George Stevens' "Gunga Din", loosely based on the famous poem by Rudyard Kipling, tells the story of a trio of British soldiers in India along with the titular native water-bearer who yearns for the life of a soldier. When one of the three decides to leave the army and get married his buddies trick him into returning for one last mission which ends up leading to a stand-off with the murderous Thuggee cult.
The cast is expertly assembled. Cary Grant, Victor McLaglen & Douglas Fairbanks Jr. make a great team. Their characters are men of action but each of the actors also get a chance to inject some comedy into the proceedings from time to time. Sam Jaffe plays Gunga Din and he does a fine job as well.
The film benefits from the sure hand of director George Stevens and features a wealth of quality location work. The cinematography garnered the film's sole Oscar nomination but the film exhibits considerable technical appeal on the whole, including a stirring score from nine-time Oscar winner Alfred Newman.
"Gunga Din" mixes action, adventure, comedy and drama in a good old-fashioned adventure yarn the likes of which we rarely see these days. It's an obvious influence on "Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom" and I also have to wonder if some of the characterization rubbed off on Lucas' "Star Wars" as well. It's a pity that the background of British imperialism spoils the film for some but I can't say that it did so for me.
The cast is expertly assembled. Cary Grant, Victor McLaglen & Douglas Fairbanks Jr. make a great team. Their characters are men of action but each of the actors also get a chance to inject some comedy into the proceedings from time to time. Sam Jaffe plays Gunga Din and he does a fine job as well.
The film benefits from the sure hand of director George Stevens and features a wealth of quality location work. The cinematography garnered the film's sole Oscar nomination but the film exhibits considerable technical appeal on the whole, including a stirring score from nine-time Oscar winner Alfred Newman.
"Gunga Din" mixes action, adventure, comedy and drama in a good old-fashioned adventure yarn the likes of which we rarely see these days. It's an obvious influence on "Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom" and I also have to wonder if some of the characterization rubbed off on Lucas' "Star Wars" as well. It's a pity that the background of British imperialism spoils the film for some but I can't say that it did so for me.