"Mistakes in "Gunga Din"??" Topic

All,
I realize I may be speaking heresy here. I've seen this film dozens of times over the years, and love every minute of it. I was just watching it tonight, and for some reason must have been paying closer attention to details. In the climactic battle, I noticed two equipment errors. First, the gatling guns are American Civil War/Indian Wars type, not British type. Second, the British artillery seems to be French 75s. No, this will never spoil the movie for me, but I thought I would mention it.

Don't be That Guy.

What is the date of the events in Gunga Din? what rifles are the British using ?

I can find no uniform description That matches that of the sapper unit in the first battle of the movie.

+100 Winston

ACW gatling guns …? I believe the film was made in Hollywood?

It was filmed up by Lone Pine. It's south of Bishop in Kalifornia. Have some good bars there, too :)

I hate the current overuse of the "drop the mic" metaphor, but I am thinking Winston legitimately earned it here. Well commented!

Rick

It'll be a sad day when wargamers can't get innocent pleasure from gentle "rivet counting" so I'm with the op 100% although my wife would disagree😊

DBDD

All thanks for the virtualyl slapping me to my senses. As I said, the fact that after dozens of viewings I noticed these things, will never diminish my love of thos movie, nor will it reduce the frequency of my watching it.

The snakes in the snake pit were fake!

Jeff

Darrell, thanks for that. Given that I was watching it while painting Pathans, should give me some credit. :)

After reading Jeigheff's post I misread yours as " ..watching while painting pythons…". Risky business as pythons may have been among the original members of the Thugee Cult.

Nick. Why not watch the first season of Homeland, and get back to us about Sgt Brody's stripes?
But leave Gunga Din alone.

Winston, fair enough. Consider the discussion closed.

Thanks guys – this really made me laugh

Clearly, no specific date for the film is intended, but all internal clues (civilian dress, too) indicated the late 1890's.

So, the Gatlings were not actually "Civil War Era" but of at least the late 80's with the advent of the Accles ammunition drums clearly visible, so perfectly in period.

Can't comment on the 75's.

But--Gawd Help Me--I always overlook that instead of carrying Lee-Enfields, the Brits are schlepping Krag-Jorgensen's around.

Otherwise, I'm with "Winston." Serious criticism of "Gunga Din" is the worst form of heresy, deserving the traditional punishment.

Anyone who has yet to see it is living a life of empty deprivation.

TVAG

So, nobody can help me with those Sapper uniforms?

Bob, I recall discussing this with you before. I think the closest you are going to come to those uniforms is the old Ral Partha Egyptian infatry in Summer uniforms. The have slightly baggy pants and backpacks. Maybe wrap a tiny bit of tissue around the bease of the fez.

Did the Us Army receive 75s from the French during The Great War? Maybe, if they are 75s in the film, they might be Army Surplus?

The US did indeed use the French 75mm gun in WWI.

According to my research most of the weapons used in the movie were U.S. issue. The handguns are colt new service. The rifles are Krag Jorgenson model 1892/96, and Trapdoor Springfields. The carbines are krag jorgenson model 1899 Constabulary carbines. There is at least 1 Jezzail held by a Thugee. The gatling guns are Colt 1883 models. The U.S. Army switched to French 75's prior to WW I.

No, the US Army switched to French 75's DURING WW1 so as not to confuse the ammunition supply even more by having to send US 3" ammo across the Atlantic.

It seems that part of the premise was an imagined revival of the Thuggee ,set in the time that Rudyard Kipling lived in,late 19th century,and making him( Kipling) into a war journalist.

I never use movies as sources for uniform painting or rule mechanis.
So I do not care if there are mistakes in movies. There are plenty of books to use as sources.

Perhaps the pythons which Nick was painting are the
modern Colt handguns for another game…

I think the closest uniforms are the Madras Sappers:

link

I think Alan is right! The unspecified Indian regiment in which the "Sergeants Three" serve in GUNGA DIN was most likely meant to be the Madras Sappers & Miners.

As a HUGE fan of Gunga Din and someone very interested in late 19th Century Anglo-Indian military history, I spent years trying to deduce what unit they were supposed to be and what particular ethnic/religious background their headgear might represent. I researched Dogras, Rajputs, Marathis, etc, without success. I thought it looked somewhat like a patka, which is a smaller size Sikh headdress, but of course the soldiers don't have beards, so that was a non-starter.

At some point I realized the Sergeants were from the Royal Engineers and their Indian troops were Pioneers or Sappers & Miners, and looked at Bombay, Bengal, and Madras versions of the same. Though the baggy pants discussed above were more identifiable with the Bombay army, the distinctive headgear led me to the same conclusion as Alan, that they were meant to be Madras Sappers & Miners -- or at least, that was the closest-looking thing to a historical Anglo-Indian regiment that they looked like.

Here's a couple of screen-grabs from the movie, in the background of which you can make out the design of the Indian troops' headgear:

…and here are some images of late 19th Century Madras Sappers & Miners, all of which wear headgear somewhat related to what's worn in the movie and some of which are very similar:

…and last but not least, the toy soldier versions:

As usual, the Mad Guru nailed the uniform question. He would have made a great Victorian RSM!

I visited Lone Pine a few years back. Gunga Din was filmed in a dozen locations in the so called Alabama Hills. I was hoping the visit would help clarify the geography for me. I have always wondered where the darn rope bridge was located in relation to the pass the Highlanders advance through. Turns out one end of the "cliff" the rope bridge is suspended over is actually just a big boulder, about 15 feet tall with the camera looking up from underneath. You've got to love Hollywood Magic!

Nick, thanks for the high praise!

Thanks also for bringing me back to this thread, where I made a big typo and posted 2 of the same pic.

Here's the other one: