Soldiers Three (1951)

Truly Dreadful Film

Each character in this movie — down to the smallest one — is an individual rather than a type, prone to spontaneous changes of mood and sometimes amusing outbursts of pettiness or ill humor.

I didn’t really have many expectations going into the movie (good or bad), but I actually really enjoyed it. I really liked the characters and the banter between them.

The movie's not perfect, but it sticks the landing of its message. It was engaging - thrilling at times - and I personally thought it was a great time.

Through the time appears some war comedy like that,it's very unusual and quite often rare movie,it's very amusing production because it remove from the war all kind of suffering and madness and replacing for laughs an good humor,MGM wisely brings to Hollywood five top billing casting from England to make a priceless and remarkable comedy,light and easy and delightful entertainment for everyone,this title as far l know it wasn't have an official release in Brasil yet...Resume:First watch: 2018 / How many: 1 / Source: DVD-R / Rating: 7

Soldiers Three is a 1951 black and white war drama that is a pale imitation of Gunga Din (1939). How on earth you could try to re-make Gunga Din is questionable enough, but consider that producer Pandro Berman worked on the original. What was he thinking?Stewart Granger, David Niven, Cyril Cusack and Robert Newton star, but none of them come anywhere near the talent on display by Cary Grant, Victor McLaglen, Douglas Fairbanks Jr., and Sam Jaffe.Granger made far better films (King Solomon's Mines, Scaramouche) as did Newton (my favorite Long John Silver), and of course Niven who won Oscars and Golden Globes for many memorable performances.Here is a film that should be avoided.

In part because of the varying reviews here, I just watched this movie. I found this harmless service comedy to be better than I expected, with some great moments. In particular, I enjoyed Stewart Granger as Private Archibald Ackroyd. This movie was filmed not long after he (and his bare chest) stormed the box office in King Solomon's Mines, so it seems odd to me that he was placed in such an obviously low-budget affair as Soldiers Three. In an interview he gave in 1991, just two years before his death at age 80, Jimmy Granger ridiculed this film, but then he ridiculed almost all of his cinema work. Still, he gives a good performance in Soldiers Three as an 18-year veteran of the Colonial Service, rather proud of being labeled "The Queen's Hard Bargain," along with his mates Dennis and Bill. One wishes Granger would have been offered -- or would have accepted -- more character parts. As in The Woman Hater, he is sharp, his timing spot on, and he puts on a passable Cockney accent (coached by Claude Rains, he once reported). Robert Newton as the dimwitted Bill Sykes became less annoying when I realized that he is credited with "inventing" the pirate accent (actually, Yarmouth) when he played Long John Silver in Treasure Island just a year before Soldiers Three. Cyril Cusack, as Irish volunteer Dennis Malloy, gives a solid performance as usual. Of the others in this film, the only one who seems truly out of place is Walter Pidgeon as Colonel Brunswick. He does not seem to know what to do or how to do it, so he bluffs and puffs his lines to perfectly cast "stuffed shirts" David Niven, Frank Allenby, and Robert Coote. I would recommend giving Soldiers Three the once over and in so doing, forget about Gung Din -- and historic reality -- and just enjoy it for what it is.

Others have said this has similarities to Gunga Din, which isn't surprising, since they were both by Rudyard Kipling. Always stories of adventures in far off exotic lands. This one opens with General Brunswick (Walter Pidgeon) reminiscing about his days as a colonel. Due to his height and stately voice, he was always given the role of admiral, senator, or grandfather. His soldiers are played by David Niven, Stewart Granger, Robert Newton, and Cyril Cusack. Niven received an Oscar for "Separate Tables", but is probably best known for "Around the World in Eighty Days" or "Pink Panther". We tag along as they have their trials and tribulations, fights, and comical adventures during their military maneuvers. Pretty light fare, and certainly not the epic that Gunga Din turned out to be. All in good fun, but mostly silly, unlikely adventures. Filming locations show Utah and California. Strong performances by Pidgeon and Niven, but the story isn't one of his best. Story has no plot holes, it just kind of plods along, and we get to the end. If you're looking for a good R Kipling story to watch, see "Gunga Din" instead- that one has Cary Grant!