The Charge of the Light Brigade is a 1936 adventure film directed by Michael Curtiz and starring Errol Flynn and Olivia de Havilland. The film is based on Alfred Tennyson’s 1854 poem “The Charge of the Light Brigade” which was about the real life Charge of the Light Brigade during the Crimean War (1853-1856).
Director: Michael Curtiz
Production Company: Warner Bros.
Distributor: Warner Bros.
Cast: Errol Flynn, Olivia de Havilland, Patric Knowles, Henry Stephenson, Nigel Bruce, Donald Crisp, David Niven
US Box Office: $3,635,000 ($139,100,000 adjusted for inflation)
Film Format: Black & White
Genre: Adventure, War, Drama
Release Date: October 20, 1936
Plot Summary: In the mid 1850s, Captain Geoffrey Vickers (Errol Flynn) is stationed with the British Army 27th Lancers in India. Geoffrey is engaged to Elsa Campbell (Olivia de Havilland), but she actually loves his brother Perry (Patric Knowles) who is also a captain with the British Army in India. After treacherous warlord Surat Khan (C Henry Gordon) betrays the British Army and murders hundreds of civilians, Geoffrey and his Lancer squad plan to get revenge on Khan during the Crimean War.
Production: Warner Bros was inspired to make an adventure film about the historical British Lancers after the success of Paramount’s Lives of a Bengal Lancer (1935), which was an adventure film starring Gary Cooper. The studio decided to make their film about the historic Charge of the Light Brigade fought between the British Empire and the Russian Empire, in which a British light cavalry group was defeated by Russian artillery after making a gallant effort.
Warner Bros decided to specifically base the film and its tone off Alfred Tennyson’s 1854 poem “The Charge of the Light Brigade,” which emphasized the bravery and heroism of the British Lancers in the face of certain defeat. Warner hired Michel Jacoby and Rowland Leigh to write a script for the film based on a story treatment written by Jacoby. The script was originally going to use the real life Siege of Cawnpore during the Sepoy Rebellion, in which a British fort was captured by Indian Rebels and all the British combatants and civilians stationed there were murdered, as the reason for why the British Light Cavalry fought so fiercely during the Charge. However, it was pointed out that the Sepoy Rebellion actually took place three years after the charge, so the filmmakers used a fictional massacre instead. Warner chose Michael Curtiz, who was under contract with the studio, to direct The Charge of the Light Brigade.
Errol Flynn was cast as Geoffrey Vickers, the leading role in the film. Warner originally planned to have Flynn in a supporting role in their film Anthony Adverse (1936), but Flynn made such a strong impression in Captain Blood (1935) that Warner producer Irving Asher decided to promote Flynn to the leading role in The Charge of the Light Brigade instead. Patric Knowles was chosen to play the brother of Flynn’s character because of his resemblance to Flynn. Anita Louise originally did screen tests for the role of Elsa Campbell, the leading lady, but writer Rowland Leigh suggested Olivia de Havilland instead. Given the success of Captain Blood, which starred Flynn and de Havilland, Warner Bros agreed and de Havilland got the part. The supporting role of Captain Randall was written with David Niven in mind, and he was cast for the part. Edward G Robinson, Basil Rathbone, and Bela Lugosi were all considered for the part of the main villain, but the studio decided to go with the less famous C. Henry Gordon.
The Charge of the Light Brigade was filmed from March to July of 1936. Location shooting was done at a number of locations in California including: Death Valley National Park, the Alabama Hills in Lone Pine, the Iverson Ranch, Sonora, and Lake Sherwood. The Khyber Pass scene was filmed in the Sierra Nevada mountains. On set filming was done at Warner Bros’ studio in Hollywood.
The filming of the final climatic charge in The Charge of the Light Brigade was troubled and has since become controversial. Director Michael Curtiz used “Running W” trip wire to trip 125 running horses during the shooting of the charge scene. Of the horses tripped, twenty five were either killed instantly or had to be euthanized due to their injuries. Errol Flynn, who loved horses, was outraged by the number of horses killed during shooting and Curtiz’s seeming indifference to it. During an argument with him, Flynn almost attacked Curtiz, but was stopped before any serious damage was done. Flynn hated Curtiz from that point on, even though they made several more movies together, the two would only speak to each other when absolutely necessary. Due to the amount of horses killed in the charge scene, the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals banned the use of trip wires in films.
Fun Facts and Trivia: The Charge of the Light Brigade was the second of eight films costarring Errol Flynn and Olivia de Havilland. Although many of the events and characters depicted in the film are fictional, Warner Bros did put a considerable amount of effort into making the sets, costumes, and props as realistic for the time period as possible. Actual 1850s era postage stamps were used by the crew during shooting (though they aren’t clearly visible in the finished film). The British Lancer uniforms featured in the film were also identical to the real-life uniforms worn by the 27th Dragoons at the time. Aside from the horses, one stuntman was also killed while filming the charge sequence. After falling off his horse, the stuntman unfortunately landed on a broken sword stuck upwards in the ground.
Reception: The Charge of the Light Brigade was a success at the box office. The film was even more successful than Captain Blood, Flynn’s previous adventure film for Warner Bros. The film’s box office performance helped to cement Errol Flynn’s status as major star for Warner Bros.
The Charge of the Light Brigade received mixed reviews from critics at the time. Ann Ross of Maclean’s Magazine gave the film a negative review. She thought that the film’s final action sequence was good, but didn’t particularly care for the rest of the film. Today, The Charge of the Light Brigade is largely obscure and has received a similar response. Steven Crum thought that the film had great action scenes and liked Flynn’s performance, but thought that it was dated. In 2001, The Charge of the Light Brigade was one of the 400 films nominated by the American Film Institute for their list of the the top 100 most thrilling American films.
Oscars: The Charge of the Light Brigade was nominated for three Academy Awards: Best Assistant Director (Jack Sullivan), Best Sound (Nathan Levinson), and Best Score (Max Steiner). Sullivan won the award for Best Assistant Director, the film’s only Oscar. The award for “Best Assistant Director” was only rewarded once more before the category was discontinued in the 1939 ceremony (honoring the films from 1938).
Why You Should See It: The Charge of the Light Brigade is a good adventure film. The scenery looks great and adds an epic scale to the film. Even though the film was shot in California, Curtiz and the set designers did a good job of emulating India and the Middle East. The acting performances in the film are also good. Flynn is very good in his role, playing the part with chivalry and heroism. J. Carrol Naish is quite memorable in a tragic bit-part, playing a British-Indian soldier whose son was killed in the massacre. The film also emphasizes the importance of bravery, honor, and doing the right thing. Though it is largely forgotten today, The Charge of the Light Brigade is worth watching, especially for fans of Flynn.