After WW2, an American skipper returns to Singapore to retrieve his hidden stash of pearls and finds his lost fiancee who now has amnesia. Bhowani Junction follows Anglo-Indian Victoria Jones, who seeks her true identity amid the chaos of the British withdrawal from India. This FAQ is empty. This film has a 100% rating on Rotten Tomatoes based on 5 critic reviews. The book is set in 1946/1947, shortly before India gained independence. Victoria Jones is one such Anglo-Indian, a WAC in the British Army, her father a railway engine driver, and her mom a housewife. MGM changed their plans and decided to film instead in Pakistan - whose government was more accommodating and less demanding of the studio. Goofs Ava was sexy as hell and Stewart was dashing. I watched this expecting the normal 50's play on British India and found a morality tale. She... "Once I had it all. The British, quite frankly, do not think well of Anglo-Indians, nor do the Indians. MGM originally planned to film Bhowani Junction on location in India. Father Arturo Carrera (Sir Dirk Bogarde) leaves the priesthood over the church's indifferent position during the Spanish Civil War, but finds himself attracted to beautiful entertainer Soledad (Ava Gardner). The film was directed by George Cukor and produced by Pandro S. Berman from a screenplay by Sonya Levien and Ivan Moffat. She runs away from the Sikhs and literally into the arms of a veteran British officer, Rodney Savage (commander of a Gurkha battalion who "have come from the war, lots of wars"). Use the HTML below. It is set amidst the turbulence of the British withdrawal from India. Both novels were set in Bhowani and its environs. Bhowani Junction is a 1956 film adaptation of the 1954 novel Bhowani Junction by John Masters made by MGM. Throughout the book the British are shown striving to support and sustain the Congress Party and its leader Gandhi, who for so long they had vilified and imprisoned. She is persuaded not to report the matter by a subordinate of Patrick's, a Sikh, Ranjit, who hopes to marry her and whose family and friends help her to avoid detection. Victoria originally dislikes Savage as hard and cruel but eventually becomes both his lover and his unofficial adjutant in the last hectic days of British rule in India. When shipwrecked on a deserted island, best friends Philip Ashlow and Henry Brittingham-Brett compete against each other for the affections of the only woman available, Philip Ashlow's neglected wife, Susan. The Pakistani government loaned a detachment of 400 men from the Frontier Force Rifle as well as a special police detail for scenes. Savage is, like John Masters, not only a professional soldier but also a member of a British family who have for generations served in India. Keep track of everything you watch; tell your friends. Amongst the few who are sorry to see the British leave are the Anglo-Indians, half British and half Indian, for they are going to miss the patronage of their white cousins, the job reservations, and the important status and positions they currently hold. A group of disillusioned American expatriate writers live a dissolute, hedonistic lifestyle in 1920s France and Spain. The British, quite frankly, do not think well of Anglo-Indians, nor do the Indians. Some locations, such as the Tree of the Silver Guru, appear in both novels (although the railway, which has a major role in Bhowani Junction, was in the earlier book a metalled road). Bhowani Junction is a 1954 novel by John Masters, which was the basis of a 1956 film starring Ava Gardner and Stewart Granger. With the war's end and her return home, however, she is confronted with the problem of her identity all over again. The American edition of the novel (also 1954) was published by the Viking Press, New York. This is the life of a Hollywood movie star named Maria, as told by writer/director Harry et al, from being discovered in Madrid, Spain, until her funeral in Italy. The filming took place in Pakistan rather than India for political reasons due to the scenes of Hindu terrorism including against Ghandi himself. Savage returns in a sequel, To the Coral Strand, where he undergoes a deep personal crisis which ends with his staying on in independent India rather than returning to Britain, and coming to terms with the new reality. "Bhowani Junction" starts with General Savage (Stewart Granger) and Victoria Jones (Ava Gardner) having an emotional farewell at a train station in India in 1947. However, the problems begin when Venus falls in love with him. This was made in 1956!!! View production, box office, & company info. The plot revolves around the various characters ; English,Indian,and Anglo Indian coming to terms with their place in what will be the new India. | Bhowani Junction (1956) Stream and Watch Online Victoria Jones (Ava Gardner) is a half-Indian, half-British woman living in India on the verge of its independence. She witnesses Col. Rodney Savage instruct his soldiers to pour filthy water and garbage at the hands of untouchables on high-caste men and women who are protesting by laying down on the railway tracks to prevent trains from moving. You must be a registered user to use the IMDb rating plugin. Alternate Versions The year is 1947, the British are on the verge of finally leaving India. The trivia item below may give away important plot points. Was this review helpful to you? The focal point is the railroad terminal and town, Bhowani Junction. Title: Their children would be "1/4 wog". Bhowani Junction is a 1954 novel by John Masters, which was the basis of a 1956 film starring Ava Gardner and Stewart Granger. Victoria is an Anglo-Indian, the daughter of a railwayman. According to Masters, writing in the Glossary to his earlier novel, Nightrunners of Bengal, Bhowani is an "imaginary town.