s
stationed and welcomes two new Lieutenants the cocksure Forsythe and
Tom Stone the son of the unit's commander Donald. It is this
relationship between father and son that is the backbone of the film, as
Tom is captured following being tempted by a woman working for the
villainous Mohammed Kahn. Despite being told by Donald not to go after
his son, Forsythe and McGregor journey to the enemy camp where they are
captured and all three are tortured. Tom eventually gives out sensitive
information to Kahn but before he can use it Donald and his men burst in
and in the ensuing battle Tom kills Kahn but McGregor dies. Tom and
Forsythe are given medals of honour and McGregor is posthumously awarded
the Victoria Cross. Although not exactly packed full of action, The
Lives of a Bengal Lancer was still a very accomplished picture. This was
mainly due to the screenplay, which was nominated for the Oscar, which
gave opportunities for all the central characters chances to grow and
develop and also develop some laddish banter, especially that between
Forsythe and McGregor. The acting is also very good with Gary Cooper
giving his best performance so far on this quest and Richard Cromwell
was also very stoic as Donald the man who wanted to get to know his son
but his life as a soldier and almost stunted his emotions. The film was
nominated for eight Oscars in total but only one two Oscars for its
assistant directors, which is a shame as I really enjoyed this one.After looking at Charles Dickens adaptations the other day, we have another adaptation this time of Victor Hugo's Les Miserables, now much better known as a musical than from its source text. In this version it is Frederic Marsh who plays Frenchman Jean Valjean the man who is imprisoned and after escaping is treated almost like a beggar but is able to rehabilitated by a kindly priest. He then transforms himself into Monsieur Madelaine a factory owner and later mayor however he e
ncounters
Inspector Javert, played by Charles Laughton, the head of the police
who he remembers from his time in prison. At the same time Madeline
takes in the woman-of-questionable-morals Fantine and her daughter
Cossette. Javert reveals that a man is being tried under the name of
Valjean, as he is about to be imprisoned the real Valjean reveals
himself. Just before Javert is able to bring him to justice he escapes
along with Cossette. Valjean is then able to work as a gardener and make
enough money to enrol Cossette into a fancy school. During this final
part of the story there is an uprising in France as groups start to
rebel against the harsh nature of the police. Cossette falls for the
leader of the group, who themselves start to attract police attention.
This means that Javert comes back into Valjean's life, although Javert
is captured by Valjean he reconsiders and lets him go. Javert continues
to pursue Valjean but in the end commits suicide by jumping in the river
and Valjean and Cossette are reunited. Having only been faintly
familiar with the story I think Richard Boleslawski did a good job of
bringing it to life. The scenes at the end of the film involving Javert
and Valjean are incredibly startling as our Valjean's life following him
leaving prison. Like with a star is born, Frederic March is able to
display a full range of emotions as Valjean while Charles Laughton
steals the show as the villainous and despicable Javert. The film
doesn't outstay its welcome and hits all the main plot points without
lingering on any one character for too long. However it lost to another
Laughton film, Mutiny on The Bounty.
