Gunga Din

US (1939): Adventure/Comedy/War

The prototypical Hollywood action adventure -- buddy film is loosely based on the poem by Rudyard Kipling and adapted by Charles MacArthur and Ben Hecht (basing character relationships from their hit play The Front Page) and William Faulkner, who goes uncredited. Three soldier-comrades (Cary Grant, Douglas Fairbanks Jr., and Victor McLaglen) help suppress a native uprising in 19th-century India with the help of their intrepid waterboy, Gunga Din (Sam Jaffe).

The most expensive film ever produced by RKO at the time and directed by George Stevens, it began production with an uncompleted script. Some of the scenes were improvised, including the bugle scene with Cary Grant and Sam Jaffe. Archivally restored to 117 minutes (from 96), it is also available in a less impressive colorized version. (amctv.com)

 Use this link to view the trailer for the re-issue of Gunga Din on TCM.com.

1 nomination