Bhowani Junction (1956)

Director:

George Cukor

Writers:

John Masters (novel)
Sonya Levien (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

1 May 1956 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Adventure | Romance

Tagline:

M-G-M's Drama Aflame With Love And Revolt!

Plot:

Anglo-Indian Victoria Jones seeks her true identity amid the chaos of the British withdrawal from India.

Plot Keywords:

Train | India | Railroad | Terrorist | British Army

Awards:

Nominated for BAFTA Film Award. Another 1 nomination

Cast

Ava Gardner	...	Victoria Jones
Stewart Granger	...	Col. Rodney Savage
Bill Travers	...	Patrick Taylor
Abraham Sofaer	...	Surabhai
Francis Matthews	...	Ranjit Kasel
Marne Maitland	...	Govindaswami
Peter Illing	...	Ghan Shyam aka Davay
Edward Chapman	...	Thomas Jones
Freda Jackson	...	The Sandani
Lionel Jeffries	...	Lt. Graham McDaniel
Alan Tilvern	...	Ted Dunphy

Runtime:

110 min

Country:

USA | UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

4-Track Stereo (Western Electric Sound System)

Certification:

West Germany:12 (f) | USA:Approved (PCA #17728) | Australia:PG | Finland:K-16 | Sweden:15

Filming Locations:

Lahore & Northwestern Railway, Pakistan

Company:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Trivia:

Edward Chapman was hired to play Jones after the scenes had been shot with another actor playing the role.

Goofs:

Errors made by characters (possibly deliberate errors by the filmmakers): When Savage is first in Taylor's office giving him orders about the trains, he says, "One of you will have to be in close touch with me at all times so that my trolley patrols do not run into unscheduled trains." He says the word "unscheduled" using the American "sk" pronunciation, but as an Englishman he would have pronounced it using the British "sh" sound.

Quotes:

Col. Rodney Savage: The only people who face reality are too dumb to duck when they see it coming.

Movie Connections:

References Ziegfeld Follies (1945)

A Essay On RACISM

I watched this expecting the normal 50's play on British India and found a morality tale. The approach was a pleasant surprise. The first half dealt with the prejudice toward half Indian and English by both sides. Any comment applied to "wogs" etc could have been the N word in America. This was made in 1956!!!

Of course the 2ed half became the Granger-Gardner love story and get the bad guy but still fun. Ava was sexy as hell and Stewart was dashing. HIP HIP HORAY! Their children would be "1/4 wog". The ending was a bit much but still fun.

This movie belongs on DVD and soon. I highly recommend this as a fun movie with A blast at hate.