indian!) His scenes, however brief, are the most startling. His resemblance to the great leader -- face, body, and voice -- is nothing short of remarkable, even more so than Ben Kingsley in the second half of GANDHI. It is one of the many injustices of the film world, that Casshyap was never even nominated for an Oscar for "Best Supporting Actor."

Robson and his crew deserve high praise for their fidelity to the subject matter and the professionalism of its execution, from Saul Bass's chilling opening credits (showing the inner workings of a stopwatch) and Malcolm Arnold's magnificent score, through the costume and production design, all the way to the brilliantly staged and edited assassination sequence. The result is one of the most underrated films of the 1960's.

I am furious that this is not available on VHS or DVD; in fact it should be in the widescreen format! One can only hope that 20th Century Fox will someday rectify the situation.

Nine Hours to Rama is the countdown before the tragic assassination of Gandhi. First of all, why would anyone want to make a movie about that? Secondly, if someone is going to make a movie about that, why would the assassin himself be the protagonist? Isn't it strange to try and "root for" the bad guy when he's this bad?

If you do watch this movie, you should know it's not as advertised. It's not a tense thriller with a nail-biting clock counting down the time of the assassination. It's not about Gandhi. It's not a cat-and-mouse relationship between the detective and the assassin. It's a series of flashbacks about why Horst Buchholz's character is so incredibly angry, and how mean and callous he treats the women in his life. He happens to be planning an assassination of Gandhi before sundown that day, but that almost feels incidental.

Horst really is a wonderful actor, though. He has an incredible magnetism and intense energy that makes it impossible to look away when he's on the screen. It's a shame he got typecast as a bad boy, and an even greater shame that he got roped into this movie. How can you bounce back from playing the guy who killed Gandhi? But perhaps the greatest shame of all is seeing the once magnificent José Ferrer beaten down and tired, depressed and without his energy and pizazz. To see him in this movie, you'd never guess he had a Rag Award and four additional nominations under his belt.

Nine Hours To Rama tells the story of the assassination of Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi the founder of the independence movement that led to the creation of India and Pakistan. Many Hindus feel that the latter is more like an unwanted step child that was a byproduct of the birth and thereby hangs a tale of confrontation that has lasted to this day.

Horst Bucholtz plays Nathuram Gotse who actually managed to get up close and personal in 1948 to slay a man many regard as a 20th century saint. Though Gandhi's creed of non-violent resistance worked in getting the British out it wasn't so successful in keeping the Moslem population from creating its own separate state of Pakistan. Those years marked one of the bloodiest conflicts of the last century as Moslems and Hindus both migrated under the guns of war to the boundaries of the new states. Gotse blamed Gandhi for conceding too much to the leader of the Moslem separatists Mohammed Ali Jinnah as did many.

Bucholtz does a good job in playing the fanatic, but personally I think the film is dominated by J.S. Casshyap who gives a remarkable portrayal of the Mahatma. You really do think you're seeing some old newsreel footage of Gandhi in his last years. The Mahatma was not going to compromise, not a bit. Note the frustration of Jose Ferrer as the dedicated police inspector who knows there's a real plot out there, but is helpless as Gandhi will not let him take the slightest kinds of precautions nor will Gandhi alter his schedule. And the scene where Congress Party politician Robert Morley is trying to wangle an endorsement from the Mahatma and Gandhi ever so gently turns him down is very amusing.

Ironic that Nine Hours to Rama came out the year of the assassination of our president in America. Like The Manchurian Candidate, Nine Hours to Rama was deep sixed for a while. If you get a chance to view it, don't pass it up. And definitely see it conjunction with Bhowani Junction and Ben Kingsley's remarkable Gandhi.

This film is fascinating because much of it was filmed on location in India during the early 1960s. The film is worth watching just for the exterior background scenes. If one thinks of this film as a dramatic travelogue it may be more palatable. The acting is mediocre all around. Horst is almost convincing as the tormented alcoholic assassin. How much better this film could have been with an Indian cast, one can only wonder. Since the Indians produce more movies than any other country it is a shame that no Indian actors were involved in this production. Dianne Baker looks very lovely in her dark makeup and braided hair.

