This is not typical imperial blustering to a native but a factual description of the situation. During the parley with Surat Khan at Chutokai, Geoffrey Vickers points out that he may have captured one fort, but he now faces the might of the entire British army in India. Actually, it was probably a bit radical in 1936, and would have meant social embarrassment in the real India. Even though Geoffrey had saved her life, she remains true to his brother, not her fiancee. Just as Geoffrey is preparing to go to the Crimea, Elsa finally tells him that she loves his brother, and he accepts the situation very gracefully. However, it was only their second pairing, so the error is understandable, but it was never repeated in the remaining six movies they made together. Unlike her usual fiery self, de Havilland seems uncomfortable throughout the entire film, as if she knows that she should be Flynn’s love interest, they are such a great match. Worse, he is assigned to the Political Department, so he is not even a real soldier like Geoffrey. It turns out that Elsa has fallen in love with Geoffrey’s younger brother Perry (Patric Knowles) even though she is engaged to Geoffrey. Naturally, there is a romantic triangle, but to my surprise Flynn is the loser. The Light Brigade charges and the massacre is finally avenged. Frustrated that the allied command will not risk a direct attack on the Russian artillery at Balaclava, even though Surat Khan is there, Vickers deliberately alters the order, sending the Light Brigade to attack the Russian artillery. Aware that Surat Khan had found refuge in Russia, the British troops from India thirst for the opportunity to avenge their comrades and kill the treacherous swine. Meanwhile, England is pouring men into the Crimea to oppose the Russian hordes. Returning with the Lahora garrison, Geoffrey finds Surat Khan gone and the hostages massacred. Only Geoffrey and his fiancee Elsa (Olivia de Havilland) escape, the survivors are captured. Rightly so, since Khan’s men start shooting when they are out in the open. Even though Surat Khan shakes hands like a gentleman, Vickers does not trust his promise to let the garrison leave. Taking advantage of the absence of most of the garrison, the Khan’s army forces the outnumbered garrison to surrender after a brief siege. Since war in the Crimea seems likely, the commander of the fort had been ordered to ignore Surat Khan’s provocations. Major Geoffrey Vickers (Errol Flyn) is assigned to Chutokai, a fort on the Northwest Frontier, guarding a pass into Suristan. Henry Gordon), amir of Suristan, stirs up trouble with his neighbors, and openly flirts with Russia to make England treat him better. Set during the Crimean War (1853-1856), the movie also incorporates a fictionalized version of the Indian Rebellion of 1857.Īnnoyed that the British government has cancelled a subsidy that had been paid to his foster father, Surat Khan (C. The Charge of Light Brigade reunited them a year later, but sad to say, the movie lacks the same spark. The order came down for the Light Brigade, cavalry optimized for mobility and flexibility, to advance and charge the Russian fortifications head on.The swashbuckler Captain Blood (1935) had jump-started the careers of Errol Flynn, Olivia de Haviland and director Michael Curtiz. Rather than the military mistake it is commonly seen as, is there some rationale to be found in the attempt, however futile it ultimately was? Suicidal BraveryĬertainly the order must have seemed suicidal to the 600 cavalrymen who rode for a mile or longer into what became known as the Valley of Death. The charge has fascinated historians, many of whom are trying to pick apart the seemingly suicidal decision to see if there was any tactical sense to the maneuver. Tennyson’s poem was published just six weeks after the event, and captures the trauma felt by the British public at the horrific defeat. This charge was considered a suicidal attack and indeed the charge was repulsed with heavy losses on the British side. It is perhaps the most well-remembered event of the Crimean War, that continued from 1853 to 1856. Alfred, Lord Tennyson (1854)Įtched into the British consciousness by Tennyson’s poem, the Charge of the Light Brigade was a massive charge of British cavalry against heavily defended and entrenched Russian troops during the battle of Balaclava in 1854.
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