Gunga Din
Behind the Scenes
by Ron Lizorty
by Ron Lizorty
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If ever a movie was made for us British Colonial wargamers, it just might be GUNGA DIN. The film captures the comraderie, action, bravura and character that we strive for with our miniature troops. GUNGA DIN went through a number of directors and writers before actually going into production in 1936. Many actors were considered for the starring roles, such as: Clark Gable, Spencer Tracy and Franchot Tone (who would instead do LIVES OF A BENGAL LANCER with Gary Cooper for Howard Hawks - who at one time was to helm DIN). It wasn't until Cary Grant (the first actor to freelance -- something unheard of at that time) came across it. He believed very strongly in the project and personally approached Douglas Fairbanks, Jr. to co-star with him. They enjoyed the experience of doing the film so much, that they forever after always referred to each other as Cutter and Bal. It was soon agreed that Victor McLaglen should complete the trio. McLaglen, a British army veteran and soldier of fortune, performed similar duties (sans humor) in the LOST PATROL and UNDER TWO FLAGS. Both Grant and McLaglen considered their roles in GUNGA DIN their favorites. Sabu was the obvious choice for the title role but Alexander Korda (FOUR FEATHERS and DRUM) wouldn't loan him out. Screen tests were made of several actors (some Indian) before casting Sam Jaffe, who had given a memorable performance in LOST HORIZON. Richard Sheffield (father of Johnny Sheffield - "Boy" in the Tarzan movies) played Kipling. All of his key scenes were deleted after the premiere at the request / demand of Kipling's estate (I was always puzzled by the "jiggling" tent behind the Colonel at Din's litter in the TV prints. It was optically placed to cover Kipling!) These and many other scenes were discovered and the footage re-inserted in 1978 when it was released on video. Long and Short Versions It was a common practice for movie theatres to screen shorter versions of movies once the first run movie houses were through with them, in order to squeeze in more showings per day. It could be this version that tv prints were struck from, accounting for the shorter running time or the releasing company simply edited it so that more commercials could be broadcast. In some ways, the tv print makes for a better film (although sometimes confusing) as it's faster paced and a couple of rather silly scenes are omitted (such as the wilting flower in the punchbowl and a high angle shot of Jaffe dragging himself up to the tower towards the camera). As for the production itself, once George (SHANE) Stevens was assigned the directing chore, he and new writers reworked the script and introduced the "Thuggee" element and brought more focus into the plot. The script wasn't considered to be ready at the time shooting was to begin, so Stevens took his writers with him on location in Lone Pine, CA (the Alabama Hills in the foothills of the High Sierra). There they rewrote the script each night, with considerable input by Grant and Fairbanks. I have a copy of the "final" shooting script and there are still chunks of dialogue missing (for the better). It's evident that the film was nicely tightened up in the editing stage, omitting needless action. One also has to realize that much more footage usually finds its way into the preview trailers. One shot that immediately comes to mind is another take on the Highlander cross-checking the Thuggee with his rifle in the battle. The trailer has the Scot gutting his foe with the bayonet! The Sets All the sets were built full scale, with the only miniature being the suspension bridge when the Thuggees tumble off it. Glass paintings were used to depict the gorge and some of the rocks and skies. These were donated by the same artist who painted the great jungles in KING KONG. The sets were constructed more sturdy than typical Hollywood sets, due to the harsh weather. The film went over time and budget, mostly due to the trying conditions. Temperatures of 105 to 115 degrees, a fire that destroyed a block of the village along with many props, a freak snowstorm, wind and dust storms (when only closeups could be shot) and rain contributed to the crew going four weeks over schedule.
The temple was going to be turned into a tourist attraction, but these plans fell through. Some say that it was dynamited, while others claim it's still out there!
Some of the best stuntmen in the business were put to work on the film, including David Sharpe, Republic Studios' resident ace. He was responsible for most of our heroes' leaps and bounds. Even so, Fairbanks took a real beating during his dashing duels, which he called his "routine stunts". He suffered two broken fingers, a cracked rib, a bad twist of already torn knee cartilage and three knife scars -- all earned in the line of duty as a"soldier of Her Majesty the Queen". A rough cut of the nearly finished film was screened for nervous RKO executives, as they were threatening to close down the production due to rising costs. They were so impressed by what they saw, they authorized another two weeks of shooting at Lone Pine, to shoot the climatic battle, on a much larger scale than originally intended.
The music was to be done by Erich Wolfgang Korngold (ADVENTURES OF ROBIN HOOD, SEA HAWK, CAPTAIN BLOOD) but refused when he heard that he'd only have three weeks to do the score. Alfred Newman came in at the last minute and did a bangup job, putting the finishing touch to a classic motion picture. Most of the score has been faithfully recreated on CD. It's called HISTORICAL ROMANCES (also includes the CHARGE OF THE LIGHT BRIGADE suite) on the Marco Polo label #DDD 8223608. For further details on GUNGA DIN, I highly recommend THE CINEMA OF ADVENTURE, ROMANCE AND TERROR by George Turner from ASC Press and the SALAD DAYS by Douglas Fairbanks, Jr. (should be available at your local library). The colorized version of the film is actually quite nicely done and is available for sale. Gunga Din Photo Stills
Individual Characters (4) Elephants and Lancers on the March Back to The Heliograph #95 Table of Contents © Copyright 1996 by Richard Brooks. This article appears in MagWeb (Magazine Web) on the Internet World Wide Web. |
The 325 cast and crew lived in tents on location, with the cast mushrooming to more than 1,200 and 400 horses for the final battle. The crew was then forced to move to the kinder Bronson Canyon (familiar to serial and western fans) where another street was erected and also to the RKO Ranch.
The scene of the Lancers drilling was supposed to depict a practice
of horsemanship skills, but the horses didn't arrive in time. One of the
technical advisors suggested an actual dnll, as seen in the film.