The Charge of the Light Brigade
Original Film poster
Directed by	Michael Curtiz
Distributed by	Warner Bros.
Release date(s)	20 October 1936
Running time	115 min
Country	United States
Language	English
IMDb profile

The Charge of the Light Brigade is a 1936 historical film made by Warner Bros. It was directed by Michael Curtiz and produced by Samuel Bischoff, with Hal B. Wallis as executive producer, from a screenplay by Michael Jacoby and Rowland Leigh, from a story by Michael Jacoby based on the poem The Charge of the Light Brigade by Alfred Lord Tennyson. The music score was by Max Steiner and the cinematography by Sol Polito.

The film starred Errol Flynn and Olivia de Havilland. The story is very loosely based on the famous Charge of the Light Brigade that took place during the Crimean War (1853-56).

Plot summary

In 1854, Major Geoffrey Vickers (Errol Flynn) and his brother, Captain Perry Vickers (Patric Knowles), are stationed at the fictional city of Chukoti in India, with the 27th Lancers of the British Army during the British Raj. Both love the same woman, Elsa (Olivia de Havilland).

The regiment is betrayed by a treacherous local tributary rajah, Surat Khan (C. Henry Gordon), who massacres the inhabitants of Chukoti (mainly the dependents of the lancers), and allies with the Russians, whom the British are fighting in the Crimean War.

The love triangle and the quest for vengeance are both resolved at the Battle of Balaklava. Aware that Surat Khan is visiting the Russian positions opposite the 27th Lancers, Geoffrey Vickers secretly replaces the written orders of Sir Charles Macefield (Henry Stephenson) to the commander of the Light Brigade, Sir Benjamin Warrenton (Nigel Bruce). Vickers orders the famous suicidal attack. He writes a note to Macefield, explaining his actions, and orders his brother to deliver it, sparing him from almost certain death.

Just as in real life, the attack succeeds in reaching the Russian artillery positions. There, Vickers finds and kills Surat Khan, at the cost of his own life.

Cast

• Errol Flynn as Major Geoffrey Vickers
• Olivia de Havilland as Elsa Campbell
• Patric Knowles as Captain Perry Vickers
• C. Henry Gordon as Surat Khan
• David Niven as Captain James Randall
• Nigel Bruce as Sir Benjamin Warrington
• Spring Byington as Lady Warrington
• Donald Crisp as Colonel Campbell
• Henry Stephenson as Sir Charles Macefield
• G. P. Huntley as Major Jowett
• E. E. Clive as Sir Humphrey Harcourt
• Robert Barrat as Count Volonoff
• J. Carrol Naish as Singh

The Charge sequence

The film comes to a climax at the Battle of Balaklava, subject of Lord Tennyson's poem The Charge of the Light Brigade. The lancers charge into the valley and brave the Russian cannons, and many are killed. Text from Tennyson's poem is superimposed on the screen, coupled with Max Steiner's musical score.

Director Michael Curtiz, who did not have an excellent command of English, shouted "Bring On The Empty Horses", by which he meant "riderless horses". David Niven used this as the title of his autobiography.

The battlefield set was lined with trip wires to trip the cavalry horses. 200 horses were killed during filming, which forced U.S. Congress to ensure the safety of animals in motion pictures. The ASPCA banned trip wires from films as well.

Tragically, one horseman, Bill Meade, died when his horse stumbled. Meade threw his sword away, as he should have; however, he was killed instantly when he fell on the sword.

Inaccuracies

The film originally featured the Siege of Cawnpore during the Sepoy Rebellion. When someone pointed out that the Sepoy Rebellion took place three years after the Battle of Balaklava, the name of Cawnpore was hastily changed to Chukoti, and the rebellion was turned into a fictional uprising led by the fictional Surat Khan.

The reason for the Charge of the Light Brigade - arguably the most famous military blunder ever - was shown in the film as being because the 27th Lancers changed the direction of the manoeuvre so as to invade the Russian camp to kill Surat Khan. It was actually as a result of a dispute between Lord Cardigan and Lord Raglan.

The Battle of Balaklava did not result in the fall of Sebastopol, as is erroneously stated in the film.

Surat Khan is the leader of the fictional country of Suristan. Suristan is in fact an ancient Persian name for Syria.

Awards

Jack Sullivan won the Academy Award for Best Assistant Director for his work on the film, and the film was also nominated for the Academy Award for Sound and the Academy Award for Original Music Score.

External links

• A historical assessment

See also

• The Charge of the Light Brigade (1968 film)

•  • [ e] Michael Curtiz
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