La Croisée des destins

Well, I've always sort of identified myself as an AngloBanglo.

My dad was born in Lahore in 1929 and my grandparents left Karachi in 1965 almost 20 years after partition because the Muslims had made it impossible for my Nana to continue to run her private school.

The returned to England like so many AngloBanglos where they were too Indian for the white and not Indian enough for the Indians.

Just like they were back in what was then Pakistan and by some account, India itself.

You have to remember that at this point, as depicted in the film, 1947 was the cusp of partition and violence was everywhere. My grandfather told me graphic stories of entire trains of people slaughtered he had witnessed.

Ava Gardner's character has to choose which side she is on but for many AngloBanglos the struggle goes on. We are neither brown enough for the browns, nor white enough for the whites. I now live in Canada but I self identify as English.

The sub text in George Cukor's story has lost some of it's impact over time because few remember the upheaval of partition but for some of us, it bring it back into focus.

More interesting to me is that it was released the year I was born, in England, in 1956.

Stars are the primary reason for me to watch old movies, because they just don't make them like that anymore. 'Bowani Junction' provides some of the best; Ava Gardner is so irresistibly attractive in this movie that watching her along is worth every penny spent for buying the copy. Better yet, other things in the film are also good. Granger, playing a more realistic role, is at his best elements as a daring arrogant English Col., match nicely with the beautiful Gardner as a romantic couple. Most of the Indian characters are well portrayed and I love movie with a historical background . The story is complicated ,yet well told and paced. The characters are interesting and well presented. Over all, this is Cukor's movie at its usual fine standard.

This one is not to miss for fans of Granger, Gardner, and Hollywood oldies.

'Bhowani Junction' was one of the few movies where Ava Gardner was allowed to be more than just a beautiful, but inanimate statue. As Victoria Jones, she emotes in ways that one rarely sees her do. Like her character Julie in 'Showboat' Victoria is bi-racial, which is the main theme of the movie. The Pakistani backdrop is gorgeously photographed and it's certainly a testament to location shooting as opposed to studio backdrops. Unsurprisingly, it was well directed by Cukor, especially the interior, dramatic scenes that he is so famous for. The final sequence is a break from that, however, with darkly lit chases and murder. An entertaining diversion; certainly one that fans of Gardner would want to catch.

Spectacular screen translation of John Masters' novel carried out by M-G-M set in post -colonial India. This is a drama aflame with Love And Revolt . Anglo-Indian Victoria Jones seeks her true identity amid the chaos of the British withdrawal from India . Meanwhile , Indu Victoria to be courted by three suitors , Col. Rodney Savage (Stewart Granger , this role gave hem a strenuous time along with Scaramouche , Beau Brummell and Moonfleet) , Ranjit Kasel (Francis Matthews) and Patrick Taylor (Bill Travers , though Sabu tested for, and was nearly cast in the role) .

This dramatic picture contains a meaty plot , thrills , unrest , violence , love and historical events dealing with pre-independence India . This colorful picture gave Ava Gardner , Stewart Granger and co-stars a good time . Stewart Granger is fine as a colonel who falls in love for Ava . Gorgeous Ava Gardner as a half-English , half-Indian woman who is torn between the British officer she loves and her country . Gardner was trampled on by more than 200 native extras , then shaken and bruised in a staged fight with soldiers ; some years later , Ava declared it the toughest picture she ever worked on . Support cast is frankly well , such as Abraham Sofaer as Surabhai , Lionel Jeffries as Lt. Graham McDaniel , Freda Jackson as Sandani , Peter Illing as Ghanshyam and Francis Matthews who said in interviews that huge chunks of his part ended up on the cutting room floor ; in addition , Edward Chapman was hired to play Jones after the scenes had been shot with another actor playing the role . Furthermore , a right make-up to appear American actors like Indian people .

Evocative as well as glowing cinematography by Freddie Young shot on location in Pakistan . The filming took place in Pakistan rather than India for political reasons due to the scenes of Hindu terrorism including against Ghandi himself. Emotive and intense musical score by the classic Miklos Rozsa . The motion picture was well directed by George Cukor , though contains some flaws . This excellent filmmaker directed 20 different actors in Oscar-nominated performances . Cukor enjoyed a successful working partnership with Katharine Hepburn, directing her in ten films over a period of 47 years such as ¨Little women¨, ¨The Philadelphia story¨, ¨Adam's rib¨ , ¨Pat and Mike¨, among others . He was often regarded as a "women's director" because his films frequently are centered around strong female characters . Cukor directed many adaptations of books & plays and was known to be particularly skilled at interpreting stage plays for the screen .

This film could have been wonderful if some of the parts had been given to Indian actors. For instance, Hollywood and British studios make believe that Indians speak English in a sing-song manner. They might have heavy accents but few speak English that way. Freda Jackson's role as "the Sadani" (could it have been an ignorant variation of "Sardarni"?) was incredibly stupid casting in that she spoke impeccable English for a middle-class Sikh lady. This apart Jackson was able to dominate her screen time.

I would have liked to dismiss this film as a below average film but for the incredible performance of Ava Gardner who towers over all else in the movie. Take her accent--for an American, there was no trace of her origins when she spoke. She alone looked real with raven black hair in a sari draped in foppish manner--after all she was an Anglo-Indian. Had she worn well like an Aishwarya Rai, Cukor would have got it wrong.

Cukor deserves full credit for choosing Gardner for the role and for capturing the ambiance of romantic North Western Railways, its first class coaches, the engines and goods wagons. A keen observer will note that some of the shots of goods wagons showed vintage wagons, while others showed contemporary ones.

Though shot in Pakistan, the film caught the Indian ambiance perfectly, right up to the Railway quarters for its staff.

Ava Gardner, it is only too evident, performed well under the guidance of good directors as John Houston. This film and "Night of Iguana" are my personal favourites among her films.