Gunga Din

source: Gunga Din

Three British soldiers tackle a gang of thugs in colonial India. "The Front Page" team of Hecht and MacArthur came up with the story, inspired by a Kipling poem. Perhaps further inspiration would have helped because the story is rambling and the humor is barely above the level of The Three Stooges. The key Indian roles are played by white actors in black face. In the title role, Jaffe assays an Indian accent and manages to be fairly convincing. As the leader of the thugs, Ciannelli does not bother to even attempt an Indian accent. For some reason, the action scenes unfold in fast motion, giving the film a primitive look. Grant, McLaglen, and Fairbanks overplay their roles.

When I was a little child, I saw Gunga Din and I loved it. I recently found this VHS and I have just watched it again. Indeed it is a naive and ridiculous adventure of a subservient henchman, serving his British masters in their colony, India of nineteenth century. The movie has Cary Grant, Victor McLaglen and Douglas Fairbanks Jr. playing three very close friends British officers in India and Joan Fontaine, many action scenes and funny parts, but unfortunately I do not like the theme of colonialism, when people defending their country and culture are the 'bad guys' and the arrogant invaders are the 'good guys'. This type of story is very unpleasant to me. Further, the relationship between Sgt. 'Mac' MacChesney and Sgt. Archibald Cutter would be considered very gay in the present days. This movie is very aged and dated. My vote is seven. Title (Brazil): 'Gunga Din'

Now that India has been independent of British rule for more than fifty years, and the movies have given us the great characterization of Ghandi, as the pacifist leader of India's liberation, it's useful to pay careful attention to the speech of the Guru, marvelously played by Eduardo Ciannelli. The violence that the Guru advocates is directed toward the same ends that Ghandi sought, the removal of British control over a country not their own. He refers to some of the outrages that led to the Mutiny of 1857, native soldiers tied to cannons and blown apart. The film, 'Ghandi', portrayed the ambiguity of British thinking after the First World War, with General Dyer's massacre of helpless people at Amritsar set alongside the doubts of distinguished British judges. Yet this finely made 1939 film leaves few doubts: The British belong in India, and Gunga Din's devotion to an army which treats him as the lowest cur is natural and heroic. This is an exciting and flamboyant film made in a style which no contemporary director seems able to achieve. Yet, attention should be paid to Ciannelli's speechs which are marvelously delivered. Although often portraying a criminal in films, he was a remarkably intelligent and mesmerizing actor. I would have liked to see him as Macbeth, or in his later years, as Lear.

A rousing adventure form director George Stevens (before he would turn to more serious fare such as 1948's I REMEMBER MAMA and 1956's GIANT) that set the standard for all future action yarns to follow. Loosely based on Rudyard Kipling's poem of the same, GUNGA DIN follows the journey of three military officers in 19th century India. The noble trio must brave a series of battles and other various dangers including a thuggee cult and a temple full of gold. Their screen adventures remain thrilling even after more than six decades, and have lent inspiration to nearly everything from the cliffhanger-inspired space opera STAR WARS (1977) to the similarly-plotted RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARC (1981). The biggest reason for the picture's success, however, is the pitch-perfect performances by the film's trio of extremely charismatic actors. Victor McLaglen has rarely been better as the strapping tough guy, Cary Grant is the ultimate comic foil, and Douglas Fairbanks, Jr is as suave a swashbuckling hero as imaginable - perhaps even more so than rival Errol Flynn. The chemistry between the three actors simply could not be improved upon, and such warm and believable comradely is precisely what's missing from most modern action pictures - and they receive tremendous support from the marvelous Sam Jaffe, who overcomes the obvious physical miscasting and makes the title character a beacon of humane sweetness and quiet strength. A huge hit in its day (the film was reportedly the second-biggest money maker of 1939 behind the outrageously successful GONE WITH THE WIND), and it remains arguably the best film of its kind.

This was ridiculously bad. For about half the film, there's no story, we're merely thrown scenes at. Then, it's some of the most stereotypical material you could think of on screen. It's some of the gratuitous, predictable, terribly obvious and unsubtle on screen material, with long bits of dialog in-between, endless battle action, and just more of the same boring filler up to the very end. The exaggeration factor is at an almost paroxysm here, and the whole film suspectly reeks of post-colonial guilt and apology, and yet, at the same time, the indigenous Indians are portrayed in the most derogatory fashion, and there's an overwhelming sense of English pride and more globally a heroic superiority of the West, something extremely prevalent in the films of the time. Pretty, pretty terrible.

'Gunga Din' is the kind of film you cherish after the first viewing and then want to revisit from time to time. It stays in the memory and for valid reasons--the casting is perfect with the three buddies entering into the spirit of the whole thing--the perfect buddy movie. Cary Grant gave many fine performances on film but this is one of his greatest--heroic and funny at the same time. Sam Jaffe is excellent as the water carrier who eventually saves the regiment in what has to be one of the most thrilling endings ever conceived for an action movie. Today some of it is politcally incorrect but this is a minor flaw in a great movie. Douglas Fairbanks, Jr., Victor McLaglen and Eduardo Ciannelli are all perfectly cast. Joan Fontaine has a couple of brief scenes as the only femme in the story--but fails to ignite any interest in her bland role. Based on the famous Rudyard Kipling poem, it deserves a place at the top of the list of great adventure films produced in the 1930s. I'd love to see a technicolor version today with someone like Brendan Fraser leading the "musketeers". A real gem.

As a teen in the 60s I idolized this film. Cary Grant and Douglas Fairbanks Jr. were my idols far more than many of the then current crop of young movie and TV idols, and the British could do no wrong. Everything about this movie seemed first rate for me and so it was with great enthusiasm that I watched Gunga Din this morning – the first time in decades. Now however I find its caricature of India's dedicated freedom fighters, the Kali-devoted thugees, just as sickening and racist as its simpleminded characterization of Gunga Din. Throwing a little reality into all that has been said about Gunga Din, thugees were more akin to the French Resistance fighters of German Occupied France during WWII. Thugees did indeed kill thousands of Indians during their struggle to oust the British, but those deaths were actually the execution of those who collaborators with the foreign invader. As much as I would like to continue to cherish this old classic for "old times sake", I am forced to conclude (and this isn't an exact quote): that when I was a child I spoke as a child and thought as a child, but when I grew up I had to put away childish things.

The movie is totally over rated. The plot is not authentic. White actors with faces grease painted black playing Indian characters, poorly Pretty lame. The Thugs mostly operated in central India not in Khyber Pass. They were small roving bands of criminals not a military force with canons. Scenes of Kali worship in a temple are utterly ridiculous. Historically the movie is totally inaccurate. British Indian army did not fight any full scale wars with the Thugs. They were picked up one by one and hanged. I can go on. There are much nicer 1939 movies that you could watch. Thanks.

Pure Rubbish! Hmmm, good little native boy Gunga Din, played by an old man Sam Jaffe, emulates his masters who have invaded his country and are oppressing the people, raping the women and stealing the natural resources. Of course he wants to be "JUST LIKE THEM". The thuggees are actually the brave Indians fighting the British oppressors but are portrayed as madmen with wild eyes. Oh, so smart, Gunga Din gets himself killed helping the oppressors but they all live. Oh my, what a movie. How great. Times have changed to the point that the conflicts and the way they were fought seemed so unsophisticated as to appear foolish. Imagine a battery of soldiers approaching the enemy with bag pipe, drums and singing announcing their approach. One has to appreciate the romance of a historical nature at a time when militarism, obedience, brainwashing and the stupid love of country were the motivation for endangering one's life. That aspect is idiotic and unrealistic. But the British were so noble in their pursuits. This is one of those movies that gets a lot of credit for an average idea. The problem with this movie is the poor execution. The timing, editing, directing, acting, and writing just don't deliver. In particular, the script just doesn't fit the action or the mood of what's happening on screen. Its beyond idiotic, but that was Hollywood at the time, run by wealthy white men who manufactured junk like this. I really can't imagine any intelligent person enjoying this rubbish.