The Lives of a Bengal Lancer, 3/2/13, Best Assistant Director, 1935
A friend of mine who is a devoted follower of this blog has asked me what is the biggest surprise I’ve had doing this project. I have found that the more movies I watch, that answer gets a little more complex. Some surprises have been very delightful, like the movie, Departures which won Best Foreign Film in 2008 or It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad World which was a madcap adventure brimming with great comedians. On the other hand, the more movies I watch, the greater chance I’m going to find those that surprise me at how much I dislike them, like The Hours. The Lives of a Bengal Lancer, which won for Best Assistant Director (an award no longer given) in 1935 falls closer to The Hours’ end of the scale than The Grand Hotel (from that same period). It was actually up for seven awards and only won one; noticeably none of the cast was nominated for a Best Actor award. The movie is set in the early 20th century in British Imperial India and follows the activities of the 41st Bengal Lancers as they try to prevent the uprising of one of the regions. It really focuses on four men, the by the book colonel, Colonel Stone, Lieutenants McGregor, Forsythe and Stone (the latter being the estranged son of Colonel Stone). If you take the story out of the Indian setting, it could actually be set in any war-torn area and era, the American Civil War, the World Wars, the Punic Wars; it’s really a story about a father and son and the development of their relationship: father doesn’t want to show favoritism, so he’s extra tough on his son; son resents this treatment so he does something stupid, etc. Having said this, there are probably many other movies that you can watch and probably enjoy more, like Captains Courageous with Spencer Tracy and Freddie Bartholomew or There Will Be Blood with Daniel Day-Lewis and Paul Dano. The acting in The Lives of a Bengal Lancer was less than captivating and at times more wooden than a stage full of marionettes. Gary Cooper is the big name in the movie, and I know he is an American film icon, but I don’t get it, he’s just so stiff, I don’t think I’ve seen a movie where I have actually believed him in the role or enjoyed it. I’m sure I’ll have more chances to re-evaluate that comment because it seems he was in a lot of Oscar-winners. Some performances and films transcend the era in which they were filmed, this would not be one of them.
