'Bhowani Junction' was one of the few movies where Ava Gardner was allowed to be more than just a beautiful, but inanimate statue. As Victoria Jones, she emotes in ways that one rarely sees her do. Like her character Julie in 'Showboat' Victoria is bi-racial, which is the main theme of the movie. The Pakistani backdrop is gorgeously photographed and it's certainly a testament to location shooting as opposed to studio backdrops. Unsurprisingly, it was well directed by Cukor, especially the interior, dramatic scenes that he is so famous for. The final sequence is a break from that, however, with darkly lit chases and murder. An entertaining diversion; certainly one that fans of Gardner would want to catch.
27 Reviews
Loving drama set in the year is 1947, when the British are on the verge of giving independence India
ma-cortes4 October 2013
Spectacular screen translation of John Masters' novel carried out by M-G-M set in post -colonial India. This is a drama aflame with Love And Revolt . Anglo-Indian Victoria Jones seeks her true identity amid the chaos of the British withdrawal from India . Meanwhile , Indu Victoria to be courted by three suitors , Col. Rodney Savage (Stewart Granger , this role gave hem a strenuous time along with Scaramouche , Beau Brummell and Moonfleet) , Ranjit Kasel (Francis Matthews) and Patrick Taylor (Bill Travers , though Sabu tested for, and was nearly cast in the role) .
This dramatic picture contains a meaty plot , thrills , unrest , violence , love and historical events dealing with pre-independence India . This colorful picture gave Ava Gardner , Stewart Granger and co-stars a good time . Stewart Granger is fine as a colonel who falls in love for Ava . Gorgeous Ava Gardner as a half-English , half-Indian woman who is torn between the British officer she loves and her country . Gardner was trampled on by more than 200 native extras , then shaken and bruised in a staged fight with soldiers ; some years later , Ava declared it the toughest picture she ever worked on . Support cast is frankly well , such as Abraham Sofaer as Surabhai , Lionel Jeffries as Lt. Graham McDaniel , Freda Jackson as Sandani , Peter Illing as Ghanshyam and Francis Matthews who said in interviews that huge chunks of his part ended up on the cutting room floor ; in addition , Edward Chapman was hired to play Jones after the scenes had been shot with another actor playing the role . Furthermore , a right make-up to appear American actors like Indian people .
Evocative as well as glowing cinematography by Freddie Young shot on location in Pakistan . The filming took place in Pakistan rather than India for political reasons due to the scenes of Hindu terrorism including against Ghandi himself. Emotive and intense musical score by the classic Miklos Rozsa . The motion picture was well directed by George Cukor , though contains some flaws . This excellent filmmaker directed 20 different actors in Oscar-nominated performances . Cukor enjoyed a successful working partnership with Katharine Hepburn, directing her in ten films over a period of 47 years such as ¨Little women¨, ¨The Philadelphia story¨, ¨Adam's rib¨ , ¨Pat and Mike¨, among others . He was often regarded as a "women's director" because his films frequently are centered around strong female characters . Cukor directed many adaptations of books & plays and was known to be particularly skilled at interpreting stage plays for the screen .
This dramatic picture contains a meaty plot , thrills , unrest , violence , love and historical events dealing with pre-independence India . This colorful picture gave Ava Gardner , Stewart Granger and co-stars a good time . Stewart Granger is fine as a colonel who falls in love for Ava . Gorgeous Ava Gardner as a half-English , half-Indian woman who is torn between the British officer she loves and her country . Gardner was trampled on by more than 200 native extras , then shaken and bruised in a staged fight with soldiers ; some years later , Ava declared it the toughest picture she ever worked on . Support cast is frankly well , such as Abraham Sofaer as Surabhai , Lionel Jeffries as Lt. Graham McDaniel , Freda Jackson as Sandani , Peter Illing as Ghanshyam and Francis Matthews who said in interviews that huge chunks of his part ended up on the cutting room floor ; in addition , Edward Chapman was hired to play Jones after the scenes had been shot with another actor playing the role . Furthermore , a right make-up to appear American actors like Indian people .
Evocative as well as glowing cinematography by Freddie Young shot on location in Pakistan . The filming took place in Pakistan rather than India for political reasons due to the scenes of Hindu terrorism including against Ghandi himself. Emotive and intense musical score by the classic Miklos Rozsa . The motion picture was well directed by George Cukor , though contains some flaws . This excellent filmmaker directed 20 different actors in Oscar-nominated performances . Cukor enjoyed a successful working partnership with Katharine Hepburn, directing her in ten films over a period of 47 years such as ¨Little women¨, ¨The Philadelphia story¨, ¨Adam's rib¨ , ¨Pat and Mike¨, among others . He was often regarded as a "women's director" because his films frequently are centered around strong female characters . Cukor directed many adaptations of books & plays and was known to be particularly skilled at interpreting stage plays for the screen .
Incredible performance by Ava Gardner
JuguAbraham9 June 2002
This film could have been wonderful if some of the parts had been given to Indian actors. For instance, Hollywood and British studios make believe that Indians speak English in a sing-song manner. They might have heavy accents but few speak English that way. Freda Jackson's role as "the Sadani" (could it have been an ignorant variation of "Sardarni"?) was incredibly stupid casting in that she spoke impeccable English for a middle-class Sikh lady. This apart Jackson was able to dominate her screen time.
I would have liked to dismiss this film as a below average film but for the incredible performance of Ava Gardner who towers over all else in the movie. Take her accent--for an American, there was no trace of her origins when she spoke. She alone looked real with raven black hair in a sari draped in foppish manner--after all she was an Anglo-Indian. Had she worn well like an Aishwarya Rai, Cukor would have got it wrong.
Cukor deserves full credit for choosing Gardner for the role and for capturing the ambiance of romantic North Western Railways, its first class coaches, the engines and goods wagons. A keen observer will note that some of the shots of goods wagons showed vintage wagons, while others showed contemporary ones.
Though shot in Pakistan, the film caught the Indian ambiance perfectly, right up to the Railway quarters for its staff.
Ava Gardner, it is only too evident, performed well under the guidance of good directors as John Houston. This film and "Night of Iguana" are my personal favourites among her films.
I would have liked to dismiss this film as a below average film but for the incredible performance of Ava Gardner who towers over all else in the movie. Take her accent--for an American, there was no trace of her origins when she spoke. She alone looked real with raven black hair in a sari draped in foppish manner--after all she was an Anglo-Indian. Had she worn well like an Aishwarya Rai, Cukor would have got it wrong.
Cukor deserves full credit for choosing Gardner for the role and for capturing the ambiance of romantic North Western Railways, its first class coaches, the engines and goods wagons. A keen observer will note that some of the shots of goods wagons showed vintage wagons, while others showed contemporary ones.
Though shot in Pakistan, the film caught the Indian ambiance perfectly, right up to the Railway quarters for its staff.
Ava Gardner, it is only too evident, performed well under the guidance of good directors as John Houston. This film and "Night of Iguana" are my personal favourites among her films.
