Gunga Din (1939)

In 19th century India, three British soldiers and a native waterbearer must stop a secret mass revival of the murderous Thuggee cult before it can rampage across the land.

Director:

George Stevens

Writers:

Joel Sayre (screen play), Fred Guiol (screen play),

Stars:

Cary Grant, Victor McLaglen, Douglas Fairbanks Jr.

Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 1 win.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Cary Grant	...	Cutter
Victor McLaglen	...	MacChesney
Douglas Fairbanks Jr.	...	Ballantine
Sam Jaffe	...	Gunga Din
Eduardo Ciannelli	...	Guru
Joan Fontaine	...	Emmy
Montagu Love	...	Colonel Weed
Robert Coote	...	Higginbotham
Abner Biberman	...	Chota
Lumsden Hare	...	Major Mitchell

Storyline

Based loosely on the poem by Rudyard Kipling, this takes place in British India during the Thuggee uprising. Three fun loving sergeants are doing fine until one of them wants to get married and leave the service. The other two trick him into a final mission where they end up confronting the entire cult by themselves as the British Army is entering a trap. This is of the "War is fun" school of movie making. It has the flavour of watching Notre Dame play an inferior high school team.

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Plot Keywords:

british | thuggee | india | sergeant | army | 

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Taglines:

STAGED ON A SCALE THAT BEGGARS WORDS! (original print ad - all caps)

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Genres:

Adventure | War

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

17 February 1939 (USA)

Also Known As:

Aufstand in Sidi Hakim

Filming Locations:

Alabama Hills, Lone Pine, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$1,910,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

RKO Radio Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

117 min 96 min (reissue)

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Victor System)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Budgeted at $1.915 million, this was the most expensive film RKO had produced to date.

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Goofs

During the rooftop combat at Tantrapur, as the troops run to hide behind a short structure, McChesney's revolver falls from his holster, and McLaglen evidently hears it fall, and goes back for it. There's a cut, and we next see McLaglen behind the structure with revolver in hand. In some prints, this mistake is minimized and does not show McLaglen going back to retrieve the gun.

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Quotes

Sgt. 'Mac' MacChesney: You ain't so stupid as you look.

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Crazy Credits

The credits appear on a gong. Standing next to the gong is a Hindu man, and every time he strikes the gong, the credits change.

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Connections

Referenced in Andy Barker, P.I.: The Lady Varnishes (2007)

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Soundtracks

"Will Ye No Come Back Again?"
(uncredited)
Written by Lady Carolina Nairne

User Reviews

or The Three Musketeers go to India...great fun...

'Gunga Din' is the kind of film you cherish after the first viewing and then want to revisit from time to time. It stays in the memory and for valid reasons--the casting is perfect with the three buddies entering into the spirit of the whole thing--the perfect buddy movie. Cary Grant gave many fine performances on film but this is one of his greatest--heroic and funny at the same time. Sam Jaffe is excellent as the water carrier who eventually saves the regiment in what has to be one of the most thrilling endings ever conceived for an action movie. Today some of it is politcally incorrect but this is a minor flaw in a great movie. Douglas Fairbanks, Jr., Victor McLaglen and Eduardo Ciannelli are all perfectly cast. Joan Fontaine has a couple of brief scenes as the only femme in the story--but fails to ignite any interest in her bland role. Based on the famous Rudyard Kipling poem, it deserves a place at the top of the list of great adventure films produced in the 1930s. I'd love to see a technicolor version today with someone like Brendan Fraser leading the "musketeers". A real gem.