40,000 Horsemen

19401940
ApprovedApproved
1h 40min

Three young Australians join the army at the beginning of World War I and are assigned to the Australian Light Horse cavalry, which is serving in Palestine. The three eventually take part in... Read allThree young Australians join the army at the beginning of World War I and are assigned to the Australian Light Horse cavalry, which is serving in Palestine. The three eventually take part in the attack during the Battle of Beersheba, which was the last cavalry charge in modern wa... Read allThree young Australians join the army at the beginning of World War I and are assigned to the Australian Light Horse cavalry, which is serving in Palestine. The three eventually take part in the attack during the Battle of Beersheba, which was the last cavalry charge in modern warfare.

6.1/10

179

Director
- Charles Chauvel
Writers
- Elsa Chauvel(continuity)
- Charles Chauvel(story)
- E.V. Timms(story)
Stars

Top credits

See production, box office & company info

See more at IMDbPro

Harvey Adams, Kenneth Brampton, and Eric Reiman in 40,000 Horsemen (1940)

Betty Bryant, Chips Rafferty, and Pat Twohill in 40,000 Horsemen (1940)

Chips Rafferty, Grant Taylor, Pat Twohill, and Joe Valli in 40,000 Horsemen (1940)

7.0

Impact

6.6

The Real Glory

6.9

The Rugged O'Riordans

5.6

The Rats of Tobruk

6.1

Jedda the Uncivilized

6.9

The Lighthorsemen

6.9

Man with a Million

7.3

Dad Rudd, M.P.

australian palestine desert warfare world war one bayonet 63 more

Taglines
- The ANZACS RIDE AGAIN!
Genres
Certificate
- Approved
Parents guide
- Add content advisory

Trivia
Among those who saw the film on its US release was a young Clint Eastwood. Richard Schickel writes in his 1996 biography of Eastwood: "Treasured among these films and stars [that Clint Eastwood saw while growing up] is one slightly more exotic title, 'Forty Thousand Horsemen'. The story of an Australian cavalry brigade that fought in Palestine in World War I, it starred Chips Rafferty, was made in 1940 and entered the world market a couple of years later. Its dialogue contained a few mild, but in those days shocking, cuss words. Clint remembers going to it with his family and, when the first 'hell' or 'damn' was heard, being aware of respectable citizens leaving the theater. The Eastwoods soon followed, but 'I snuck back later, because I wanted to see the whole movie; it had a lot of action--horses, and lancers and what have you'."

Quotes
Red Gallagher: Come to think of it, what's it all about? What are we fighting for?
Jim: I suppose it's about the right to stand up on a soap box in the Domain, tell the boss what to do with his job if you don't like it. And the right to start off as a roustabout and finish as prime minister, that's what we're fighting for...

Connections
Featured in Forgotten Cinema: The Golden Age of Australian Motion Pictures (1967)

Soundtracks
Waltzing Matilda
(uncredited)
Original music by Christina McPherson (uncredited), revised music by Marie Cowan (uncredited) and lyrics by A.B. 'Banjo' Paterson (uncredited)

Top review

10/10

possibly the most exciting cavalry charge ever filmed

Although filmed 60 years ago I cannot think of a more thrilling realisation on film of a massed cavalry assault. The scene, which is sustained for several minutes, recreats the WWI charge of the Australian light horse on the Turkish-held town of Beersheeba, Palestine, in 1917. This is generally accepted as the last successful cavalry charge in military history (typically some eggheads - probably Brits - quibble on whether it was a true cavalry charge because the Australians were armed with bayonets rather than sabres; not that the distinction meant much to the unfortunates who ended up skewered on the end of them.)

Also noteworthy for the presence of Chips Rafferty, in a typical role as a gangling Aussie bushmen, and who, in the days before Paul Hogan, represented the Australian male as he liked to imagine himself.

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