The Lives of a Bengal Lancer (1935)

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:

This is the film where Douglass Dumbrille says, "We have ways of making men talk," although everybody remembers it as, "We have ways of making you talk."

Goofs:

Continuity: McGregor tells Lt. Stone to take a paper to Col. Stone. Lt. Stone begins to reach for the paper with his left hand, but accepts it with his right.

Quotes:

Lieutenant Forsythe: You don't like poetry?
Lieutenant Alan McGregor: How should I know? I never read any.
Lieutenant Forsythe: Perhaps something more rugged. "Ever the faith endures, England, my England, take and break us we're yours, England my own. Life is good, joy runs high, between English earth and sky. Death is death, and we shall die, to the song on your bugles blown, to the star on your bugles blown.
Lieutenant Forsythe: [pause] If I'd known I was gonna say all this I would have brought my violin!

Movie Connections:

Referenced in El viaje a ninguna parte (1986)

Soundtrack:

The Man on the Flying Trapeze

Gary Cooper fans should know

For those of you young Gary Cooper fans out there, like myself, check out this great movie. It was filmed in the era of Gunga Din, Robin Hood, and They Died With Their Boots On and more than holds it's own with all of them. The Coop is at his best in this one, though for some reason this film is not touted as among his best. It doesn't receive the fanfare High Noon, Pride of the Yankees, or Sergeant York do, and that is a shame. This is a truly entertaining film for people of all ages---it has laughs, plenty of action, and surprising emotion. Check it out.