For any film lover, buff or critic, we all know that 1939 was largely considered to be the greatest year for film releases. When we think of that year, most people usually think of The Wizard of Oz or Gone with the Wind. However, there is another film that proves to be a classic but doesn’t get the credit that it deserves. That film is Gunga Din. The film starred Cary Grant, Victor McLaglen and Douglas Fairbanks Jr. as three hapless soldiers of the British Indian Army.
They enlist the help of a water carrying native named Gunga Din (Sam Jaffe) to help bring down a villainous cult that spells the doom of the British Army. Also, for anyone that has not seen the film, spoiler alert, but Din is the hero that saves the day.
The film is based upon the poem by Rudyard Kipling. That’s also the same Rudyard Kipling that wrote The Jungle Book in 1894 and its sequel in 1895. When I first watched it, I was a lot younger and adverse to watching classic movies because I thought that I would not enjoy it. To my surprise, I was extremely wrong and now find the film as a sort of comfort food for whenever it’s playing on the television.
Its grandeur had a certain ubiquity about it and resonated within me, giving me a broader sense of what I was missing out on as a filmmaker and critic. I honestly don’t know why my first impression of the film was to sneer at it, initially. It had everything I was looking for as a kid. It had action, adventure, comedy and grand, cinematic set pieces during the battle and fight sequences.
What really stuck out to me was the film’s grand sense of adventure that it never seemed to lose. Cary Grant stomps in with his unmitigated charisma and never hits the brake for the rest of the film, while Jaffe provides some sly comic relief underneath his innocent nature. The film works best as a wacky, family, adventure film that never lets up on the whimsy.
Admittedly, the use of portraying Indian characters with white actors is looked down on, nowadays, but that was the least of my worries when watching this film.
Overall, this film is obviously overlooked by the likes of The Wizard of Oz and Gone with the Wind, but I just hope that all of that changes and we see more people appreciating this film with all of its splendor and glory.