The British Empire Meets the Hollywood Empire
JamesHitchcock4 December 2008
Warning: Spoilers
Hollywood normally left films about British rule in India to the British themselves ("The Drum", "Black Narcissus", North West Frontier"), but "Bhowani Junction" is an exception. Certainly, John Masters' novel offered everything needed to make a thinking man's epic- an exotic setting, plenty of action, a thrilling finale and a serious theme, in this case racism. When Hollywood examined racial issues it often preferred to do so in the context of European colonialism rather than in the context of America itself.
The film is set in the Indian railway town of Bhowani Junction in 1946, a year before independence. The British administrators are resigned to leaving India, but still hope to exercise an influence over the path the country will take after independence. Hence their preference for the Congress Party over the pro-Moscow Communist Party. After all Jawaharlal Nehru, the Congress leader, was a wealthy, patrician Fabian socialist, a lawyer by training, and educated at public school and Oxbridge (Harrow and Trinity College, Cambridge)- just like the British Prime Minister Clement Attlee (Haileybury and University College, Oxford). According to this film the Communists are attempting to frustrate the handover of power to the Congress Party by acts of sabotage, hoping to create chaos which will enable them to seize power themselves. Moreover, some Congress activists are also trying to hasten the departure of the British by non-violent acts of resistance, although these often play into the hands of the Communists.
Unusually for a film about the Raj, the film does not concentrate solely on relations between the British colonialists and the native peoples of India. Several of the leading characters are drawn from a third group, the country's Anglo-Indian, or mixed race, community. The Anglo-Indians were, and are, a distinct community within India, bound together by the English language, an Anglocentric culture and the Christian religion.
The main character is Victoria Jones, the daughter of an Anglo-Indian train driver, and the film depicts the relationships between Victoria and the three men in her life, Colonel Rodney Savage, a senior British army officer, Ranjit Singh, a Sikh active in the Indian independence movement, and Patrick Taylor, an Anglo-Indian railway official. (Many Anglo-Indians worked on the railways). The fact that Victoria's lovers are drawn from the three different communities is symbolic of her uncertainty about her own cultural identity. The Anglo-Indians tended to identify culturally with Britain rather than India, although few of them had ever visited Britain, but were not fully accepted by either the British or the native Indians, both of whom referred to them by the same derogatory term, "chee-chee". It is noticeable that Victoria's attempts to fit in with British culture are not always successful. She refers to her parents by the Latin terms "pater" and "mater", unaware that in Britain this is an upper-class affectation; no British engine driver's daughter would speak in this manner. Patrick is also torn between different identities. He dislikes the British, largely because they will not accept him as one of them, but also despises full-blooded Indians, whom he refers to as "wogs" (another derogatory term). Savage is far more liberal and tolerant about matters of race.
The crisis of the story comes when Victoria kills a British soldier while he is attempting to rape her. Although the killing was clearly in self-defence, she fears that the British authorities will not, on account of her mixed-race origins, believe her version of events, so she tries to conceal the incident, thus allowing herself to be blackmailed by the Communists into assisting with one of their schemes.
I said that Masters' novel offered everything needed to make an epic, and overall the film is a pretty good one, combining an exciting adventure story with an intelligent look at some serious issues. Perhaps, however, I should have said say that it offered everything needed to make an epic bar one thing- a major role for a big-name American star. Hence the eccentric casting of Ava Gardner as Victoria, who never seems convincing as an Anglo-Indian and whose accent wavers between British, Indian and American. There were, in fact, two big-name Anglo-Indian cinema actresses around this period, Merle Oberon and Vivien Leigh, but both would probably have been too old for the role, and both normally passed as white. (Oberon, in particular, denied having any connection with India and claimed falsely to be Australian).
Stewart Granger is very good as Savage, a man who can be cynical and sardonic but also liberal and humane. I was disappointed, however, that most of the Indian characters were played, with some very dodgy accents, by white actors. Perhaps the casting of Gardner seems less eccentric when one considers that the film-makers changed the ending of the novel, in which Victoria ends up marrying Patrick. An ending in which a dashing white officer loses out to a mixed-race railway bureaucrat would not be in keeping with normal cinema conventions, so it was changed; Patrick dies heroically and Victoria marries Savage. Racially mixed romances were, however, a controversial subject, for some reason felt to be more acceptable on screen if the mixed-race girl who loves the white boy was played by a white actress. The Eurasian heroine of "Love is a Many-Splendored Thing", for example, another American film set in a British colony, is played by Jennifer Jones. It is ironic that films which set out to expose racism in the British Empire should also have unconsciously revealed some of the racist attitudes which prevailed in the Hollywood Empire. 7/10
The film is set in the Indian railway town of Bhowani Junction in 1946, a year before independence. The British administrators are resigned to leaving India, but still hope to exercise an influence over the path the country will take after independence. Hence their preference for the Congress Party over the pro-Moscow Communist Party. After all Jawaharlal Nehru, the Congress leader, was a wealthy, patrician Fabian socialist, a lawyer by training, and educated at public school and Oxbridge (Harrow and Trinity College, Cambridge)- just like the British Prime Minister Clement Attlee (Haileybury and University College, Oxford). According to this film the Communists are attempting to frustrate the handover of power to the Congress Party by acts of sabotage, hoping to create chaos which will enable them to seize power themselves. Moreover, some Congress activists are also trying to hasten the departure of the British by non-violent acts of resistance, although these often play into the hands of the Communists.
Unusually for a film about the Raj, the film does not concentrate solely on relations between the British colonialists and the native peoples of India. Several of the leading characters are drawn from a third group, the country's Anglo-Indian, or mixed race, community. The Anglo-Indians were, and are, a distinct community within India, bound together by the English language, an Anglocentric culture and the Christian religion.
The main character is Victoria Jones, the daughter of an Anglo-Indian train driver, and the film depicts the relationships between Victoria and the three men in her life, Colonel Rodney Savage, a senior British army officer, Ranjit Singh, a Sikh active in the Indian independence movement, and Patrick Taylor, an Anglo-Indian railway official. (Many Anglo-Indians worked on the railways). The fact that Victoria's lovers are drawn from the three different communities is symbolic of her uncertainty about her own cultural identity. The Anglo-Indians tended to identify culturally with Britain rather than India, although few of them had ever visited Britain, but were not fully accepted by either the British or the native Indians, both of whom referred to them by the same derogatory term, "chee-chee". It is noticeable that Victoria's attempts to fit in with British culture are not always successful. She refers to her parents by the Latin terms "pater" and "mater", unaware that in Britain this is an upper-class affectation; no British engine driver's daughter would speak in this manner. Patrick is also torn between different identities. He dislikes the British, largely because they will not accept him as one of them, but also despises full-blooded Indians, whom he refers to as "wogs" (another derogatory term). Savage is far more liberal and tolerant about matters of race.
The crisis of the story comes when Victoria kills a British soldier while he is attempting to rape her. Although the killing was clearly in self-defence, she fears that the British authorities will not, on account of her mixed-race origins, believe her version of events, so she tries to conceal the incident, thus allowing herself to be blackmailed by the Communists into assisting with one of their schemes.
