The Lives of a Bengal Lancer (film)

The Lives of a Bengal Lancer
Theatrical release poster
Directed by Henry Hathaway
Produced by Louis D. Lighton
Screenplay by William Slavens McNutt
Grover Jones
Waldemar Young
John L. Balderston
Achmed Abdullah
Laurence Stallings (offscreen credit)[1]
Based on The Lives of a Bengal Lancer
1930 novel
by Francis Yeats-Brown
Starring Gary Cooper
Franchot Tone
Richard Cromwell
Guy Standing
Music by Herman Hand
John Leipold
Milan Roder
Heinz Roemheld
Cinematography Charles Lang
Edited by Ellsworth Hoagland
Production
company
Distributed by Paramount Pictures
Release date
  • January 11, 1935 (1935-01-11) (United States)
Running time
 109 minutes
Country United States
Language English
Box office $49 million (2008 equivalent of $1.5 million in the 1930s)

The Lives of a Bengal Lancer is a 1935 American epic-adventure-drama film that used the title of the 1930 autobiography of the British former soldier, Francis Yeats-Brown. The film is a Paramount picture. Henry Hathaway directed, and the writers, who created a story that had nothing in common with Yeats-Brown's book other than the setting, included Grover Jones, William Slavens McNutt, Waldemar Young, John L. Balderston and Achmed Abdullah.

The plot is the story of a group of British cavalrymen and high-ranking officers desperately trying to defend their stronghold and headquarters at Bengal against the rebellious natives during the days of the British Raj. It stars Gary Cooper as Lieutenant Alan McGregor, Franchot Tone as Lieutenant John Forsythe, Richard Cromwell as Lieutenant Donald Stone, Guy Standing as Colonel Tom Stone and Douglass Dumbrille as the rebel leader Mohammed Khan, who utters the frequently misquoted line "We have ways to make men talk."[2][3][4]

Production and planning of the film began in 1931 and Paramount expected the film to be released that same year. However, due to a film stock crisis in which most of the location footage deteriorated due to the high temperatures, the project was delayed for four years. The motion picture was released in American cinemas in January 1935.

The film's release was met with positive reviews and good box office results. It was nominated for seven Academy Awards, winning Assistant Director, with other nominations including Best Original Screenplay and Best Picture. The film grossed $49 million (2008 equivalent of $1.5 million in the 1930s) at the box office. Historian John Reid has described the film as "one of the greatest adventure films of all time".

Plot

Stone (left) and McGregor (right) hunting wild boars during a training exercise in preparation for a desert assault.

On the northwest frontier of India during the British Raj, Scottish Canadian Lieutenant Alan McGregor (Gary Cooper), in charge of newcomers, welcomes two replacements to the 41st Bengal Lancers: Lieutenant John Forsythe (Franchot Tone) and Lieutenant Donald Stone (Richard Cromwell), the son of the unit's commander, Colonel Tom Stone (Guy Standing). Lieutenant Stone, a "cub" (meaning a newly commissioned officer), volunteered to serve on the Indian frontier in the belief that his father specifically sent for him; while Lieutenant Forsythe, an experienced cavalrymen and something of a teasing character, was sent out as a replacement for an officer who was killed in action. After their formal introduction, Lieutenant Stone, during a heated argument with his father, realizes his father did not send for him, a discovery that breaks his heart. In attempt to show impartiality, the colonel treats his son very properly. The Colonel's military behavior and adherence to protocol is misinterpreted by young Stone, who resents such treatment from the father he has not seen since he was a boy.

