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Black & White - B & W Gunga Din Rare LD Special Collectors Ed Grant Fairbanks

Gunga Din Rare LD Special Collectors Ed Grant Fairbanks

Sometimes Being the Water Boy is the Most Dangerous...

Gunga Din Rare LD Special Collectors Ed Grant Fairbanks

Sometimes Being the Water Boy is the Most Dangerous...

Rare LaserDisc Movie Near-Mint LaserDiscs and Gatefold Jacket with edge-wear, shelf-wear, and several splits

$2.97

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Gunga Din Rare LD Special Collectors Ed Grant Fairbanks

Sometimes Being the Water Boy is the Most Dangerous...

Rare LaserDisc Movie Near-Mint LaserDiscs and Gatefold Jacket with edge-wear, shelf-wear, and several splits

$2.97

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$2.97

Rare LaserDisc Movie

Near-Mint LaserDiscs and Gatefold Jacket with edge-wear, shelf-wear, and several splits

Cary Grant & Douglas Fairbanks, Jr. in...

Gunga Din

( Catalog Number ID2496TU )
(1.33:1) (3 Sides) (CLV+CAV) (NTSC)

LaserDisc Special Features

Best Version on LaserDisc
Fully Restored Version
Color Location Home Movies
Audio Commentary by Film Historian Rudy Behlmer & Screenwriter William Goldman
Still Frame Section with Candid Shots, Pressbook & Screenplay

Gunga Din
1939 - 117 min. - Black and White
Genre: Action

LaserDisc Movie Storyline:
George Stevens' classic action-comedy stars Cary Grant, Douglas Fairbanks Jr., and Victor McLaglen as a trio of carousing British army officers in 1890s colonial India. When the telegraph wires to one of the British outposts are found to have been cut, the three friends, Sergeants Cutter (Grant), Ballantine (Fairbanks), and McChesney (McLaglen), are sent to investigate. They encounter the Thugges, a cult of religious extremists intent on driving the British from their land, but are able to repel their attack. After the soldiers return to their posts, Ballantine decides to leave the service and marry his girlfriend, Emmy Stebbins (Joan Fontaine). His friends are horrified by this news, and  try to concoct a ruse to keep him in the army. While waiting, the mercenary Cutter, led by Gunga Din--their loyal, native water-bearer, goes into the hills in search of gold. They find that the temple of gold is, in fact, the headquarters of the Thugges, who capture Cutter, but allow Din to escape. Stevens makes good use of his slapstick training here, putting a comic twist on the potential cliches of nearly every scene. In doing so, he creates of one of the most sheerly entertaining films every made. The three principals are perfectly cast, and the film boosted Grant to a new level of stardom.  However, the unfortunate, "white man's burden" treatment accorded to Gunga Din must be seen in the context of the film's more benighted time.

LaserDisc Movie Review:
Though Rudyard Kipling's poem Gunga Din makes a swell recital piece, it cannot be said to have much of a plot. It's simply a crude cockney soldier's tribute to a native Indian water boy who remains at his job even after being mortally wounded. Hardly the sort of material upon which to build 118 minutes' worth of screen time-at least, it wasn't until RKO producer Pandro S. Berman decided to convert Gunga Din into an A-budgeted feature film. Now it became the tale of three eternally brawling British sergeants stationed in colonial India: Cutter (Cary Grant), McChesney (Victor McLaglen) and Ballantine (Douglas Fairbanks Jr.). Ballantine intends to break up the threesome by marrying lovely Emmy Stebbins (Joan Fontaine), while Cutter and McChesney begin hatching diabolical schemes to keep Ballantine in the army (if this plot element sounds a lot like something from the Ben Hecht and Charles MacArthur play The Front Page, bear in mind that Hecht and McArthur shared writing credit on Gunga Din with Joel Sayre and Fred Guiol; also contributing to the screenplay, uncredited, was William Faulkner). All three sergeants are kept occupied with a native revolt fomented by the Thuggees, a fanatical religious cult headed by a Napoleonic Guru (Eduardo Ciannelli). Unexpectedly coming to the rescue of our three heroes-not to mention every white man, woman and child in the region-is humble water carrier Gunga Din (Sam Jaffe), who aspires to become the regimental trumpeter. Originally slated to be directed by Howard Hawks, Gunga Din was taken out of Hawks' hands when the director proved to be too slow during the filming of Bringing Up Baby. His replacement was George Stevens, who proved to be slower and more exacting than Hawks had ever been! --- Hal Erickson

