40,000 Horsemen (1940) User Reviews

The Charge At Beersheba

[bkoganbing · 7/10 · 25 July 2008]

40,000 Horseman tells the story of the Australian Light Horse cavalry which operated in the desert in Palestine and probably has to its credit the last successful cavalry charge in battle, though apparently according to other reviewers some who dispute it. I'm perfectly willing to give credit to Australia for this remarkable achievement.

The story was filmed in 1940 when Australia had already entered World War II and troops were in the Sahara Desert while this movie was made. For propaganda necessity a hateful German had to be made the villain and Harvey Adams as Van Hausen certainly fills the bill there. To be sure Germans were in the desert, but the bulk of the fighting troops were the Aussies old foes from Gallipoli, the Turks. After all Palestine was part of their Ottoman Empire.

The film was made by Charles Clauvel who's uncle Sir Harry Clauvel was the actual general in charge of the Australian Light Horse. Perhaps the younger Clauvel was undergoing an attack of modesty, but personally I'd have rather seen the story of the uncle and the battles done in a documentary style like The Longest Day.

However several Australian acquaintances have told me that this film is regularly shown on Australian television on ANZAC day. Though the courage of the Aussies at Gallipoli gave the new continent nation a sense of national identity, this film does show them winning this one.

It's the final cavalry charge at Beersheba which opened the way for General Allenby to take Jerusalem is the main feature of the film. Even given the superior production facilities in America at the time, no Hollywood film could have staged the battle better. It is one of the most exciting charges I've ever seen done from any country.

I'm still not sure what the contrived romance between half French half Arab girl Betty Bryant and Aussie cavalryman Grant Taylor was doing here. Most of the time Betty is disguised as a boy. I'm thinking that Charles Clauvel might have seen Katharine Hepburn in Sylvia Scarlett and thought it was cute.

As one of Taylor's mates is Chips Rafferty who was THE Australian cinema star for three decades. This was the film that got him his first real notice.

Though the film probably could use a modern remake in the manner of Breaker Morant and Gallipoli without the wartime propaganda and unnecessary love story tossed in, 40,000 Horseman is an exciting piece of cinema detailing the story of one of the great events in Australian history. Maybe we'll get to see it on American television soon.

The End of Cavalry Charges - 40,000 Horsemen

[arthur_tafero · 6/10 · 4 April 2022]

Cavalry charges were a staple of action films from Hollywood during their Golden Age. This film is a minor example of that genre. More elaborate films such as The Four Feathers, Charge of the Light Brigade and Beau Geste were far more successful economically. However, this film does have its points of interest. It is about a cavalry charge during WW 1, a rather unusual event for that era. It would be the last one, as mechanized warfare could destroy an entire regiment of horsemen quite easily in the future. Fun to watch the noble Australians, however.

It's good, if you understand Australia

[cfolle01 · 7/10 · 3 August 1999]

This movie shows the Aussie idea of "mateship" from a 1941 perspective. It is a part of our culture and as an Australian I'm proud to see it portrayed in this movie. Even though it does extend the stereotypical Aussie, you have to understand we may have change and grown a lot we still are a country who value friends and our relationships.

Very good film

[Dr Jazz · 16 July 2001]

I definately liked this film mainly because it tells an important battle won by our brave Australian soldiers. Although the charge was made by the Light Horse which was mounted infantry it was the last REAL cavalry charge. The characters were very likeable Jim Bourke (Chips Rafferty) Red Gallagher (Grant Taylor) Larry Bourke (Pat Twohill) are all mates that are in the light horse, they are all Aussie bush men who joined up like so many others because it was the right thing to do. Its nice to see Chips Rafferty as the easy going Aussie bush man that made him famous. This movie was the predecessor to "The Rats Of Tobruk". In many ways they are both quite similar, they both talk about battles that are well known to Australians because they were both won by Australians, and they even use two of the same actors, Chips Rafferty and Grant Taylor. This movie and Rats Of Tobruk make great companions after spending ages looking for them i found copies of both them in the same shop. Both movies are very hard to find and if your a nationalist (like me) it will make you appreciate films like this a lot more so if you see a copy of this movie buy it.

Looks hokey after 60 years

[pngdash · 5/10 · 29 January 2007]

Begins with a Two-up game when three Australian soldiers win three donkeys and all the clothes from some Arabs, dress the donkeys in the baggy pants and fez and ride into some bar as typical larrikins. Some stereotyped Germans speak flawed English to each other and are depicted as ruthlessly cruel. The love interest disguises herself as a boy with a high pitched voice, soft skin and breasts and fools everyone. She saves an injured soldier whose wound in the top right of his chest miraculously disappears apparently because of the wet cloth she placed on it. Three of the four leads die heroically and the best looking one gets to spend the night with the girl before winning the war and riding off into the sunset with her. Back in 1941 this no doubt would have made men cheer and women swoon, so it is best looked at as an artifact of an age of innocence. The effort expended in filming all those horses would have been huge. The Gaza and Beersheba reconstructions are fair. The acting is stagey. You just have to tolerate the jingoism and stereotypes. The Allies were fighting the Germans again when the film was released, so the propaganda motive is completely understandable.

So-so WW1 drama

[grantss · 5/10 · 22 April 2015]

So-so WW1 drama.

