Gunga DinHeroism is defined by many attributes. Some consider sacrifice to be its acme, and others regard heroism as living in accordance with a righteous moral code. For some, heroes are skilled and disciplined, capable of amazing feats. However one defines a hero, there is one thing that they all have in common: they stand as an exemplar to others, their goal to leave behind a better world when their work is done. Gunga Din is an adventure movie, a mix of action, suspense, comedy, and camaraderie, set during the late 19th century in British-occupied India. It is inspired by the poem of the same name by Rudyard Kipling, largely by way of the title character, here played by Sam Jaffe.
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Gunga Din is a movie that wears many hats. It begins with a scene of a British regiment marching through the badlands of India (which looks suspiciously like a backlot for a Western), encountering a group of robed Indians, led by a man credited as the "Guru" (Eduardo Ciannelli). They ask for an escort, but in the middle of the night, the Guru and his followers strangle the soldiers in their sleep. The panicked horses trying to break free from their hitching post tells us all we need to know that the Guru and his (later-to-be-revealed-as) Thuggee followers of Kali, "the (Hindu) goddess of blood", are definitely the bad guys. Enter the three musketeers...erm, the "soldiers three", sergeants all. There is the treasure-seeking Archibald Cutter (Cary Grant), the more brusque MacChesney (Victor McLaglen), and Thomas 'Tommy' Ballantine (Douglas Fairbanks Jr.), who is on the verge of finishing his tour and is engaged to the lovely Emaline 'Emmy' Stebbins (Joan Fontaine). From the first we set eyes on them, these three soldiers are in the midst of a fight; not with any Indians, but with fellow soldiers in service of their queen empress, over a fraudulent treasure map Cutter bought off of one of them. Here is where we establish that these protagonists are rough and ready types, who can shrug off taking a chair smashed over their heads, and deliver a quip and a haymaker a moment later. There's great humor in their antics; they aren't malicious at any point, yet they are often pranksters. But even more than that, they are essentially action heroes. When they are tasked to investigate the reason why communications with a nearby town have been cut off, we have the benefit of dramatic irony. We know that the Guru and his cult have ambushed the town, and are laying a trap for their occupiers. So when the Thuggees are discovered and a massive gunfight breaks out, of course our heroes emerge virtually unscathed, sending the Thuggees running for the hills. Every shot the enemy fires from their accurate rifles--not to mention from their superior vantage points--misses. Yet these three soldiers can shoot their revolvers with one hand, barely aiming, and strike true without fail. They even use sticks of dynamite which they chuck across the rooftops at each other as makeshift grenades...and somehow manage not to blow themselves up in the process. In short, they've got plot armor for days. What's surprising then is that with an action packed first act, Gunga Din contents itself afterward to be, for the most part, something resembling a screwball comedy in uniform. Much of this comes from Cutter and MacChesney's frustration to see their comrade-in-arms hang up his saber to start a "tea company" with his fiancée. So much hilarity ensues in their attempts to dissuade him from leaving, including spiked punch and overzealous elephants. All the while, an eager Indian who brings water to his fellows named Gunga Din (Jaffe) does his best to be an honorary soldier for the British. He is even coached by Cutter, and eagerly awaits the moment when he can blow his bugle in service of the British military. Gunga Din will have his chance.
