40,000 Horsemen (1940)

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 ... See full summary »

Director:

Charles Chauvel

Writers:

Elsa Chauvel (screenplay), Charles Chauvel (story)

Stars:

Grant Taylor, Betty Bryant, Chips Rafferty

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Grant Taylor	...	Red Gallagher
Betty Bryant	...	Juliet Rouget
Chips Rafferty	...	Jim
Pat Twohill	...	Larry
Harvey Adams	...	Von Hausen
Eric Reiman	...	Von Schiller
Joe Valli	...	Scotty
Albert C. Winn	...	Sheik Abu
Kenneth Brampton	...	German Officer
John Fleeting	...	Captain Gordon
Harry Abdy	...	Paul Rouget
Norman Maxwell	...	Ismet
Pat Penny	...	Captain Seidi
Charles Zoli	...	Cafe Proprietor
Claude Turton	...	Othman (as Claude Turtin)

Storyline

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 the attack during the Battle of Beersheba, which was the last cavalry charge in modern warfare.

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Plot Keywords:

australian | palestine | desert warfare | world war one | bayonet | 

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Taglines:

THRILLING! BATTLING! LOVING! (original print media ad - all caps)

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Genres:

Drama | History | War

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

Australia

Language:

English

Release Date:

26 December 1940 (Australia)

Also Known As:

Forty Thousand Horsemen

Filming Locations:

Cronulla, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia

Company Credits

Technical Specs

Runtime:

100 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

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'."

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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...

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Connections

Featured in Century of Cinema: 40,000 years of dreaming (1997)

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Soundtracks

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

User Reviews

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.