The Lives of a Bengal Lancer (1935)

User Rating:

7.5/10   

Director:

Henry Hathaway

Writers:

Francis Yeats-Brown (novel)
Grover Jones (adaptation) ...

Release Date:

15 February 1935 (Austria)

Genre:

Adventure | Drama

Tagline:

1750 to 1! Always out-numbered! Never out-fought! These are the Bengal Lancers...heroes all...guarding each other's lives, sharing each other's tortures, fighting each other's battles...

Plot:

Three British soldiers on the Northwest Frontier of India struggle against invaders...and themselves.

Plot Keywords:

India | Lancer | British | Rescue | Fortress

Awards:

Won 2 Oscars. Another 6 nominations

Cast

Gary Cooper	...	Lieutenant Alan McGregor
Franchot Tone	...	Lieutenant Forsythe
Richard Cromwell	...	Lieutenant Donald Stone
Guy Standing	...	Colonel Tom Stone (as Sir Guy Standing)
C. Aubrey Smith	...	Major Hamilton
Kathleen Burke	...	Tania Volkanskaya
Douglass Dumbrille	...	Mohammed Khan (as Douglas Dumbrille)
Monte Blue	...	Hamzulla Khan
Colin Tapley	...	Lieutenant Barrett
Akim Tamiroff	...	Otamanu, emir of Gopal
J. Carrol Naish	...	Grand Vizier
Noble Johnson	...	Ram Singh
Lumsden Hare	...	Maj. Gen. Sir Thomas Woodley
Jameson Thomas	...	Hendrickson

Runtime:

109 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Noiseless Recording)

Certification:

Argentina:13 | USA:Approved (PCA #474)

Filming Locations:

Alabama Hills, Lone Pine, California, USA

Company:

Paramount Pictures

Trivia:

Paramount hired hundreds of Paiute Indians from nearby reservations and Hindu fruit and olive pickers from California's Napa Valley and Imperial Valley to play the Afridi tribesmen in the battle sequences.

Goofs:

Continuity: When McGregor shaves, the way Forsythe holds the snake charmer pipe changes between shots.

Quotes:

Colonel Tom Stone: [Repeated line] You're improperly dressed.

Movie Connections:

Featured in "Biography: Angela Lansbury: A Balancing Act" (1998)

Soundtrack:

The Man on the Flying Trapeze

Forgotten Classic

You are unlikely to have heard of "The Lives of a Bengal Lancer." It has long been overshadowed by it's more popular contemporaries "Beau Geste" and "Gunga Din", though it is, in my humble opinion, a finer film then either of them. But I'm getting ahead of myself, let's start at the beginning.

"The Lives of a Bengal Lancer" is the story of a regiment of British soldiers in Imperial India. It's an adventure film first and foremost, but it is also an intimate drama about the life of a soldier in an age of Victorian honor, chivalry, and stiff upper lip stoicism. The characters are all interesting and complex and the dialogue is witty and literate.

The film holds up very well for a movie made in 1935, largely due to the lack of any melodramatic romantic subplots, which have permanently marred other adventure films of the period. This is a man's film about men in desperate situations, it's about being willing to die for your country or your friends at a moments notice. It's about a concept that most people consider outdated, honor. How many films have you seen recently about honor, loyalty, and true courage? Probably not many. The action scenes are exhilarating, and the film really does a wonderful job of establishing it's Indian setting.

The performances are all first rate, Gary Cooper stars as Lt. McGregor. I've always imagined Cooper as the quiet, serious, everyman characters he played later in his career. Here he gets to try his hand at comedy and complexity and gives arguably the most layered performance of his career. Franchot Tone is also perfectly cast, he won on Oscar the same year for his performance in Mutiny on the Bounty, but his performance in this film is equally deserving of acclaim. Tone was one of the best actors of the 1930's, though he never really hit it big as a leading man. He's wonderful here, his character exudes charm and wit, and he and Cooper bounce off each other wonderfully. Richard Cromwell is a little over the top, but he makes sense for the character. British stage actor Guy Standing plays Colonel Stone as being emotionless on the outside, and yet torn apart on the inside, having to make the impossible choice between loyalty to one's family and loyalty to one's country. It's a great performance for which he should have received an Oscar nomination. As for C. Aubrey Smith, he is wonderful as usual, the quintessential British officer, often imitated but never equaled, there is no one like the man himself. Douglas Dumbrille also gives a fine performance as the evil Muhammad Khan.

"The Lives of a Bengal Lancer" is a great film, that has been unfairly denied the classic status it so deserves. For years the only way to see it was on Turner Classic Movies, but recently it was released as one of the five films on the $25 "Gary Cooper Collection". Don't miss it.

10 out of 10

Also, though most people don't know it, this is the film in which the now famous line "We have ways of making men talk" is first uttered.