Lieutenant Barrett, (Colin Tapley) disguised as a native rebel in order to spy on Mohammed Khan (Douglass Dumbrille), reports that Khan is preparing an uprising against the British. He plans to intercept and hijack a military convoy transporting two million rounds of ammunition. When Khan discovers that Colonel Stone knows of his plan, he orders Tania Volkanskaya, a beautiful Russian agent, to seduce and kidnap Lieutenant Stone in an attempt to extract classified information about the ammunition caravan from him. When the colonel refuses to attempt his son's rescue, McGregor and Forsythe, appalled by the "lack of concern" the colonel has for his own son, leave the camp at night without orders. Disguised as native merchants trying to sell blankets, they successfully get inside Mohammed Khan's fortress. However, they are recognized by Tania, who met the two men before at a civil event. McGregor and Forsythe are taken prisoner.

During a seemingly friendly interrogation, Khan says "We have ways of making men talk," and has the prisoners tortured. Their nails are ripped off and the sensitive skin underneath burned with bamboo slivers. When McGregor and Forsythe, despite the agonizing pain, refuse to speak, Stone cracks and reveals what he knows to end their torture. As a result, the ammunition convoy is captured.

After receiving news of the stolen ammunition, Colonel Stone takes the 41st to battle Mohammed Khan. From their cell, the captives see the overmatched Bengal Lancers deploy to assault Khan's fortress. They manage to escape and blow up the ammunition tower, young Stone redeeming himself by killing Khan with a dagger. With their ammunition gone, their leader dead, and their fortress in ruins as a result of the battle, the remaining rebels surrender. However, McGregor, who was principally responsible for the destruction of the ammunition tower, was killed when it exploded.

In recognition of their bravery and valor in battle, Lieutenants Forsythe and Stone are awarded the Distinguished Service Order. McGregor posthumously receives the Victoria Cross, Great Britain's highest award for military valor, with Colonel Stone pinning the medal to the saddle cloth of McGregor's horse as was the custom in the 41st Lancers (according to the film).

Cast

  • Gary Cooper as Lieutenant Alan McGregor, a highly experienced officer in his mid-thirties, who has spent a long time with the regiment. McGregor, a Canadian, is portrayed as a charming, open character who befriends most officers, but because of disregard for his superiors and habit of speaking his mind is regarded askance by his superiors, who nevertheless respect his military abilities.[5]
  • Franchot Tone as Lieutenant John Forsythe, an upper-class cavalryman in his mid-twenties from the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst. Transferred from the Blues, one of the two regiments at the time the movie was made tasked with guarding the Sovereign, Forsythe is presented as the funny guy of the main characters, and is noteworthy for his Sandhurst style in military exercise, something that earns him countless compliments from his superiors.[5]
McGregor (left) and Forsythe (right) lighting a cigarette with their heavily burned fingers during captivity.
  • Richard Cromwell as Lieutenant Donald Stone, a recent graduate of Sandhurst and a very young officer. As the son of a colonel with a famous name, he is treated respectfully but becomes frustrated and morose because of personal issues with his father.[5]
  • Guy Standing as Colonel Tom Stone, a long-serving colonel who left his home in Britain to serve on the Frontier, and explains to his son in the film that the "service always comes first ... something your mother never understood." He is considered to be a dyed-in-the-wool, by-the-book colonel who suppresses his feelings and never does anything without orders.[5]
  • C. Aubrey Smith as Major Hamilton, an old, very experienced major who serves as Colonel Stone's adjutant and Lieutenant Stone's second father and friend. He, along with his chief, planned and coordinated the big assault on Mohammad Khan's fortress.[5]
  • Kathleen Burke as Tania Volkanskaya, a beautiful and seductive young Russian woman who is Khan's ally. She is used as Khan's secret ace, who seduces young men when needed to forward Khan's plans. It was she who, with considerable ease, outwitted first Stone and then McGregor and Forsythe.[5]
  • Douglass Dumbrille as Mohammed Khan, a well-known, wealthy prince of the region, educated at Oxford and ostensibly a friend of the British. He is also the secret rebel leader who fights for Bengal's independence from the British Crown. He is portrayed as the film's villain and is responsible for the death and torture of many people.[5]
  • Colin Tapley as Lieutenant Barrett, a close friend of Lieutenant McGregor who has been ordered to infiltrate Khan's group of bandits and delivers vital information about the rebels' location and movement.[5]
  • Lumsden Hare as Major General Woodley, the man in command of the British intelligence service in India. He is disliked by most of the regiment's officers, especially McGregor, because his orders usually involve training exercises in locations where the pig-sticking is good. He thought of and approved the attack on Khan's stronghold.[5]
  • J. Carrol Naish as Grand Vizier
  • James Dime[6]

