The Charge of the Light Brigade (1968)

April 10, 1968 (GB) • Drama, History, War • 139m

Overview

During the Crimean War between Britain and Russia in the 1850s, a British cavalry division, led by the overbearing Lord Cardigan, engages in an infamously reckless strategic debacle against a Russian artillery battery.

Director

Tony Richardson

Writers

John Osborne, Charles Wood, Cecil Woodham-Smith

Top Billed

Trevor Howard

Keywords

hero politics british army british empire remake honor russian soldier massacre discipline hussars british soldier british history british colonial anti war equestrian lancer

Top Billed Cast

Trevor Howard

Lord Cardigan

Vanessa Redgrave

Mrs Clarissa Morris

John Gielgud

Lord Raglan

Harry Andrews

Lord Lucan

Jill Bennett

Mrs. Fanny Duberly

David Hemmings

Capt. Louis Edward Nolan

Ben Aris

Lt. Maxse

Micky Baker

Trooper Metcalfe

Peter Bowles

Paymaster Capt. Duberly

Leo Britt

General Scarlett

Mark Burns

Captain Morris

John J. Carney

Trooper Mitchell

Helen Cherry

Lady Scarlett

Christopher Chittell

Trooper

Ambrose Coghill

Lt. Col. Douglas

Howard Marion-Crawford

Lt. Gen. Sir George Brown

Christopher Cunningham

Farrier

Mark Dignam

Gen. Airey

Mick Dillon

Highlander

Alan Dobie

Riding Master Mogg

Georges Douking

Marshall At. Arnaud

Clive Endersby

Trooper

Andrew Faulds

Quaker Preacher

Derek Fuke

Trooper

Willoughby Goddard

Squire

Derek Gray

Officer

Richard Graydon

Lord Bingham

John Hallam

Officer

Ian Hanson

Singing Trooper

Barbara Hicks

Mrs Duberly's Maid

Ben Howard

Trumpeter Pridmore

Rachel Kempson

Mrs Codrington

T. P. McKenna

William Russel

Michael Miller

Maj.Gen.Sir Colin Campbell

Declan Mulholland

Farrier

Roger Mutton

Cornet Codrington

Valerie Newman

Mrs Mitchell

Roy Pattison

RSM

Corin Redgrave

Capt. Featherstonhaugh

Norman Rossington

TSM Corbett

Dino Shafeek

Indian Servant

John Trenaman

Sgt Smith

Colin Vancao

Capt. Charteris

Donald Wolfit

'Macbeth'

Peter Woodthorpe

Cardigan's Valet

Ernest Blyth

Army Officer Awaiting Posting (Uncredited)

Harry Fielder

Soldier (Uncredited)

Laurence Harvey

Russian Prince (Uncredited)

Juba Kennerley

Party Guest (Uncredited)

James Payne

Trooper (Uncredited)

Dido Plumb

Tramp (Uncredited)

Natasha Richardson

Flower Girl at Wedding (Uncredited)

Michael Miller

Maj. Gen Sir Colin Campbell

Crew

Tony Richardson

Director

John Osborne

Writer

Neil Hartley

Producer

Edward Marshall

Art Direction

David Walker

Costume Design

Richard Williams

Opening Title Sequence

Charles Wood

Writer

Kevin Brownlow

Editor

Hugh Raggett

Editor

David Watkin

Director of Photography

Peter Hutchinson

Special Effects Assistant

Dusty Symonds

Second Assistant Director

Mick Dillon

Stunt Double

Richard Graydon

Stunt Coordinator

Cecil Woodham-Smith

Story

John Landis

Stunts

Nosher Powell

Stunts

Ian Whittaker

Set Dresser

Peter Handford

Sound Effects

Linda DeVetta

Makeup Artist

Gerry Humphreys

Sound Re-Recording Mixer

Simon Kaye

Sound

Robin O'Donoghue

ADR Mixer

Tom Smith

Makeup Artist

Kevin Connor

Sound Editor

Christian de Chalonge

Second Unit Director

A. Paul Pollard

Special Effects

R.A. MacDonald

Special Effects

Brian Warner

Special Effects

Michael Stevenson

Unit Manager

Lila de Nobili

Colorist

Clive Reed

Assistant Director

John Addison

Original Music Composer

Reviews

CinemaSerf

⭐ 6/10

June 7, 2025

If you’re looking for Errol Flynn and David Niven here, then you’ll be disappointed. Unlike the Hollywood version of the story from 1936, this one focuses far more on a critique on the command and control structures in the British Army at the start of the Crimean War. It’s principle target is Lord Cardigan (Trevor Howard) who is portrayed as an arrogant and frequently drunken sot without the skills to command himself much less others and one reeking with upper-class entitlement. Unfortunately for the young “Capt. Nolan” (David Hemmings), he manages to upset his commanding general and with a dishonourable discharge looming is praying for some sort of intervention. Rather drastically, that comes in the form of the war into which he is to be despatched. Under the overall command of Lord Raglan (Sir John Gielgud) the cavalry are to be led by Lord Lucan (Harry Andrews) with Cardigan in charge of the Light Cavalry. The Russians are entrenched above the vital port of Sebastopol and so with battle lines drawn, a perilous game of chess now ensues. That game is played with astonishing foolhardiness and bloody-mindedness by a group of men whose rank in society (an Earldom was usually most useful) dictated their qualifications to order the lives of thousands of private soldiers who were at best treated with disdain, at worst - well floggings were just one of the weapons available to these autocratic idiots. I suppose my difficulty with this was that once it had made it’s point - in no small measure thanks to an enthusiastic Howard - it proceeded to labour it, time and time again, to the point where it became a little bit sterile and preposterous. Could they really have been that ridiculous and inept? All of them? There is a bit of bawdy comedy now and again and that language of the gutter was not limited to those of street-rank, and that’s also the source of some of the more entertaining banter as it’s clear Lucan and Cardigan would cheerfully have slaughtered each other rather than their foes. It looks great and much effort has gone into keeping the costumes and locations authentic looking, but at well over two hours long and the vast majority of that reinforcing the politically established preamble, I struggled to remain engaged until the sharp end. Unfortunately, it’s not as if we don’t know what happens at the conclusion even if we’re not so up on our Tennyson.

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The Charge of the Light Brigade (1968)

John Osborne, Charles Wood, Cecil Woodham-Smith

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Top Billed Cast

Crew

Reviews

CinemaSerf

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