An Ava Gardner vehicle from 1956 directed by George Cukor (My Fair Lady/Adam's Rib). Told in flashback by her English officer boyfriend, played by Stewart Granger, we learn of Gardner, a mixed breed of Brit & Indian nationalities, working w/her boyfriend at a train station in India post WWII. The Indians are resentful of their British minders & factions of terrorists are brewing in the midst of the peaceful populace so when a cache of explosives goes missing & then used, the Brits pool their efforts to capture the fugitive who led the bombing. Meanwhile, Gardner struggles to fit into either world & after breaking up w/her boyfriend (who longs to embrace his Brit side but soon becomes boorish about it) she finds herself w/a new Indian beau who comes to her rescue (along w/his mother & the mad bomber in question) after she kills a soldier who attempted to rape her. Even though Gardner & Granger's relationship is rocky from the get go, they soon find common ground where she's able to disclose to him about the rape attempt & the location of the bomber setting up the last third of the film where the bomber takes her hostage while planning to bomb another train (w/a historical figure on board) w/Granger racing to her rescue. I'd love to see a remake of this story since it touches upon a lot of hot button topics that come 70 years on we still grapple w/as a species but here, due to the times in which the film was made, we ultimately still have a damsel in distress (even though as limned the potential for a stronger character was a possibility) who gets dragged by her alpha male compatriots from one side of the screen to the other not really filling in that circle they were hoping to cover.
Review of Bhowani Junction
