Gunga Din (1939)

Directed by George Stevens. Starring Cary Grant, Victor McLaglen, Douglas Fairbanks Jr., Sam Jaffe, Eduardo Ciannelli, Robert Coote, Joan Fontaine, Abner Biberman, Montagu Love, Lumsden Hare.

Classic RKO adventure film loosely based on Rudyard Kipling’s poem of the same name, plus other stories (e.g., “Soldiers Three”). Grant, McLaglen and Fairbanks are British soldiers stationed in India who do battle with the murderous Thuggee cult; Jaffe is the regiment’s titular Indian water carrier who longs to be a soldier in service to the royal army. Action aplenty in the early-going and climax, spirited carousing and humor in between to stave off boredom and the impending marriage between Fairbanks and Fontaine, with Grant playing up his comic chops in a surprisingly broad fashion. Memorably moving heroic showcase at the finale. Could have used some tightening in the mid-section, and certain cultural aspects are glaringly dated today (the makeup alone…), but perspective is needed in cases like this, and the filmmaking skill and entertainment value is irrefutable. More than ten writers (both credited and uncredited), including William Faulkner, worked on the screenplay at various stages of production.

82/100