← Back to results
Gunga Din
1939 117 min United States of America 0+
★7.3
Adventure, War, Action, Comedy
Director: George Stevens
🎭 Based on
«Gunga Din»
byRudyard Kipling
Trailers
Description
British army sergeants Ballantine, Cutter and MacChesney serve in India during the 1880s, along with their native water-bearer, Gunga Din. While completing a dangerous telegraph-repair mission, they unearth evidence of the suppressed Thuggee cult. When Gunga Din tells the sergeants about a secret temple made of gold, the fortune-hunting Cutter is captured by the Thuggees, and it's up to his friends to rescue him.
Budget:
$1.92M
Worldwide:
$2.81M
Starring
Cary Grant
Actor
Joan Fontaine
Actor
Victor McLaglen
Actor
Awards
Academy Awards 1940
— Best Cinematography (Black and White)
Key opinion
Gunga Din is celebrated as a foundational adventure spectacle that expertly balances charisma, action, and grand-scale production. While its influence on modern action cinema is undeniable, contemporary viewers often struggle with the film's dated depictions of colonial imperialism and xenophobia.
| Acting | The lead trio of Cary Grant, Victor McLaglen, and Douglas Fairbanks Jr. provides a charismatic, lively dynamic that grounds the film's comedic and dramatic elements. | |
| Production | The massive budget is effectively utilized through visually striking final battle sequences that set a high standard for 1930s spectacle. | |
| Cinematography | The film's technical execution, particularly its Academy Award-nominated camerawork, remains a high-water mark for the period's action cinematography. | |
| Culture | While lauded for its adventurous spirit and influence on later films like Indiana Jones, the narrative is heavily criticized for its overt and uncomfortable embrace of colonial racism and xenophobia. |