I said that Masters' novel offered everything needed to make an epic, and overall the film is a pretty good one, combining an exciting adventure story with an intelligent look at some serious issues. Perhaps, however, I should have said say that it offered everything needed to make an epic bar one thing- a major role for a big-name American star. Hence the eccentric casting of Ava Gardner as Victoria, who never seems convincing as an Anglo-Indian and whose accent wavers between British, Indian and American. There were, in fact, two big-name Anglo-Indian cinema actresses around this period, Merle Oberon and Vivien Leigh, but both would probably have been too old for the role, and both normally passed as white. (Oberon, in particular, denied having any connection with India and claimed falsely to be Australian).
Stewart Granger is very good as Savage, a man who can be cynical and sardonic but also liberal and humane. I was disappointed, however, that most of the Indian characters were played, with some very dodgy accents, by white actors. Perhaps the casting of Gardner seems less eccentric when one considers that the film-makers changed the ending of the novel, in which Victoria ends up marrying Patrick. An ending in which a dashing white officer loses out to a mixed-race railway bureaucrat would not be in keeping with normal cinema conventions, so it was changed; Patrick dies heroically and Victoria marries Savage. Racially mixed romances were, however, a controversial subject, for some reason felt to be more acceptable on screen if the mixed-race girl who loves the white boy was played by a white actress. The Eurasian heroine of "Love is a Many-Splendored Thing", for example, another American film set in a British colony, is played by Jennifer Jones. It is ironic that films which set out to expose racism in the British Empire should also have unconsciously revealed some of the racist attitudes which prevailed in the Hollywood Empire. 7/10
Packing The Bags.
screenman31 October 2010
Warning: Spoilers
Ava Gardner plays the role of a mixed race Anglo-Indian woman coming to terms with the departing Brits. It's 1947, time to pack the bags and go home. But where is her home? During the occupation of India, many British expats 'went native' and developed relationships with Indians. The resulting issues were half-British - chi-chi, a step above the native wogs but hardly the right (read white) stuff. For broadly the opposite reasons, full-blood Indians despised 'em too.
Stewart Grainger plays the British army officer charged with the task of maintaining order at an increasingly rebellious outpost called Bhowani Junction. The Indians are employing Ghandi's 'passive resistance' to foul things up and expedite their colonists' departure. A romance develops between they two.
This is an inevitably simplistic Hollywood take on British colonial rule. But it's nicely filmed in black and white with some very authentic locations.
When Indians lie on the railway tracks in an attempt to blockade the movement of trains, Grainger's army officer has a neat solution. He threatens them with the contents of the station latrines. They call his bluff so he lest 'em have it. At least it gets the trains running on time.
It's depicted as outrageous behaviour in the movie, but compared to what these people did to each other after the Brits were gone it was hardly worse than pissing in your tea. How many people were murdered during partition - was it a million?
This is a very decent drama, but the stand-out performance is unquestionably Ava Gardner's who - let's face it - never played a bummer in her life.
Stewart Grainger plays the British army officer charged with the task of maintaining order at an increasingly rebellious outpost called Bhowani Junction. The Indians are employing Ghandi's 'passive resistance' to foul things up and expedite their colonists' departure. A romance develops between they two.
This is an inevitably simplistic Hollywood take on British colonial rule. But it's nicely filmed in black and white with some very authentic locations.
When Indians lie on the railway tracks in an attempt to blockade the movement of trains, Grainger's army officer has a neat solution. He threatens them with the contents of the station latrines. They call his bluff so he lest 'em have it. At least it gets the trains running on time.
It's depicted as outrageous behaviour in the movie, but compared to what these people did to each other after the Brits were gone it was hardly worse than pissing in your tea. How many people were murdered during partition - was it a million?
This is a very decent drama, but the stand-out performance is unquestionably Ava Gardner's who - let's face it - never played a bummer in her life.
Ava Gardner in British Indian melodrama
SnoopyStyle7 July 2022
Anglo-Indian Victoria Jones (Ava Gardner) kisses British soldier Col. Rodney Savage (Stewart Granger) goodbye as India gains independence in 1947. He recounts the story years earlier as the political situation heats up. Patrick Taylor (Bill Travers) is an arrogant Anglo-Indian with an eye for Victoria. Surabhai is a troublesome resistance leader who is struggling to maintain non-violence while Davay is a mysterious resistance fighter using violence of all kinds. The country falls into chaos. Victoria kills a British officer in self-defense and her family covers it up.
The character is mixed race and it's standard practice to cast a white actress. Ava Gardner is doing some overwrought acting. Sometimes it fits but in some instances, I would like her to dial it down. The character is dealing with some big melodrama and internally conflicted about her race. It's an interesting path to be caught in between and not fit into either worlds. The Indian freedom fighters don't come off looking well. Surabhai is shown as foolish and Davay is cold-hearted. The movie does lean slightly towards the British although there is the sleazy Captain McDaniel. I don't really buy Victoria getting away with the killing. There are some great set pieces. The train crash is epic. This is an interesting historical drama.
The character is mixed race and it's standard practice to cast a white actress. Ava Gardner is doing some overwrought acting. Sometimes it fits but in some instances, I would like her to dial it down. The character is dealing with some big melodrama and internally conflicted about her race. It's an interesting path to be caught in between and not fit into either worlds. The Indian freedom fighters don't come off looking well. Surabhai is shown as foolish and Davay is cold-hearted. The movie does lean slightly towards the British although there is the sleazy Captain McDaniel. I don't really buy Victoria getting away with the killing. There are some great set pieces. The train crash is epic. This is an interesting historical drama.
Lurid melodrama about Indian independence
YohjiArmstrong16 August 2012
Warning: Spoilers
Plot: An Anglo-Indian woman is forced to assess her identity as Britain withdraws from her Indian colony.
The film-makers deserve a lot of blame for the deeply uneven nature of this film. Whilst the Technicolor drama is lurid, the crowd scenes are naturalistic, and some scenes (notably the rape-murder) are stylised. The result is a complete mess, not helped by Ava Gardener's grotesquely melodramatic acting. She always liked a dram, and it shows in her florid complexion. Thankfully, Stewart Granger adds a welcome calm and command when on screen. Also against this film are the white actors painted brown to look like Indians. I have no objections to the practice (English speaking Indian actors weren't easy to find in the 1950s) but in several cases the make-up is so bad that it is distracting. The Indian actors themselves are all very creditable, out- acting some of the 'noise and fury' European actors. What makes this film worth watching is the subject matter and the mature and complex way in which it is dealt with. Far too many films on racism are one-dimensional rants, but this, thanks to its source material in John Master's excellent and authoritative novel, is complex. Rather than simple black and white you have whites against Indians, Anglo-Indians against all, Communists against Congress, Hindu caste against caste, religion against religion. Everyone is implicated, but everyone is a human rather than a viewpoint. So the racist and snobbish Anglo-Indian lover who is obsessed with not letting the sun darken his complexion (still common in India where skin-lightening creams are much prized) also risks his life to save Indian peasants who are the darkest of the dark. Whilst the local Congress Party leader, a nice man who marshals locals in commendable passive resistance, still holds to the Hindu caste system which goes far beyond British colonial racism in terms of regarding others as inferiors and moderating social conduct accordingly. The end is a cross between the obvious (a happy ending for the lovers not present in the book) with a sombre grasp of reality, as everyone realises that there will always be differences between groups which can be bridged, but never abolished.