In theory, this ought to have been an interesting look at just what drove Nathuram Gohdse (Horst Buchholtz) to plan and assassinate Mahatma Gandhi (J. S. Casshyap). Instead, what we get is a rather ploddingly miscast historical affair that though it does try, and try quite hard, simply doesn't really work. We are told by retrospective just why this Hindu held Gandhi responsible for the murders of many thousand Hindus by Muslims - acts for which he is determined to seek vengeance, and how he is prepared to travel the length and breadth of his country to achieve his goal. The casting of Horst Buccholz, an attractive man who is a master at illustrating fear and panic - he has a wonderful face for conveying these emotions - is bizarre, but not so odd as Robert Morley, Harry Andrews (Gen. Singh) and a really wooden José Ferrer as Gopal Das - the policeman determined to try and thwart the myriad of ongoing plots. Though beautifully shot and with some considerable attention paid to the look of the film, the story lacks pace, the characters depth and but for an almost doppelgänger performance from an eerily familiar looking Casshyap, this struggles above the parapet of a procedural melodrama. There is certainly an intensity to Buchholz's performance at the end, but otherwise I found this all took way too long to get anywhere...

Despite periodic attempts by his family to rehabilitate him, Natu Ram Ghodse remains **unperson** in India. It is illegal to publish his name or likeness, with the intention of wiping out all memory of the assassin of Mahatma Gandhi.

The astonishing portrayal of the magnicide Ghodse by young Horst Buchholz shows that it is possible on an emotional level to empathize with an unsympathetic character.

The casting probably is the best thing about this picture--that and the exceptional local color of the cinematography. Buchholtz was German born and bred, yet there always was something, well...Asiatic about his looks. Darken his complexion a bit and he makes a convincing Hindu. The most inspired casting of all however was J. S. Casshyap as Gandhi. Casshyap was a university professor, Indian but entirely at home in English, and this was his first film role. His last, too so far as is known. Seeing him bent over a simple spinning wheel really is like seeing the Great Soul himself on the last day of his life.

Many commenters have remarked the effective opening titles but none seem to get the significance of showing the steady unwinding of a watch's mainspring, with driving, rhythmic Indian music in the background. Time...time is passing...time is running out--for Mohandas Gandhi, for India, for the world.

I remember seeing this movie broadcast on television as young boy and being fascinated by the beautiful and exotic photography. I didn't even know who Ghandi was at that young age but was intrigued enough to watch the entire movie without really planning to. At that age I was watching sports on television mostly. I don't know much about the assassin, his motives and what happened after Ghandi's death. I would like to see if the movie is as good as I seem to remember it being today. With the increasing violence between India and Pakistan and terrorism in general, I would like to revisit this movie if possible. I am rather surprised that this movie made United States television considering how provincial and narrow-minded Americans tend to be about the rest of the world etc...

They say it's a fictionalised version of the assassination, but it is well done and actually convincing. The author has made a thorough effort to enter the mind of the assassin and analyze his full case and situation without defending him or making any apologies, but just exposing him as tragically misinformed and carried away by his own presumptions, impetuously jumping to conclusions under the influence of capricious terrorists. Horst Buchholz makes a fantastic and convincing performance of the poor misguided Indian nationalist gone wrong from the beginning, and the other Indians, José Ferrer, Robert Morley and Harry Andrews, are quite convincing as such. It's a tragedy, everyone trying to dissuade Buchholz from his misguided intentions and everyone trying to persuade Gandhi not to appear in public on the fateful day. J. S. Casshyap, actually an ordinary civil professor and no actor, makes a more than convincing portrait of Gandhi in his only film, better even than Ben Kingsley, +20 years later, and the film achieves an almost documentary character, although it claims to be fictional. But the psychology of the drama and film is more than convincing.

I found this movie several decades after I tried for the first time. This movie was totally invisible in France, movie theaters, Tv channels, French Cinémathèque...Nothing at all. Only a retailer of mine purchased it for me from the USA. I don't understand that a Twentieth Century Fox film, with a two hours length, filmed in LBX, in color, is so hard to watch. I admit that the lead Horst Bucholz doesn't help much. He was not John Wayne, nor Robert wagner nor Richard Widmark or Victor Mature - other Daryl Zanuck' company major stars. But this film is really worth watching, the production design is awesome and Mark Robson has nothing to be ashamed of. It is not spectacular, but most of Henry King's films for Fox were not spectacular either. And it speaks of a true story, that no other Hollywood feature has even told about. It is really worth the watch.