The Charge of the Light Brigade

"Theirs not to reason why, theirs but to do and die"

1936 1h 51m EN

👍

6.5

SOLID

★6.5TMDB · 85

DramaAdventureWar

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

In 1853, as the British and Russian empires compete to gain and maintain their place in the dreadful Great Game of political intrigues and alliances whose greatest prize is the domination of India and the border territories, Major Geoffrey Vickers must endure several betrayals and misfortunes before he can achieve his revenge at the Balaclava Heights, on October 25, 1854, the most glorious day of the Crimean War.

“Theirs not to reason why, theirs but to do and die”

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Cast

Errol Flynn
Major Geoffrey Vickers
Olivia de Havilland
Elsa Campbell
Patric Knowles
Captain Perry Vickers
Henry Stephenson
Sir Charles Macefield
Nigel Bruce
Sir Benjamin Warrenton
Donald Crisp
Colonel Campbell
David Niven
Captain Randall
C. Henry Gordon
Surat Khan

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Michael Curtiz
Writers: Michael Jacoby, Rowland Leigh, Michael Jacoby
Languages: English
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Shot for just $1.2M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

ERA

Did you know

90 years old — a genuine piece of film history.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Michael Curtiz, shot by Sol Polito. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Max Steiner. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor George Amy shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Errol Flynn and Olivia de Havilland and Patric Knowles carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "Theirs not to reason why, theirs but to do and die".

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt0027438 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Michael Curtiz directs. Sol Polito behind the camera. Max Steiner scores. George Amy cuts. Profitable at the box office. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Shot for just $1.2M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.
290 years old — a genuine piece of film history.
3Directed by Michael Curtiz, shot by Sol Polito. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
4Original score by Max Steiner. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
5Editor George Amy shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
6Errol Flynn and Olivia de Havilland and Patric Knowles carry the top of the cast.
7Marketing tagline: "Theirs not to reason why, theirs but to do and die".
8IMDB entry: tt0027438 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
9Only 85 TMDB ratings — you're getting ahead of the curve on this one.
10Classified under 9 themes, including "british army", "british empire", "marriage engagement", "british colonialism".
11Released under 15 different titles around the world.

The technical file

Cinematography: Sol Polito
Original score: Max Steiner
Editing: George Amy
Runtime: 111 min · 1h 51m
Status: Released
Budget: $1,200,000
Box office: $2,736,000
Return: 228% of budget
Original language: EN
Certification (US): NR
IMDB: The Charge of the Light Brigade (1936)

Also by

Michael Curtiz

Trailers & featurettes

Watch the pieces

Community reviews

What people are saying

John Chard2014-08-28
★ 9/10
Into the valley of death rode the 600. The Charge Of The Light Brigade is a good military film boasting quality action sequences, it's not a true account of the actual event, and it should be noted there is a disclaimer of sorts at the film's beginning. This telling begins in India in 1850 and leads us up to what would become the Crimean War. Indian chief Surat Khan (C. Henry Gordon) is plotting to sever his ties with the British and pitch his lot in with the Russians in readiness for a total revolt against the Empire. Khan oversees a sneaky bloody massacre of British troops that also see the slaughter of innocent women and children. Pumped up with revenge, Major Vickers (a dashing Errol Flynn) decides to take matters into his own hands and leads a brave charge on the Russians at Balaclava Heights which is where Khan has fled into hiding. That's all you need to know as regards the plot, there is a love tryst sub-plot between Vickers, his brother Perry (Patric Knowles) and Elsa Campbell (a radiant Olivia de Havilland), but this is merely a side issue to add impetus to the bravery of the men in the charge. It's a rousing picture that provides a quite breath taking final reel as the charge is brought vividly to life by director Michael Curtiz. Sadly many horses and a stuntman were killed during the shooting of the famous charge, the then legal use of trip wires to impact falling horses taking its toll with very tragic results. The practice was brought into the public eye the following year as congress raised the issue about the treatment of animals in motion pictures, thankfully the practice has long since been outlawed. A bit of a sad taint to the film for sure, but it was a golden age for cinema and nobody was doing anything deemed illegal at the time, and lets not hide the fact that the result is truly dynamite. 8/10
CinemaSerf2022-06-19
★ 7/10
Errol Flynn leads a workmanlike cast in this tale immortalised by Alfred, Lord Tennyson about a seemingly suicidal charge at the battle of Balaclava during the Crimean War. This story is really about empire - British and Russian - and of the manipulation, tactics (and/or, downright bribery) employed by both on those whom they needed to protect it. C Henry Gordon plays one such character "Surat Khan" who longs to rid his nation of the British and the story revolves around his actions so to do. This is a good boys-own action film with a strong supporting cast: Olivia de Havilland as the daughter of the doughty Colonel (Donald Crisp) who shares her fickle affections between Flynn and his brother (Patric Knowles) and a good team effort from Nigel Bruce and Spring Byington. Mostly fiction, but fun to watch nonetheless.