George Stevens' Gunga Din was not only the best of Hollywood's forays into colonialist adventure yarns, it served as the blueprint for many action-adventure movies for years after its release. It is a tribute to Stevens' direction and the uniformly superb cast that the film was a rousing success upon its release, and has endured as a popular favorite for decades since. Americans have always had problematic relationships with stories of British colonialism, but we also love a good adventure yarn, and the usual Hollywood compromise is to ignore the particulars, hold one's nose at the worst elements of subjugation, and just tell the story. That was the approach of the five screenwriters (including Ben Hecht, Charles MacArthur and the uncredited William Faulkner) involved in the project, and director Stevens adhered to their work to the letter in telling Rudyard Kipling's story of life, love, and adventure on the frontier of the Indian subcontinent. In the film, the British army is a peace-keeping force, protecting the native populace from a murderous cult of religious fanatics who kill anyone in their way, including their own people. If the paternalistic attitude of the British seems heavy-handed, the oversight is more than outweighed by the savagery of the characters they're fighting. The pacing includes room for ample roughhousing, some of it bordering on slapstick, and rich character development. The actors play their parts as though they were born for them: Victor McLaglen, in particular, cuts a surprisingly dashing figure as Sergeant McChesney; the actor was nearly a decade away from settling into the more comical and jovial character roles that he played in John Ford's films. Cary Grant displays a larcenous side to his screen persona which in many ways anticipates his most compelling dramatic performance, in None But the Lonely Heart. Ironically, for a film that intro

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Cast for Gunga Din

Cary Grant - Archibald Cutter
Victor McLaglen - Sgt. MacChesney
Douglas Fairbanks, Jr. - Sgt. Ballantine
Sam Jaffe - Gunga Din
Joan Fontaine - Emmy Stebbins
Eduardo Ciannelli - Guru
Montagu Love - Colonel
Robert Coote - Higginbotham
Abner Biberman - Chota
Lumsden Hare - Maj. Mitchell
Lal Chand Mehra - Jadoo
Fay McKenzie - Girls at Party
Reginald Sheffield - Journalist
Leslie Sketchley - Corporal
Clive Morgan - Lancer Captain
George Regas - Thug Chieftain
David Niven
Roland Varno - Lt. Markham
George Ducount
Ann Evers
Charles Bennett - Telegraph Operator
Frank Levya - Native Merchant
Olin Francis - Fulad
Cecil Kellaway - Mr. Stebbins
Jamiel Hasson

Crew for Gunga Din

Darrell Silvera - Set Designer
Edward Stevenson - Costume Designer
Joel Sayre - Screenwriter
Van Nest Polglase - Art Director
Alfred Newman - Composer (Music Score)
Dewey Starkey - First Assistant Director
James G. Stewart - Sound/Sound Designer
Vernon Walker - Special Effects
Harry Berman - Editor
George Stevens - Producer / Director
John E. Tribby - Sound/Sound Designer
Pandro S. Berman - Producer
Russell A. Cully - Special Effects
William Faulkner - Screenwriter
Henry Berman - Editor
Joseph H. August - Cinematographer
Charles MacArthur - Story Author
Edward Killy - First Assistant Director
John Lockert - Editor
Perry Ferguson - Art Director
Ben Hecht - Play Author / Story Author
Fred Guiol - Screenwriter Awards: Best Cinematography (nom) Joseph H. August 1939 Academy
U.S. National Film Registry (win) 1999 Library of Congress

Feature Details

Title: Gunga Din
Feature Release Date: 1939
Genre: Action
Color: Black and White
Runtime: 117 Minutes
Chapters: 45
Picture: Academy Ratio
Ratio: 1.33:1
Playback Format: CLV+CAV

IMDB Info...

Technical Details

LD Release Date: 23 Aug 1995
Catalog Number: ID2496TU
UPC: 014381249668
Manufacturer: Mitsubishi
Publisher: Image Entertainment

Diameter: 12"
Sides: 3
Cover: Gatefold Jacket
Spoken Language: English
Country: USA
Video Format: NTSC

Model: ID2496TU
Shipping Weight: 2 lbs
0 in Stock

Rare LaserDisc Movie

Near-Mint LaserDiscs and Gatefold Jacket with edge-wear, shelf-wear, and several splits

Cary Grant & Douglas Fairbanks, Jr. in...

Gunga Din

( Catalog Number ID2496TU )
(1.33:1) (3 Sides) (CLV+CAV) (NTSC)

LaserDisc Special Features

Best Version on LaserDisc
Fully Restored Version
Color Location Home Movies
Audio Commentary by Film Historian Rudy Behlmer & Screenwriter William Goldman
Still Frame Section with Candid Shots, Pressbook & Screenplay

Gunga Din
1939 - 117 min. - Black and White
Genre: Action

LaserDisc Movie Storyline:
George Stevens' classic action-comedy stars Cary Grant, Douglas Fairbanks Jr., and Victor McLaglen as a trio of carousing British army officers in 1890s colonial India. When the telegraph wires to one of the British outposts are found to have been cut, the three friends, Sergeants Cutter (Grant), Ballantine (Fairbanks), and McChesney (McLaglen), are sent to investigate. They encounter the Thugges, a cult of religious extremists intent on driving the British from their land, but are able to repel their attack. After the soldiers return to their posts, Ballantine decides to leave the service and marry his girlfriend, Emmy Stebbins (Joan Fontaine). His friends are horrified by this news, and  try to concoct a ruse to keep him in the army. While waiting, the mercenary Cutter, led by Gunga Din--their loyal, native water-bearer, goes into the hills in search of gold. They find that the temple of gold is, in fact, the headquarters of the Thugges, who capture Cutter, but allow Din to escape. Stevens makes good use of his slapstick training here, putting a comic twist on the potential cliches of nearly every scene. In doing so, he creates of one of the most sheerly entertaining films every made. The three principals are perfectly cast, and the film boosted Grant to a new level of stardom.  However, the unfortunate, "white man's burden" treatment accorded to Gunga Din must be seen in the context of the film's more benighted time.

LaserDisc Movie Review:
Though Rudyard Kipling's poem Gunga Din makes a swell recital piece, it cannot be said to have much of a plot. It's simply a crude cockney soldier's tribute to a native Indian water boy who remains at his job even after being mortally wounded. Hardly the sort of material upon which to build 118 minutes' worth of screen time-at least, it wasn't until RKO producer Pandro S. Berman decided to convert Gunga Din into an A-budgeted feature film. Now it became the tale of three eternally brawling British sergeants stationed in colonial India: Cutter (Cary Grant), McChesney (Victor McLaglen) and Ballantine (Douglas Fairbanks Jr.). Ballantine intends to break up the threesome by marrying lovely Emmy Stebbins (Joan Fontaine), while Cutter and McChesney begin hatching diabolical schemes to keep Ballantine in the army (if this plot element sounds a lot like something from the Ben Hecht and Charles MacArthur play The Front Page, bear in mind that Hecht and McArthur shared writing credit on Gunga Din with Joel Sayre and Fred Guiol; also contributing to the screenplay, uncredited, was William Faulkner). All three sergeants are kept occupied with a native revolt fomented by the Thuggees, a fanatical religious cult headed by a Napoleonic Guru (Eduardo Ciannelli). Unexpectedly coming to the rescue of our three heroes-not to mention every white man, woman and child in the region-is humble water carrier Gunga Din (Sam Jaffe), who aspires to become the regimental trumpeter. Originally slated to be directed by Howard Hawks, Gunga Din was taken out of Hawks' hands when the director proved to be too slow during the filming of Bringing Up Baby. His replacement was George Stevens, who proved to be slower and more exacting than Hawks had ever been! --- Hal Erickson