The film-makers deserve a lot of blame for the deeply uneven nature of this film. Whilst the Technicolor drama is lurid, the crowd scenes are naturalistic, and some scenes (notably the rape-murder) are stylised. The result is a complete mess, not helped by Ava Gardener's grotesquely melodramatic acting. She always liked a dram, and it shows in her florid complexion. Thankfully, Stewart Granger adds a welcome calm and command when on screen. Also against this film are the white actors painted brown to look like Indians. I have no objections to the practice (English speaking Indian actors weren't easy to find in the 1950s) but in several cases the make-up is so bad that it is distracting. The Indian actors themselves are all very creditable, out- acting some of the 'noise and fury' European actors. What makes this film worth watching is the subject matter and the mature and complex way in which it is dealt with. Far too many films on racism are one-dimensional rants, but this, thanks to its source material in John Master's excellent and authoritative novel, is complex. Rather than simple black and white you have whites against Indians, Anglo-Indians against all, Communists against Congress, Hindu caste against caste, religion against religion. Everyone is implicated, but everyone is a human rather than a viewpoint. So the racist and snobbish Anglo-Indian lover who is obsessed with not letting the sun darken his complexion (still common in India where skin-lightening creams are much prized) also risks his life to save Indian peasants who are the darkest of the dark. Whilst the local Congress Party leader, a nice man who marshals locals in commendable passive resistance, still holds to the Hindu caste system which goes far beyond British colonial racism in terms of regarding others as inferiors and moderating social conduct accordingly. The end is a cross between the obvious (a happy ending for the lovers not present in the book) with a sombre grasp of reality, as everyone realises that there will always be differences between groups which can be bridged, but never abolished.
A Essay On RACISM
RAY-1305 July 2007
I watched this expecting the normal 50's play on British India and found a morality tale. The approach was a pleasant surprise. The first half dealt with the prejudice toward half Indian and English by both sides. Any comment applied to "wogs" etc could have been the N word in America. This was made in 1956!!!
Of course the 2ed half became the Granger-Gardner love story and get the bad guy but still fun. Ava was sexy as hell and Stewart was dashing. HIP HIP HORAY! Their children would be "1/4 wog". The ending was a bit much but still fun.
This movie belongs on DVD and soon. I highly recommend this as a fun movie with A blast at hate.
Of course the 2ed half became the Granger-Gardner love story and get the bad guy but still fun. Ava was sexy as hell and Stewart was dashing. HIP HIP HORAY! Their children would be "1/4 wog". The ending was a bit much but still fun.
This movie belongs on DVD and soon. I highly recommend this as a fun movie with A blast at hate.
As an Anglo Banglo descendant.....
iharvey4 October 2009
Well, I've always sort of identified myself as an AngloBanglo.
My dad was born in Lahore in 1929 and my grandparents left Karachi in 1965 almost 20 years after partition because the Muslims had made it impossible for my Nana to continue to run her private school.
The returned to England like so many AngloBanglos where they were too Indian for the white and not Indian enough for the Indians.
Just like they were back in what was then Pakistan and by some account, India itself.
You have to remember that at this point, as depicted in the film, 1947 was the cusp of partition and violence was everywhere. My grandfather told me graphic stories of entire trains of people slaughtered he had witnessed.
Ava Gardner's character has to choose which side she is on but for many AngloBanglos the struggle goes on. We are neither brown enough for the browns, nor white enough for the whites. I now live in Canada but I self identify as English.
The sub text in George Cukor's story has lost some of it's impact over time because few remember the upheaval of partition but for some of us, it bring it back into focus.
More interesting to me is that it was released the year I was born, in England, in 1956.
My dad was born in Lahore in 1929 and my grandparents left Karachi in 1965 almost 20 years after partition because the Muslims had made it impossible for my Nana to continue to run her private school.
The returned to England like so many AngloBanglos where they were too Indian for the white and not Indian enough for the Indians.
Just like they were back in what was then Pakistan and by some account, India itself.
You have to remember that at this point, as depicted in the film, 1947 was the cusp of partition and violence was everywhere. My grandfather told me graphic stories of entire trains of people slaughtered he had witnessed.
Ava Gardner's character has to choose which side she is on but for many AngloBanglos the struggle goes on. We are neither brown enough for the browns, nor white enough for the whites. I now live in Canada but I self identify as English.
The sub text in George Cukor's story has lost some of it's impact over time because few remember the upheaval of partition but for some of us, it bring it back into focus.
More interesting to me is that it was released the year I was born, in England, in 1956.
Ambitious, uneven
bdickson-23 April 2022
Produced barely a handful of years after the tumultuous period in question, the film delves further into events and attitudes that would have been comparatively unfamiliar to North American audiences - perhaps explaining, in part, its middling box office performance.
One can only speculate as to whether the project was part of a Cold War ploy to woo India away from its affection for Russia; however, dialogue early on does make specific reference to worries about Russian influence. If there's any validity to that speculation, then its ambitions extended beyond the box office (and might have been realized..?).
I agree with those commending director Cukor for his handling of the wide screen spectacle and action. I suspect that Richard Attenborough took notes from Cukor's visual approach in pre-planning his "Gandhi." Yes, other directors (e.g., Victor Fleming, Gone With the Wind, to mention but one) achieved more memorable tableaux; but this was an honourable entry in a still-evolving format at the time.
I'll yield to others' opinions on the performances - with the exception that I found Bill Travers's character and his portrayal were a one-note annoyance throughout. I mean, at least get a dialogue coach and find a credible accent, already!
It would be interesting to recover Cukor's original cut of the film, notwithstanding the apparently negative audience reactions at the time. The voice over post-facto narrative technique the studio imposed was hackneyed even then.
One can only speculate as to whether the project was part of a Cold War ploy to woo India away from its affection for Russia; however, dialogue early on does make specific reference to worries about Russian influence. If there's any validity to that speculation, then its ambitions extended beyond the box office (and might have been realized..?).
I agree with those commending director Cukor for his handling of the wide screen spectacle and action. I suspect that Richard Attenborough took notes from Cukor's visual approach in pre-planning his "Gandhi." Yes, other directors (e.g., Victor Fleming, Gone With the Wind, to mention but one) achieved more memorable tableaux; but this was an honourable entry in a still-evolving format at the time.
I'll yield to others' opinions on the performances - with the exception that I found Bill Travers's character and his portrayal were a one-note annoyance throughout. I mean, at least get a dialogue coach and find a credible accent, already!
It would be interesting to recover Cukor's original cut of the film, notwithstanding the apparently negative audience reactions at the time. The voice over post-facto narrative technique the studio imposed was hackneyed even then.
Ava at her peak
ArtVandelayImporterExporter16 January 2021
If you're not hooked in the first scene seeing Ava Gardner in the white blouse you'd better check your pulse.
Unfortunately, the movie isn't as interesting as Ava is gorgeous.
Sure, there are a lot of expensive-looking set pieces involving hundreds of extras and decent action (of sorts). It's as beautifully shot as any movie of the 50s.
But the story. First we get a preachy talkfest about Indian independence. Then there is the lurid attempted rape scene, whreupon it becomes a cheap crime drama.