Production

Stock crisis

Paramount originally planned to produce the film in 1931 and sent cinematographers Ernest B. Schoedsack and Rex Wimpy to India to film location shots such as a tiger hunt.[7][8] However, much of the film stock deteriorated in the hot sun while on location, so when the film was eventually made, much of the production took place in the hills surrounding Los Angeles, where Paiute Native Americans were used as extras.[7][8]

Filming

Among the filming locations were Lone Pine, Calif., Buffalo Flats in Malibu, Calif., the Paramount Ranch in Agoura, Calif., and the Iverson Movie Ranch in Chatsworth, Calif.[7] For the climactic half-hour battle sequence at the end of the film, an elaborate set was built in the Iverson Gorge, part of the Iverson Movie Ranch, to depict Mogala, the mountain stronghold of Mohammed Khan.[7]

Release

Box office

The film was released in American cinemas in January 1935.[5][9] It was a big success at the box office and kicked off a cycle of Imperial adventure tales, including The Charge of the Light Brigade (1936), Another Dawn (1937), Gunga Din (1939), The Four Feathers (1939), and The Real Glory (1939).[10] The film grossed $49 million worldwide (2008 equivalent of $1.5 million in the 1930s).[10] It was the second most popular film at the British box office in 1935-36.[11]

Critical reception and influence

The Lives of a Bengal Lancer promotion poster from 1935 showcasing Gary Cooper.

Laura Elston from the magazine Canada wrote that The Lives of a Bengal Lancer did "more glory to the British traditions than the British would dare to do for themselves."[10] In response to the film success, Frederick Herron of the Motion Picture Association of America wrote "Hollywood is doing a very good work in selling the British Empire to the world."[10] Historian John Reid noted in his book Award-Winning Films of the 1930s that the film is considered "one of the greatest adventure films of all time" and highly praised Hathaway's work by saying "the film really made his reputation."[12] It also received a praised review in Boys' Life magazine, starting off the review with the words "You will be immensely pleased with The Lives of a Bengal lancer" and went on to compare the style and class of the three main characters to that of The Three Musketeers.[13] The film holds an overall approval rating of 100% on the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, based on 9 reviews, with a rating average of 8 out of 10.[14]

The film was reportedly [15] a favourite of the German dictator Adolf Hitler. He saw it at least three times, and liked it because it depicted a handful of Britons holding a continent in thrall; that was how he thought a superior race should behave. Hitler made the film compulsory viewing for the SS."[15]Besides Hitler's enthusiasm, the film also became popular in Nazi Germany where all forms of entertainment were censored.[16] The Nazis are believed to have liked the rule-Britannia, pro-imperialist adventure film because it embraced the "leader principle" which mirrored the "Führer principle".[16] In his book The Collaboration, Ben Urwand wrote about the film's impact in Germany:

The Lives of a Bengal Lancer had drawn in massive crowds, but it had not emphasized the present need for fascism — it had hearkened back to an earlier era. The next Hollywood film that delivered a National Socialist message would be both popular and contemporary, and as a result, it would set a new standard for future German production. The film was called Our Daily Bread.[16]

Plot discrepancies

The film The Lives of a Bengal Lancer shares nothing with the source book, except the setting. [17] Reid noted in Award-Winning Films of the 1930s that "none of the characters in the book appear in the screenplay, not even Yeats-Brown himself. The plot of the film is also entirely different."[17]

Home media

The Paramount picture was distributed to home media on VHS on March 1, 1992 and on DVD on May 31, 2005.[8][18] It has since been released in multiple languages and is included in several multi-film collections.[19]

Awards

The film was nominated for the following Academy Awards, winning in one category:[8][20]

Award Nominee Result
Best Picture Louis D. Lighton Nominated
Best Art Direction Hans Dreier
Roland Anderson		 Nominated
Best Assistant Director Clem Beauchamp
Paul Wing		 Won
Best Directing Henry Hathaway Nominated
Best Film Editing Ellsworth Hoagland Nominated
Best Outstanding Production Louis D. Lighton Nominated
Best Sound Recording Franklin B. Hansen Nominated
Adapted Screenplay William Slavens McNutt
Grover Jones
Waldemar Young
John L. Balderston
Achmed Abdullah		 Nominated

See also

References

  1. ↑ https://catalog.afi.com/Catalog/moviedetails/5531?sid=5b751402-e114-47c3-9c1d-c07512b9c673&sr=7.186763&cp=1&pos=0
  2. ↑ Deis, Robert (11 January 2015). "The Origin of the Movie Cliché "We Have Ways of Making You Talk!"". This Day in Quotes. Retrieved 4 April 2016.
  3. ↑ Knowles 1999, p. 196.
  4. ↑ "Top 15 Film Misquotes" (October 18, 2007). Listverse. Retrieved July 13, 2015.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 "The Lives of a Bengal Lancer" (January 12, 1935). The New York Times. Retrieved September 13, 2014.
  6. ↑ Freese, Gene Scott (April 10, 2014). Hollywood Stunt Performers, 1910s-1970s: A Biographical Dictionary (2nd ed.). McFarland & Company. p. 75. ISBN 9780786476435.
  7. 1 2 3 4 Richards 1973, pp. 120–123.
  8. 1 2 3 4 "Review: The Lives of a Bengal Lancer" (December 31, 1934). Variety. Retrieved January 10, 2014.
  9. ↑ "The Lives of a Bengal Lancer". The Baltimore Sun. Retrieved September 15, 2014.
  10. 1 2 3 4 Welky 2008, pp. 88–89.
  11. ↑ "The Film Business in the United States and Britain during the 1930s" by John Sedgwick and Michael Pokorny, The Economic History ReviewNew Series, Vol. 58, No. 1 (Feb., 2005), pp.97
  12. ↑ Reid 2004, pp. 118–119.
  13. ↑ Mathiews 1935.
  14. ↑ "The Lives of a Bengal Lancer". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved September 13, 2014.
  15. 1 2 Kirkpatrick 1959, p. 97.
  16. 1 2 3 "How Could Harvard Have Published Ben Urwand's "The Collaboration"?" (September 23, 2013). The New Yorker. Retrieved December 4, 2014.
  17. 1 2 Reid 2004, p. 120.
  18. ↑ "The Lives of a Bengal Lancer (VHS)". Amazon. Retrieved December 4, 2014.
  19. ↑ "The Oscars 30' Collection – 5 DVD Set". Amazon. Retrieved December 4, 2014.
  20. ↑ "The Lives of a Bengal Lancer – Film by Hathaway (1935)". Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved July 13, 2015.

Sources

  • Kirkpatrick, Ivone (1959). The Inner Circle: Memoirs. St. Martin's Press. OCLC 1101750744.
  • Knowles, Elizabeth M. (1999). The Oxford Dictionary of Quotations. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-860173-9.
  • Mathiews, Fraklin K. (1935). Movies of the Month. Boys' Life. ISSN 0006-8608.
  • Richards, Jeffrey (1973). Visions of Yesterday. Routledge. ISBN 978-0-415-72681-8.
  • Reid, John (2004). Award-Winning Films of the 1930s. Lulu Publishing. ISBN 978-1-4116-1432-1.
  • Welky, David (2008). The Moguls and the Dictators: Hollywood and the Coming of World War II. Johns Hopkins University Press. ISBN 978-0-8018-9044-4.
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