{"id":47945,"date":"2020-03-08T23:21:59","date_gmt":"2020-03-09T06:21:59","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=47945"},"modified":"2021-03-07T11:47:15","modified_gmt":"2021-03-07T18:47:15","slug":"charge-of-the-light-brigade-the-1936","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=47945","title":{"rendered":"Charge of the Light Brigade, The (1936)"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>&#8220;In this treacherous life, it&#8217;s difficult to know which is friend, and which is foe.&#8221;<\/strong><\/p>\n<table>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/Charge-of-the-Light-Brigade-Poster.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/Charge-of-the-Light-Brigade-Poster-200x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"200\" height=\"300\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-47946\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/Charge-of-the-Light-Brigade-Poster-200x300.jpg 200w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/Charge-of-the-Light-Brigade-Poster-85x128.jpg 85w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/Charge-of-the-Light-Brigade-Poster.jpg 666w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 200px) 100vw, 200px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Synopsis:<\/strong><br \/>\nIn 19th century colonial India, a cavalry major (Errol Flynn) and his brother (Patric Knowles) vie for the love of the daughter (Olivia de Havilland) of their commander (Donald Crisp). Meanwhile, after a devastating massacre of women and children at a garrison, Flynn vows revenge on a duplicitous rajah (C. Henry Gordon), ultimately leading to &#8220;the charge of the light brigade&#8221;.\n<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p>\n<strong>Genres:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Cavalry<\/li>\n<li>David Niven Films<\/li>\n<li>Donald Crisp Films<\/li>\n<li>Errol Flynn Films<\/li>\n<li>Historical Drama<\/li>\n<li>India<\/li>\n<li>Love Triangle<\/li>\n<li>Michael Curtiz Films<\/li>\n<li>Olivia de Havilland Films<\/li>\n<li>Revenge<\/li>\n<li>Siblings<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Review: <\/strong><br \/>\nAfter achieving success with Errol Flynn and Olivia de Havilland in <a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=39908\"><em>Captain Blood<\/em> (1935)<\/a>, director Michael Curtiz teamed up with the gorgeous duo once again for this &#8220;loosely inspired by&#8221; adaptation of Sir Alfred Tennyson&#8217;s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.poetryfoundation.org\/poems\/45319\/the-charge-of-the-light-brigade\">classic poem<\/a>. Unfortunately, it comes across these days as little but an over-long ode to British colonial powers, and is dominated by an entirely unnecessarily romantic subplot that simply confuses viewers about who to root for. (Aren&#8217;t Flynn and de Havilland <em>supposed<\/em> to be cinematic lovers? And if so, why has she authentically fallen for his brother instead?) The battles scenes are all impressively filmed and edited, and Sol Polito&#8217;s cinematography is impeccable; however, this one is only must-see for Flynn completists. <\/p>\n<p>And now for a little bit of the original poem, which it was a true treat to revisit: <\/p>\n<p><em>. . .<br \/>\nHalf a league, half a league,<br \/>\nHalf a league onward,<br \/>\nAll in the valley of Death<br \/>\nRode the six hundred&#8230;<\/p>\n<p>Theirs not to make reply,<br \/>\nTheirs not to reason why,<br \/>\nTheirs but to do and die.<br \/>\n. . .<\/em><\/p>\n<p><strong>Note:<\/strong> This film is historically significant for sad reasons; as noted in TCM&#8217;s article:<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>Curtiz so abused the use of trip-wires in pulling supposedly wounded horses to the ground during the sequence, animals were regularly breaking their necks and legs. Many of them had to be shot. Flynn, to his endless credit, was so appalled by what he was seeing he secretly contacted the ASPCA and implored them to come to the location. Curtiz&#8217;s cruel methods (which, it should be noted, he didn&#8217;t invent) would forever change the handling of animals on movie sets.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><strong>Redeeming Qualities and Moments: <\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Sol Polito&#8217;s cinematography<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/Charge-Light-Brigade-Cinematography.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/Charge-Light-Brigade-Cinematography.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-47948\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/Charge-Light-Brigade-Cinematography.png 640w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/Charge-Light-Brigade-Cinematography-300x225.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/Charge-Light-Brigade-Cinematography-128x96.png 128w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/Charge-Light-Brigade-Cinematography2.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/Charge-Light-Brigade-Cinematography2.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-47949\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/Charge-Light-Brigade-Cinematography2.png 640w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/Charge-Light-Brigade-Cinematography2-300x225.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/Charge-Light-Brigade-Cinematography2-128x96.png 128w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>The appropriately rousing finale<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/Charge-Light-Brigade-Finale.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/Charge-Light-Brigade-Finale.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"400\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-47947\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/Charge-Light-Brigade-Finale.png 640w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/Charge-Light-Brigade-Finale-300x188.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/Charge-Light-Brigade-Finale-128x80.png 128w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Must See? <\/strong><br \/>\nNo; this one is only must-see for Flynn fans or Curtiz completists. <\/p>\n<p><strong>Links: <\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt0027438\/\">IMDb entry<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.tcm.com\/tcmdb\/title\/2098\/the-charge-of-the-light-brigade#articles-reviews?articleId=92452\">TCM Article<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.dvdtalk.com\/dvdsavant\/s2256flyn.html\">DVD Savant Review <\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/1936\/11\/02\/archives\/with-a-bow-to-tennyson-the-strand-offers-charge-of-the-light.html\">NY Times Original Review<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;In this treacherous life, it&#8217;s difficult to know which is friend, and which is foe.&#8221; Synopsis: In 19th century colonial India, a cavalry major (Errol Flynn) and his brother (Patric Knowles) vie for the love of the daughter (Olivia de Havilland) of their commander (Donald Crisp). Meanwhile, after a devastating massacre of women and children at a garrison, Flynn vows revenge on a duplicitous rajah (C. Henry Gordon), ultimately leading to &#8220;the charge of the light brigade&#8221;. Genres: Cavalry David&#8230;<\/p>\n<p class=\"read-more\"><a class=\"btn btn-default\" href=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=47945\"> Read More<span class=\"screen-reader-text\">  Read More<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-47945","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-reviews"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47945","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=47945"}],"version-history":[{"count":15,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47945\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":70196,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47945\/revisions\/70196"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=47945"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=47945"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=47945"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}