The Lives of a Bengal Lancer (1935)

Best movie ever!

A Disappointing Continuation

It's a good bad... and worth a popcorn matinée. While it's easy to lament what could have been...

Blistering performances.

Long before I saw this I knew a small trivia fact and that is it's reported to have been Adolph Hitler's favourite movie . It's not contradictory . The Indian sub-continent is the birth place of the swastika and is proudly displayed everywhere , well almost everywhere because I don't recall seeing any of them in Manali which is the Mecca for the Israeli stoner . Interesting too that the Nazis were very much pro Muslim and had during the war two Waffen SS divisions one of which the 13th Waffen SS division was composed of Bosnian Muslims and the other the 14th Waffen SS division being composed of Albanians . The Nazis got round the small matter of these Muslims being Slavs by categorizing them as Persians hence qualified as Indo-AyransApparently Hitler was fascinated by the fact a small island like Britain could govern and rule a large country like India with a population of over 300 million inhabitants . This is easily explained . India is a large country with massive diversity . What you do is divide and rule , just convince the people in one state are British and the people in the next state are a bunch of trouble makers saying nasty things about the royal family and need sorting out . If the people in the next state are of a different religion well that makes the task much easier . Hitler had future designs on ruling the Soviet Union along similar lines but went around it the wrong way by committing genocide against the entire Soviet population . If he only convinced people in conquered territories that they were German and the people up the road were nasty communists intent on causing nuisance then he might have won the war . He should have listened to the dialogue in the opening scene when McGregor is warned " You're far too impulsive "Being a Hollywood movie not too much is given to facts . It's not factual that cobras are attracted to music because they have no ears and the hyponotic effect of a snake charmer on a cobra is down to body language . Neither is it correct that a Muslim falling in battle is guaranteed " forty eight maidens in paradise " The number is supposedly seventy two but the real figure is actually zero . There is also no such race as " Scotch " which is an alcoholic beverage and the correct term is Scottish which will be of no interest to anyone outside of Scotland But Hollywood don't do documentaries . Hollywood does spectacle , action and derring do and this movie has it in abundance . This is Boys Own adventure printed on celluloid and fueled an appetite for historical adventure and being from the golden era of Hollywood it's rather more enjoyable than the long winded CGI driven stuff like we got with TITANIC and PEARL HARBOR . It does seem contrived that two of the main characters have North American accents since one is supposed to be Scotch Canadian and the other was brought up in America . It also contains the line " The Scotch are a queer race " so I guess it also influenced Pat Robertson as well as Hitler

LIVES OF A BENGAL LANCER is interesting, but very dated. This is Cooper before he really hit his stride, and one downfall of this film is that he talks so much (and a little too hammily). Cooper later came to epitomize the "strong silent type"... his eyes are so expressive that he was always more eloquent in silence.Because of this, the real standout in this film is Franchot Tone, who sparkles with wit, has a light touch with all the dialogue, and is a real "odd couple" match for Cooper, keeping things brisk, and bringing lots of levels to the table where Cooper keeps it broodingly within.Richard Cromwell is a strong and interesting presence. He looks slight and light and young, but has a surprising basso voice, and is a perfect fit for this role. The actor playing the General/his father is so clearly old enough to be his grandfather that it makes the plot even more confusing than it is all ready when it comes to their convoluted relationship.The outdoor sequences are so clearly filmed in Griffith Park area that it is amusing to watch for that... the action sequences would appeal to fans of early westerns, but are a little static, and there is just way too much talk in this film. Not active enough to be an action film, too weak a script to be a drama, it's a historical footnote on the way to more streamlined genres.

In the 1930s, there were many films that glorified the British Colonial army of the 1800s (such as THE FOUR FEATHERS, GUNGA DIN, and CHARGE OF THE LIGHT BRIGADE, among others). Because so many were done in such a short span of time, to me they tend to blend together in my mind. This is probably the biggest problem I had with this film--while very, very well-made, it also seemed too familiar and, as a result, predictable. If you had to choose only one of these films to watch, I would definitely watch THE FOUR FEATHERS, as it is the best--though this film is nearly as good.Gary Cooper and Franchot Tone do a good job of playing British officers serving in what today would be the region of Pakistan and Afghanistan where Al qaeda has been hiding in recent years (ironic, isn't it?). Not surprisingly, the film portrays the British very sympathetically, as in the 1930s, Colonialism was glorified and all the inherent ill in it was pretty much ignored. My advice is just ignore this and enjoy the film.The plot involves the son of the company's commander being assigned to the unit and Tone and Cooper watching over him. It seems that the little beggar has a tough time living up to his father's expectations, plus he is a pretty terrible soldier. So, his new mentors spend much of the movie keeping him out of trouble--or at least trying.The acting, direction and especially the action are superb. This is a fun film--the sort of adventure film that the 1930s did so well. Other than the familiarness of the plot, there really isn't anything negative to say about this excellent and engaging film.

Was there ever a better actor on film than Gary Cooper? In "Lives of a Bengal Lancer" he shows the natural talent, the effortless pretense, that few others could match..... well Sean Penn or Ingrid Bergman maybe. Franchot Tone plays the best friend part to a tee, both infuriating and endearing himself to Cooper's character.... always makes me laugh when he plays "Mother MacCree" on the pipe, needling Coop at first, but then begging for help when a cobra is attracted to the sound.This is where they got the material for flicks like "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid." This film was made in Hollywood's golden era, when movies were fantastic adventures to be treasured, not necessarily believed. This is a very grim tale of war and sacrifice, but fun nonetheless. That the imperialists are the good guys is just a sign of the time when it was made. I wonder how bigoted the movies being made today will look to audiences 70 years from now? The sets were, of course, very well done and the photography was superb. During the mid to late thirties the art of the film reached it's zenith.Before then such spectacle was rare, but by 1939 it had become common. A very enjoyable combination of comedy and adventure makes this film one of the true classics.