The writing is so weak that at one point Ava is forced to tell an embarrassingly bad limerick to a friend in the bar. There is too much narration. And then the scene in the temple where she is imagining(?) all those voices in her head. Gave me a headache.
The less said about the total lack of chemistry between Gardner and Granger, the better.
This movie has the production values to be an epic. And the writing of a high school drama. Ava's luminescent performance is thus tragically wasted. She deserved much, much better.
Nonetheless, watch it to understand why Frank Sinatra left his first wife for Ava and adored her for the rest of her life, decades after their divorce. She was a knockout.
Unfortunately, the movie isn't as interesting as Ava is gorgeous.
Sure, there are a lot of expensive-looking set pieces involving hundreds of extras and decent action (of sorts). It's as beautifully shot as any movie of the 50s.
But the story. First we get a preachy talkfest about Indian independence. Then there is the lurid attempted rape scene, whreupon it becomes a cheap crime drama.
The writing is so weak that at one point Ava is forced to tell an embarrassingly bad limerick to a friend in the bar. There is too much narration. And then the scene in the temple where she is imagining(?) all those voices in her head. Gave me a headache.
The less said about the total lack of chemistry between Gardner and Granger, the better.
This movie has the production values to be an epic. And the writing of a high school drama. Ava's luminescent performance is thus tragically wasted. She deserved much, much better.
Nonetheless, watch it to understand why Frank Sinatra left his first wife for Ava and adored her for the rest of her life, decades after their divorce. She was a knockout.
India's Independence Birth Pangs
bkoganbing7 August 2005
The setting for Bhowani Junction is India during the last days of the British Raj. The town of Bhowani is a railroad junction and both the Congress Party and the Communist Party are doing all kinds of sabotage to help the British quickly get out of India. Of course each is doing it for their own reasons.
Two people who may have given the outstanding performances of their careers are Ava Gardner and Bill Travers. Both play bi-racial people who don't fit in either society. But they react differently. Gardner is going through a whole lot of angst, really seeing both the British and Indian point of view. How she missed an Oscar nomination here is beyond me.
Bill Travers is the railroad station manager and his whole life is his job. He focuses narrowly on that and his tunnel vision leaves him oblivious to the momentous changes around him. Except for the fact that when the British leave he might lose that little piece of authority where he is, that which gives him stature in the Raj society.
The issues are complex, but in the hands of a great director like George Cukor the characters and their struggles become real and even more important, the audience becomes interested.
Stewart Granger who was the British Colonel in charge of the whole mess in Bhowani, said that Bhowani Junction was one of the few films he was really proud to be associated with. He has a struggle to, he really does see the Indians as human beings and not just "wogs." He's quite knowledgeable about their customs and at one point utilizes that knowledge to unjam that railroad terminal.
Bhowani Junction is an intelligent and literate drama and a superb piece of film making.
Two people who may have given the outstanding performances of their careers are Ava Gardner and Bill Travers. Both play bi-racial people who don't fit in either society. But they react differently. Gardner is going through a whole lot of angst, really seeing both the British and Indian point of view. How she missed an Oscar nomination here is beyond me.
Bill Travers is the railroad station manager and his whole life is his job. He focuses narrowly on that and his tunnel vision leaves him oblivious to the momentous changes around him. Except for the fact that when the British leave he might lose that little piece of authority where he is, that which gives him stature in the Raj society.
The issues are complex, but in the hands of a great director like George Cukor the characters and their struggles become real and even more important, the audience becomes interested.
Stewart Granger who was the British Colonel in charge of the whole mess in Bhowani, said that Bhowani Junction was one of the few films he was really proud to be associated with. He has a struggle to, he really does see the Indians as human beings and not just "wogs." He's quite knowledgeable about their customs and at one point utilizes that knowledge to unjam that railroad terminal.
Bhowani Junction is an intelligent and literate drama and a superb piece of film making.
An Anglo-Indian woman (Ava Gardner) is caught between India and England
Wuchakk30 May 2022
During the chaotic final days of British rule in northwest India in 1947, the beautiful daughter (Gardner) of an English train engineer and an Indian mother struggles to find her identity while pursued by three men: a rail-traffic superintendent (Bill Travers), his Sikh subordinate (Francis Matthews) and a British colonel (Stewart Granger). Meanwhile Indian supporters of Mahatma Gandhi campaign for independence while Communists, led by a revolutionary called Davay (Peter Illing), fuel unrest.
"Bhowani Junction" (1956) is an exotic drama with adventure elements similar to the future "A Passage to India" (1985), although not as good as that one. It features most of the elements you'd think of when India comes to mind - never-ending throngs of people in (usually) white garb, trains, street commotion, etc.
Ava is beautiful, Granger makes for a stalwart male protagonist, the locations are authentic and the historical setting is interesting. But I rolled my eyes at the subplot regarding a certain person feeling guilty about something, which didn't make sense since what that person did was in self-defense and the perpetrator was an ignoble scumbag.
The movie runs 1 hour, 50 minutes, and was shot in Lahore, Pakistan, which is just across the border from northwestern India; the train wreck sequence was done 35 miles outside London to the southwest; another sequence was shot at Tram Tunnel, Kingsway, London, while studio stuff was done at the MGM British Studios just north of the city.
GRADE: B-/C+
"Bhowani Junction" (1956) is an exotic drama with adventure elements similar to the future "A Passage to India" (1985), although not as good as that one. It features most of the elements you'd think of when India comes to mind - never-ending throngs of people in (usually) white garb, trains, street commotion, etc.
Ava is beautiful, Granger makes for a stalwart male protagonist, the locations are authentic and the historical setting is interesting. But I rolled my eyes at the subplot regarding a certain person feeling guilty about something, which didn't make sense since what that person did was in self-defense and the perpetrator was an ignoble scumbag.
The movie runs 1 hour, 50 minutes, and was shot in Lahore, Pakistan, which is just across the border from northwestern India; the train wreck sequence was done 35 miles outside London to the southwest; another sequence was shot at Tram Tunnel, Kingsway, London, while studio stuff was done at the MGM British Studios just north of the city.
GRADE: B-/C+
Great Ava Gardner Film
whpratt118 March 2006
Greatly enjoyed this film about the British withdrawing from India and the wonderful photography and the great scenery. However, Ava Gardner,(Victoria Jones),"City On Fire",'79 looked simply beautiful, considering she tried to keep up with Frank Sinatra on the fast track of real life. Victoria Jones played the role of a very tricky gal, who twisted men around her little finger and pretended to be someone else other than herself. Stewart Granger, (Col. Rodney Savage),"The Wild Geese",'78, was a very clever military soldier and kept a close eye on Victoria for more reasons than only one. There is great acting between Gardner and Stewart who were at the height of their careers. Enjoy.
