Tonight's Movie: Bengal Brigade (1954) - A Kino Lorber Blu-ray Review

I've previously reviewed two of the three films in the Kino Lorber Rock Hudson Collection, THE GOLDEN BLADE (1953) and SEMINOLE (1953). They were very beautiful Blu-ray prints of enjoyable films; I especially liked THE GOLDEN BLADE.

It's time to circle back and review the last film in the set, BENGAL BRIGADE (1954), which I hadn't gotten to yet only because Kino Lorber keeps releasing wonderful Blu-rays at such a great pace! I've now caught up with it, and like the previous films, it was a wonderful print.

Hudson stars in BENGAL BRIGADE with the stunning Arlene Dahl, who passed away last November.

I smiled as the movie began with an extended battle sequence filmed at Iverson Ranch, where I just went hiking a couple weeks ago. It's always fun to recognize it on screen. Here Iverson stands in for 1850s India.

Hudson plays Captain Jeffrey Claybourne, a British (just go with it) officer leading Indian colonial soldiers against Indian rebels. He disobeys an order to save lives, and when he's disciplined at a court martial hearing he's crushed that his judgement under fire was not respected and resigns his commission.

Vivian (Dahl), the daughter of Jeff's commanding officer (Torin Thatcher), loves Jeff and admires his courage in standing up for what was right. She wants to marry him, but Jeff feels he no longer has anything to offer her and refuses to marry her despite their love.

Before all is done Jeff has difficult dealings with a local rajah (Arnold Moss) and there's a big local uprising which threatens the British. He and Vivian are aided by Latah (Ursula Thiess), a local woman who appreciates Jeff's courage helping her people...and who seems to be carrying a torch for him herself.

BENGAL BRIGADE has both pros and cons. In the "pros" stack are the always-enjoyable Hudson and the gorgeous Dahl. A scene where they watch dancers (Sujata and Asoka) perform is both romantic and steamy, making it frustrating when shortly afterwards he dumps her. It certainly feels like he leads her on in that scene, although it's understandable enough that he finds it hard to give her up.

Thiess (who married Robert Taylor the year this was released) is also lovely; the previously mentioned location work is fun, and the print, shot in widescreen by Maury Gertsman, looks great.

The downside is a slow-moving screenplay by Richard Alan Simmons, based on Seton I. Miller's adaptation of the novel BENGAL TIGER by Hall Hunter. It lurches from overly long action sequences with crowds of extras to more ponderous moments as Jeff tries to understand Indian curses and determine his own future.

The 87-minute film would have benefited from crisper editing, some more substantive plotting, and more of Arlene Dahl, who is quite striking and plays an admirable woman. In the end, the film is entertaining enough, particularly when watched via such a beautiful Blu-ray print, but one can't help feeling it could have been a better film.

BENGAL BRIGADE was directed by Laslo Benedek. The supporting cast includes Dan O'Herlihy, Leonard Strong, and Michael Ansara.

The other two films in this collection have commentary tracks, while BENGAL BRIGADE's extras are limited to the film's trailer, plus three trailers for additional Rock Hudson titles.

Although BENGAL BRIGADE was the weakest of the set's three films, overall I really enjoyed this collection and very much appreciated the prints.  Rock Hudson fans will probably want to add it to their movie shelves.

Thanks to Kino Lorber for providing a review copy of this Blu-ray.

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