Gunga Din (1939) | |
| Director(s) | George Stevens |
| Producer(s) | George Stevens |
| Top Genres | Action, Adventure, War |
| Top Topics | Army, Book-Based |
Featured Cast:
Gunga Din Overview:
Gunga Din (1939) was a Action - Adventure Film directed by George Stevens and produced by George Stevens.
The film was based on the poem of the same name written by Rudyard Kipling published in 1892.
SYNOPSIS
The prototypical Hollywood action adventure-buddy film is loosely based on the poem by Rudyard Kipling and adapted by MacArthur-Hecht (basing character relationships from their hit play The Front Page) and William Faulkner, who goes uncredited. Three soldier-comrades (Grant, Fairbanks, and McLaglen) help suppress a native uprising in 19th century India with the help of their intrepid waterboy, Gunga Din. Archivally restored to 117 minutes (from 96), it is also available in a less impressive colorized version.
(Source: available at Amazon AMC Classic Movie Companion).
.Gunga Din was inducted into the National Film Registry in 1999.
Academy Awards 1939 --- Ceremony Number 12 (source: AMPAS)
| Award | Recipient | Result |
| Best Cinematography | Joseph H. August | Nominated |
BlogHub Articles:
The Essential Films of 1939: Gunga Din
By Amanda Garrett on Feb 23, 2015 From Old Hollywood FilmsCary Grant, Victor McLaglen and Douglas Fairbanks Jr. take on the brutal Thuggees in Gunga Din. The Director: George Stevens. The Stars: Cary Grant; Victor McLaglen; Douglas Fairbanks Jr; Sam Jaffe and Joan Fontaine. Source Material: Anglo-Indian writer Rudyard Kipling's 1892 poem about... Read full article
Gunga Din (1939)
By 4 Star Film Fan on Mar 7, 2014 From 4 Star FilmsStarring Cary Grant, Victor MClaglen, and Douglas Fairbanks Jr. with Sam Jaffe in the title role and director George Stevens, the film follows three men in Her Majesties’ Forces. They soon have a run in with a violent cult but they narrowly come out in one piece. However, after that things qui... Read full article
Gunga Din (1939)
By 4 Star Film Fan on Mar 7, 2014 From 4 Star FilmsStarring Cary Grant, Victor MClaglen, and Douglas Fairbanks Jr. with Sam Jaffe in the title role and director George Stevens, the film follows three men in Her Majesties’ Forces. They soon have a run in with a violent cult but they narrowly come out in one piece. However, after that things qui... Read full article
See all Gunga Din articles
Quotes from
Thuggees: [Thuggees respond in Hindi]
Guru: Give them their strangling cloths.
Thuggees: Kali.
Guru: Give them their burial picks.
Thuggees: Kali.
Guru: Swear by our mother Kali to be thrice faithful to her and to me and to our order and to all of us.
Thuggees: [Thuggees pray in Hindi]
Guru: Rise, our new-made brothers. Rise and kill. Kill, lest you be killed yourselves. Kill for the love of killing. Kill for the love of Kali. Kill! Kill! Kill!
Colonel Weed: [reading from the poem by the journalist, Rudyard Kipling] "Though I've belted you and flayed you / By the living God that made you / You're a better man than I am, Gunga Din."
Guru: You seem to think warfare an English invention. Have you never heard of Chandragupta Maurya? He slaughtered all the armies left in India by Alexander the Great. India was a mighty nation then while Englishmen still dwelt in caves and painted themselves blue.
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Facts about
Eight make-up artists were sent to the Lone Pine set, where they worked for the six weeks of location shooting. Over 600 extras were employed in the Mount Whitney scenes.
Sabu was first choice to play Gunga Din; when it became clear he was unavailable, Sam Jaffe was hired in his place. In an interview years later, Jaffe (a Jewish Russian-American) was asked how he so convincingly played an Indian Hindu. Jaffe replied he kept telling himself to "Think Sabu."
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