He tries hard to create a level of excitement that only works in certain situations (like the final scenes of the film) but not in others (the rooftop combat scene). Director George Stevens was obviously trying to make this in the spirit of a high seas adventure and less a war drama. The film feels very much like a hodge podge of common motifs that never express themselves originally. This influence from other films also impacts Gunga Din‘s pacing and humor. Far from Alfred Newman’s best score, it has a few moments that work quite well however, there are a few segments of silence that work more effectively than more than half of the score. When it needs to be more exotic or subdued, it becomes more traditional and bombastic. Fontaine is barely in the film, so comparing her minimal performance to the rest of the cast seems unnecessary.ĭrawing on the influence of popular films of the time, the musical score is slavishly adventurous. He speaks English almost better than his contemporaries and in a lexicon that would be surprising for that type of person at the time of the film.

Yet, in spite of that, he injects passion and vigor into the role that enables the audience to form an empathetic link to his desires to succeed and become a real soldier.Įduardo Ciannelli is overly-bronzed and aggressively overzealous as the Guru in charge of the rebellion. Much like other films of the period, Jaffe’s performance is festooned with tics and stereotypes that convey the character without adding much depth. The three work quite well together, which adds a level of camaraderie important to the story. McLaglen is a dominating presence and Fairbanks Jr. He’s charming and energetic without the need to be the center of attention, which he shares equally with his co-stars. Grant gives one of my favorite performances here. Their plans are further enhanced when Cutter goes off with Din in search of a temple of gold where they hope to find the impetus to encourage Ballantine to re-join, leading to his capture. They uncover the presence of a dangerous rebellion that will settle for nothing but the utter destruction of the British army. There, their group is slowly picked off by the Indian residents who led the original assault only to be done in by the expert brawling of the three. When the troop never returns the military begins to worry, a concern that is justified when communicating with one of their bases and communication is suddenly silenced.Įxtricated from a massive bar brawl over a fake treasure map, the three soldiers are punished by leading an expedition to the small village where the British telegraph operator and army base was stationed. The film opens not with these three men but with the ambush of a British army caravan who take on an unassuming band of Indian travelers who kill them in their sleep.

Ballantine is about to retire from the military to be with his wife Emmy (Joan Fontaine) while his pals want him to take another tour. as Cutter, MacChesney and Ballantine respectively. The titular character Gunga Din is a faithful servant to the British army who longs to be a soldier himself.īased on the poem by Rudyard Kipling, Gunga Din stars Cary Grant, Victor McLaglen and Douglas Fairbanks Jr. Three British soldiers stationed in India find themselves at the center of an investigation into the sudden uprising among the indigenous Indian population.

Gunga din screenwriter crossword