By the time they find you Indian history will be changed!
sol-kay13 October 2006
Warning: Spoilers
(There are Spoilers) Entangled love story between a Chi-Chi Eurasian half-breed Victoria Jones, Ava Gardner, and British officer Col. Rodney Savage, Stewart Granger,that leads to an attempted assassination of the country's, India, spiritual leader Mohandas Gandhi and future prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru. Taking place during the violence and unrest of circa 1947 India the movie "Bhowani Junction" works very hard to distinguishes between Gandhi's peaceful passive resistance movement and the communist and nationalist brutal and violence inspired movements that caused a bloody civil war between the Hindu's and Moslem's in 1947-48. The violence lead to the assassination of Gandhi, by a Hindu no less, and is still going on with partitioned former Indian provinces Pakistan and Kashmir today.
Victoria feeling that she doesn't fit into the new and soon to be formed Indian nation is torn between her both fathers British and mothers Indian roots. Together with her fiancée Pat Taylor, Bill Travis, also a half bread Chi-Chi. They fear that they'll be left out when the native Indians take over the government and that leaves them both in a bind in either staying or leaving the country.
Victoria at first slowly gravities toward her Indian nationality when she's attacked by British army officer Graham McDaniel, Lionel Jeffres, who had been eying her since she arrived at the Junction as a British/Indian transportation officer. Trying to fight the wild and lecherous McDaniel off Victoria bashed his head in with an steel rod killing him. Being taken in by Ranjit Kasel, Francis Matthews, who works with her at the transpiration office and his mother Sadani, Freda Jones, the two together with mutual friend Ghanshyam,Peter Illing, cover up McDaniel's death by hiding his body in a town garbage dump. It later turns out that there was also an Indian sentry murdered at the scene of McDanial's killing and even worse Ghanshyam turned out to be non-other then the communist rabble-rouser and terrorist Davay! Victoria is now in danger of being implicated in not only a terrorist act but in giving aid and comfort to a wanted terrorist leader Davay.
Davay trapped in Bhowani Junction uses Victoria, by blackmailing her, to get him out by rail which alerts her former lover Taylor who together with her now lover Col. Savage, and a platoon of British/Indian soldiers, corral the the train. A desperate Davay take off on foot into a nearby train tunnel. Having Davay trapped in the ensuing shootout Taylor gets hit and later dies from his wounds but Davay is blown away by Col.Savage who also disarms the sticks of dynamite that he left on the tracks to explode. It's then when the train targeted for detonation by the now late Davay passes by that Col. Savage realizes that he, Taylor and the soldiers under his command, prevented the murder of India's future leaders,Gandhi and Nehru, who were passengers on that very train.
Even though Ava Gardner as the Chi-Chi Victoria Jones was as beautiful as she ever was her relation with the men in her life in the movie,Pat Taylor Ranjit Kasel and Col. Savage, didn't really touch off any sparks or firework. Vctoria in the end falls in love with Col. Savage, and him with her. And at the same time Victoria not wanting to leave India with him is not that convincing at all.
What really make the film worth seeing is the historic flavor that in has to it in how the world changed back in 1947, August 15th to be exact. A nation of then 345 million people broke away from the shrinking British Empire and was later to become one of the most industrious and populated country's on earth. By far overshadowing the colonial power, Great Britain, that ruled and exploited it, with a silk glove and iron fist, for some 250 years.
Victoria feeling that she doesn't fit into the new and soon to be formed Indian nation is torn between her both fathers British and mothers Indian roots. Together with her fiancée Pat Taylor, Bill Travis, also a half bread Chi-Chi. They fear that they'll be left out when the native Indians take over the government and that leaves them both in a bind in either staying or leaving the country.
Victoria at first slowly gravities toward her Indian nationality when she's attacked by British army officer Graham McDaniel, Lionel Jeffres, who had been eying her since she arrived at the Junction as a British/Indian transportation officer. Trying to fight the wild and lecherous McDaniel off Victoria bashed his head in with an steel rod killing him. Being taken in by Ranjit Kasel, Francis Matthews, who works with her at the transpiration office and his mother Sadani, Freda Jones, the two together with mutual friend Ghanshyam,Peter Illing, cover up McDaniel's death by hiding his body in a town garbage dump. It later turns out that there was also an Indian sentry murdered at the scene of McDanial's killing and even worse Ghanshyam turned out to be non-other then the communist rabble-rouser and terrorist Davay! Victoria is now in danger of being implicated in not only a terrorist act but in giving aid and comfort to a wanted terrorist leader Davay.
Davay trapped in Bhowani Junction uses Victoria, by blackmailing her, to get him out by rail which alerts her former lover Taylor who together with her now lover Col. Savage, and a platoon of British/Indian soldiers, corral the the train. A desperate Davay take off on foot into a nearby train tunnel. Having Davay trapped in the ensuing shootout Taylor gets hit and later dies from his wounds but Davay is blown away by Col.Savage who also disarms the sticks of dynamite that he left on the tracks to explode. It's then when the train targeted for detonation by the now late Davay passes by that Col. Savage realizes that he, Taylor and the soldiers under his command, prevented the murder of India's future leaders,Gandhi and Nehru, who were passengers on that very train.
Even though Ava Gardner as the Chi-Chi Victoria Jones was as beautiful as she ever was her relation with the men in her life in the movie,Pat Taylor Ranjit Kasel and Col. Savage, didn't really touch off any sparks or firework. Vctoria in the end falls in love with Col. Savage, and him with her. And at the same time Victoria not wanting to leave India with him is not that convincing at all.
What really make the film worth seeing is the historic flavor that in has to it in how the world changed back in 1947, August 15th to be exact. A nation of then 345 million people broke away from the shrinking British Empire and was later to become one of the most industrious and populated country's on earth. By far overshadowing the colonial power, Great Britain, that ruled and exploited it, with a silk glove and iron fist, for some 250 years.
Interesting film
cera-37 July 2007
I am an Anglo-Indian, and feel many aspects of film were well portrayed, the idea of being "mixed up" was put forth quite well. However, I can't really relate to Victoria, as I am of a younger AI generation, who grew up in independent India, I see myself as Indian first and Anglo second.
I have to second the first comment, the use of non-Indian actors, is both annoying and insulting! India produces more films than Hollywood, has quite an extensive roster of actors, surely, George Cukor could have cast Indians in those roles. To think he made a movie about Indians, and not casting Indian actors, is absurd!
I have to second the first comment, the use of non-Indian actors, is both annoying and insulting! India produces more films than Hollywood, has quite an extensive roster of actors, surely, George Cukor could have cast Indians in those roles. To think he made a movie about Indians, and not casting Indian actors, is absurd!
"It's time the Lord made all human beings the same..."
PudgyPandaMan22 August 2008
Warning: Spoilers
...on the outside as well as on the inside." Ava's character replies "We'd only change it back again the minute his back was turned." This exchange near the end of the film summarizes a basic theme that runs throughout the movie - that of racism and prejudice in this period film about India's coming to independence. There is a ton of voice-over done by Granger's character. I guess it is necessary to get in all the history and details behind the political climate of the time. It does drag the film down in places.
I thought this was one of Ava's better acting performances. In part because Tinseltown finally gave her a character with some meat and not just all cheesecake and sex appeal. In her biography, Ava herself says it is one of her better roles. She detested the locations shooting due to the heat, stench from the open sewers and nearly poverty level accommodations they had. She even contracted dysentery - so a not a great memory. She said the worst part was the rape scene which was so realistic in the portrayal, that it caused her nightmares for some time. Odd, but it looked rather tame on the screen to me (but this is 50 years later and we have seen a lot worse). Also in her biography, Ava states that they were allowed to use a sacred Sikh temple in the filming of the ceremony with Rajit. She said it was the first time they let non-Sikh's in the temple.