George Stevens' Gunga Din was not only the best of Hollywood's forays into colonialist adventure yarns, it served as the blueprint for many action-adventure movies for years after its release. It is a tribute to Stevens' direction and the uniformly superb cast that the film was a rousing success upon its release, and has endured as a popular favorite for decades since. Americans have always had problematic relationships with stories of British colonialism, but we also love a good adventure yarn, and the usual Hollywood compromise is to ignore the particulars, hold one's nose at the worst elements of subjugation, and just tell the story. That was the approach of the five screenwriters (including Ben Hecht, Charles MacArthur and the uncredited William Faulkner) involved in the project, and director Stevens adhered to their work to the letter in telling Rudyard Kipling's story of life, love, and adventure on the frontier of the Indian subcontinent. In the film, the British army is a peace-keeping force, protecting the native populace from a murderous cult of religious fanatics who kill anyone in their way, including their own people. If the paternalistic attitude of the British seems heavy-handed, the oversight is more than outweighed by the savagery of the characters they're fighting. The pacing includes room for ample roughhousing, some of it bordering on slapstick, and rich character development. The actors play their parts as though they were born for them: Victor McLaglen, in particular, cuts a surprisingly dashing figure as Sergeant McChesney; the actor was nearly a decade away from settling into the more comical and jovial character roles that he played in John Ford's films. Cary Grant displays a larcenous side to his screen persona which in many ways anticipates his most compelling dramatic performance, in None But the Lonely Heart. Ironically, for a film that intro

Thanks for Visiting DaDon's !

Reviews, Articles, Newsletter and Information for Movies on LaserDisc LD Laser Disc, LazerDisc.

Cast for Gunga Din

Cary Grant - Archibald Cutter
Victor McLaglen - Sgt. MacChesney
Douglas Fairbanks, Jr. - Sgt. Ballantine
Sam Jaffe - Gunga Din
Joan Fontaine - Emmy Stebbins
Eduardo Ciannelli - Guru
Montagu Love - Colonel
Robert Coote - Higginbotham
Abner Biberman - Chota
Lumsden Hare - Maj. Mitchell
Lal Chand Mehra - Jadoo
Fay McKenzie - Girls at Party
Reginald Sheffield - Journalist
Leslie Sketchley - Corporal
Clive Morgan - Lancer Captain
George Regas - Thug Chieftain
David Niven
Roland Varno - Lt. Markham
George Ducount
Ann Evers
Charles Bennett - Telegraph Operator
Frank Levya - Native Merchant
Olin Francis - Fulad
Cecil Kellaway - Mr. Stebbins
Jamiel Hasson

Crew for Gunga Din

Darrell Silvera - Set Designer
Edward Stevenson - Costume Designer
Joel Sayre - Screenwriter
Van Nest Polglase - Art Director
Alfred Newman - Composer (Music Score)
Dewey Starkey - First Assistant Director
James G. Stewart - Sound/Sound Designer
Vernon Walker - Special Effects
Harry Berman - Editor
George Stevens - Producer / Director
John E. Tribby - Sound/Sound Designer
Pandro S. Berman - Producer
Russell A. Cully - Special Effects
William Faulkner - Screenwriter
Henry Berman - Editor
Joseph H. August - Cinematographer
Charles MacArthur - Story Author
Edward Killy - First Assistant Director
John Lockert - Editor
Perry Ferguson - Art Director
Ben Hecht - Play Author / Story Author
Fred Guiol - Screenwriter Awards: Best Cinematography (nom) Joseph H. August 1939 Academy
U.S. National Film Registry (win) 1999 Library of Congress

Feature Details

Technical Details

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