Barnes & Noble

There aren’t enough superlatives in the English language to adequately describe this classic 1939 adventure movie, arguably the best of its type. Nominally based on a poem by Rudyard Kipling (but actually spawned by the fertile imagination of screenwriter Ben Hecht), Gunga Din is a rousing yarn that takes place in 19th-century India, where the British struggle to contain an uprising led by fanatical Thuggee cultists. The true extent of the rebellion is determined following a skirmish with British troops headed by three raucous sergeants -- played to perfection by Cary Grant, Victor McLaglen, and Douglas Fairbanks Jr. -- who are subsequently captured by the cult’s leader (Eduardo Ciannelli). It’s difficult to imagine three Hollywood leading men who could have interacted better than this trio, but theirs are not the only noteworthy performances. Though improbably cast, Sam Jaffe brings humor, pathos, and courage to his portrayal of the titular character, a lowly water carrier who aspires to join Her Majesty’s Army. And Cianelli is properly blood curdling as the sinister servant of Kali, goddess of death. Producer Pandro Berman spared nothing to create the desired effect, actually building a huge temple and an entire village in the foothills of the High Sierras, which stood in for northern India’s rugged mountain country. Director George Stevens (Shane) infused the picture with exuberance from the first frame to the last, skillfully deploying hundreds of extras in sprawling battle sequences and encouraging his principal players to do the lion’s share of their stunts. And he didn’t overlook the script’s comedic potential, either: Grant in particular gets numerous opportunities to mug for the camera, and the techniques Stevens picked up in the early ‘30s while directing comedies for Hal Roach are plainly evident in the byplay between the soldiers and their water carrier. There’s a relatively minor romantic subplot (in which Joan Fontaine figures), but Gunga Din doesn’t spend a lot of time on “mushy stuff” -- this is a red-blooded, rip-roaring tale of adventure that captured the hearts of Depression-era moviegoers and continues to delight viewers today. Ed Hulse

All Movie Guide

Though Rudyard Kipling's poem Gunga Din makes a swell recital piece, it cannot be said to have much of a plot. It's simply a crude cockney soldier's tribute to a native Indian water boy who remains at his job even after being mortally wounded. Hardly the sort of material upon which to build 118 minutes' worth of screen time-at least, it wasn't until RKO producer Pandro S. Berman decided to convert Gunga Din into an A-budgeted feature film. Now it became the tale of three eternally brawling British sergeants stationed in colonial India: Cutter (Cary Grant), McChesney (Victor McLaglen) and Ballantine (Douglas Fairbanks Jr.). Ballantine intends to break up the threesome by marrying lovely Emmy Stebbins (Joan Fontaine), while Cutter and McChesney begin hatching diabolical schemes to keep Ballantine in the army (if this plot element sounds a lot like something from the Ben Hecht and Charles MacArthur play The Front Page, bear in mind that Hecht and McArthur shared writing credit on Gunga Din with Joel Sayre and Fred Guiol; also contributing to the screenplay, uncredited, was William Faulkner). All three sergeants are kept occupied with a native revolt fomented by the Thuggees, a fanatical religious cult headed by a Napoleonic Guru (Eduardo Ciannelli). Unexpectedly coming to the rescue of our three heroes-not to mention every white man, woman and child in the region-is humble water carrier Gunga Din (Sam Jaffe), who aspires to become the regimental trumpeter. Originally slated to be directed by Howard Hawks, Gunga Din was taken out of Hawks' hands when the director proved to be too slow during the filming of Bringing Up Baby. His replacement was George Stevens, who proved to be slower and more exacting than Hawks had ever been! Hal Erickson

Product Details

• UPC: 053939683622
• Source: WARNER HOME VIDEO
• Region Code: 1
• Aspect Ratio: Full Frame
• Language: English
• Time: 1:57:00
• Sales Rank: 1,236

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