I found the film very realistic in its location shooting in Pakistan. The large crowd scenes with the locals were quite amazing and believable. The studio went to great expense to shoot this and haul all the necessary equipment and personnel to such a far away place. In fact, it is said this was the nail in studio head Dorry Sherry's coffin. Because it didn't have great box office success and cost quite a bit, he was soon kicked out. Much in the same way Louis B Mayer was 5 years previous. No loyalty in Hollywood.
But, apart from Ava's performance and the grand location shooting and realism, the film itself is left lacking for something. Ava says the film was cut unmercifully in the editing room and left out some of the better sequences. But there is a good message in the film in that we should treat all humans equally.
I thought this was one of Ava's better acting performances. In part because Tinseltown finally gave her a character with some meat and not just all cheesecake and sex appeal. In her biography, Ava herself says it is one of her better roles. She detested the locations shooting due to the heat, stench from the open sewers and nearly poverty level accommodations they had. She even contracted dysentery - so a not a great memory. She said the worst part was the rape scene which was so realistic in the portrayal, that it caused her nightmares for some time. Odd, but it looked rather tame on the screen to me (but this is 50 years later and we have seen a lot worse). Also in her biography, Ava states that they were allowed to use a sacred Sikh temple in the filming of the ceremony with Rajit. She said it was the first time they let non-Sikh's in the temple.
I found the film very realistic in its location shooting in Pakistan. The large crowd scenes with the locals were quite amazing and believable. The studio went to great expense to shoot this and haul all the necessary equipment and personnel to such a far away place. In fact, it is said this was the nail in studio head Dorry Sherry's coffin. Because it didn't have great box office success and cost quite a bit, he was soon kicked out. Much in the same way Louis B Mayer was 5 years previous. No loyalty in Hollywood.
But, apart from Ava's performance and the grand location shooting and realism, the film itself is left lacking for something. Ava says the film was cut unmercifully in the editing room and left out some of the better sequences. But there is a good message in the film in that we should treat all humans equally.
Ava Gardner is absolutely irresistible in this.
mvfever2 April 2004
Stars are the primary reason for me to watch old movies, because they just don't make them like that anymore. 'Bowani Junction' provides some of the best; Ava Gardner is so irresistibly attractive in this movie that watching her along is worth every penny spent for buying the copy. Better yet, other things in the film are also good. Granger, playing a more realistic role, is at his best elements as a daring arrogant English Col., match nicely with the beautiful Gardner as a romantic couple. Most of the Indian characters are well portrayed and I love movie with a historical background . The story is complicated ,yet well told and paced. The characters are interesting and well presented. Over all, this is Cukor's movie at its usual fine standard.
This one is not to miss for fans of Granger, Gardner, and Hollywood oldies.
This one is not to miss for fans of Granger, Gardner, and Hollywood oldies.
REMAKE ANYONE...?
masonfisk10 April 2024
An Ava Gardner vehicle from 1956 directed by George Cukor (My Fair Lady/Adam's Rib). Told in flashback by her English officer boyfriend, played by Stewart Granger, we learn of Gardner, a mixed breed of Brit & Indian nationalities, working w/her boyfriend at a train station in India post WWII. The Indians are resentful of their British minders & factions of terrorists are brewing in the midst of the peaceful populace so when a cache of explosives goes missing & then used, the Brits pool their efforts to capture the fugitive who led the bombing. Meanwhile, Gardner struggles to fit into either world & after breaking up w/her boyfriend (who longs to embrace his Brit side but soon becomes boorish about it) she finds herself w/a new Indian beau who comes to her rescue (along w/his mother & the mad bomber in question) after she kills a soldier who attempted to rape her. Even though Gardner & Granger's relationship is rocky from the get go, they soon find common ground where she's able to disclose to him about the rape attempt & the location of the bomber setting up the last third of the film where the bomber takes her hostage while planning to bomb another train (w/a historical figure on board) w/Granger racing to her rescue. I'd love to see a remake of this story since it touches upon a lot of hot button topics that come 70 years on we still grapple w/as a species but here, due to the times in which the film was made, we ultimately still have a damsel in distress (even though as limned the potential for a stronger character was a possibility) who gets dragged by her alpha male compatriots from one side of the screen to the other not really filling in that circle they were hoping to cover.
Ava Gardner and Granger at their very Best !
Umar Mansoor Bajwa19 April 2015
The epic "Bhowani Junction" took two years in production (1954-55) including the location shooting in Lahore, Pakistan. It is a great melodrama that circumvents the tumultuous times and events unfolding Sub-continent's partition and the socio-political upheaval associated with it.
The perplexed minds and characters of Anglo Indians filled with angst were the signs of those turbulent times as the British pack up for their home country in the aftermath of India's partition and Independence. Ava Gardner as Victoria Jones has outperformed in all facets of her central character in the movie, as she perfectly translates her persona and body language which is in complete sync with the abnormal circumstances taking new twists and turns of fate with every passing day. Stewart Granger as Col. Rodney Savage is equally superb in his majestically mature performance who takes hold of a crisis like situation on Bhowani Junction (shot on actual location of gigantic Lahore Railway station) with wisdom, sagacity and the grit to out maneuver the machinations of Hindu rebels or trouble makers. That were trying times and the British colonialists had to deal with unusual challenging situations.
The screenplay and direction by George Cukor speaks for itself and I personally feel that this gem of a movie is underrated and unfortunately did not do a roaring business on the box office, but for all the glory that was Hollywood during that golden era of cinema, Bhowani Junction presents a complete feature film coupled with cinema-scope colour production, evocative musical score composed by Miklos Rozsa,thoughtful direction, superb cast and wonderful acting skills of those classic actors of a bygone age. (Ten out of ten). A must see for serious viewers.
The perplexed minds and characters of Anglo Indians filled with angst were the signs of those turbulent times as the British pack up for their home country in the aftermath of India's partition and Independence. Ava Gardner as Victoria Jones has outperformed in all facets of her central character in the movie, as she perfectly translates her persona and body language which is in complete sync with the abnormal circumstances taking new twists and turns of fate with every passing day. Stewart Granger as Col. Rodney Savage is equally superb in his majestically mature performance who takes hold of a crisis like situation on Bhowani Junction (shot on actual location of gigantic Lahore Railway station) with wisdom, sagacity and the grit to out maneuver the machinations of Hindu rebels or trouble makers. That were trying times and the British colonialists had to deal with unusual challenging situations.
The screenplay and direction by George Cukor speaks for itself and I personally feel that this gem of a movie is underrated and unfortunately did not do a roaring business on the box office, but for all the glory that was Hollywood during that golden era of cinema, Bhowani Junction presents a complete feature film coupled with cinema-scope colour production, evocative musical score composed by Miklos Rozsa,thoughtful direction, superb cast and wonderful acting skills of those classic actors of a bygone age. (Ten out of ten). A must see for serious viewers.
