The Lives of a Bengal Lancer – 1935
This was a strange little film. It starred Gary Cooper as Lieutenant Alan McGregor, a member of the Royal British Army based in frontier India. There was a certain amount of reality, a certain amount of fantasy, and in my opinion, a noticeable amount of misplaced idealism.
What I mean by that is that like many other movies I’ve seen, it seems to have an anti-establishment attitude that audiences seem to love. It is meant to be inspirational, putting things like love, compassion and even sentimentality above order, discipline and authority. The plot is pretty easy to follow. McGregor is put in charge of two new recruits, Lt. Forsythe and Lt. Stone, played respectively by Franchot Tone and Richard Cromwell.
All three officers are under the command of Colonel Tom Stone, played by Guy Standing. The Colonel is a military man, through and through and he was portrayed as a bit of a stereotype. He was stern, cold, emotionless, and one might even go so far as to call him heartless. In his efforts to not show any favoritism to his son, he overcompensates and treats him just a little more harshly than the others.
It is in this way that the film felt like it was against that kind of person, that kind of character. The point is really driven home in the latter half of the movie. Lt. Stone is captured by Mohammed Khan, played by Douglas Dumbrille. He is the evil leader of the Indian rebels. When the Colonel hears of his son’s capture, knowing full well that he is sure to be tortured and killed, he refuses to mount a rescue mission, as it would put the entire regiment’s lives at risk.
Then, wouldn’t you know it, good ol’ Gary Cooper steps up and calls him a cruel and heartless man. “How can you sit there and let your own son be killed, all for the sake of the regiment?” But I’ll be honest. I was on the Colonel’s side. Sure he had treated the boy coldly, which was bad. But the Lieutenant’s capture was his own fault. The boy was an idiot, disobeying orders, acting out and getting drunk. It was his own irresponsible behavior that put everyone at risk.
What was the Colonel supposed to do? Was he supposed to sacrifice all the men in the regiment to mount a futile rescue attempt of one idiot soldier? Of Course not! The military is cruel and heartless. But have no fear! The big heroes, McGregor and Forsythe do the “right” thing and go A.W.O.L. to rescue the boy. Never mind that they both get themselves captured as well.
Despite that, I thought that Cooper and Tone both did well in their respective roles. I wouldn’t say they were great, but they were good. Standing also did a good job as the stern Colonel. And lest I forget, the only woman in the film was a true femme fatale. She was Tania Volkanskaya, played by Kathleen Burke. Of course, we can’t forget how evil those Russians are.
But it all works out for the best. In the end, Forsythe gets them out of their cell, McGregor dies being heroic, and Lt. Stone kills Khan, effectively ending the battle before the regiment can be slaughtered. The action sequences were all very well-choreographed and exciting to watch.
Well… most of them. I had to roll my eyes as I saw McGregor pick up a heavy Vickers machine-gun and shoot it while running over uneven ground during a chaotic battle. First, the way he was holding it, I can only assume that he would have third degree burns on his hands. Second, the kick-back from the weapon would have knocked him off his feet. But never-mind that.
And finally, one interesting thing about The Lives of a Bengal Lancer that I found in my research was that this was apparently one of Adolph Hitler’s favorite movies, which he saw three times. He liked this film because it depicted a handful of Britons holding a continent in thrall. That was how a superior race must behave and the film was a compulsory viewing for the SS.