Despite being loosely adapted from a poem by Rudyard Kipling--along with material from his "Soldiers Three" collection of short stories--Gunga Din plays out almost exactly like a Western of the era. (Except replace cowboys with British soldiers, and indians with...well, real Indians.) The arc of the narrative is virtually the same, and the introductory fistfight with Cutter et al might as well have been set in a saloon. Gunga Din was directed by George Stevens, whose diverse work also included a Western made over ten years later: Shane. Both films couldn't be more different in tone and message, save that they both still feel like tales about good versus evil set on the rocky badlands outside of civilization. Gunga Din is not a morally complex action movie on the whole, save for a speech the Guru gives at the end, during what amounts to a standoff between the three soldiers and the Thuggees. The Guru makes comparisons between himself and Alexander the Great, Caesar, et cetera, and explains that he would "die" for his India. There's much that could be read into this, about the lengths to which a people would go to excise their occupiers. But ultimately Gunga Din is a film that is an adventure story first; the names and places are interchangable, so long as the heroes are sharp, funny, bold, and uphold their values by the end without compromising their integrity. It's a very black-and-white tale of morality, save that the eponymous Gunga Din represents a bridge between these two peoples, in a manner of speaking. (Just don't let Annie the elephant try to walk across it!) Din (as he is called) is never mistreated (unlike in the poem), and he seems to see something in the British which he respects, a quality that he admires so much that he wants to be a soldier like Cutter and the rest. He is excluded from service proper on the basis that he is Indian, but when the rousing climax to Gunga Din comes, it is his efforts--his sacrifice--which makes the narrow difference between victory and defeat. So by the conclusion, he gets his wish, even if posthumously. Modern sensibilities may take umbrage with this largely sentimental ending, but the film's message rings as clear as the clarion call of Din's bugle: anyone can be a hero, at anytime and anyplace, by standing up for what they believe in, even if (and especially when) it comes at the ultimate price.
Recommended for: Fans of a formative action/comedy/adventure movie, that would easily classify as a Western despite the location and nationalities of its characters. Gunga Din makes it clear why Cary Grant was such a superstar, owing to his comedic ease and action star persona, but it interestingly also makes a case for (again, despite modern sensibilities) that unfortunately named acting technique cynically called "brownface". Offensive though it may be to some, actors like Eduardo Ciannelli and Sam Jaffe deliver nuanced performances that speak to the film's target audience in a way that feels downright Shakespearean at times. While not essential to the film's enjoyment, it doesn't harm it any, and adds an extra dimension that may have been lost otherwise.
Despite being loosely adapted from a poem by Rudyard Kipling--along with material from his "Soldiers Three" collection of short stories--Gunga Din plays out almost exactly like a Western of the era. (Except replace cowboys with British soldiers, and indians with...well, real Indians.) The arc of the narrative is virtually the same, and the introductory fistfight with Cutter et al might as well have been set in a saloon. Gunga Din was directed by George Stevens, whose diverse work also included a Western made over ten years later: Shane. Both films couldn't be more different in tone and message, save that they both still feel like tales about good versus evil set on the rocky badlands outside of civilization. Gunga Din is not a morally complex action movie on the whole, save for a speech the Guru gives at the end, during what amounts to a standoff between the three soldiers and the Thuggees. The Guru makes comparisons between himself and Alexander the Great, Caesar, et cetera, and explains that he would "die" for his India. There's much that could be read into this, about the lengths to which a people would go to excise their occupiers. But ultimately Gunga Din is a film that is an adventure story first; the names and places are interchangable, so long as the heroes are sharp, funny, bold, and uphold their values by the end without compromising their integrity. It's a very black-and-white tale of morality, save that the eponymous Gunga Din represents a bridge between these two peoples, in a manner of speaking. (Just don't let Annie the elephant try to walk across it!) Din (as he is called) is never mistreated (unlike in the poem), and he seems to see something in the British which he respects, a quality that he admires so much that he wants to be a soldier like Cutter and the rest. He is excluded from service proper on the basis that he is Indian, but when the rousing climax to Gunga Din comes, it is his efforts--his sacrifice--which makes the narrow difference between victory and defeat. So by the conclusion, he gets his wish, even if posthumously. Modern sensibilities may take umbrage with this largely sentimental ending, but the film's message rings as clear as the clarion call of Din's bugle: anyone can be a hero, at anytime and anyplace, by standing up for what they believe in, even if (and especially when) it comes at the ultimate price.
Recommended for: Fans of a formative action/comedy/adventure movie, that would easily classify as a Western despite the location and nationalities of its characters. Gunga Din makes it clear why Cary Grant was such a superstar, owing to his comedic ease and action star persona, but it interestingly also makes a case for (again, despite modern sensibilities) that unfortunately named acting technique cynically called "brownface". Offensive though it may be to some, actors like Eduardo Ciannelli and Sam Jaffe deliver nuanced performances that speak to the film's target audience in a way that feels downright Shakespearean at times. While not essential to the film's enjoyment, it doesn't harm it any, and adds an extra dimension that may have been lost otherwise.