Screen Actors in the Role of Her Majesty's Soldiers |
The 1920s |
The 1940s |
Gary Cooper as Lt. Alan McGregor Lives of a Bengal Lancer 1935 |
The 1960s |
Victor McLaglen as Capt. Donald Gordon King The Black Watch 1929 |
David Niven as General Sir Roland Dane Enchantment 1948 |
The 1930s |
The 1990s |
Heath Ledger as Harry Feversham The Four Feathers 2002 |
Wes Bentley as The Four Feathers 2002 |
Trevor Howard as Lord Cardigan The Charge of the Light Brigade 1968 |
The British square at Abu Klea The Four Feathers 2002 |
Stanley Baker as Lt. John Chard R.E. Zulu 1964 |
The 1970s |
Malcolm McDowell as Captain Harry Flashman Royal Flash 1975 |
The 1950s |
Rock Hudson as Capt. Jeffrey Claybourne Bengal Briagde 1954 |
The British Square The Four Feathers 1929 |
James Booth as Private Hook Zulu 1964 |
Spencer Tracy as Henry Morton Stanley Stanley and Livingstone 1939 |
Patrick Bergin as Captain Sir Richard Francis Burton & Iain Glen as Lt. John Speke Mountains of the Moon 1990 |
The 2000s |
Simon Ward as Winston Churchill & Sir John Mills as Horatio Herbert Kitchener Young Winston 1972 |
Preston Foster as Sergeant Jim Brett North West Mounted Police 1940 |
Peter Sellers as General Leo FitzJohn Waltz of the Toreadors 1962 |
Cary Grant as Sgt. Archibald Cutter and Victor McLaglen as Sgt. 'Mac' MacChesney Gunga Din 1939 |
Dennis Morgan as John Keith/Sgt. Derry Connison Rivers Edge 1940 |
The 1980s |
Bo Derek as Jane Parker Tarzan, the Ape Man 1981 |
Edward Underdown as Col. William Hicks Khartoum 1966 |
Norman Pierce as Sergeant Brown The Four Feathers 1939 |
Omdurman The Four Feathers 1939 |
Charlton Heston as Gen. Charles Gordon & Richard Johnson as Col. J.D.H. Stewart Khartoum 1966 |
Lord Cardigan: "I shall have you arrested. You *are* arrested. Go to your quarters, sir, and be arrested!" From Tony Richardson's 1968 production of "The Charge of the Light Brigade" |
Sgt. Thomas 'Tommy' Ballantine: "You displease me greatly, and I ignore the both of you." From the 1939 production of Gunga Din. |
Errol Flynn as Major Geoffrey Vickers and Donald Crisp as Colonel Campbell The Charge of the Light Brigade 1936 |
Charlton Heston as Gen. Charles Gordon Khartoum 1966 |
Cyril MacLaglen as John Kennedy Balaclava (Jaws of Hell) 1928 |
Richard Arlen as Lt. Harry Faversham & Fay Wray as Ethne Eustace The Four Feathers 1929 |
Michael Caine as Peachy Carnehan & Sean Connery as Daniel Dravot The Man Who Would be King 1975 |
Edward Woodward as Lt. Harry "Breaker" Morant Bryan Brown as Lt. Peter Handcock Lewis Fitz-Gerald as Lt. George Witton Breaker Morant 1980 |
Shirley Temple as Priscilla 'Winkie' Williams and Victor McLaglen as Sgt. Donald MacDuff Wee Willie Winkie 1937 |
Winter in the Crimea Victoria the Great (60 Glorious Years) 1937 |
David Niven as Sir Arthur Robertson 55 Days at Peking 1963 |
Robert Newton as Private Bill Sykes Soldiers Three 1951 |
Drummer William A. P. Quinnell 1 & 2 /East Surrey Regiment Shanghai, China c. 1939 |
Tyrone Power as Captain Alan King King of the Khyber Rifles 1953 |
Ronald Lewis as Lt. Peter Burroughs & Laurence Harvey as Capt. John Durrance Storm Over the Nile 1956 |
Jack Lambert as the Colonel & Laurence Harvey as Capt. John Durrance Storm Over the Nile 1956 |
Richard Todd as Sergeant Sam Hargis The Hellions 1961 |
Val Kilmer as Col. John Patterson The Ghost and the Darkness 1996 |
Robert Ryan as Inspector William Gannon The Canadians 1961 |
