Bhowani Junction

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Frances H I saw this film when I was 6 in a movie theater with my aunt as it played in a double bill with Lady and the Tramp (they used to play odd flicks together back then--even when I was a teen, small theaters like the one in Elizabeth, Pa. played a double bill of Bambi and The War Lord, which was about the Norman Right of the First Night for every lord when a peasant on his land got married). Even then I liked it and seeing it again at 70, I appreciated it even more. Ava Gardner was at her loveliest and Stewart Granger still handsome and vital, with those sexy silver hair around his temples--je aged well! Rated 4/5 Stars •  Rated 4 out of 5 stars 11/21/20 Full Review Audience Member Just watched it again on TCM. VG. Great plot twist at end... stay awake for the two second shot of the train coach! Rated 4.5/5 Stars •  Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 01/26/23 Full Review Audience Member Excellent re-creation of 1947 India. Gardner's portrayal of the Anglo-Indian girl is quite compelling. This is one of the best films which I have ever seen. Rated 5/5 Stars •  Rated 5 out of 5 stars 02/11/23 Full Review ashley h Bhowani Junction is a decent film. It is about the Anglo-Indian Victoria Jones who seeks her true identity amid the chaos of the British withdrawal from India. Ava Gardner and Stewart Granger give good performances. The screenplay is a little slow in places. George Cukor did an alright job directing this movie. I liked this motion picture because of the adventure and drama plus romance. Rated 3.5/5 Stars •  Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 03/31/23 Full Review Audience Member Good film set in a rarely visited time in Indian history, at least for Hollywood. I guess Gandhi is the other major film dealing with some of the same issues of the disentanglement of Britain from what had been the jewel in the crown of its empire and the consequences for those that felt neither fully British nor fully Indian, but had to choose whether to stay or go. The John Masters book on which the film is based was written in the early 1950s, the events are of the late 40s and so the language and attitudes are of that time. it also features several British actors 'blacked up' to play Indians and Anglo-Indians. I suspect this sends TV schedulers into all sorts of dithers over political correctness, which means that the film isn't shown very often these days, which is a shame. Rated 3.5/5 Stars •  Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 02/15/23 Full Review walter m "Bhowani Junction" starts with General Savage(Stewart Granger) and Victoria Jones(Ava Gardner) having an emotional farewell at a train station in India in 1947. On the train ride to Calcutta, Savage explains to General Ackerby(Ronald Adam) how they came to be together, starting with a railroad strike when he extended her service as a WAC. The Communists use that peaceful disruption as a way of stealing a train load of dynamite. For its time, "Bhowani Junction" is a sensitive and nuanced look at India at indpendepence with a particular respect for the non-violent protests.(I remember a history teacher mentioning the trick involving the untouchables. I hope this isn't where he got it from.) Of particular interest is Govindaswami's(Marne Maitland) statement about missing the British which is beautifully dripping with sarcasm. Plus, the movie seeks to explore identity in such complicated times and even takes a couple of shots at sexism. Granted, this was made at the height of the Cold War, so of course the Communists get to be the baddies, with a couple of performances out of the Raymond Massey school of melodramatic evil acting, but with no mention of the bloody mess that partition would soon make of the subcontinent. Rated 3.5/5 Stars •  Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 03/31/23 Full Review Read all reviews

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