The story of a unit of soldiers in the Australian Light Horse, fighting in the Sinai and Palestine in WW1. Given its historic context, it should be a decent war drama.

However, it is rather lacklustre and amateurish. First problem is that this was made in 1940, ie during World War 2, so is first and foremost a propaganda movie. The empty patriotism and manipulation is laid on thick. The Australians are all fantastic, likable, soldiers. The Germans are all evil and inept. (Some respect is shown for the Turks, but this may be because Turkey was neutral in WW2).

Then we have the random, out-of-place, lame speeches. Out of the blue some uneducated soldier from a country town starts pontificating on the meaning of life and war, etc.

To make things worse, the writers and director manage to throw in an unlikely romance (no, it doesn't involve a horse...), just to make things really silly.

Acting is fairly woeful, but that may be due to the script and direction.

On the plus side, the battle scenes are good and you do get a good sense of the history and bravery involved.

For a much better, more realistic and grittier depiction of the Australian Light Horse's exploits in the Sinai and Palestine in WW1, especially the Battle of Beersheba, watch "The Lighthorsemen" (1987) instead. A great movie.

possibly the most exciting cavalry charge ever filmed

[wpeake · 10/10 · 9 July 2001]

Although filmed 60 years ago I cannot think of a more thrilling realisation on film of a massed cavalry assault. The scene, which is sustained for several minutes, recreats the WWI charge of the Australian light horse on the Turkish-held town of Beersheeba, Palestine, in 1917. This is generally accepted as the last successful cavalry charge in military history (typically some eggheads - probably Brits - quibble on whether it was a true cavalry charge because the Australians were armed with bayonets rather than sabres; not that the distinction meant much to the unfortunates who ended up skewered on the end of them.)

Also noteworthy for the presence of Chips Rafferty, in a typical role as a gangling Aussie bushmen, and who, in the days before Paul Hogan, represented the Australian male as he liked to imagine himself.

A must see

[peter_omalley2003 · 9/10 · 2 October 2006]

This is a classic Oz film made by the director who made Errol Flynn's first film(In the Wake of the Bounty"). I first saw this film as a child and was enthralled by it. Some of the scripting is a bit on the mawkish side and, as in any war film, there is a bit of flag waving (otherwise why make it?)but the action scenes are very well done.Given American insularity their lack of familiarity with the story shouldn't intrude on their enjoyment of it. Well written it recounts (fictional) events leading up to the Aust. Light Horse charge at Beersheba in World War 1. It shows well the dry, laconic Australian bushman's sense of humour and the capacity for friendship which used to be such a great Australian characteristic. Well made and an important film it still holds up well after 64 years.

Extras for this movie included my Dad

[giw-1 · 10/10 · 25 April 2007]

Of course, since my dad passed away many years ago, I can't verify this. But I do remember him telling us kids that, as a member of the Australian Army Signals Corp, he and many of his fellow soldiers were recruited as horsemen to ride over the Kurnell sand hills as extras in this movie.

Since this was filmed in 1941, Australia was already in the war. My Dad's was record shows his service in New Guinea as a Lieutenant in the signals corps. I also remember him telling me about how he was trained to ride a motor bike so, along with the horse riding his story about being an extra was probably something to do with preparing them for service overseas.

If anybody that reads this is able to provide some verification that would be greatly appreciated.

The Germans learn never to underestimate the Australians.

[mark.waltz · 8/10 · 9 September 2022]

To those ever familiar refrains of "Waltzing Matilda", a heroic troop of Australian soldiers (led by Grant Taylor and for a time Chips Lafferty) make their way back to their home base to let everyone know that they've prevailed against the Germans in this lavish epic like saga of World War I heroism. Betty Bryant, the daughter of a French wine maker murdered by the Germans, disguises herself as an Arab boy and rescues Taylor and Rafferty, and when her identity is revealed, a romance ensues between her and Taylor, the sole survivor of a trio of friends after a battle with the Krauts.

This impressive looking Australian film gives an indication of what their movie industry could do when they had a good director and decent financing. I have not seen many of the early Australian films, but this one is truly a classic. Rafferty would go on to be a major action star in the 40's and 50's, and here plays a tragic supporting part. I recently saw the 1987 epic remake, "The Lighthorsemen", which is even more stunning because of the color photography, but I found this one to be very good as well. It shows how the Germans led Arabs to believe that they were their friends, ultimately proving that not to be true. The photography for this film is quite good, and in fact, is as good as the A British films of this time, particularly those by Powell and Pressburger. A must for cinema students and history buffs.

The Lives of Australian Horsemen

[searchanddestroy-1 · 17 March 2023]

I guess this movie is the response to Henry Hathaway's THE LIVES OF A BENGAL LANCER, and also Michael Curtiz' CHARGE OF THE LIGHT BRIGADE made several years earlier. This is a pure propaganda film where the Prussians - Germans and Nazis metaphor in 1940 - are the villains. It takes place during WW1 in the Sinai desert. I did not know this Aussi director nor this movie either, even less this battle. It is rough, tough, impressive in the directing and of course battle sequences. You learn many things thru the viewing of this. Exciting entertainment that deserves to be widely known from todays audiences.