Spotlight

Spotlight Date: 6-February-05
Spoiler Rating: Medium

Gunga Din (1939)

The name of Gunga Din seeped into my consciousness when I was young, but somehow I always associated it with Genghis Khan and was confused how it fit into history. Now that I have acquainted myself with Rudyard Kipling's fictional poem, I must say the Genghis Khan connection might be preferable. (For all its one-time popularity, the poem is pretty lame.) Fortunately, George Stevens' 1939 adaptation of the tale takes liberties with the source material, relegating the eponymous hero to a secondary role and focusing on the rousing adventures of three British soldiers. Hollywood's "Gunga Din" foreshadows action films like Indiana Jones and bears a strong resemblance to classic westerns, only with "real" Indians instead of Americans and men in kilts instead of cowboys.

Set against jaw-droppingly fabulous landscapes (California and Arizona filling in for northern India), "Gunga Din" stars Cary Grant, Victor McLaglin, and Douglas Fairbanks, Jr., as three of Queen Victoria's finest and naughtiest protectors of the Raj. When the movie opens, their long and happy stint together is coming to an end as Fairbanks prepares to wed a pretty young thing (Joan Fontaine) and retire to a life of peaceful domesticity. But on the eve of his discharge, the chums are sent on a mission during which they uncover a cult of Kali worshippers plotting to unleash murder and destruction upon the land. Assisted by their faithful water carrier, Gunga Din (Sam Jaffe, a white guy in brown makeup), the trio must foil the heathen scoundrels, alert the British army, and generally chalk one up for jolly olde England and the brand of manhood they represent.

"Gunga Din" is bookended by two exciting battle sequences (with horses, dynamite, bagpipes, and the like) and fleshed out in between by several scenes of drollery and camaraderie. The standout of the picture is Grant, whose Cockney accent sucks but whose larky demeanor and comic dexterity approach perfection (his spiking of a punch bowl is priceless). McLaglin and Fairbanks are well cast as the no-nonsense leader and dashing swashbuckler, respectively; it's sweet to see the former interact with his beloved elephant, Annie, and sexy to watch the latter pitch violent woo to his slightly overbearing fiancée.

The movie's approach to the Indians feels unpleasantly archaic (though probably accurate for the time depicted and certainly better than Kipling), and there are some moments that drag. But all in all, "Gunga Din" offers good, old-fashioned adventure mixed with the right amount of exoticism, fraternity, and humor.

Copyright © 2005 The Jujube (M. I. Kim). All rights reserved.