''Bengal Brigade'' is a 1954 American adventure war film directed by Laslo Benedek and starring

Rock Hudson Rock Hudson (born Roy Harold Scherer Jr.; November 17, 1925 – October 2, 1985) was an American actor. One of the most popular movie stars of his time, he had a screen career spanning more than three decades. A prominent heartthrob in the Golde ...

, Arlene Dahl and Ursula Thiess. The film was produced and distributed by

Universal Pictures Universal Pictures (legally Universal City Studios LLC, also known as Universal Studios, or simply Universal; common metonym: Uni, and formerly named Universal Film Manufacturing Company and Universal-International Pictures Inc.) is an Ameri ...

, based on the 1952 novel ''Bengal Tigers'' by Hall Hunter.Goble p.234 It was released in Britain as ''Bengal Rifles''.

Plot

Set in

British India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance on the Indian subcontinent. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one ...

in 1857, at the outbreak of the

Indian Mutiny The Indian Rebellion of 1857 was a major uprising in India in 1857–58 against the rule of the British East India Company, which functioned as a sovereign power on behalf of the British Crown. The rebellion began on 10 May 1857 in the fo ...

. A British officer, Captain Claybourne (

), is

cashiered Cashiering (or degradation ceremony), generally within military forces, is a ritual dismissal of an individual from some position of responsibility for a breach of discipline. Etymology From the Flemish (to dismiss from service; to discard ro ...

from his

regiment A regiment is a military unit. Its role and size varies markedly, depending on the country, service and/or a specialisation. In Medieval Europe, the term "regiment" denoted any large body of front-line soldiers, recruited or conscripted ...

over a charge of disobeying orders, but finds that his duty to his men is far from over. He loves his Colonel's daughter ( Arlene Dahl) and redeems himself in fighting renegade

Sepoy ''Sepoy'' () was the Persian-derived designation originally given to a professional Indian infantryman, traditionally armed with a musket, in the armies of the Mughal Empire. In the 18th century, the French East India Company and its oth ...

Cast

as Capt. Jeffrey Claybourne * Arlene Dahl as Vivian Morrow * Ursula Thiess as Latah * Torin Thatcher as Col. Morrow * Arnold Moss as Rajah Karam *

Dan O'Herlihy Daniel Peter O'Herlihy (May 1, 1919 – February 17, 2005) was an Irish actor of film, television, and radio. With a distinguished appearance and rich, resonant speaking voice, O'Herlihy's best known-roles included his Oscar-nominated portraya ...

as Capt. Ronald Blaine * Harold Gordon as Hari Lal * Michael Ansara as Sgt. Maj. Furan Singh *

Leonard Strong Leonard Alfred George Strong (8 March 1896 – 17 August 1958) was a popular English novelist, critic, historian, and poet, and published under the name L. A. G. Strong. He served as a director of the publishers Methuen Ltd. from 1938 to 1958. ...

as Mahindra *

Shepard Menken Shepard Menken (November 2, 1921 – January 2, 1999) was an American film, television, voice, radio character actor. Early life Menken began his career at the age of 11, when he started appearing on children's radio programs. After high school, ...

as Bulbir *

Sujata Rubener ''Sujata and Asoka'' were a pair of dancers specialising in performing Indian, Tibetan and various Oriental dances to Western audiences. They were Sujata, (3 February 1918 in Bombay, British Raj – 2 January 1993 in Coconino County, Arizona) ...

as Indian Dancer *

Asoka Rubener ''Sujata and Asoka'' were a pair of dancers specialising in performing Indian, Tibetan and various Oriental dances to Western audiences. They were Sujata, (3 February 1918 in Bombay, British Raj – 2 January 1993 in Coconino County, Arizona) ...

as Indian Dancer * Jack Raine as Col. Rivers * Ramsay Hill as Maj. Jennings * Leslie Denison as Capt. Ian McLeod * John Dodsworth as Capt. Guy FitzMorell * Paul Marion as Hardev * Charles Wagenheim as Headman * Robert Bice as Native Sergeant *

Hy Anzell Hy Anzell (September 7, 1923 – August 23, 2003) was a Yiddish-speaking American actor. He originated the role of the flower shop owner, "Mr. Mushnik", in the original off-Broadway production of '' Little Shop of Horrors'' with Ellen Gre ...

as Sepoy * Mel Welles as Merchant *

Frank Lackteen Frank Lackteen (born Mohammed Hassan Lackteen August 29, 1897 – July 8, 1968) was an American film actor best known for his antagonistic roles. He appeared in nearly 200 films between 1915 and 1965, including several Three Stooges shorts. ...

as Merchant

References

Bibliography

* Bego, Mark. ''Rock Hudson: Public and Private : an Unauthorized Biography''. New American Library, 1986. * Goble, Alan. ''The Complete Index to Literary Sources in Film''. Walter de Gruyter, 1999. * Richards, Jeffrey. ''Visions of Yesterday''. Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1973.

External links

* 1954 films American historical films British Empire war films Universal Pictures films Films directed by László Benedek 1950s action films 1950s historical films Films set in the British Raj Films set in the 1850s Films about the Indian Rebellion of 1857 War adventure films 1950s English-language films 1950s American films {{historic-film-stub