Movie Description THE CHARGE OF THE LIGHT BRIGADE, a sweeping cinematic marvel loosely adapted from the Alfred, Lord Tennyson poem of the same name, depicts the events leading up to the suicidal 1854 British cavalry attack on Russian forces at Balaklava during the Crimean War. Errol Flynn plays Major Geoffrey Vickers, a dashing British officer who vows revenge on Surat Khan (C. Henry Gordon) after witnessing the despotic ruler's pitiless slaughter of British soldiers and their wives and children at a fort in India.
The pulsating climactic charge, a milestone in cinematic action sequences, is skillfully crafted by uncredited second-line director B. Reeves Eason (who also authored the chariot race in the 1925 version of BEN-HUR and the burning of Atlanta in GONE WITH THE WIND). Flynn furthers his burgeoning reputation as a scintillating leading man, and director Michael Curtiz (CAPTAIN BLOOD) adeptly oversees the creation of an epic dripping with patriotism, pageantry, and heroism.
| Credits | | Writer: | Rowland Leigh | | Producer: | Samuel Bischoff | | Cast: | C. Henry Gordon, E. E. Clive, G.P. Huntley, J. Carrol Naish, Nigel Bruce, Patric Knowles, Spring Byington |
Notes The Laserdisc version includes the original theatrical trailer.
The producers "Gratefully acknowledge the technical advice of Captain E. Rochfort-John formerly of the Royal Engineers."
Additional cast: Charles Sedgwick (Cornet James Pearson) and Walter Holbrook (Cornet Charles Barclay).
Copyright 1936 Warner Bros., renewed 1964 United Artists.
Awards 1936Academy AwardsBest Assistant Director
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