Review of Gunga Din (1939) by Doctor S — 22 Mar 2012
Doesn't hold up very well but set the blueprint for the buddy adventure movie that still gets made today. This thing is so testosterone-fueled that watching it with your girlfriend might turn her into a hermaphrodite.
The only woman in all of India is Joan Fontaine whose only function is to annoy and emasculate her fiancee Douglas Fairbanks Jr. Meanwhile his "friends" try to trick him into re-enlisting in the regimental army for another 9 years - great guys, huh? But it's all lighthearted stuff, Cary Grant is awesome as usual as the scoundrelly Sergeant Cutter who wants to find a legendary golden temple that happens to be the HQ of a burgeoning Thuggee cult.
You know the Thuggees, the Kali-worshipping maniacs from Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, Spielberg even ripped off the rope bridge scene from this movie! Good action scenes keep this afloat because some of the in-between moments, like the ballroom soiree, bring the movie to screeching halt.
This review of Gunga Din (1939) was written by Doctor S on 22 Mar 2012.
Gunga Din has generally received positive reviews.
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