Monthly Archives: April 2009

The safest people in India

To make the protection of British lives the top priority was pretty much state policy. In February 1947 the governor of Bengal said that his ‘first action in the event of an announcement of a date for withdrawal of British power … would be to have the troops “standing to” and prepare for a concentration of outlying Europeans at very short notice as soon as hostile reactions began to show themselves’. In fact, in the summer of 1947 white men and women were the safest people in India. No one was interested in killing them. But their insecurities meant that many army units were placed near European settlements instead of being freed for riot control elsewhere.

[..]

The decision of the CPM to join the government was preceded by a bitter debate, with Jyoti Basu speaking in favour and Promode Dasgupta against. Ultimately the party joined, only to create a great sense of expectation among the cadres. An early gesture was to rename Harrington Road after a hero of the world communist movement, so that at the height of the Vietnam War the address of the United States Consulate was 7 Ho Chi Minh Sarani, Calcutta.

- Ramachandran Guha, India After Gandhi

30′s movies marathon – part 27

Gulliver’s Travels (1939, USA) – Paramount imitates Disney, with an animated feature based on Jonathan Swift’s heartwarming children’s tale, (ahem). Snow White was terrible, but in a polished way. This is just bad. Watched: 17 minutes, then fast forwarded to the end, where there are no yahoos. One IMDB reviewer calls it “one of the best Literary Films of 1939 [..] and I think I would like to read the original novel sometime”. She’s in for a surprise.

The Lion has Wings (1939, UK) – Britain is the awesomest country in the world. Is all this to end simply because one man wants to conquer Europe? No! Fine propaganda movie, which makes the British case for war with a stiff upper lip and dry humor. Watched it all.

Only Angels Have Wings (1939, USA) – A movie made by and for people who find airplanes sexy and interesting. Watched: 20 minutes. (Observant readers will note that its title contradicts the previous one. They are of course both wrong: Lions don’t have wings, and angels don’t exist.)

Dark Victory (1939, USA) – Dr. House treats Bette Davis for a horrible brain disease, but she’s doomed .. doomed .. doomed! Watched: 45 minutes, (there’s a reason why all medical dramas these days are in the format of 43 minute TV episodes, not feature-length movies.)

Frontier Horizon (1939, USA) – Another dreadful western. Watched: 5 minutes.

The Rules of the Game (1939, France) – Everybody is cheating with everybody in decadent Paris. Watched: 18 minutes.

30′s movies marathon – part 26

Midnight (1939, USA) – An American woman with a talent for lying finds herself in Paris without money, and gets mixed up in adulterous upper-class intrigues. One of the funniest farces I’ve seen. Watched it all.

Pygmalion (1938, UK) – My Fair Lady without the silly songs, and about twice as intelligent. Perfect. Watched it all.

Bringing Up Baby (1938, USA) – Cary Grant and Katharine Hepburn in two very annoying roles. I expect this from Grant, but Hepburn?! Watched: 15 minutes.

Love Finds Andy Hardy (1938, USA) – Andy Hardy is a teenage boy who is just wild enough to land himself in the sort of trouble that leads up to the delivery of valuable life lessons from his stern, wise father, but not enough to shock any 1938 middle class parents. I don’t approve, but I have a weakness for nice movies done well. Watched it all.

Boys Town (1938, USA) – The street kids are unruly, but all they need is a little attention from the local Catholic priest. Watched: 14 minutes.

Sex Madness (1938, USA) – I’m confused: Is the anti-syphilis message a pretext for making a movie with burlesque shows and “frank” sex talk, or is that just a ruse to teach moviegoers about the joys of clean, syphilis-free living? It’s a dreadful movie either way. Watched: 13 minutes.