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:

RKO RADIO'S GIANT SHOW OF SHOWS! (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

Joan Fontaine fell in love with director George Stevens during filming.

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Goofs

When Din and Cutter first see the temple, it is in full sun. The next shot shows only the top of the temple in sun with dark shadows hiding the lower levels.

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Quotes

Gunga Din: The salute satisfactory?
Sgt. Archibald Cutter: That's the idea. Only... you want these fingers to fan the eyebrows more like this.
[makes a salute]
Sgt. Archibald Cutter: The breeze from them fingers oughta almost blow these eyebrows off. Now try it again.
[Din salutes, Cutter smiles]
Sgt. Archibald Cutter: Very good. Very good indeed. Eh... That one almost blew your turban off, didn't it?

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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 The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus (2009)

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Soundtracks

"The Atholl Highlanders"
(uncredited)
Traditional

User Reviews

Star Wars with actors

Obviously a film that has had great influence not only on the buddy genre but action genre as well. George Lucas had to be a fan of this flick as so much of his Star Wars series seems to a homage to Gunga Din. The characters that Grant, McLaglen, and Fairbanks play are just precursors of Han Solo, Luke Skywalker, and Chewbacca. Even Sam Jaffe's Gunga Din morphed into C-3PO and R2-D2 and like him or not: Jar Jar Binks.

Today this film is viewed as non PC but there is a speech by Eduardo Ciannelli as Guru the leader of the Indian opposition to the British raj that could can be echoed in the sentiments of many today.

To a young boy this was a great film. Three strong male leads and only a hint of romance. There was a time when young boys deemed kissing the girl in Saturday matinee film was just mush. Not like today when the more skin is greeted with delight. Too late to lament lost innocence.

Hopefully this film will not be forgotten and a few who are channel surfing will stop at TCM and catch a film with action, adventure, and a cast of thousands instead of CGI actors.