Terrence Stamp as Sergeant Francis Troy Far From the Madding Crowd 1967 |
Burt Lancaster, Simon Ward, John Mills and Peter O'Toole Zulu Dawn 1979 |
Bob Hoskins as Colour Sergeant Williams Zulu Dawn 1979 |
Ronald Colman as Dick Heldar The Light that Failed 1939 |
"17th Lancers" Tunic used in the filming of The Light that Failed 1939 |
Khaki Highlanders Tunic used in the filming of Gunga Din 1939 |
"27th Lancers" Tunic used in the filming of The Charge of the Light Brigade 1936 |
Anthony Newley as Corporal Stokes & Norman Woodland as Major Crowley The Bandit of Zhobe 1959 |
Ian Hunter as Captain Crewe The Little Princess 1939 |
Group Cast Photograph Conduct Unbecoming 1975 |
Douglas Fairbanks, Jr. as Sergeant Tommy Ballantine Gunga Din 1939 |
Jude Law as Dr. John Watson Sherlock Holmes 2009 |
Mick Jagger as Ned Kelly Ned Kelly 1970 |
The term "Hollywood Raj" has traditionally been applied to that group of British actors who quietly invaded Hollywood during its golden age in the late 1920's and 1930's. It was personified by such stalwart greats as Basil Rathbone, David Niven, Donald Crisp, Claude Rains, Ronald Coleman, C. Aubrey Smith (who was captain of the Hollywood Cricket Club) and Victor McLaglen. Here the term will be used regardless of the actual nationality of the actors involved or whether the film in question was shot in Hollywood, Great Britain or on location somewhere in the wide expanses of the former British Empire. In most cases these photographs will depict actors playing parts for which the actual events occurred long before they were born though in some instances - such as Victor McLagen - actors who did indeed serve in Queen Victoria's forces before being seconded to the very different world of the silver screen. |
Theodor Von Eltz as Lt. Castleton The Four Feathers 1929 |
Tyrone Power as Constable Duncan MacDonald Pony Soldier 1952 |
Lionel Jeffries as Grandpa Potts Chitty Chitty Bang Bang 1968 |
Ben Cross as Ashton Pelham-Martyn The Far Pavilions 1984 |
Other Ranks 5 Button Frock The Four Feathers 2002 |
Brian Keith as Lt. Col. Alexander Bowen The Rare Breed 1966 |
Robert Powell as Captain Jack Durrance The Four Feathers 1977 |
Ronald Colman as the Great Indian Peninsular Railway Official Around the World in 80 Days 1956 |
The 1910s |
Left: A sepia publicity photograph depicting Montagu Love and an unidentified actress in their roles from a mid-1910s stage or film production, possibly a play titled The Second in Command. The photograph is by White Studios of New York City. 8 Inch by 10 Inch Sepia Publicity Photograph White Studios New York, New York c. 1915 |
Walter Pidgeon as Colonel Brunswick Soldiers Three 1951 |
Peter Lawford as Capt. Dion Lenbridge / Pvt. Harry Simms Rogue's March 1953 |
Constable's Tunic used in the filming of North West Mounted Police 1940 |
24th Regiment "Other Ranks" 5 Button Frock Zulu Dawn 1979 |
Sir Cedric Hardwicke as Sir Francis Commarty Around the World in 80 Days 1956 |
Gert van den Bergh as Man #2 The Naked Prey 1966 |
Eric Idle as Wounded British Private Monty Python's The Meaning of Life 1983 |
Ramsay Hill as Major Parkhurst Bwana Devil 1952 |
Left: A small postcard sized production still from an unknown South African Films Trust Co. Ltd. production. 8 Inch by 10 Inch Sepia Poduction Photograph African Films Trust Co. Ltd. Johannesburg, South Africa c. 1918 |
Stewart Granger as Private Archibald Ackroyd Soldiers Three 1951 |