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:

Stewart Granger's motorcycle upon which Ava Gardner hitches a ride is a Norton. Bill Travers rides the same model when visiting Stewart Granger's residence later in the film.

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)

India's Independence Birth Pangs

The setting for Bhowani Junction is India during the last days of the British Raj. The town of Bhowani is a railroad junction and both the Congress Party and the Communist Party are doing all kinds of sabotage to help the British quickly get out of India. Of course each is doing it for their own reasons.

Two people who may have given the outstanding performances of their careers are Ava Gardner and Bill Travers. Both play bi-racial people who don't fit in either society. But they react differently. Gardner is going through a whole lot of angst, really seeing both the British and Indian point of view. How she missed an Oscar nomination here is beyond me.

Bill Travers is the railroad station manager and his whole life is his job. He focuses narrowly on that and his tunnel vision leaves him oblivious to the momentous changes around him. Except for the fact that when the British leave he might lose that little piece of authority where he is, that which gives him stature in the Raj society.

The issues are complex, but in the hands of a great director like George Cukor the characters and their struggles become real and even more important, the audience becomes interested.

Stewart Granger who was the British Colonel in charge of the whole mess in Bhowani, said that Bhowani Junction was one of the few films he was really proud to be associated with. He has a struggle to, he really does see the Indians as human beings and not just "wogs." He's quite knowledgeable about their customs and at one point utilizes that knowledge to unjam that railroad terminal.

Bhowani Junction is an intelligent and literate drama and a superb piece of film making.