Gunga Din

They are turning back the clock, if not the crowds at the Brattle Theatre this week where Gunga Din, older than some of next year's Advanced Standing students, is making a comeback. This story of the waterboy who made good has passed well into its second decade, and it is a pleasure to report that the excitement and humor which pulled one's ancestors into the theaters have aged less than co-star Cary Grant.

Charles MacArthur and Ben Hecht, whose Front Page is still circulating, also engineered this movie, and its hectic, rarely subtle humor is their trademark. Except for the absence of a heroine, the nicest thing about Gunga Din is the movie's willingness to take itself with a block of salt. Grant, Douglas Fairbanks, Jr. and Victor McLaglen form a sort of Her Majesty's Three Musketeers in India. After a certain amount of intrigue and a little less suspense Din helps them to conquer a mysterious native tribe. The plot is exactly the same as it was 15 years ago, but more important Gunga Din is still good entertainment and Din himself, a better man than Fairbanks, Jr.