Mixed-bag Cukor, but much to admire
marcslope17 July 2023
John Masters' sprawling novel of India on the eve of independence gets a lavish MGM filming, with a literal cast of thousands, adroitly managed by George Cukor, for whom this is a most atypical undertaking. He was known as a "women's director," and that much does apply here, for he guides Ava Gardner to perhaps her very best performance. She's Victoria, an unhappy Anglo-Indian heiress, whom the script forces to say at least 12 times that if she identifies as Indian the Brits won't accept her, and vice versa. Which leads her to pursue a number of romances, with restless revolutionary Bill Travers, mama's boy Francis Matthews, and ultimately British colonel Stewart Granger, who comes across as rather bland. She's also the victim of an attempted rape, rendered quite graphically by 1955 MGM standards. But.much else is whitewashed; Cukor complains in "On Cukor" that the violence was toned down by the front office, and Victoria's active love life didn't register well with preview audiences, causing the studio to tone a lot down and introduce a needless flashback framework. What's there is still impressive, with eye-filling location filming, some powerful scenes of revolt and ample atmosphere, and it suggests that Cukor could have handled epic spectacle as well as any David Lean if given the chance.
The action is great, but the stars disappoint!
JohnHowardReid29 June 2017
Warning: Spoilers
Copyright 1956. A Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer picture. New York opening at the Radio City Music Hall: 24 May 1956 (ran five weeks). U.S. release: 8 June 1956. U.K. release: 29 October 1956. Australian release: 24 October 1956. 9,841 feet; 109 minutes.
SYNOPSIS: Rioters and passive resisters attempt to disrupt the Indian railroad in 1947.
COMMENT: The real joy and interest in this movie lies not so much in the stars or even in the story, but in director Cukor's impressive handling of the crowd and action footage. It will be remembered that Selznick fired Cukor from Gone With The Wind because he felt that Cukor did not have the necessary "big feel" for the spectacle scenes. In Bhowani Junction it's obvious that Cukor set to work with the primary intention of proving that producer wrong. At times, the CinemaScope screen seems filled to bursting with action.
As for the plot, however, even in 1956 audiences were getting mighty tired of heroes and heroines who were seeking their identities. Although the movie recovered its huge production and distribution costs, it earned little in the way of actual profit.
Ava Gardner fans were none too happy either. She is cast out of her depth here. Although she comes across with power and conviction in some scenes, in general her performance is disappointing. Granger and Travers are none too hot either. It's left to the support cast to provide the really interesting and solid characterizations. Also on the plus side are Freddie Young's picturesque camera-work and Rozsa's vibrant music score.
SYNOPSIS: Rioters and passive resisters attempt to disrupt the Indian railroad in 1947.
COMMENT: The real joy and interest in this movie lies not so much in the stars or even in the story, but in director Cukor's impressive handling of the crowd and action footage. It will be remembered that Selznick fired Cukor from Gone With The Wind because he felt that Cukor did not have the necessary "big feel" for the spectacle scenes. In Bhowani Junction it's obvious that Cukor set to work with the primary intention of proving that producer wrong. At times, the CinemaScope screen seems filled to bursting with action.
As for the plot, however, even in 1956 audiences were getting mighty tired of heroes and heroines who were seeking their identities. Although the movie recovered its huge production and distribution costs, it earned little in the way of actual profit.
Ava Gardner fans were none too happy either. She is cast out of her depth here. Although she comes across with power and conviction in some scenes, in general her performance is disappointing. Granger and Travers are none too hot either. It's left to the support cast to provide the really interesting and solid characterizations. Also on the plus side are Freddie Young's picturesque camera-work and Rozsa's vibrant music score.
A beautiful movie
sassheckscher18 October 2000
This is a beautifully shot, and well acted movie. It is almost faithful to the book and a good portrait of the chaos at the end of the second world war. Ava Gardner is luminous as always, and Stewart Granger a good foil for her.
An excellent film, technically and historically
vondoba14 March 2015
A film for those who like history and large-scale analog cinematography in the classic mode. While it departs in certain details from the original novel, and while it did not score well at the box office, Bhowani Junction stands in retrospect as a monument to filmmaking excellence in the epic age of Hollywood, with a fine script, great historical verisimilitude, gigantic production values, and excellent performances all around, most especially by a ravishing Ava Gardner as a half-Indian, half-English minor officer in the British colonial corps, and by Stewart Granger as her commanding officer. The star-crossed pair eventually find love amidst the coming departure of the British from India, encountering Gandhi's cadres of non-violent resistors, scheming and marauding Communists directed from Moscow, and the sexual and racial politics and ambiguities of the late colonial period. The titling styles of films in this era can feel dated, but who cares---all in all this is great stuff, and an entirely educational and pleasant way to spend a couple of hours.
Racism at all levels
SipteaHighTea30 July 2009
The only thing I have against the film is that Colonel Savage failed to realize that you had English people at all levels being racists against the Indians and the the Indians were racists among their own social, religious, economic groups. Without that racial divide and conquer policy, the British would have not been able to conquer and hold India for a long time.
In addition, the colonel failed to realize that many British enlisted and NCO soldiers stay in India after their term of service had expired because if they had went home, the only jobs for them would have been menial and physical labor jobs. In the movie The Man Who Would be King, Daniel Dravot and Peachey Camehan did not want to go back to England because ambitious men like them would never be allowed to rise above their social class/caste status particularly after seeing action in the 2nd Afganistan War plus being degraded to the above mention jobs that were awaiting for them. In the movie Gunga Din, Sgt. Ballatine was leaving the service because he was going to going to get married; however, he was going to enter the tea business because there was no way his girlfriend was going let him worked in a menial job. In the tea business, you had a better chance of acquiring a respectable living and social status.
Furthermore, the colonel also failed to realize the extreme prejudices that British officers in the regular English Army had against Britih officers in the Colonial Indian Army. During the Boer War of 1899, the War Office refuse to let any British Indian Officer serve in that war. Finally, the colonel would have face prejudice after being send back to England not only because he was an ex-British Indian Officer, but he would face additional racism if he had married that Anglo-Indian woman.
In addition, the colonel failed to realize that many British enlisted and NCO soldiers stay in India after their term of service had expired because if they had went home, the only jobs for them would have been menial and physical labor jobs. In the movie The Man Who Would be King, Daniel Dravot and Peachey Camehan did not want to go back to England because ambitious men like them would never be allowed to rise above their social class/caste status particularly after seeing action in the 2nd Afganistan War plus being degraded to the above mention jobs that were awaiting for them. In the movie Gunga Din, Sgt. Ballatine was leaving the service because he was going to going to get married; however, he was going to enter the tea business because there was no way his girlfriend was going let him worked in a menial job. In the tea business, you had a better chance of acquiring a respectable living and social status.
Furthermore, the colonel also failed to realize the extreme prejudices that British officers in the regular English Army had against Britih officers in the Colonial Indian Army. During the Boer War of 1899, the War Office refuse to let any British Indian Officer serve in that war. Finally, the colonel would have face prejudice after being send back to England not only because he was an ex-British Indian Officer, but he would face additional racism if he had married that Anglo-Indian woman.
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