Difficulties On The Location

Northern Advocate, 30 January 1939, Page 2

Difficulties On The Location

After two years of planning, research, writing and the concentrated efforts of 2000 men, R.K.O. Radio’s ‘•Gunga Din” has' finally' reached the studio’s cutting-room.

Resembling in its locale and essentially male cast the memorable “Lives of a Bengal Lancer,” “Gunga Din,” based on Kipling’s ballad, is claimed to be the most ambitious large-scale film yet to emerge from the R.K.O. •studios.

Victor McLaglen, Cary Grant, Douglas Fairbanks, jun., Sam Jaffe, Robert Coote, Eduardo Ci§mnelli, Montagu Love, Lumsden Hare and Abner Hibernian portray leading roles, and Joan Fontaine and Cecil Kellaway also appear in the cast.

The role of “Gunga Din” was filled, only after extensive tests had. been made to find the most suitable actor available for the important part. Sam Jaffe, whose last screen appearance was as the 300-year-old Lama in “Lost Horizon,” was finally selected. Based on the story of the heroism of a native water-carrier with the British, regiment, the film tells the tale of three daredevil British sergeants—the hardboiled MacChesney, treasure-hunting Cutter and romantic Balhmtine —who spend their time getting into little difficulties to the despair of loyal water-carrier Gunga Din and their colonel. Repeatedly the colonel threatens to have them discharged from the army, but invariably some military emergency arises demanding their particular brand of irresponsible pluck. The romantic Ballantine (Douglas Fairbanks, jun.) cpmplicates matters by falling in love with the daughter of 'an English tea planter, planning to leave the army to marry her. His two comrades, horrified, determine to break off the match. Eventually the trio becomes involved in a situation too much for even their luck and daring. Old Gunga Din once again comes to their rescue, loses lus life, but saves the three.

The merciless Indian thugs, under the screen leadership of Eduardo Ciannelli, precipitate the battle sequences of the story.

Althouh part of “Gunga Din” was filmed on the R.K.O. Studio lot. most of the production was shot on location 220 miles from Hollywood. ■« [ The location department having scoured the country, finally found a collection of low worn-down desert hills with the high Sierras in the background —an exact reproduction of the Khyber Pass country in the Himalayas. Soil Dyed Black The only unmatching mature was the soil, which is black in India, sand colour in that particular part of California. Undisturbed, the R.K.O. production department shipped 26,000 gallons of crude cil to the location area and dyed the soil black.

One realistic aspect made to order was the weather. It was hot! The players contended that India at its worst could not have been hotter. The thermometer climbed as high as 120 degrees: 110 was considered comparatively cool. After eight days of filming Victor McLaglen had lost 20 pounds from his burly frame, Cary Grant 12 pounds and Doug. Fairbanks 10 pounds. Producer-director George Stevens found it necessary to put the trio on a fattening diet to avoid weight discrepancies being evident in the film. The trio had up till then been subsisting largely on fruit juices and salads. Twelve weeks of filming was a strenuous ordeal under such conditions. Sam Jaffc in the title role was probably the greatest sufferer. In the words of Kipling, “the uniform ’e wore was

nothin’ much before, an’ rather less than ’arf ’o that be’ind, for a piece o’ twisty rag an ? a goat-skin water-bag was all the field equipment e’ could find.” Make-un Ordeal His make-up was an ordeal. A special dye was used to cover his body from head to toes to convert him into the character of the Indian water Carrier.

It took nearly two hours to turn Jaffe from a white to a brown man. Removing the make-up took longer than putting it on. Three enormous sets were required for the exterior shots, and a tent city was erected to house the comoany and crew. The city appropriately named “Gunga Din,” contained more than 100 buildings designed to., feed and house a population averaging €OO men (1200 were there during the filming of big battle scenes). Gunga Din was a womanless city. Joan Fontaine, her hairdresser and wardrobe women, the, two script girls,

lived in the hotel at Lone Pine, travelling lour miles to location each morning.