Bengal Brigade (1954)

Very well executed

Simply Perfect

People are voting emotionally.

It was OK. I don't see why everyone loves it so much. It wasn't very smart or deep or well-directed.

"Bengal Brigade" is a strange movie for two reasons in particular-- the casting as well as its championing British colonialism. As far as the casting goes, several Americans without even a hint of a British accent were cast (such as Rock Hudson and Arlene Dahl)...and Hudson seemed completely out of place here. By the 1950s, the British Empire was being split apart and colonialism was on its way out and India had already gained its independence...yet this American film is another 'Hizzuh and three cheers for the Empire' sort of picture they made in the 1930s. We are supposed to be rooting for the Brits in this one...though the Indians were fighting for self-determination, an admirable thing!The film begins with Captain Claybourne (Hudson) being court martialed unfairly. The problem was that the man in charge during battle was indecisive and suffering from anxiety...and Claybourne took command. Later, the C.O. lied to save his reputation and Claybourne was charged with disobeying and striking his C.O....and soon he's out of the British army. There's some stuff after this...but it's all unimportant until the great Sepoy Rebellion which breaks out soon thereafter (in 1857)...and the film actually did a very good job of explaining it...most other films set during this time don't bother explaining why many Indians revolted against British rule.Overall, a rather dull film that covers a lot of familiar material but which seems hopelessly out of date with changing times and attitudes.

While this is certainly a very entertaining movie, it doesn't at all obviously historically accurate. Obviously told from the British perspective, it is the story of the uprising of Indian rebels against the British rule of their motherland and the British officer (Rock Hudson!) who professes love for both England and India. He is put on trial after false testimony concerning an order he was accused of not obeying and he is basically court-martialed. The Indian Raja wants to utilize his military skills to train Indian soldiers to fight against the British army which would automatically make him a traitor or cause his instant death the minute he refused the Raja. This leads to battle scenes where the British, who had basically tried to take over most of the world by this point in real history, are presented as heroes, and the Raja and his followers as the villain.Centuries of British rule obviously caused anger in the Indian natives, and here, there are also rumors that the British purposely put cow fat on the bullets that they sell to the Hindus and pig fat on the bullets they sell to the Muslims. The Hindus and Muslims believe that this will make them return to the earth as slugs, but as they reveal, this is only a method of the Raja to turn the natives against the British. This makes the rebels rather one dimensional and put sympathy on the English. Of course, with Hudson present, there's also a romantic triangle, with him in love with the General's daughter (Arlene Dahl) at the beginning but breaking up with her out of bitterness as to his fate, and later hanging around a beautiful Indian girl (Ursula Theiss).The action sequences are well done, and there is also a very tense hunting scene with Hudson and a tiger seeing eye to eye as they stalk each other. It is beautifully photographed and features gorgeous costumes and scenery, but there is never any doubt in my mind that Hudson is not at all believable as being British. So with all the films that Hollywood has made which distort history for dramatic effect or for other motives, its best to take them with a grain of salt, roll your eyes as little as possible, then do your own research to figure out what really happened in the history that they are trying to present.

Coming out a year after 20th Century Fox's King Of The Khyber Rifles, Bengal Brigade from Universal covered a whole lot of the same ground, but not as well. Bengal Brigade is a story of the Sepoy Rebellion in India during the 19th Century or at least a small portion of it seen from Rock Hudson's corner of India.When we meet Hudson he disobeys orders and leads a troop of men to rescue his own former company that was trapped and being cut to pieces by rebels. For that he gets a court martial and he resigns. That also has the effect of breaking his engagement to Arlene Dahl the daughter of his commander Torin Thatcher. Another officer Dan O'Herlihy who lied about some key points at Hudson's court martial is looking to catch Dahl on the rebound.After leaving the army Hudson starts hearing bits and pieces about a mutiny among the native Sepoy troops. But it comes fast and furious and Hudson along with the rest of the British are soon fighting for their lives.I don't think Bengal Brigade would do too well if it were shown in India today. The Sepoy Rebellion in their history goes down as the first strike for independence from the British Raj. The troops led by Michael Ansara who stay loyal to Hudson because of his identification with them would be regarded in American terms as Uncle Toms today.Ursula Thiess plays a strange role as a Hindu dancer who's got a big old crush on Hudson. It's her reason for betraying her own people and aiding him and the British.King Of The Khyber Rifles was a far better film than Bengal Brigade.

The most surprising thing about this movie is that it was directed by Laslo Benedek ,a man associated with the more serious end of the movie market -as per Death of a Salesman and the Brando vehicle The Wild One .It is set in the year 1856 in British India ,more specifically on the North West Frontier .Rock Hudson is improbably cast as a British army Captain who is tried ,convicted and forced to resign his commission for disobeying the orders of a senior officer even though by doing so he was responsible for the capture of a key rebel stronghold .He becomes a big game hunter but continues to be devoted to the British cause and infiltrates a group of rebels plotting to overthrow the Raj .In between all these distractions he manages to make time to woo Vivian Morrow(Arlene Dahl)the daughter of the regimental commander Colonel Morrow (Tobin Thatcher) Hudson is miscast but battles valiantly with the role ,Dahl is merely decorative as is Ursula Thiess . The best performances -mostly because they are better cast-are given by Thatcher and Dan O'Herlihy as British soldiersThis is a good co-feature movie and will be enjoyed by lovers of the old style "ripping yarn